The Five Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃

Publisher’s Synopsis: Hollis Shaw's life seems picture-perfect. She's the creator of the popular food blog Hungry with Hollis and is married to Matthew, a dreamy heart surgeon. But after she and Matthew get into a heated argument one snowy morning, he leaves for the airport and is killed in a car accident. The cracks in Hollis's perfect life--her strained marriage and her complicated relationship with her daughter, Caroline--grow deeper.

So when Hollis hears about something called a "Five-Star Weekend"--one woman organizes a trip for her best friend from each phase of her life: her teenage years, her twenties, her thirties, and midlife--she decides to host her own Five-Star Weekend on Nantucket. But the weekend doesn't turn out to be a joyful Hallmark movie.

The husband of Hollis's childhood friend Tatum arranges for Hollis's first love, Jack Finigan, to spend time with them, stirring up old feelings. Meanwhile, Tatum is forced to play nice with abrasive and elitist Dru-Ann, Hollis's best friend from UNC Chapel Hill. Dru-Ann's career as a prominent Chicago sports agent is on the line after her comments about a client's mental health issues are misconstrued online. Brooke, Hollis's friend from their thirties, has just discovered that her husband is having an inappropriate relationship with a woman at work. Again! And then there's Gigi, a stranger to everyone (including Hollis) who reached out to Hollis through her blog. Gigi embodies an unusual grace and, as it happens, has many secrets.

The Five-Star Weekend is a surprising and captivating story about friendship, love, and self-discovery set on Nantucket. It will be a weekend like no other.

HerKentucky Review: The Five-Star Weekend is built around an interesting premise: Can you build a successful girls’ weekend around the women who knew you best during the distinct decades of your adult life? It’s an idea that most of us find both intriguing and, at the same time, a bit cringeworthy. Could your high school bestie and your current confidante find common ground? Could your friend from the college bar hang with your friend from barre class? It could be the time of your life or your worst nightmare. For Hollis Shaw, Elin Hilderbrand’s latest Nantucket-based protagonist, the Five-Star Weekend is a little bit of both.

In her latest novel of summertime drama, Ms. Hilderbrand introduces us to Hollis, a Nantucket native turned food blogger who plans the titular weekend in the wake of her husband’s death. Tempers flare and secrets are spilled as the weekend’s schedule of nostalgia and bonding unfolds. Decades-old grudges are rehashed, more than a few secrets surface and Hollis learns that her friends aren’t necessarily who they seem to be. The Five-Star Weekend intertwines Ms. Hilderbrand’s signature views of Nantucket boutiques, bars and restaurants with sharp social commentary on cancel culture, influencers and the reality behind social media friendships and the socioeconomic divides that often fragment friend groups. It’s a fun and compelling summertime read that’ll have you texting long-lost sorority sisters and spin class friends to catch up.

Purchase a copy of The Five Star-Weekend via Bookshop.org or Amazon.

Please note that I received an Advanced Review Copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of this work. This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

Code Name Sapphire by Pam Jenoff

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃🥃

Publisher’s synopsis: A woman must rescue her cousin's family from a train bound for Auschwitz in this riveting tale of bravery and resistance, from the bestselling author of The Lost Girls of Paris

1942. Hannah Martel has narrowly escaped Nazi Germany after her fiancé was killed in a pogrom. When her ship bound for America is turned away at port, she has nowhere to go but to her cousin Lily, who lives with her family in Brussels. Fearful for her life, Hannah is desperate to get out of occupied Europe. But with no safe way to leave, she must return to the dangerous underground work she thought she had left behind.

Seeking help, Hannah joins the Sapphire Line, a secret resistance network led by a mysterious woman named Micheline and her enigmatic brother Matteo. But when a grave mistake causes Lily’s family to be arrested and slated for deportation to Auschwitz, Hannah finds herself torn between her loyalties. How much is Hannah willing to sacrifice to save the people she loves? Inspired by incredible true stories of courage and sacrifice, Code Name Sapphire is a powerful novel about love, family and the unshakable resilience of women in even the hardest of times.

