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The Five-Star Weekend
By: Elin Hilderbrand
Pub Date: 6/13/23
Publisher: Little Brown and Company

Another summer tradition! It never feels like summer till I’m on my way to Nantucket! This is novel 29!
This summer must read focuses on Hollis Shaw. Hollis is a wife, mother and very popular food blogger. When the worst happens and her husband dies she stumbles across something called a 5 star weekend. The idea is you invite a friend from different stages in your life. So she starts inviting people to Nantucket. Hollis ends up with one from high school, one from college, one from marriage and kids era, lastly she invites GiGi someone she connects with thru her blog but has never met in person. The problem is none of these women get along and someone has a huge horrible secret. How will the weekend end and will Hollis learn whose hiding something from her?
I really enjoyed the way characters were introduced. As each one arrived on scene you learned more and more about their connection to Hollis. The backstories for each friend was spot on. Only problem is now I have wait a year for my next trip to Nantucket.

Hollis's life is perfect; lovely daughter, successful husband, beautiful house on Nantucket, successful food blog. That world comes crashing down when her husband is killed in a tragic car accident. After his death she begins to find cracks in her perfect life and everything was not what it seemed. She needs to get her life back on track. She read about a Five Star Weekend. You invite five friends from different points in your life to a weekend and you have fun, eat incredible food, and share memories. Hollis invites Tatum her first friend more like a sister that she has grown away from. Dru-Ann her college roommate and does not get along with Tatum. Brooke her friend from her new town. And finally Gigi a friend she has not met in person just communicated with on line through her blog. Friendships are reignited. Old grudges talked through. Friendships created. The weekend does not turn out like everyone expects but probably turns out better. Another great summer read.

Stars for 5 stars! It’s no secret Elin is my favorite author! I have read every single one of her books and each one sweeter than the last! This one is no exception!
Hollis is the hostess with the mostest, and she speaks right to my heart. I have always loved hosting (thanks to my mom who has modeled to me how to be the best)! Elin makes you feel as if you’re smack dab in the middle of the weekend with these friends from all eras of Hollis’ life. Drama, loss, friendship, laughter, love, rekindling… you name it, this book has it. The best summer reads!!
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

The Five Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand is another five star read! I was so excited to receive an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Hollis, a recent widow, invites four friends from different parts of her life, along with her daughter, to spend a weekend on Nantucket with her. The book does a great job of incorporating the friends’ backstories, so the reader feels as if they are getting to know each of the friends, too. This book is hard to put down once it is started, so clear some time from your schedule, and dive in!

A quintessential Elin summer classic, full of delightful descriptions of Nantucket, drool-worthy food, multigenerational perspectives, drama, and a good twist.

omehow I managed to snag an ARC of @elinhilderbrand’s latest - which comes out on TUESDAY - and when I tell you I couldn’t put it down…

It’s an intriguing concept - Hollis is a food blogger who exploded during the pandemic. Then when the unthinkable happens, she’s struggling to pick up the pieces. She learns about the concept of a five-star weekend: inviting a friend from different times in your life for a fabulous weekend. So Hollis does it, inviting five women to a weekend at her summer home in Nantucket - childhood friend Tatum, college roommate Dru-Ann, Brooke who Hollis met in her thirties and Gigi, a member of Hollis’ online community.

What’s very clear from the moment they all arrive is that while they all came for Hollis, each woman is dealing with their own shit. And slowly it all comes out, twisting and turning all over Nantucket.

It is the perfect summer read! Big thanks to @netgalley and @littlebrown for the ARC and make sure to check this one out on Tuesday!

Will post this review on goodreads, retail sites and my bookstagram @scottonreads

Hollis Shaw's husband dies unexpectedly in a car accident and she is devastated. She is famous as a blogger, cook, decorator. Her daughter, Carolyn and her are at odds. So when Hollis hears about something called a “Five-Star Weekend”—one woman organizes a trip for her best friend from each phase of her her teenage years, her twenties, her thirties, and midlife—she decides to host her own Five-Star Weekend on Nantucket. But the weekend doesn’t turn out to be a joyful Hallmark movie. The neighbors are happy that Hollis is returning home, she grew up in Nantucket and people loved her. As always, Elin Hilderbrand writes a great story of family. Her characters are real and believable. Perfect for the beach read this summer.

