The Hotel Nantucket

Friends, we are coming up on back-to-back Elin Hilderbrand books and we're starting with The Hotel Nantucket.

Goodreads Stats

Why I Read This Book/How I Heard About It

After 28 Summers, I was interested enough to check out more of Elin Hilderbrand's books. I did enjoy 28 Summers, but I wasn't able to experience the elaborate food descriptions in that book that my sister has so often referenced and, frankly, gushed over, so I was excited to read this one and see what all the fuss has been about.

Basic Summary

From the back of the book:

"After a tragic fire in 1922 that killed 19-year-old chambermaid, Grace Hadley, The Hotel Nantucket descended from a gilded age gem to a mediocre budget-friendly lodge to inevitably an abandoned eyesore — until it's purchased and renovated top to bottom by London billionaire, Xavier Darling. Xavier hires Nantucket sweetheart Lizbet Keaton as his general manager, and Lizbet, in turn, pulls together a charismatic, if inexperienced, staff who share the vision of turning the fate of the hotel around. They face challenges in getting along with one another (and with the guests), in overcoming the hotel's bad reputation, and in surviving the (mostly) harmless shenanigans of Grace Hadley herself — who won't stop haunting the hotel until her murder is acknowledged.

Filled with the emotional tension and multiple points of view that characterize Elin's books as well as an added touch of historical reality, Hotel Nantucket offers something for everyone in this summer drama for the ages."

First Impressions

I had a hard time focusing during the first chapter and had to start over a couple times, but once I was able to grasp what was happening in the opening, I was sucked in pretty quickly and didn't have any trouble for the rest of the book.

The ghost storyline is a little weird to me and could have just as well been left out and it would have still been a great story, but I think the quirkiness of Grace Hadley ended up working and contributing to the story overall. It added to the overall mystery of the other characters, so it was a fun touch. And it was cute how Hilderbrand wrote Grace's point of view as any other character in the book, even though she's a ghost.

Final Thoughts

This book was so different from 28 Summers. It was full of bright and interesting characters, each with their own little secret. Trying to figure each of them out was half of the fun. And since this book was written in 2022, the pop culture references were enjoyable.

As my sister promised, this book was chock full to the brim with incredible food description and imagery. I totally see what she loves about Hilderbrand now! Apparently, she might publish a cookbook with recipes from some of her books and that would be magnificent. If you think you are not really a foodie, I challenge you to read this book and not want to eat something fresh and delicious and healthy. This woman could make me crave a basic salad, purely based on how well she describes each individual ingredient in said salad.

She also describes famous Nantucket landmarks in such detail and with such emotion that it's impossible not to put down the book and do some side Googling to see if the references are real or fictional. Spoiler...a lot of them are real. There is a whole other world of rich people stuff that I've never even imagined and I am loving it. What a fun escape.

I think this is the ultimate beach or poolside read and there are some twists in the ending that will surprise and delight you. I'm very pleased to announce that the whole book was hinting at the identity of the mystery travel blogger and I really thought I had it figured out, only to find that I was wrong. It's rare that an author is able to hold me in suspense until the very end. Very good read, indeed! My favorite Elin Hilderbrand so far (and I've read two more since this one).

Rating on Goodreads

I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars.

My rating method:

• I rarely rate books 5 stars. I save this for the absolute best books I've read. You know the ones...the ones that you can't get out of your head, even after you've finished them. The ones you think about for weeks afterwards.

• If a book is really, really good, I'll give it 4 stars. If you see a 4-star rating from me, I'd definitely recommend it to you to read.

• If it's just OK, it gets 3 stars. Basically, it means I could take it or leave it. I'd probably read it again because it wasn't terrible. But not like a favorite or anything.

• If I rate it 1 or 2 stars, I would not recommend anyone read it. It either didn't hold my interest or I couldn't relate to the characters/plot.