HerKentucky review: The body of fiction about female spies in World War II that has popped up over the past few years seems overwhelming and exhaustive.  I often feel like I’ve read them all, and sometimes start to wonder whether there are any new stories to be told in the genre. However, Pam Jenoff — an author, law professor and former diplomat — consistently delivers smart, complex and compelling stories. Ms. Jenoff’s latest novel, Code Name Sapphire is a fast-paced tale of love and espionage in occupied Belgium.

Jenoff interweaves the story of Jewish cousins Lily and Hannah with that of Micheline and Matteo, siblings who front a resistance network. The novel is fast-paced, heartbreaking, and filled with the reminder that many Europeans were faced with unthinkable choices during the Nazi era. Ms. Jenoff loosely based the novel on a real-life mission to liberate a train bearing prisoners bound for Auschwitz.

As two love triangles unfold alongside betrayals and a complex rescue mission, the narrative becomes a little convoluted. I feel like this book needed one more rewrite to tighten the plot and explore the characters. It’s a well-researched historical novel that captures the heartbreak and resignation of prisoners headed toward certain death. Ms. Jenoff paints a compelling portrait of the character Lily in her journey from sheltered housewife to defiant prisoner. I wish the other characters had felt as multidimensional and realistic.

This is a good read for those of us who love the WWII historical novel, particularly the subgenre of female spy networks. I’d skip it if you’re only mildly interested in these works.

Pre-order Code Name Sapphire on Amazon or Bookshop.org

Please note that I received an Advanced Review Copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of this work. This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃

Publisher’s synopsis: From the author of the sensational bestseller The Lost Apothecary comes a spellbinding tale about two daring women who hunt for truth and justice in the perilous art of conjuring the dead.

1873. At an abandoned château on the outskirts of Paris, a dark séance is about to take place, led by acclaimed spiritualist Vaudeline D’Allaire. Known worldwide for her talent in conjuring the spirits of murder victims to ascertain the identities of the people who killed them, she is highly sought after by widows and investigators alike.

Lenna Wickes has come to Paris to find answers about her sister’s death, but to do so, she must embrace the unknown and overcome her own logic-driven bias against the occult. When Vaudeline is beckoned to England to solve a high-profile murder, Lenna accompanies her as an understudy. But as the women team up with the powerful men of London’s exclusive Séance Society to solve the mystery, they begin to suspect that they are not merely out to solve a crime, but perhaps entangled in one themselves…

HerKentucky Review: I really wanted to like this book. I adored Ms. Penner’s debut novel, The Lost Apothecary. The earlier novel was fast-paced and fun, but this one simply falls flat. The plot feels very convoluted, with obvious red herrings and partially-reliable narrators. The setting was potentially fascinating, but the narrative kept getting bogged down in cliches, like the “scientific minded” protagonist who couldn’t possibly believe in ghosts — until, predictably, she does. I’d recommend re-reading The Lost Apothecary and skipping this one altogether.

Pre-order The London Séance Society on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

Please note that I received an Advanced Review Copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of this work. This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃🥃

Editor’s note: This book review and its source material may contain triggering content for some readers. The real-life events that are described in this book center around the European political climate of the 1930s — many of the people in this book were swept up in fascist and communist political actions. Please note that, in reading and reviewing this book, I am in no way advocating the vicious and atrocious political viewpoints held by members of the Mitford family. This book contains content warnings for Nazism, anti-Semitism, Fascism and suicide.

Publisher’s Synopsis: From New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict comes an explosive novel of history's most notorious sisters, one of whom will have to choose: her country or her family?

Between the World Wars, the six Mitford sisters — each more beautiful, brilliant, and eccentric than the next — dominate the English political, literary, and social scenes. Though they've weathered scandals before, the family falls into disarray when Diana divorces her wealthy husband to marry a fascist leader and Unity follows her sister's lead all the way to Munich, inciting rumors that she's become Hitler's mistress.

As the Nazis rise in power, novelist Nancy Mitford grows suspicious of her sisters' constant visits to Germany and the high-ranking fascist company they keep. When she overhears alarming conversations and uncovers disquieting documents, Nancy must make excruciating choices as Great Britain goes to war with Germany.