No one does a beach read better than Elin Hilderbrand! Even though her books tend to have similar structures and elements, she somehow manages to make it fresh each time. This one was thoroughly enjoyable, and her fans will eat it up. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The five star weekend

Summary: After losing her husband suddenly from a car accident, internet sensation, Hollis invites 4 of her best friends from each major stage of life to her summer house on Nantucket Island for a girls weekend. Sounds exciting, right? But, one of the friends is a subscriber to her website and a woman Hollis has never met in person. Why is Hollis the only one who thinks that’s odd? As the women reunite, and some meet for the first time, jealousy and drama rear its ugly head.

My Thoughts: I Loved this book and it was most definitely a five star read. I read most of this on my boat so it was the perfect book for that setting. The storyline was so different from anything I’d ever read and the drama was thick, juicy, and entertaining! I loved each character and became invested in them all even the guilty one. The story is told through several perspectives. At times the shift is jarring as it changes suddenly mid paragraph; I have to say that I don’t usually like that as it pulls me out of the flow of the story but somehow, in this book it worked. Elin Hiderbrand once again did a fantastic job in bringing us likeable characters, a fast paced story, in a swoon-worthy setting.

#thefivestarweekend
#beachread
#summerreads
#nantucket
#friendship

brb, going to plan a trip to Nantucket 🤩

A girls weekend on the beautiful island of Nantucket sounds absolutely perfect. I loved the concept of this book and how we were able to get the POV from each star. I also really liked that the author included POV’s from some of the locals as well. It definitely made me feel like I was actually there. I loved the five-star weekend idea, I loved all the reunions and I definitely loved all the drama!

Oh man does Elin make you want to go to Nantucket. Does the Chamber of Commerce give her a kickback because they should! She always makes me want to eat and drink and play my way through that little island.

The Five-Star Weekend brings you Hollis, a native-turned summer resident, who loses her husband suddenly. She needs something to get her out of her funk so she hosts a weekend for four friends (one from each prominent time in her life). Her friends all have their own baggage and use this time to reconnect and also learn somethings about themselves.

Like I mentioned this made me want to go to Nantucket ASAP. I enjoyed the story but I probably won't remember the details. I liked the idea of the weekend Hollis was hosting and it was interesting to think about who I would invite to an event like that. I think some of the descriptions of food, drink and decor got a bit long but overall it's a decent summer read.

Icontent warnings: lose of a spouse, breast cancer, infidelity

The main character has lost her husband in an a accident. She’s been grieving and struggling with a relationship with her daughter. She reads online about a party, one where the hostess invites a friend from each major stage of her life. She decides this is just what she needs and invites her daughter over to archive it. Overall, not my favorite Hilderbrand story because it took a while to get going for me with all the characters and set up.

I love a Hilderbrand novel in the summer. Nothing screams summer beach read quite like a trip to Nantucket but unfortunately this book fell a little flat for me. I found it slow and harder to get through than others. The Five-Star Weekend follows Hollis, a food/cooking blogger, who has recently lost her husband arrives in Nantucket to host a group of her friends for a weekend retreat at her house. These women are from each stage in her life but the newest woman, Gigi, is someone Hollis has never met even met in person. The story follows Hollis and all her friends during this weekend. To me, it just seemed rather boring and not much was happening. The end was better when the drama picked up some but overall just kinda eh for me.

What would summer be without a new, wonderful novel set in Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand? She has absolutely outdone herself with The Five-Star Weekend, which is the perfect kick-off to beach read season.

The story of Hollis Shaw's 'five-star weekend' in which she gathers the best female friends from the different stages of her life for a perfect girls' getaway at her Nantucket beach home comes complete with all the relationship drama we have come to expect from one of Ms. Hilderbrand's books. Each of the women has a secret they are keeping from the others, there are past hurts that need to be resolved, and even Hollis's relationship with her daughter, Caroline, has some bumps that need to be smoothed over. Add in the reappearance of her high school sweetheart who never really got over their relationship, and you have the makings of a great summer book.

