The Beach Club by Elin HIlderbrand

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃🥃

Publisher’s synopsis: In The Beach Club, the juicy first novel by talented newcomer Elin Hilderbrand, a series of personal dramas are played out during one summer at a Nantucket Beach Club. It's about the love of summer, summer love, and the special feelings we all have for that special summer place--in this case, a hotel and an island.

Mack Petersen, manager of the hotel, has been working at The Beach Club for 12 summers. Only this summer is different. His boss, the owner of the hotel, Bill Elliot, shows up in the spring with a new set of demands. His girlfriend Maribel is pressing Mack to get married and Vance, the African-American bellman, who has hated Mack since the day Mack stole his job 12 years ago, threatens him in a deadly scene. Mack knows something's got to give.

Love O'Donnell, the new front desk person straight from the slopes of Aspen, is desperately searching for a stranger to father her child. The bellman, Jem Crandall, who posed as Mr. November in his college calendar, is on his way to LA to break into agenting, until he falls in love with Maribel. Emotions are at a peak when a hurricane threatens to wash away The Beach Club and all it stands for.

HerKentucky Review: This is Ms. Hilderbrand’s first novel, which draws heavily on her then-husband’s experiences managing a Nantucket beach club. It’s an enjoyable, fast-paced read and, as with many books in the Hilderbrand universe, will be revisited in subsequent books. It’s a fun beach book and a great introduction to “The Queen of Summer”, Elin Hilderbrand. Purchase The Beach Club on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

EH characters in this book are also referenced in The Hotel Nantucket.

This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃🥃

Publisher’s synopsis: Claire has a problem with setting limits. All her life she has taken on every responsibility, assumed every burden, granted every request. Claire wants it all—and in the eyes of her friends, she has it: a devoted husband, four beautiful children, even a successful career as an artist. So when she agrees to chair the committee for Nantucket's social event of the year, she knows she can handle it. Claire can handle anything.

But when planning the gala propels her into the orbit of billionaire Lock Dixon, unexpected sparks begin to fly. Lock insists on working closely with Claire—often over a bottle of wine—and before long she can't ignore the subtle touches and lingering looks. To her surprise, she can't ignore how they make her feel, either. Claire finds the gala, her life, and herself spinning out of control.

A Summer Affair captures the love, loss, and limbo of an illicit romance and unchecked passion as it takes us on a brave and breathless journey into the heart of one modern woman.

HerKentucky Review: Glass sculptor Claire agrees to chair a large charity gala and soon finds herself emerged in a torrid affair with the charity’s director. This novel had some beautiful imagery, but I found it really hard to believe that someone with so little event planning expertise would be picked to chair a gala. It seriously struck me as less believable than the idea that her high school boyfriend grew up to be a famous rock star. Pedantic retired Junior Leaguer analysis aside, this is a fun novel about summer flings.

Buy A Summer Affair on Amazon or Bookshop.org

This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.