The Five-Star Weekend is a wonderful story about change, grief, friendship, self-discovery and love. Hollis Shaw's life is in turmoil. She and her husband had been having issues and after a fight, he stormed off and was killed in a car accident on the way to the airport. Her daughter is angry with her mother, and Hollis' life doesn't look so rosy after all. Trying to move forward, she plans a “Five-Star Weekend” where she invites a best-friend from each phase of her life: her teenage years, her twenties, her thirties, and midlife to her home in Nantucket. The women do not have much in common and emotions come to the surface. It doesn't turn out the way she planned, but the women grow, change, discover what they want out of life and move forward.

This book was not what I was expecting. It grabbed me right from the start and I was hooked. I enjoyed listening to these very different women spend time together, learn about each other, share their secrets and get to really know one another. The issues run the gamut from infidelity, being the other woman, loss of a career, being trolled by the public on social media, family issues and more. I liked the characters in this book, although not until the end of the story. Some of them were hard to like until they realized that they has things to sort out. Hollis' daughter was so cruel to her, but I liked that they finally reconcile. The setting of Nantucket is always a winner for me and being as Hollis is a food blogger, the descriptions of food and drink made me hungry. I enjoyed this story and thought the issues were timely and relatable.

While Hilderbrand is always good for a summer read, I think it's clear she's reached the end of her writing journey. She has said she only has one more book being released, I believe, and I think it's time. She talks about the same places on Nantucket and it seems like she's promoting all these places at this point. We've heard all about them if you've read any of her previous books. The focus is too much on the island and not enough on the characters.

In this one, Hollis is (was) the main character. I say was because it started all about her, but then it went away from her and never really came back to her at all. Instead the focus was on the drama of her four friends and her daughter who are in town for a "five star weekend." She invites four friends from different time periods of her life, which is a cool idea. We get the drama in these friends lives and the drama within the friend group.

I didn't love Brooke's storyline... I don't like how she was portrayed and how that storyline ended up. Seemed like a cop out and not realistic.

I did love reading about all of the food Hollis cooked... I was secretly hoping for a recipe section at the end (or a link to her fictional blog!).

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Format: Audio

4🌟 - I liked it!

Thank you @littlebrown and @netgalley for the ARC!

A summery story of five women connecting over the course of the weekend in Nantucket all handling their own problems while and secrets. It had the right amount of drama with vivid coastal scenes that made this such a breezy read! I love a rich people problem’s story and this one fit the bill!

This was my IRL book club’s pick for this month and was a hit for everyone 👏🏻. This was the perfect book to round out some summer reading!

Another excellent read by the Queen of Summer. "The Five Star Weekend" by Elin Hildebrand takes you along to Nantucket as we learn about grief, friendship, betrayal, family and love. It made me consider who I would invite to my own 5 star weekend! I will happily read anything else this author publishes. She is solidly one of my favorite authors.

The Five Star Weekend

Elin Hilderbrand has done it again - with another interesting tale of drama on Nantucket. Friends, family, secrets, mistakes, romance, hopes and so much more - with the fabulous setting of summer on the island and the backdrop of great food, impeccable style and lots of fun. . . everything you’d expect from a new Hilderbrand summer release.

Hollis Shaw was raised on Nantucket from humble beginnings, but went away to college, married a doctor, and became internet famous with her Hungry with Hollis blog. When her husband Matthew died suddenly in an accident, grieving Hollis takes a break from posting. After several months she goes to her now summer home on Nantucket , First Light on Squam Road. She decides to host a ‘Five Star Weekend’ at her home, including a close friend from each stage of her life. Tatum is her childhood friend, Dru-Ann from college, Brooke from raising their children in Wellesley, and Gigi as a current friend, even though she only knows her from the internet. She also has her daughter Caroline come along to interview the ladies and video their time together. This is an interesting mix of women, each with her own set of challenges, and even with strained relationships among each other. They eat great food, do activities around town, and have some dramatic encounters. And Hollis’ high school boyfriend, Jack, comes back in the picture, too. It’s a lot! There are a lot of ups and downs. It’s interesting, exciting, annoying, infuriating, and a little bit hopeful all rolled into one. At times it seems like it might all be a huge disaster, but thankfully most everything works out.