Probing the torrid political climate in the lead-up to World War II and the ways that seemingly sensible people can be sucked into radical action, The Mitford Affair follows Nancy's valiant efforts to stop the Nazis from taking over Great Britain, and the complicated choices she must make between the personal and the political.

HerKentucky Review: Oh, wow. There is so much to unpack with The Mitford Affair. These women (and their ill-fated brother, Tom) were celebrity socialites of 1930s England. They were beautiful, and brilliant, and witty, and they garnered plenty of media attention. Their novels and memoirs were full of nicknames and bon mots and secret languages and in-jokes. Their father held a peerage title and they were cousins-by-marriage to Winston Churchill. It’s quite easy to get caught up in their mystique and mythology; one feels a little more clever simply by reading of their adventures. And yet…

And yet you can’t deny the fact that three of the six sisters were political fanatics. Diana and Unity were caught up in Europe’s burgeoning fascist movement. Diana actively fought to bring fascist rule to England, and Unity literally stalked Hitler. Jessica chose communism over her family. As the narrative of The Mitford Affair unfolds, we learn that Nancy chooses to turn Diana’s political documents over to the British authorities. As I read Ms. Benedict’s account of the Mitford sisters’ political conflicts, I couldn’t help thinking of the political climate of modern America, and the ways that so many people are getting caught up in often-dangerous political rhetoric. If I learned anything in four years of undergraduate political science studies, it’s that there will always be dangerous ideologies to adopt, and there will always be people who find these ideologies thrilling and fascinating.

The Mitford Affair is a fantastic introduction to the famed Mitford sisters, presenting the reader with a concise understanding of the socioeconomic and political dynamics of the day. Ms. Benedict does tend to present Diana somewhat as a victim of infatuation more than a political entity in her own right; I honestly don’t know if this is a true depiction. The same could be said of the author’s treatment of Unity — was she an impressionable young woman who fell blindly into Hitler-worship or was she truly a believer in the Nazi cause? Ms. Benedict does a nice job of writing about these women in a way that both captures their charms and looks unflinchingly at their reprehensible actions. I definitely recommend this book — with strong consideration to content warnings — to anyone who’s interested in learning more about the storied Mitford family.

Purchase The Mitford Affair on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

Please note that I received an Advanced Review Copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of this work. This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

Wise Gals: the Spies who Built the CIA and Changed the Future of Espionage by Nathalia Holt

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃🥃

Publisher’s synopsis: In the wake of World War II, four agents were critical in helping build a new organization that we now know as the CIA. Adelaide Hawkins, Mary Hutchison, Eloise Page, and Elizabeth Sudmeier, called the “wise gals” by their male colleagues because of their sharp sense of humor and even quicker intelligence, were not the stereotypical femme fatale of spy novels. They were smart, courageous, and groundbreaking agents at the top of their class, instrumental in both developing innovative tools for intelligence gathering—and insisting (in their own unique ways) that they receive the credit and pay their expertise deserved.

Throughout the Cold War era, each woman had a vital role to play on the international stage. Adelaide rose through the ranks, developing new cryptosystems that advanced how spies communicate with each other. Mary worked overseas in Europe and Asia, building partnerships and allegiances that would last decades. Elizabeth would risk her life in the Middle East in order to gain intelligence on deadly Soviet weaponry. Eloise would wield influence on scientific and technical operations worldwide, ultimately exposing global terrorism threats. Through their friendship and shared sense of purpose, they rose to positions of power and were able to make real change in a traditionally “male, pale, and Yale” organization—but not without some tragic losses and real heartache along the way.

Meticulously researched and beautifully told, Holt uses firsthand interviews with past and present officials and declassified government documents to uncover the stories of these four inspirational women. Wise Gals sheds a light on the untold history of the women whose daring foreign intrigues, domestic persistence, and fighting spirit have been and continue to be instrumental to our country’s security.

HerKentucky Review: Wise Gals is a fascinating and painstakingly researched history of the women of the OSS and, later, the CIA. Ms. Holt details the stories of these agents’ lives of espionage and service while detailing their struggle for equality within the agency. It’s a fascinating look at how a core group of female agents impacted the future of the CIA and, ultimately, the history of our nation.

