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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
A delightful (albeit a little long) read into the dysfunctional Carmichael and Graham families as they come together one weekend in Nantucket as their daughter and son (respectively) get married.
I loved the characters and reading about their antics, their feelings and thoughts. I wish a couple of the characters were fleshed out better because the ending of the story seemed a bit rushed for as long of a novel as it was. However, the ending was pretty satisfactory even with leaving a few loose ends. Parts of the novel tended to drag a bit but overall this was a fun summer read.
I loved the characters and reading about their antics, their feelings and thoughts. I wish a couple of the characters were fleshed out better because the ending of the story seemed a bit rushed for as long of a novel as it was. However, the ending was pretty satisfactory even with leaving a few loose ends. Parts of the novel tended to drag a bit but overall this was a fun summer read.
A little disappointed - generally speaking, I am a huge fan of this author, but this one was just.....meh. It was cliched, contrived, and formulaic. I didn't hate it- hence the three stars- and it was a fast read, and somewhat enjoyable. The real problem was there wasn't a single character I gave a damn about by the end. On to the next book!
emotional
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
i would do literally ANYTHING to have the sort of “problems” and “drama” and “trauma” the characters in this book have ..... anything
For me, Hilderbrand runs hot and cold. I wasn't crazy about her last book but enjoyed this one thoroughly. Sure it was predictable and you'll know how everyone's problem is going to be resolved (although there were a couple of little surprises) but it was the perfect book for a beautiful day at the lake.
Recommend for readers of Nancy Thayer and Anne Rivers Siddons, or for that vacation when it doesn't matter if you never really get to know the characters because, really, it's just for fun.
Recommend for readers of Nancy Thayer and Anne Rivers Siddons, or for that vacation when it doesn't matter if you never really get to know the characters because, really, it's just for fun.
I always love back stories on people/characters. In this book, the wedding was a character and so we got a really great back story!
Most of the characters annoyed me at some point but I love a good wedding story! Easy read with romance and family drama aplenty.
The copy I read was an ARC, though long after it had been officially released.
I work at a book store and Hilderbrand is one we sell a lot of. I'd never read her, so when I saw this old ARC sitting around, I figured I'd pick it up and give it a shot. Eh. Most of these characters are just awful. The main annoyance is that the dead wife/mom has planned out her youngest child's wedding with a notebook she wrote while she was dying. Now, had she worded it differently and made it more like advice it could have been very sweet. But it was more like a directive that the bride MUST FOLLOW. This conflicted greatly with everyone's memory of her a such a lovely person that it didn't read very well. The bride was a brat, as was her wedding party. The older sister acted like she was 15 years younger than her 40 years and seemed to forget she had children most of the time...except when she was telling anyone and everyone what kind of problems they had. The entire wedding (and this book) was a train wreck.
There were also several terms here that I've never heard used. And I'm not talking things particular to Nantucket, which I have no experience with. I've never heard of walking down the aisle of a wedding as "processing" and the author used this word at least 25 times during the wedding. I've also never heard of being "signed off" when someone tells you that you didn't get a job you were applying for. It was obvious what these meant, but they were unfamiliar and a little offputting for me...especially since the author used them over and over and over again.
Through all that, the Hilderbrand's writing ability was good and it definitely kept me reading. That said, I probably won't read any more by this author.
I work at a book store and Hilderbrand is one we sell a lot of. I'd never read her, so when I saw this old ARC sitting around, I figured I'd pick it up and give it a shot. Eh. Most of these characters are just awful. The main annoyance is that the dead wife/mom has planned out her youngest child's wedding with a notebook she wrote while she was dying. Now, had she worded it differently and made it more like advice it could have been very sweet. But it was more like a directive that the bride MUST FOLLOW. This conflicted greatly with everyone's memory of her a such a lovely person that it didn't read very well. The bride was a brat, as was her wedding party. The older sister acted like she was 15 years younger than her 40 years and seemed to forget she had children most of the time...except when she was telling anyone and everyone what kind of problems they had. The entire wedding (and this book) was a train wreck.
There were also several terms here that I've never heard used. And I'm not talking things particular to Nantucket, which I have no experience with. I've never heard of walking down the aisle of a wedding as "processing" and the author used this word at least 25 times during the wedding. I've also never heard of being "signed off" when someone tells you that you didn't get a job you were applying for. It was obvious what these meant, but they were unfamiliar and a little offputting for me...especially since the author used them over and over and over again.
Through all that, the Hilderbrand's writing ability was good and it definitely kept me reading. That said, I probably won't read any more by this author.