The book made me think of my own friends, and how they have changed through the stages of my life. I loved the way Caroline grew more understanding of her mother through learning the stories of her relationships and how the friends also grew over the course of the weekend. It is a fantastic tribute to the power and importance of female friendships, and the shared history those friendships reflect.

I am a big fan of Elin Hilderbrand's books, and The Five-Star Weekend has replaced 28 Summers as my favorite. It is sure to be a hit this summer, and is a must-read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for the digital ARC of The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand. The opinions in this review are my own.

Hollis's husband suddenly passes away, her daughter doesn't want to speak with her, and her food blog is no longer giving her purpose. She decides to head back to Nantucket, where she grew up, and host a "five-star weekend," in which she invites a friend from every stage of her life to join her at her house. But will she get more than she bargained for as each friend shows up with not just their physical baggage but emotional baggage as well?

This was delightful to read.  The characters were multidimensional and complex.  They each brought something different to the table in terms of strengths and weaknesses, but by the end of the weekend, everyone seemed to get what they needed from their time together. The story was deep at times with tough topics but inspirational and relatiable. Everything was wrapped up nice and neatly by the end.  It was nice that most of the characters were women in their fifties since I don't feel like most stories are.  It gives you a different perspective on life, love, and friendships. One I was happy to gain.  This might look like a simple beach read, but it was so much more.  It's definitely worth checking out this summer. 

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Five stars for the Five Star Weekend! It’s officially summer when Elin Hilderbrands latest book comes out. As always she has created unforgettable characters and a story that will stick with you all summer long.

Elin Hilderbrand has yet to disappoint. In this book she managed to create six fully fleshed out and real-feeling women. Each woman had their own story, and somehow I never confused them (which I find can happen when there are multiple characters with full stories). I also loved hearing about Hungry with Hollis and the different food she made for her friends. I think this was a great story about friendship, and how friendships evolve as you get older, but it was also about so much more. I really loved this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for this ARC!

I will read anything this author writes, I just started reading her books last year and they've just been so good. I love the way she sets a scene and how she frames the locals who have the inside knowledge and the history. I loved how many of the earlier stories are woven into this great book, I loved the food and events themselves. I will say that the daughter's behavior was a bit over the top. Maybe a teenager would act as angrily, but I would hope a college aged young woman would not punish her mother the way this one did. This was a great summery and heartfelt read. Such a good book to bring with you to the beach!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

It is not summer without the latest Elin Hilderbrand book! She is ABSOLUTELY an auto-buy author for me! There is not a book she has written that I do not fall in love with and The Five Star Weekend is no exception! I absolutely devoured this book. I now want to redecorate my entire house and watch endless cooking shows for recipes! Hilderbrand is the queen of character development and ensemble casts as well as vivid details that bring the characters and settings to life. I truly felt like I was sitting at the table with Hollis and her friends eating lobster rolls and looking out at the ocean. My wife and I went to Nantucket a few years ago solely because of Hildebrand’s books and the need to see Nantucket and hopefully meet Elin. We didn't get to meet her but her stories come to life for me now and I can’t wait to go back. The Five Star Weekend is a must read of summer and one of my favorites of the year!

5 stars

Thank you @littlebrown and @netgalley for the early copy Thank you @bookofthemonth for the physical copy

@elinhilderbrand you are my favorite author of ALL TIME!

I absolutely love all things Elin Hilderbrand, and this new novel does not disappoint! I am always drawn in to her Nantucket setting and love the regulars that occur in her books. This one is about Hollis Shaw, who grew up on the island but then moved when she started her own family and became quite a famous social media presence similar in nature to Martha Stewart. Her husband dies unexpectedly in a car accident and after taking some time, she decides to do a 5 star weekend at her Nantucket summer house. She invites 4 friends, all best friends from her life at some point, and plans an extravagant weekend. She then hires her somewhat estranged film school student daughter to film the weekend for her social media page and also in hopes of rebuilding their relationship. There are many story lines between these 4 friends, and one in particular is a complete stranger to all of them, even Hollis herself, as they have only just met thru her social media page, and she brings her own drama to the mix. I loved all parts of this book and the relationships between these 5 women and the bonds that are formed over this long weekend. A must read for Elin Hilderbrand fans.