Wise Gals is impressive in its scope, spanning from the 1930s to the 1980s, and telling the stories of four groundbreaking women. Due to the nature of these women’s work, it is necessary to quickly recap major world events. At times, the narrative becomes lost in details of complex situations like the Cuban Missile Crisis or the Iraqi Revolution. At times, the author tends to refer to players who are never again referenced or to end a paragraph with a thread of foreshadowing that seems a little too neatly tied. In all, this was a very enjoyable and informative work that I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys 20th century history, stories of boot-on-the-ground second wave feminists, or stories of espionage.

Purchase Wise Gals on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

Please note that I received an Advanced Review Copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of this work. This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃

Publisher’s Synopsis: Fresh off a bad breakup with a longtime boyfriend, Nantucket sweetheart Lizbet Keaton is desperately seeking a second act. When she’s named the new general manager of the Hotel Nantucket, a once Gilded Age gem turned abandoned eyesore, she hopes that her local expertise and charismatic staff can win the favor of their new London billionaire owner, Xavier Darling, as well as that of Shelly Carpenter, the wildly popular Instagram tastemaker who can help put them back on the map. And while the Hotel Nantucket appears to be a blissful paradise, complete with a celebrity chef-run restaurant and an idyllic wellness center, there’s a lot of drama behind closed doors. The staff (and guests) have complicated pasts, and the hotel can’t seem to overcome the bad reputation it earned in 1922 when a tragic fire killed nineteen-year-old chambermaid Grace Hadley. With Grace gleefully haunting the halls, a staff harboring all kinds of secrets, and Lizbet’s own romantic uncertainty, is the Hotel Nantucket destined for success or doom?  

Filled with the emotional depth and multiple points of view that characterize Hilderbrand’s novels (The Blue Bistro, Golden Girl) as well as an added dash of Roaring Twenties history, The Hotel Nantucket offers something for everyone in this compelling summer drama. 

HerKentucky Review: Beach Read queen Elin Hilderbrand is back with her 27th novel of impossibly beautiful and wealthy people leading wildly messy lives. The Hotel Nantucket, as its title suggests, is set in a luxury hotel on Nantucket. The titular hotel is a Gilded Age property that has been recently renovated after decades of neglect. Mysterious billionaire Xavier Darling purchased the hotel with the goal of attaining the elusive 5 Key review from mysterious hotel review influencer Shelly Carpenter. Hotel Manager Lizbet Keaton, seeking a fresh start after ending a longterm relationship, assembles a team of employees — many of whom harbor dramatic secrets of their own — to bring 5 Key service to the hotel guests. We learn that many of the hotel’s top employees are seeking fresh starts after past mistakes, we meet the hotel’s resident ghost — a beautiful young maid who was killed in a 1920s fire, and we cheer Lizbet on as she embarks on a new romance. It’s the perfect escapist summer read.

The Hotel Nantucket is the quintessential Elin Hilderbrand novel, as refreshing and decadent as a lobster roll and a glass of Sancerre. The callbacks to characters like realtor Fast Eddie Pancik from The Rumor or Mack Peterson from The Beach Club feel logical and organic, and the storylines tie together for a charming tale of second chances and new beginnings. Previous knowledge of Ms. Hilderbrand’s works isn’t necessary to enjoy the book, but I highly recommend reading The Blue Bistro before this one for some background information.

Please note that I received an Advanced Review Copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of this work. This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃

I absolutely love Fiona Davis’s work. Her meticulously researched historical fiction centers around some of New York City’s most iconic buildings. The Magnolia Palace, a January Book of the Month selection and New York Times Best Seller, centers around a Gilded Age mansion — the Henry Clay Frick house —later preserved as a museum, the Frick Collection.

