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A review by thathappyreader
The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand
5.0
4.5 stars (rounded up to 5).
If I could only read one author for the rest of my life Elin Hilderbrand would be my choice. Her books have unique and well-written characters with interesting backstories. I love the beachy vibe of her Nantucket settings and the fact that Nantucket characters are frequently mentioned in her successive books. I’ve come to equate summer with her latest release. Her latest book is The Five-Star Weekend and it did not disappoint.
Hollis Shaw is a well-known food blogger with a perfect life. She’s married to Matthew, a well-respected heart surgeon, and is mother to Caroline a film student. Then Matthew is suddenly killed in a car accident and the life she has known changes in an instant.
Several months later, Hollis needs something to bring her out of her depression. She learns of another woman who had lost her husband who held a Five-Star Weekend inviting four friends from various points in her life. The weekend was a success in allowing this woman to move on. Hollis decides to hold her own Five-Star Weekend and invites four women – one from her childhood, one from college, one from the time Caroline was growing up and one from the present. This latter choice is a woman she has never met but has interacted with online. Caroline is hired to film the weekend.
Without giving anything away, the weekend is full of surprises. The reader learns what each of these women is presently experiencing in their lives and we see how each woman interacts with others in the group. There is a feeling of escape over this weekend and great food and lots of drinking are featured. Secrets are revealed. The book is propulsive and high-entertaining. You’ll want to read this book in one sitting.
I chose to listen to the audiobook version of the book which was narrated by Erin Bennett. Her performance was exceptional and captured the author’s gift of storytelling. I highly recommend the audiobook version to those that appreciate this format.
If I could only read one author for the rest of my life Elin Hilderbrand would be my choice. Her books have unique and well-written characters with interesting backstories. I love the beachy vibe of her Nantucket settings and the fact that Nantucket characters are frequently mentioned in her successive books. I’ve come to equate summer with her latest release. Her latest book is The Five-Star Weekend and it did not disappoint.
Hollis Shaw is a well-known food blogger with a perfect life. She’s married to Matthew, a well-respected heart surgeon, and is mother to Caroline a film student. Then Matthew is suddenly killed in a car accident and the life she has known changes in an instant.
Several months later, Hollis needs something to bring her out of her depression. She learns of another woman who had lost her husband who held a Five-Star Weekend inviting four friends from various points in her life. The weekend was a success in allowing this woman to move on. Hollis decides to hold her own Five-Star Weekend and invites four women – one from her childhood, one from college, one from the time Caroline was growing up and one from the present. This latter choice is a woman she has never met but has interacted with online. Caroline is hired to film the weekend.
Without giving anything away, the weekend is full of surprises. The reader learns what each of these women is presently experiencing in their lives and we see how each woman interacts with others in the group. There is a feeling of escape over this weekend and great food and lots of drinking are featured. Secrets are revealed. The book is propulsive and high-entertaining. You’ll want to read this book in one sitting.
I chose to listen to the audiobook version of the book which was narrated by Erin Bennett. Her performance was exceptional and captured the author’s gift of storytelling. I highly recommend the audiobook version to those that appreciate this format.