Elin Hilderbrand's final Nantucket novel, Swan Song feels like both a fond farewell to her book franchise, as well as a love letter to the island that is her cherished home.

Chief of Police Ed Kapanesh is set to retire. But before he does, he has to get through one more summer in Nantucket. Of course there's no chance of smooth sailing. Trouble arrives soon in the form of a new couple who comes to town, and they immediately take the island by storm, stirring up all sorts of drama and intrigue.

What is it that makes Elin Hilderbrand's books so irresistible? Is it her plot or her characters? Or is it that Nantucket is an aspirational place for most of us, filled with seemingly wealthy and beautiful people with nothing better to do than soak up the sun and stir up drama? So to step into these stories feels like a break from normal life, a vacation of sorts. Or even better, a staycation without the hassle of having to leave the comfort of one's couch.

And Hilderbrand definitely understands and plays that up. Her stories always have that light, playful, conspiratorial tone, inviting the reader into the exclusive lives of these Nantucket elites. She never takes the stories and the characters too seriously, and the result is the perfect dose of fun and escapism.

Hilderbrand lives on Nantucket year round and knows the island inside and out. And you can feel that in her stories. All the local restaurants and beaches and gathering places she includes adds so much authenticity and charm to the whole thing, and it makes you want to visit Nantucket. In fact, now that Hildebrand is done writing Nantucket stories, maybe their tourism board can just scoop her up since she's pretty much already doing that job.

One thing to note is that the blurb makes this seem like a mystery, but it isn't really. Coco disappears off of a boat, and we alternate between the police trying to figure out what happened and the events leading up to it. But that's rather misleading because it implies there are suspects and motives and clues, not to mention a denouement that explains it all. But none of that really happened here. So just make sure you don't have the wrong expectations going in.

The other thing worth mentioning is that I didn't really like any of the main characters. Now that isn't necessarily a deal-breaker for me, but in this case, I feel like I could've connected with the story just a little bit more if I did. Initially, Coco and Kacy were both interesting, but then as the story went on, they started to annoy me a bit with their inability to communicate and make good decisions. In other words, they were both rather immature, and then you add in the Richardsons, and at times, this felt like a story about a bunch of teenagers rather than adults. But that is a small quibble since I obviously had a lot of fun with it.

Oh, one last thing. This is marked as part of a series, though I've only read one other book in it. I neither felt like I was missing out on the ones I haven't read, nor did I feel like the one I did read contributed anything substantial to this. The books in the series share some similar characters as they take place in the same Nantucket universe, but it isn't necessary to read all of them (or even one) prior in order to maximumly enjoy this one.

There's definitely a bittersweet feel to this final book. But fortunately for me, I am rather late to the Elin Hilderbrand party. I only discovered her a few years ago, though she has written 30 books. So even though she may be done with Nantucket, I still have many more of her books to go before I have to call it quits.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

Let's face it—it isn't a proper summer without the quintessential beach read. And Elin Hilderbrand's books have become a go-to for me in recent years. But unfortunately, The Five-Star Weekend didn't quite end up scratching that summertime itch.

Hollis is grieving for her dead husband. She gets the idea to host a weekend get-together for her best friends, inviting one from each phase of her life, in the hopes that being surrounded by friends will help her heal and move on. But each of these women is battling her own issues and the weekend doesn't really turn out the way Hollis expects.

Elin Hilderbrand's books always feel light and fun, and this one's no different. It's the sort of story I pick up when I need a distraction. It's easy to get sucked into the island of Nantucket, with all of its water, sunshine, and delicious food. But at the end of the day, something about this story just didn't click for me.

Maybe it's because this feels more like a disjointed collection of stories about the different women rather than a cohesive whole. They're each having their own issues, and for the most part, they don't overlap. Hilderbrand could very well have written separate stories for each of them, and it would've still made sense.

Or maybe I just don't buy into the premise. I can't imagine a former friend dropping everything to fly out and spend a weekend with me and a few others they don't know, just to comfort me. But perhaps that's me being cynical and this sort of thing really does happen.

Or maybe it's because while the women's issues are real, the resolutions somehow end up feeling a bit shallow. Everything is wrapped up too neatly by the end of the book, whether the issue was medical, spousal, or work. Like the proverbial happily ever after, everyone gets one, even if the circumstances are too convenient or magical to be believable.

Whatever the reason, this story just didn't quite rise to the level of beachy magic I usually associate with Elin Hilderbrand. Don't get me wrong, I still had fun with it. But I always hope for a memorable reading experience, and this one was all too forgettable.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

This was a pick for my Book of the Month box. Get your first book for $5 here.

Ah, is there a more satisfying feeling than finding the perfect beach read during the waning days of summer?

I can't believe this is Elin Hilderbrand's 28th novel (of which I've only read a paltry few)! I'm always a little hesitant when an author has been around for so long. What if they've lost their verve and zest for writing and are now just doing it to put out one more book? But gosh, I didn't need to worry at all.

The Hotel Nantucket was the consummate summer reading experience. It transported me to Nantucket, and I fell in love with the island, the atmosphere, and all the wonderful characters.

Instead of focusing solely on one or two individuals, this story is more of an ensemble cast, with many characters taking up the pages. And while that took me a few chapters to get into, once I did, I was all in. I can honestly say there wasn't a single character I wasn't fond of, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know everyone and seeing them grow through the pages.

If I had to nitpick something, it would be that there were two characters with almost the same name. There's Sweet Edie (a main character) and Fast Eddie (only a side one). Thankfully, Fast Eddie only appears a few times, though it did confuse me every time he did. But I really had to reach hard to come up with this minor quibble.