Now, let’s go ahead and get the frame story issue out of the way. Many historical fiction novels rely on a frame story to set up the core story. And, all too often, the frame stories are laughably bad. One of the reasons I adore Ms. Davis’s novels is that she creates framework stories that are compelling and relevant, weaving together two compelling and well-written stories. The frame story of The Magnolia Palace finds 1960s model Veronica at a photoshoot gone awry, locked in the Frick Collection with museum intern Joshua during a blizzard. The earlier parallel story unfolds as Lillian Carter, seeking to leave behind her past as infamous artists’ model Angelica, takes a job as private secretary to Helen Frick, the daughter and heiress of industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick. Ms. Davis presents a fascinating story of deceit, stolen jewels, and the curation of a legendary art collection through these timelines.

The Magnolia Palace is a must-read for lovers of Gilded Age art and architecture. I received an ARC via NetGalley and read on my Kindle in about a day. I couldn’t put this one down — Ms. Davis’s prose was beautiful and lush to just the right degree. This one gets five of five whiskey glasses from me.

Order The Magnolia Palace on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

Please note that I received an Advanced Review Copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of this work. This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

Nantucket Nights by Elin Hilderbrand

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃

Publisher’s synopsis: For 20 years, Kayla, Antoinette and Val have performed their own special summer ritual. Once a year, the old friends put aside their daily, separate lives to drink champagne, swap stories and swim naked under the Nantucket stars. But on one of those bonding nights, one of their trio swims out from the shore and doesn't return.

After the surviving friends emerge from their grief, they realize that the repercussions of their loss go far beyond their little circle, and they begin to uncover layers of secrets--and their connections to each other--that were never revealed on the beach. What has made their friendship strong now has the power to destroy--their marriages, families, even themselves, in Elin Hilderbrand's Nantucket Nights.

HerKentucky Review: Three female friends hold a summer ritual every year — they meet on the beach once a year for a celebration with champagne and night swimming. When one of the women goes missing and is presumed dead during the festivities, a host of secrets emerge. This is Ms. Hilderbrand’s second novel — she’s a writer whose works I adore and obsessively read — and I’d certainly chalk the rough edges of the book up to inexperience. One of the storylines concerns a teenage boy having an affair with a much older woman, and it feels uncomfortable and creepy nearly two decades after publication.

Purchase Nantucket Nights on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

The Beach Club by Elin HIlderbrand

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃🥃

Publisher’s synopsis: In The Beach Club, the juicy first novel by talented newcomer Elin Hilderbrand, a series of personal dramas are played out during one summer at a Nantucket Beach Club. It's about the love of summer, summer love, and the special feelings we all have for that special summer place--in this case, a hotel and an island.

Mack Petersen, manager of the hotel, has been working at The Beach Club for 12 summers. Only this summer is different. His boss, the owner of the hotel, Bill Elliot, shows up in the spring with a new set of demands. His girlfriend Maribel is pressing Mack to get married and Vance, the African-American bellman, who has hated Mack since the day Mack stole his job 12 years ago, threatens him in a deadly scene. Mack knows something's got to give.

Love O'Donnell, the new front desk person straight from the slopes of Aspen, is desperately searching for a stranger to father her child. The bellman, Jem Crandall, who posed as Mr. November in his college calendar, is on his way to LA to break into agenting, until he falls in love with Maribel. Emotions are at a peak when a hurricane threatens to wash away The Beach Club and all it stands for.

HerKentucky Review: This is Ms. Hilderbrand’s first novel, which draws heavily on her then-husband’s experiences managing a Nantucket beach club. It’s an enjoyable, fast-paced read and, as with many books in the Hilderbrand universe, will be revisited in subsequent books. It’s a fun beach book and a great introduction to “The Queen of Summer”, Elin Hilderbrand. Purchase The Beach Club on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

EH characters in this book are also referenced in The Hotel Nantucket.

This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

The Love Season by Elin Hilderbrand

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃

Publisher’s synopsis: It's a hot August Saturday on Nantucket Island. Over the course of the next 24 hours, two lives will be transformed forever.

Marguerite Beale, former chef of culinary hot spot Les Parapluies, has been out of the public eye for over a decade. This all changes with a phone call from Marguerite's goddaughter, Renata Knox.

Marguerite has not seen Renata since the death of Renata's mother, Candace Harris Knox, fourteen years earlier. And now that Renata is on Nantucket visiting the family of her new fiancé, she takes the opportunity, against her father's wishes, to contact Marguerite in hopes of learning the story of her mother's life--and death.

