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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
I've recently come to the conclusion that any book I like will have a slew of bad reviews (and any book I hate will have a slew of good reviews). This book is no exception.
It starts out as one of those boring wedding books, but turns out to really be about family relationships. Multiple points of view really work (the rare exception), and the dead mother is one of the top main characters.
And it seems to have made me dream about being a were-owl, which was fascinating if totally unrelated to the book.... (I fly in my dreams *with* wings!)
It starts out as one of those boring wedding books, but turns out to really be about family relationships. Multiple points of view really work (the rare exception), and the dead mother is one of the top main characters.
And it seems to have made me dream about being a were-owl, which was fascinating if totally unrelated to the book.... (I fly in my dreams *with* wings!)
When Jenna’s mother passed away she left her The Notebook, instructions, reflections, and thoughts for every aspect of her youngest daughter’s wedding day. Now the wedding weekend has arrived, Jenna and Stuart should be blissfully happy, but as their guests arrive on Nantucket things begin to fall apart.
Margot, Jenna’s sister and her matron-of-honor, is divorced and having a secret affair with her father’s business partner, consistent in her warnings to Jenna that marriage is a bad idea and that love never lasts. One of the bridesmaids sleeps around indiscriminately, including with one of the groomsmen, while another seems suspiciously close to Jenna’s playboy brother in the face of her own marital difficulties. Jenna’s dad is struggling in his recent remarriage, very much still in love with and mourning his late wife. To make things even more awkward, Stuart’s parents are on their second marriage to one another. The woman he married and had a child with in-between his marriages to Stuart’s mother is coming to the wedding as well, and she’s not coming quietly. Throw in threats of rain, a pesky tree branch, obstinate children, and a bride threatening to call off the wedding, and there is never a dull moment.
Ultimately, as the novel examines what makes a relationship work, and the meaning of love and commitment, everyone will end up where they belong, even if it is not where they thought they should be going. Hilderbrand’s writing always makes me want to hop a ferry to the island, to spend a week with my toes in the sand, eating lobster, and getting sunburned! Another fun quick read to throw in your beach bag!
See more on my blog at www.watchingthewords.wordpress.com
Margot, Jenna’s sister and her matron-of-honor, is divorced and having a secret affair with her father’s business partner, consistent in her warnings to Jenna that marriage is a bad idea and that love never lasts. One of the bridesmaids sleeps around indiscriminately, including with one of the groomsmen, while another seems suspiciously close to Jenna’s playboy brother in the face of her own marital difficulties. Jenna’s dad is struggling in his recent remarriage, very much still in love with and mourning his late wife. To make things even more awkward, Stuart’s parents are on their second marriage to one another. The woman he married and had a child with in-between his marriages to Stuart’s mother is coming to the wedding as well, and she’s not coming quietly. Throw in threats of rain, a pesky tree branch, obstinate children, and a bride threatening to call off the wedding, and there is never a dull moment.
Ultimately, as the novel examines what makes a relationship work, and the meaning of love and commitment, everyone will end up where they belong, even if it is not where they thought they should be going. Hilderbrand’s writing always makes me want to hop a ferry to the island, to spend a week with my toes in the sand, eating lobster, and getting sunburned! Another fun quick read to throw in your beach bag!
See more on my blog at www.watchingthewords.wordpress.com
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Carmichael family, along with the Grahams, have come to Nantucket for a wedding. While not unique in theory, the plans for this wedding have come together thanks to a notebook full of wishes of the bride’s late mother. Everything should be falling into place according to Dead Beth’s wishes, but then things start spiraling out of control. Like most weddings, drama cannot be avoided.
Hilderbrand has crafted a name for herself as an author who sets her novels (probably the epitome of a beach read) on the island of Nantucket. Her wealthy protagonists have their share of quirks and tics, and this novel is no different. All the hallmarks of a Hilderbrand novel are present: bizarre first names, wealthy families, sarcastic conversations, and family drama. Which means that while the novel doesn’t offer up much in the way of surprises, it should satisfy readers who enjoy Hilderbrand’s work.
