I loved this one from Elin Hilderbrand! I have been recommending this as the perfect pool/beach read for 2023. I enjoyed that Hollis and her friends were older characters. Each friend of Hollis had an interesting storyline of their own. Highly recommend!

I will forever and always be a fan of Elin Hilderbrand and anything she writes! I absolutely loved this book and devoured it within a couple of sittings. Everyone is working through a challenge and I really liked how we got to see how each person was working through it with the multiple POV’s. This book touches on grief and the strength needed to work through it but it mostly focuses on female friendships and how important they are throughout all the different stages of life. It is the perfect summer read and one I definitely recommend!

I don’t think it is a true start to the summer without opening an Elin Hilderbrand novel and returning to Nantucket. It’s something I have looked forward to for the past few years. I can always expect gorgeous settings, stunning house, meaningful characters, and DRAMA!

This novel has all of those things. It is such a joy to read the things that happen and follow so many different characters. I hope and pray for more each year.

I feel like no matter what I write in this review, it will be a spoiler, so I’m going to try to keep this short and sweet.

Every year, Elin Hilderbrand writes my favorite novel. This year, she wove a gloriously tangled web, complete with nearly every type of drama you could possibly imagine. Hollis Shaw is grieving a devastating loss. Inspired by some late night internet browsing, she decides to throw a Five-Star Weekend. She invites her “best friend” from each stage of her life to spend the weekend at her home on Nantucket (and invites her daughter to film the whole thing). One is getting “canceled”, one is discovering her true self, one is fearing the worst, and one is keeping the most awful secret. Drinking, drama, and disorder ensue, and being along for the ride is…truthfully? slightly terrifying. This book was a nail-biter!

Through it all, we’re served with Elin’s incredible food descriptions (she had me salivating at 11pm) and the beautiful Nantucket scenery (I’ve never been, but I feel like I have). The Five-Star Weekend gets five stars (plus a million) from me!

How lucky am I to get an ARC of this book. My favorite summer author is back with another winner - this one set in Squam (I had to check the map for that location on Nantucket) at the luxurious summer home of recently widowed Hollis. A winter car accident killed her surgeon husband and, after 6 months of grieving, she decides to invite 4 friends from each stage of her life to a beach weekend.

Most of Elin's novels feature multiple POVs and, for this story, there are a total of 5 others, besides Hollis. There's Dru-Ann (high powered sports agent who just got canceled), Brooke (divorcing her lech of a husband and conflicted about her sexuality), Tatum (breast cancer scare who's also battling jealousy of Hollis' wealth), Gigi (a huge fan of Hollis' foodie website who harbors a secret) and Caroline (Hollis' daughter, rising senior in college who has lots of issues, one of which is her mother). The character arcs for each are clear and fashioned as each woman interacts with the other. Those conversations are pillowed inside Elin's posh settings - I swear, the author must shop a LOT bc she always knows all the brands and what's chic from season-to-season.

This is a fun, engrossing read and one I'll enjoy numerous times, esp in the depth of an Alaskan winter when I need that mental escape. Enjoy!!

There's nothing I can say about Elin's books that hasn't already been said. Each time I start a new one, I think I know exactly what I'm getting, and even in her 29th novel, she still manages to surprise me with stories that are fun, fresh, light, and airy, while also tugging at your heartstrings. This book was just the perfect way to kick off summer.

I loved how well this portrayed grief, resilience, and how having a tight group of female friendships makes all the difference in the world when you're struggling. Cannot say enough good things about this one.

I absolutely hate that I am giving this book 3 stars. It took me almost a month to finish because I just was not invested in the story or the characters.

I love the premise of the story. A well known blogger named Hollis decides to have a weekend at her lavish beach house on Nantucket and invites five friends from various stages of her life. What follows is a dive into their relationships and how they all became friends with Hollis. Each woman is also trying to battle her own demons or discover herself during the weekend as well.

I am a huge Hilderbrand fan. The Five Star Weekend, however, just didn’t do it for me. This will never deter me from reading any and everything she writes.

I am so thankful to have received an ARC through NetGalley in partnership with Little, Brown and Company.

Thank you Little Brown and NetGalley for an ARC of this gorgeous novel. Elin Hildebrand has the astounding ability to transport her readers into vacay mode, and whenever I read one of her novels I immediately want to go to Nantucket. Her novels feel like a warm hug and as you read them, you feel yourself relax. The novel starts by introducing us to Hollis, a food blogger who became increasingly popular during the pandemic. She was raised in Nantucket, but left once she graduated high school looking for a different life. Once she gets married and has a child, she turns her childhood home into a gorgeous estate. Her life might seem perfect, but everything implodes when her husband dies in a car crash. To make herself feel better, she throws a " Five Star Weekend", where she embraces certain phases of her life. I adored this book, and immediately started googling how to throw a Five Star Weekend party. Hildebrands books never disappoint, and I cannot wait for next years beach read,

I have been an absolutely adoring fan of Hilderbrand for years. I think I've read all of her books except for maybe two or three of her books from the very beginning. They even made me book a trip to Nantucket to indulge in the summers she so beautifully describes.