But the events of the day spiral hopelessly out of control for both women, and nothing ends up as planned.

HerKentucky review: College student Renata Knox visits Nantucket to meet her fiancé’s family. Along the way, she uncovers the story of her late mother’s friendship with infamous former chef Marguerite Beale. Like the Blue Bistro, I wanted to like this story more than I did. The characters are well-crafted and the attention to detail is painstaking, but the characters are so needlessly melancholy and broken.

Purchase The Love Season on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃

Publisher’s synopsis: Three women--burdened with small children, unwieldy straw hats, and some obvious emotional issues--tumble onto the Nantucket airport tarmac one hot June day. Vicki is trying to sort through the news that she has a serious illness. Her sister, Brenda, has just left her job after being caught in an affair with a student. And their friend Melanie, after seven failed in vitro attempts, is pregnant at last--but only after learning that her husband is having an affair. They have come to escape, enjoy the sun, and relax in Nantucket's calming air. But into the house, into their world, steps twenty-two-year-old Josh Flynn.
​
Barefoot weaves these four lives together in a story with enthralling sweep and scope--a novel that is as fun and memorable and bittersweet as that one perfect day of summer.

HerKentucky review: Three women arrive at a Nantucket cottage to sort through their dramatic lives. Vicki faces a grim diagnosis, her sister Brenda is in professional turmoil, and their friend Melanie has recently learned that her husband is unfaithful. This is a perfectly pleasant beach read.

Purchase Barefoot on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃🥃

Publisher’s synopsis: Claire has a problem with setting limits. All her life she has taken on every responsibility, assumed every burden, granted every request. Claire wants it all—and in the eyes of her friends, she has it: a devoted husband, four beautiful children, even a successful career as an artist. So when she agrees to chair the committee for Nantucket's social event of the year, she knows she can handle it. Claire can handle anything.

But when planning the gala propels her into the orbit of billionaire Lock Dixon, unexpected sparks begin to fly. Lock insists on working closely with Claire—often over a bottle of wine—and before long she can't ignore the subtle touches and lingering looks. To her surprise, she can't ignore how they make her feel, either. Claire finds the gala, her life, and herself spinning out of control.

A Summer Affair captures the love, loss, and limbo of an illicit romance and unchecked passion as it takes us on a brave and breathless journey into the heart of one modern woman.

HerKentucky Review: Glass sculptor Claire agrees to chair a large charity gala and soon finds herself emerged in a torrid affair with the charity’s director. This novel had some beautiful imagery, but I found it really hard to believe that someone with so little event planning expertise would be picked to chair a gala. It seriously struck me as less believable than the idea that her high school boyfriend grew up to be a famous rock star. Pedantic retired Junior Leaguer analysis aside, this is a fun novel about summer flings.

Buy A Summer Affair on Amazon or Bookshop.org

This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃

Publisher’s synopsis: With rumors of infidelity straining Greg and Tess MacAvoy's marriage, the couple head out on their sailboat one early summer day to celebrate their wedding anniversary, hoping the roughest waters are behind them. But in an accident off Nantucket, they mysteriously drown, leaving behind two small children as well as three couples who have long been their closest friends. Tragedy brings to the surface long-simmering conflicts and emotions, and the MacAvoys' six grieving friends find themselves unprepared for the revelation of secret upon secret as they struggle to answer the question: What happened to Greg and Tess?

The Castaways probes the boundaries of friendship and forgiveness as it tells a page-turning story of passion, betrayal, and suspense, filled with the perfect details of summer island life that have made Elin Hilderbrand's novels beloved bestsellers.

HerKentucky Review: Four couples — the MacAvoys, Kapenashes, Drakes, and Wheelers — are best friends and pillars of the Nantucket community. When the MacAvoys die in a sailing accident, a series of secrets and lies emerge. This one is fantastic soap opera-style drama, and establishes Police Chief Ed Kapenash as a recurring character in many of Ms. Hilderbrand’s subsequent novels.