As is usually the case with Hilderbrand’s books, there is an abundance of detail about food, clothing and decor. It’s too much for my taste, but helps bring the story to life. I didn’t fully appreciate the writing style, sometimes offering summaries about the characters and sometimes giving their personal perspectives. It left me feeling on the outside looking in, so I wasn’t fully engaged or connected with the characters. I didn’t feel very sympathetic towards their plights either. But I did find the voyeurism to be kind of entertaining- kind of like watching The Real Housewives of Nantucket.

I think fans of Hilderbrand will love this new installment in her vast library. It has so many great elements. I didn’t appreciate all aspects of it, but overall it was an enjoyable summer read.

Elin Hilderbrand is back, and boy, is she better than ever! After a couple summers of "enjoyable, but can take it or leave it" novels, Elin has rebounded in a big way with her latest. Hollis Shaw is a surgeon's wife and a popular food blogger. On the surface, everything looks picture-perfect. However, things are never as perfect as they seem. Hollis' teenage daughter has become surly and distant, and Hollis' marriage to Matthew is slowly crumbling. When a terrible accident changes Hollis' life forever, she finds herself largely alone and struggling.

Enter "The Five-Star Weekend." Hollis hears about this idea, and decides to implement the idea in her own life. She invites four good friends (her "stars") from different phases of her life to join her for a long weekend on Nantucket. Hollis eagerly invites friends from childhood, college, and motherhood to join her. She struggles with finding the perfect 4th woman.....until she remembers Gigi. Gigi is a newer friend that Hollis has recently started chatting with. The only problem? She is one of Hollis' Instagram followers, and Hollis has never actually met her. While the idea seems crazy, Hollis extends the invite, and Gigi accepts.

The weekend begins.....and so does the drama. On top of issues and secrets with the ladies, Hollis' childhood love, Jack, re-enters the picture. Over the course of the weekend, the secrets are slowly unfolded....until the biggest secret of all is revealed.....one that has the potential to change Hollis' past, present, and future.

This book had everything for me. It was heartwarming, fun, breezy, but also oddly deep. The themes ranged from self-acceptance to unconditional love and forgiveness, and I was so disappointed when the novel ended. This was truly a "Five-Star Read" for me!

This is one of my favorite authors and this book is perfect for any summer read. It had a little bit of a slow start and may be a better read for an older audience that can better relate to the story but it was still well done.

This is one of my favorite Elin Hilderbrand books that I've read lately. I wish I had read it during a time when life wasn't so crazy, so I could sit down and read a lot at once. That said, I still loved it. The writing was fantastic, the premise was unique, I liked how different all of the "stars" were, and of course the Nantucket setting was perfect as always. This was the perfect summer read but also had great depth.

This was not my favorite of the author’s. The main character was very unlikeable and that made it hard to get through the book.

Great read for a beach day! The story is entertaining, written so that you can see the characters and feel their emotions. The main point of the story is friendships and reconciliation. Recommend.

Loved, loved, loved! A truly captivating feel-good story about friendship. I love a good friendship trope and this book did not disappoint. It’s not summer until you’ve read an Elin Hilderbrand book and this one won’t let you down. After Hollis’ husband dies suddenly and tragically, Hollis gathers four of her friends for a weekend on Nantucket. Each woman comes with baggage and secrets, but they all leave the weekend forever changed. I loved each of the women’s characters and found myself rooting for them in their own ways. Plus, the beachy setting made this a fantastic summer read.

The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand is an entertaining story about long-lasting friendships. I have to say, I think my favorite of hers is actually The Five-Star Weekend. I loved the concept and I think there are some interesting dynamics as well. After all, a lot of women can relate to friendships evolving as we all get older.