However, all good things must come to an end. Hearing this was her last one, I was expecting a finale of epic proportions. Unfortunately, I was wrong. But like the old saying goes, I truly think this "isn't you--it's me." I grew so exhausted of the name-dropping, the fascination/obsession with being skinny (I can't count the times one main character questioned her eating/ bemoaned her non-flat stomach). Maybe I'm reading these books with a different lens: it felt classist. There was even some mention of being "classist" when one of our main characters, the one main character who doesn't work a million-dollar job, feels like she is in a different class than all the rest (because she is.)

This is definitely someone's cup of tea. I just think maybe I've grown tired of the same story (of course, one that involves cheating). I'd had my breakups with authors before. I'm not saying this is forever, but I am saying that if there are more Hilderbrand novels, I don't think I'll be rushing to read them like I have in the past. This one just missed the spark her other novels had. I can't totally put my finger on it.

This book was like comfort food. for me. I saw it advertised, read the description and requested it from NetGalley. Elin Hilderbrand ranks high on my list of women's fiction summer reading, and I was interested from the start.

A blogging sensation, Hollis lives what appears to be a perfect life sharing recipes, tips and tricks with her faithful, immense audience.. One morning before Christmas her life takes a tragic turn and she is left to pick up the pieces of her life, alone and devastated. After months of grieving she stumbles on an article describing a five star weekend in which someone invites friends from all the stages of her life to celebrate and share their stories together. She adapts it to her own purposes, and invites her own stages-of-life friends for an unforgettable five star weekend at her Nantucket beach house. As we get to know her friends and all of their quirky connections, we also learn more about our own chances and choices in life. Hollis discovers more about her life and marriage than she ever expected, and she learns that the gifts of healing come in unexpected, unforeseen packages.

Women's fiction is an interesting concept. In the literary world it is somehow communicated that women's fiction and women's life stories are of lesser literary value than fiction written by other writers on more "important" topics.. Personally, I find reading true-to-life fiction inspiring and relatable. It inspires me that anything can and does happen to each of us. No matter how perfect - or imperfect - our lives are, there is hope and promise waiting for us, even during our darkest hours. I am grateful to Elin Hilderbrand for writing such fabulous stories, and I am grateful to Little Brown for sharing a copy with me to read and review.

This is another winner from Elin Hilderbrand! My summer can officially begun since I’ve read her newest, The Five Star Weekend. I just can’t get over how perfectly she writes about Nantucket, how she can bring a place to life and make it seem like the best place on earth. I loved this story of Hollis and her four girlfriends and how they came together for an unforgettable weekend to help each other heal. Their relationships with Hollis and each other were heartbreaking and real.
And can we talk about the food descriptions?? *swoon*
So once again I find myself googling flights to Cape Cod after having finished another one of Elin’s books…. The magic of Nantucket is calling me!!

This book brings me back to my favorite island in the best possible way! While it took me longer than usual to get hooked on the book, I was intrigued from the beginning about how this book would pan out. After the death of her husband, Hollis, a well j own blogger, plans a 5 star weekend with a best friend from each stage of her life. This book explores the complexities of the relationships we have, especially with the women in our lives! So many themes, love, forgiveness, patience, grief, and more! I was so happy with the ending and was completely not expecting the final message from beyond.

I think this is my first Elin Hilderbrand novel. Not my normal genre, but it looked interesting. And it was! Hollis has lost her husband and in an attempt to cheer herself up, she invites four close friends for a fun weekend retreat! But, Hollis has secrets, Hollis' dead husband had secrets, and each of her friends has a secret. After the secrets start becoming known, the plot is reasonably predictable. But I don't think people read these books for heart pumping suspense. This is a book you read for the characters and relationships. This is a great book to take along for your own retreat weekend, whether in Nantucket or somewhere else.

Elin Hilderbrand is one of my go-to favorite authors, and this book was another winner! Her books always capture me with the picturesque setting by or near Nantucket, and I feel like I can escape to the Northeast summers with each turn of the page. She is gifted with describing her settings and you can tell she is writing from her experiences.

With The Five-Star Weekend, the plot surrounds food blogger Hollis Shaw, who recently lost her husband and is trying to make sense of her life after his death. She cooks up the idea of a "five-star weekend" where she will invite a best friend from each stage of her life and bring them together, calling themselves the "five stars". Hollis also includes her daughter, Caroline, on the trip to capture the picture-perfect weekend on camera. Caroline is hesitant because of their estranged relationship following the death of her father, but reluctantly agrees.