Purchase The Castaways on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

Summer People by Elin Hilderbrand

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃

HerKentucky Review: When attorney Arch Newton dies in a plane crash, his widow and teenage twins fulfill his promise to Marcus, the teenage son of Arch’s murder client, by bringing Marcus along to Nantucket for a summer at their vacation home. The racial and socioeconomic lines are kind of cartoonishly drawn in this one, and I just really didn’t enjoy it much.

Purchase  on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

The Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃

Publisher’s Synopsis: Adrienne Dealey has spent the past six years working for hotels in exotic resort towns. This summer she has decided to make Nantucket home. Left flat broke by her ex-boyfriend, she is desperate to earn some fast money. When the desirable Thatcher Smith, owner of Nantucket's hottest restaurant, is the only one to offer her a job, she wonders if she can get by with no restaurant experience. Thatcher gives Adrienne a crash course in the business...and they share an instant attraction. But there is a mystery about their situation: what is it about Fiona, the Blue Bistro's chef, that captures Thatcher's attention again and again? And why does such a successful restaurant seem to be in its final season before closing its doors for good? Despite her uncertainty, Adrienne must decide whether to open her heart for the first time, or move on, as she always does.

Infused with intimate Nantucket detail and filled with the warmth of passion and the breeze of doubt, The Blue Bistro is perfect summer reading.

HerKentucky Review: Ms. Hilderbrand has often said that this is her favorite of her novels. I wanted to like this one more than I actually did. The elements are there — nomadic Adrienne takes a front-of-house job at a hip Nantucket bistro, where she’s soon entangled in the lives of owner Thatcher and chef Fiona. But, something just felt off to me. As a romantic lead, Thatcher was a walking red flag. I couldn’t help cheering for Adrienne to run in the other direction rather than toward him. That’s a bit of a flaw for a romantic novel, of course, but everything else about this book is lovely. The characters are well-developed, the menu sounds superb. I just can’t really feel it when it comes to the romantic angle.

Buy The Blue Bistro on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

The Island by Elin Hilderbrand

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃🥃

Publisher’s synopsis: Birdie Cousins has thrown herself into the details of her daughter Chess's lavish wedding, from the floating dance floor in her Connecticut back yard to the color of the cocktail napkins. Like any mother of a bride-to-be, she is weathering the storms of excitement and chaos, tears and joy. But Birdie, a woman who prides herself on preparing for every possibility, could never have predicted the late-night phone call from Chess, abruptly announcing that she's cancelled her engagement.
It's only the first hint of what will be a summer of upheavals and revelations. Before the dust has even begun to settle, far worse news arrives, sending Chess into a tailspin of despair. Reluctantly taking a break from the first new romance she's embarked on since the recent end of her 30-year marriage, Birdie circles the wagons and enlists the help of her younger daughter Tate and her own sister India. Soon all four are headed for beautiful, rustic Tuckernuck Island, off the coast of Nantucket, where their family has summered for generations. No phones, no television, no grocery store - a place without distractions where they can escape their troubles.
But throw sisters, daughters, ex-lovers, and long-kept secrets onto a remote island, and what might sound like a peaceful getaway becomes much more. Before summer has ended, dramatic truths are uncovered, old loves are rekindled, and new loves make themselves known.

HerKentucky review: Two generations of sisters convene at a family cabin on Tuckernuck Island, off the coast of Nantucket, in the wake of a cancelled engagement. This is a sweet story of family ties and the roles we play in our loved ones’ lives. Along with Beautiful Day, this is would be a nice book to discuss with your mother, sister, aunt, or daughter.

Purchase The Island on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

Silver Girl by Elin Hilderbrand

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃

Publisher’s synopsis: Meredith Martin Delinn just lost everything: her friends, her homes, her social standing -- because her husband Freddy cheated rich investors out of billions of dollars.

Desperate and facing homelessness, Meredith receives a call from her old best friend, Constance Flute. Connie's had recent worries of her own, and the two depart for a summer on Nantucket in an attempt to heal. But the island can't offer complete escape, and they're plagued by new and old troubles alike. When Connie's brother Toby -- Meredith's high school boyfriend -- arrives, Meredith must reconcile the differences between the life she is leading and the life she could have had.