No doubt about it, I just about savored every moment of this book. I read it almost entirely outside, soaking up the sunshine and with various fruit-flavored bubble teas in hand. Summers are so special and inevitably too short. Especially this year, having lost half of my summer due to moving and feeling unwell, I'm doubly thankful to have found this gem of a story. It totally buoyed my spirits and added that extra spark to my otherwise abbreviated summer.

Now my only remaining question is: could the ending have been a teensy-weensy wink towards a sequel? I sure hope so!

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

This was a pick for my Book of the Month box. Get your first book for $5 here.

Are you looking for the perfect beach read and murder mystery, all in one go? Well look no further, my peeps, cause this is it.

Let’s be real, it isn't summer without that perfect beach read. And in order to qualify, it must meet certain criteria. It needs to be fun and frothy, but never superficial. It has to have that je ne sais quoi that grabs you from the first moment and keeps you glued to the pages. And most importantly, it must take place on a beach or in a beach town so you can live vicariously the sun-drenched lifestyle, wherever you may be. And this fulfills it all.

On the morning of Celeste Otis's extravagant Nantucket wedding to wealthy heir Benji Winbury, she wakes to find her maid of honor floating dead in the water. As the investigation heats up and the police carefully comb over every member of the wedding party, shocking secrets are slowly revealed. It seems everyone has something to hide.

The narrative alternates between the present-day investigation and the events leading up to it. Sometimes with a dual timeline, I'm only really there for one or the other, but not in this case. Here, both were equally riveting, and my attention never wavered, not even a blip. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough and utterly inhaled the whole thing.

I have to applaud the murder mystery in here. It was superbly done and has all the hallmarks of a classic whodunnit: a small cast of characters, red herrings galore, and delicious twists and turns everywhere. The ending even managed to surprise me, which is saying something coming from a mystery aficionado like myself.

One thing to note is that while this book is marked as #3 in a series, it's fine to be read as a standalone. In fact, I haven't read either of the first two books and didn't even know this was part of a series when I started. As far as I understand it, the books all share some characters around town and that's about it, so you won't miss anything by jumping straight in.

I've been wracking my brain, trying to figure out when was the last time I found a perfect beach read that also happens to be a clever whodunnit. Certainly there are plenty of beach reads out there, and many incorporate a mystery element or thriller vibes. But a true whodunnit à la Agatha Christie? I'm coming up empty. Even Elin Hilderbrand, the queen of the former, has only written this one of the latter. And that's why this book is so special.

Every year, I look forward to my summer beach reads with glee. I anticipate the moment when I finally get to sit out in the sun and crack open that perfect book, ready to soak up the vibes and be transported to all that is glorious about the season. If you're anything like me, this one is not to be missed.

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!

There’s a lot going on in Summer of '69. The three sisters in the Foley/Levin family are each embroiled in their own worries. The eldest sister is pregnant while her husband is emotionally unavailable and potentially unfaithful, the middle sister is striking out on her own but running into trouble, and the youngest is stuck in Nantucket with her unyieldingly conservative grandmother and her increasingly tipsy mother. Their brother is overseas fighting the war in Vietnam, and their mother is increasingly distraught over this, driving herself to oblivion with alcohol to ease the pain.

But all these issues are treated rather superficially in the book. They feel somewhat contrived (and a tad boring, if I’m honest), and their resolutions are all standard stuff. One of the hooks for this book is that people are keeping secrets, but I didn’t feel any surprise or shock when those are revealed. They all feel rather pedestrian. For a book about females during the feminist revolution, I had hoped that there would be strong female characters for me to cheer for, but that was disappointing too. All the women in here mostly just took what life and men handed to them. Sure, that probably is true to the times of the 1960s, but it didn’t make for a very compelling read (at least to me).

One of Elin Hilderbrand’s strength is her writing, and in that respect, she remains in top form. This story is easy to get into and I found myself flipping the pages even though the story itself wasn’t as riveting. I went into Summer of ‘69 thinking it would be the perfect beachy blend of family drama and secrets, summertime in Nantucket, and growing up during the awakening of the feminist movement. But coming out of the book, I feel only lukewarm about it. While it wasn’t a bad story, it just wasn’t as exciting or as insightful as I wanted it to be.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

I went into Winter in Paradise thinking that it would be the perfect beachy blend of mystery and family drama. Irene gets a phone call on New Years that her devoted husband has died from a helicopter crash while away on business. What follows is the dangling of the proverbial mystery bait, where hints abound that not everything is as it seems. And then some more bait dangling. And then the book just ends, on a cliffhanger, without anything being resolved.

Ugh! That was not at all what I expected. I knew this book was the first in a series, but I assumed that the mysteries of this book would be solved by the end of the book (or at least big parts of it), and the following books would have new mysteries to uncover and unravel. A big reason I even picked up this book in the first place was for the mystery, and to have it end without any forward progress is a huge disappointment.

Most of this book is just fluffy drama between the characters, and unfortunately, the main characters are not likable. Irene is a mother who plays favorites but can't see it. The two brothers both act like spoiled children, trying to best each other. The whole family keeps secrets from each other, sometimes for no particular reason. And there is so much insta-love I feel like I got whiplash.

Will I read the rest of the series when those books come out? Maybe, but only because I have been so thoroughly baited with this mystery. I do hope the payoff is good eventually, if it's going to take three whole books to get there.

Readaroo Rating: 2 stars