What I loved most about this book is how each of the stars, and Caroline, have a strong character arc and each grow in some way from beginning to end. Hollis learns to open her heart up to her first love, Jack. Dru-Ann learns that being confident and sticking to what you believe wins out, but it is also important to apologize. Brooke comes out strong and thrives with self-confidence by the end. Tatum learns she doesn't have to hold in her scariest secrets and also learns to forgive others.

Not everything is as picture-perfect as it may appear, but the messy parts of life are often the best parts.

This is another hit for Elin Hilderbrand. Hollis Shaw’s life seems picture-perfect. She’s the creator of a food blog Hungry with Hollis and is married to Matthew, a heart surgeon. But after she and Matthew get into an argument, he leaves for the airport and is killed in a car accident. Hollis’s seemingly perfect life is gone and her complicated relationship with her daughter, Caroline grows deeper.

Hollis decide to host something called a “Five-Star Weekend” on Nantucket—one woman organizes a trip for her best friend from each phase of her life: her teenage years, her twenties, her thirties, and midlife.

The women Hollis picks are very diverse and all have their own secrets and issues which come to light during the weekend. Hollis’s first love, Jack Finigan, shows up to spend time with them, stirring up old feelings. Tatum, Hollis' best childhood friend is forced to play nice with elitist Dru-Ann, Hollis’s best friend from UNC Chapel Hill. Dru-Ann’s career as a prominent Chicago sports agent is in jeopardy. Brooke, Hollis’s friend from their thirties, has just discovered that her husband is again having an inappropriate relationship with a woman at work. And there’s Gigi, a stranger to everyone who reached out to Hollis through her blog. Gigi embodies an unusual grace and, as it happens, has many secrets. This is the perfect summer read.

Elin Hilderbrand does it again! She is the queen of beach reads. I devoured this is in one sitting. I am obsessed wit this book. I read this outside and was living in my own summer fantasy. This book was incredible!


My sincere thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Little, Brown and Company for an advanced copy of this novel from the Queen of the Beach Reads.

The Beach Read Queen Elin Hilderbrand is back with The Five-Star Weekend coming out June 13. Nantucket native Hollis Shaw really needs a boost to restart her life after the death of her husband in a car accident. Unsure how to go on, she learns about and plans to host a Five-Star weekend - bringing together her four closest friends from four very different timeframes of her life.
Invitees include :
Tatum (her best friend growing up in Nantucket who feels left behind), Dru-Ann her best friend from UNC, now a famous sports agent and TV host),
Brooke (her best friend from her 30's while they were raising their kids in Wellesley, MA) and Gigi (someone she only knows via the internet). The women all descend on Hollis’ Nantucket home for the weekend and Caroline, enrolled at NYU studying filmmaking, comes to document it, though she has to be bribed by her mother. Ever since her father’s death, Caroline has held a grudge against her mother. Their mother/daughter drama is but one piece of the larger picture, as each woman brings her own baggage to the weekend. With the rich backstory on Hollis and her friends, I could find something relatable about each of the women and their personal struggles.

As expected, Elin‘s highly curated attention to detail brings the story to life.
This is a beach read and contains all the hallmarks of that genre: charming houses, beautiful beaches, great restaurants, and cute shops. I am confident that those looking for a nice summer read will thoroughly enjoy this book. Get your rosé ready to be transported back to the sunny shores of Nantucket!

My sincere thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Little, Brown and Company for an advanced copy of this novel from the Queen of the Beach Reads.

This was exactly the book I needed at this point in my life. I have really struggled with grief recently and this was the escape I needed to push through my own heartache.

Elin Hilderbrand is back with a great new book- a must-read for this summer. Hollis Shaw became an internet famous food blogger during the pandemic. She was originally from Nantucket, but moved away when she married her cardiologist husband. When she loses her husband in a car accident, she moves back to her beloved island to mourn. This is where she feels most like herself.

Hollis takes inspiration and plans a 5 Star Weekend. She invites four friends, one from each era of her life, hoping to surround herself with those who know her best.

I loved all of the characters and their individual storylines. Elin layers in details that are relevant to today. She had sumptuous descriptions of food and fashion, and this made you feel as if you were right there along for the weekend. The writing is fast paced, and the storyline is engaging. The story content and themes are current and compelling.

I devoured this book over one weekend. Enjoy this beach read, it is a great choice for readers looking for something fun with a bit of substance. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this fun book!!

Elin Hilderbrand hits another level with The Five-Star Weekend.

A woman who recently lost her husband within the past year, decides to host a women's weekend with friends from each decade of her life. A woman from each phase of her life, that provided friendship and support.

Naturally, everyone has some baggage from the past, not the kind you pack stuff in, but events and relationships that may have not gone so well. Two of the womn know each other, and neither is happy the other is coming. It could be a really good reunion or someone may leave early; who knows!

They feast on delicious food and refreshing wine; the caliber one woud expect from a five-star resort. There are fun events everyday, carefully planned.

I really enjoyed this book and the comaraderie among the women.

Thank you Netgalley and Little, Brown, & Co.