Read my full review here: http://heylibrarygirl.com/2014/08/26/book-review-beautiful-day-by-elin-hilderbrand/
Hilderbrand has crafted a name for herself as an author who sets her novels (probably the epitome of a beach read) on the island of Nantucket. Her wealthy protagonists have their share of quirks and tics, and this novel is no different. All the hallmarks of a Hilderbrand novel are present: bizarre first names, wealthy families, sarcastic conversations, and family drama. Which means that while the novel doesn’t offer up much in the way of surprises, it should satisfy readers who enjoy Hilderbrand’s work.
Read my full review here: http://heylibrarygirl.com/2014/08/26/book-review-beautiful-day-by-elin-hilderbrand/
To be honest this book wasn't that great for me. I have never read a book by Elin Hilderbrand, so I thought I would give it a chance. I wasn't blown away by her writing style or the story of this book.
This book turned me off from the get-go. I didn't think this was a good execution of the premise. The book is supposed to be a dying mother writing advice to her daughter about her wetting. The mother completely dominated the wedding and it felt like the main character Jenna was forced into the wedding. I felt like this might be something she would regret later in life. I disliked that the readers are forced to feel things. We are supposed to feel sentimental and happy about the dying mother. We are supposed to love the wedding and think its adorable that she is planning her daughter's wedding from the grave. I just felt like the mother was very manipulative in the way she presented things. Her advice was supposed to be just suggestions but they were surrounded by a guilt trip.
I felt sorry for the character of Pauline. I don't think what she did was right but I didn't think that everyone's punishment was right. I think at least until the end I could see why she read the Notebook. I could understand why she felt left out, not that she should have been included but they could have shared more than her. I just felt like people didn't like her because she wasn't Beth the dead wife.
Another thing that bothered me was the gay representation. It was stereotypical and almost done as if the author just wanted her books to be diverse. The author kept describing Jethro as "Ryan's boyfriend" throughout the entire book. Not just a once like the other couples, it felt singled out and weird.
This book is extremely boring. I just kept thinking when will this book end? I think the drama got old for me around the halfway point. The drama just ended up being a let down after all the ridiculous build-up and hype. I just wish some of the drama was just downplayed a little.
Would have enjoyed it more if not for the problematic assumptions about gender and race.
I wish there were...different scales of ratings for books. Because this is a five-star entertaining read, and it took me no time at all to read it. But it's not like I'll take anything away from it. It was JUST entertaining. It wasn't fascinating. It didn't make me think. It just diverted my attention (happily! willingly! wonderfully!) for a few hours. It was a lovely story, but that's all it was.
I don't feel sad about that, right? But rating it alongside [b:Homeward Bound: Why Women are Embracing the New Domesticity|15803153|Homeward Bound Why Women are Embracing the New Domesticity|Emily Matchar|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1364805521s/15803153.jpg|21526281] feels strange. Because that book was good, it was entertaining, but it was something else too. It fed my brain. It made me think. The two books, they don't belong on the same scale. Is all I'm saying.
I don't feel sad about that, right? But rating it alongside [b:Homeward Bound: Why Women are Embracing the New Domesticity|15803153|Homeward Bound Why Women are Embracing the New Domesticity|Emily Matchar|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1364805521s/15803153.jpg|21526281] feels strange. Because that book was good, it was entertaining, but it was something else too. It fed my brain. It made me think. The two books, they don't belong on the same scale. Is all I'm saying.
I read this book last year, when it was called "Seating Arrangements" and was written by Maggie Shipstead. Actually, this book really outshines that one in every regard except the cover and title, which are both dreadful.
These characters are pleasantly complicated, the wedding is interesting, the plot contrivance pleasant though very contrived, and I appreciated the points of view through which the author chose to tell the story.
One tiny quibble: what were the "outtakes"? was this some kind of like, word documentary? It was weird, bc while it was told from multiple viewpoints, the outtakes are from EVERY viewpoint. I guess my question is, outtakes from what?
These characters are pleasantly complicated, the wedding is interesting, the plot contrivance pleasant though very contrived, and I appreciated the points of view through which the author chose to tell the story.
One tiny quibble: what were the "outtakes"? was this some kind of like, word documentary? It was weird, bc while it was told from multiple viewpoints, the outtakes are from EVERY viewpoint. I guess my question is, outtakes from what?