Set against the backdrop of a Nantucket summer, Elin Hilderbrand delivers a suspenseful story of the power of friendship, the pull of love, and the beauty of forgiveness.

HerKentucky review: Meredith Martin Delinn turns to her childhood friend Constance Flute for help when Meredith’s husband Freddy is imprisoned for running a Ponzi scheme. The Meredith character is roughly based on Ruth Madoff, and the story hinges upon the idea that Meredith never suspected her husband of illegal activity. The story feels stiff and unsatisfying; definitely skip this one.

Purchase Silver Girl  on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃

Publisher’s synopsis: The Carmichaels and the Grahams have gathered on Nantucket for a happy occasion: a wedding that will unite their two families. Plans are being made according to the wishes of the bride's late mother, who left behind The Notebook: specific instructions for every detail of her youngest daughter's future nuptials. Everything should be falling into place for the beautiful event -- but in reality, things are falling apart.

While the couple-to-be are quite happy, their loved ones find their lives crumbling. In the days leading up to the wedding, love will be questioned, scandals will arise, and hearts will be broken and healed. Elin Hilderbrand takes readers on a touching journey in Beautiful Day -- into the heart of marriage, what it means to be faithful, and how we choose to honor our commitments.

HerKentucky review: Jennifer Carmichael prepares for her wedding day while painstakingly adhering to The Notebook, a series of wedding “suggestions” prepared years earlier by her late mother. This is a sweet tale of family loyalty, even if the premise is a little overwrought. The family dynamics among the Carmichael clan are relatable and well-constructed, and this is a lovely book for summertime reading.

Purchase Beautiful Day on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃

Publisher’s synopsis: Forty-eight-year-old Nantucketer Dabney Kimball Beech has always had a gift for matchmaking. Some call her ability mystical, while others, her husband, celebrated economist John Boxmiller Beech, and her daughter, Agnes, who is clearly engaged to the wrong man, call it meddlesome. But there's no arguing with her results: With 42 happy couples to her credit and all of them still together, Dabney has never been wrong about romance.

Never, that is, except in the case of herself and Clendenin Hughes, the green-eyed boy who took her heart with him long ago when he left the island to pursue his dream of becoming a journalist. Now, after spending twenty-seven years on the other side of the world, Clen is back on Nantucket, and Dabney has never felt so confused, or so alive.

But when tragedy threatens her own second chance, Dabney must face the choices she's made and share painful secrets with her family. Determined to make use of her gift before it's too late, she sets out to find perfect matches for those she loves most.

HerKentucky Review: Nantucket tourism maven Dabney Kimball Beech is known around the island for setting up happy couples. Facing tragedy in her own life, she assesses her own relationships and attempts to find the perfect match for her daughter. This is a cute, TV movie-esque romance that makes me want to visit Nantucket’s famed Daffodil festival.

Purchase The Matchmaker  on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

The Rumor by Elin Hilderbrand

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃

Publisher’s synopsis: Madeline King and Grace Pancik are best friends and the envy of Nantucket for their perfect marriages, their beautiful kids, their Saturday night double dates with their devoted husbands. But this summer, something's changed, and if there's anything Nantucket likes better than cocktails on the beach at sunset, it's a good rumor.

And rumor has it... that Madeline, a novelist, is battling writer's block, with a deadline looming, bills piling up, and blank pages driving her to desperation — and a desperately bad decision; and that Grace, hard at work to transform her backyard into a garden paradise, has been collaborating a bit more closely than necessary with her ruggedly handsome landscape architect.

As the gossip escalates, and they have the possible loss of the happy lives they've worked so hard to create, Grace and Madeline try mightily to set the record straight — but the truth might be even worse than rumor has it.

HerKentucky review: Prostitution rings, torrid affairs, and real estate scams are set against the backdrop of a perfectly manicured garden. This salacious tale is grounded by tender, introspective analysis of the characters’ motivations. I also love how, as Fast Eddie’s world crumbles around him, he starts to sound like the paranoia scenes in Goodfellas. Look for Fast Eddie in future EH novels; he’s always a fun character!

Purchase The Rumor on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.