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3.18 AVERAGE
3.18 AVERAGE
Not my favorite by Elin. It was a short but had a lot going on. A lot of family drama which I’ve come to expect with her books. This one was filled with betrayal. It was character driven and told from multiple POVs. I just don’t enjoy the story of this one and was not a fan of the ending. 2.5 ⭐️
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Normally I love Elin Hilderbrand’s novels, but I didn’t enjoy this, because all of the characters are absolutely awful. It started out all right and then devolved.
This book was published 22 years ago, so it has that historical fiction vibe in some ways—imagine having to drive to a PAY PHONE to call 911. That’s what happens one night when three long-time friends go for their yearly skinny-dipping ritual they call Night Swimmers, a woman-only gathering, and Antoinette goes missing. Val, a married woman without children, and Kayla, a married woman with four children, are frantic. Their lives unravel after this because everyone behaves terribly.
This book was published 22 years ago, so it has that historical fiction vibe in some ways—imagine having to drive to a PAY PHONE to call 911. That’s what happens one night when three long-time friends go for their yearly skinny-dipping ritual they call Night Swimmers, a woman-only gathering, and Antoinette goes missing. Val, a married woman without children, and Kayla, a married woman with four children, are frantic. Their lives unravel after this because everyone behaves terribly.
I feel weird about this book because the plot line of a fourth-something starting a relationship with an 18-year-old is… gross. It’s just gross. That totally took away from the SVU-like storyline of Antoinette’s disappearance.
Overall, this book was just not a good one.
Overall, this book was just not a good one.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
DNF at 31% because the predatory relationship grossed me out. Maybe I didn’t get far enough, but it seemed like Kayla wasn’t going to be upset about it and I’m sorry WHAT?! The way I would lose my ever loving mind in that situation. I also didn’t want to hear the back story of that relationship, just knowing it existed was bad enough.
Dramatic with unrealistic twists. Do you want to get swept up in a soap opera? Read this. Easy to read and entertain your mind on a vacation. It’s drawn out and the ending is disappointing.
A ridiculous story about friends that are awful. The women in this story are horrid.
This was a predictable mess. I liked the premise enough: three women gather once each year to indulge in champagne and cheese and lobster and swim naked under the stars while they confide their secrets to each other. Friends for twenty years. Except, they haven’t confided all of their secrets, and perhaps they aren’t even really friends.
This story tripped along from one cliche to another, full of unremarkable, unlikeable, and uninteresting characters. By the end, I didn’t even care what happened to them, I just wanted SOMETHING to happen.
This story tripped along from one cliche to another, full of unremarkable, unlikeable, and uninteresting characters. By the end, I didn’t even care what happened to them, I just wanted SOMETHING to happen.
Elin Hilderbrand is a go to when I'm in a read slump or just want something juicy. For a week out of town I thought it was time to pick up this one that has been on my shelf from a thrift store for ages. Then I looked at the numbers on Goodreads, which where middling, and the first few reviews, which were scathing, and I took a pause. I brought another book just in case. But I ended up liking this one. There was a significant plot point that I think people would have a knee jerk reaction to and cause their entire opinion to be colored, but I just rolled with it and ended up thinking it was a solid frothy mystery. None of the characters were exactly likeable, but I don't require that. It wouldn't be the Hilderbrand I recommended first (that would be the Blue Bistro) but I liked it just fine.