It’s funny when I describing this story to my husband, I called it a bachelorette party idea for 50-year-olds. But I kept thinking how bachelorette parties do bring people from all eras of your life together. But once you’re past that time period in your life, there’s not much of an opportunity to have a big girls’ weekend filled with people from various eras.

So the Five-Star Weekend idea is very compelling! It had me thinking about who I would invite. I love the concept and it might be something to do one day for sure.

Overall, I really enjoyed the novel and learning about Hollis’ friendships. We read the perspectives from all the women, including her daughter, and I liked that multi-narrative approach.

I love Elin Hildebrand and I loved this book. The premise is one woman selecting 4 friends from various periods of her life to come together for one fabulous weekend. As always, Hildebrand makes Nantucket come alive. I love to read with google maps next to me so I can look up all the places mentioned. It really helps to put me in the setting. The characters were complex and the romance was secondary to the stories of friendship. I really loved that aspect. If you love Hildebrand, you will love this one.

Elin Hilderbrand is an "auto-read" author for me so I am excited to review the book for NetGalley. After Hollis's husband dies, she is left to confront the ups and downs of her relationship with him, but also with her daughter and others around her. She decides to plan a five star weekend in Nantucket and invite friends from different times in her life to spend the weekend with her. And she hopes her daughter will come and film the weekend. I loved the idea of mingling friends from different parts of your life that may know you in different ways. And that certainly was the case for Hollis. The book was an insightful story about the friendships that women have and how they are helpful and at times hurtful. I loved reading the book and would highly suggest this book that left me thinking who would be my five star weekend attendies?

Yet another entertaining beach read by Elin Hilderbrand! The Five-Star Weekend is a book about friendship, family, love, loyalty, secrets, and betrayal.

When 4 women gather on Nantucket for the Five-Star Weekend planned by Hollis Shaw, surprises abound. Messy, wild, and yes, altogether fun, this was a fun summer read by the master of beach reads.
3.75 Stars

Thank you to Little Brown and Company for the arc courtesy of NetGalley.

I'm not sure how Elin Hilderbrand does it, but she took the most annoying character(s), and the most shallow and entitled storyline, and turned it into a book I ended up liking more than I ever imagined I could. Within the first few pages, I was convinced this was going to be my first 1 or 2-star Hilderbrand review, which actually kind of upset me, because I really do enjoy her books. Hollis Shaw was simply horrible - a spoiled, self-centered "influencer" who thinks the world revolves around her and everyone needs to know her opinion on everything. She even turns her husband's death into a "look at me" event. But by the end of the story, while I can't say I ended up liking Hollis, I at least understood her a bit better, and managed to find some sympathy for her. The rest of the characters were a bit all over the map for me - I went back and forth between liking and hating all of them. But again, as the story progressed, I warmed up to the group in general.

This is not one of Hilderbrand's best, but I give her kudos for transforming this book from one I hated to one I was able to tolerate.

Elin's books are equal parts Summer and Comfort to me. I save up her stories and read them on repeat! Her writing is beautiful and makes stories come alive through her excellently crafted plots as well as her character development. Whether you are a fan of hers or not, her stories are memorable and relatable as well as entertaining! I loved this story and have recommended it to several others who have equally enjoyed it! I definitely recommend her books in general, but this one in particular!

Give me ALL the Elin Hildebrand books! I was sad to see she was retiring from writing next summer! This book has a fun concept. After the main character's husband dies, she decides to invite her best friends from different phases of her life to a social media documented gourmet weekend getaway. All the craziness ensues. I loved the foodie part of this book and wanted the recipes to all the dishes. I also really liked the mother/adult daughter relationship in this story. The ending is very typical Hildebrand - It left me with a smile and an even stronger desire to go to Nantucket.

Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC
#goodreads

For some reason, the first 10% of this took me a month to read — I mostly kept getting called away by the tyranny of library holds. But then I read the other 90% in one evening, and thoroughly enjoyed it. As always, Hilderbrand’s books are juicy summer fun — and this one was even more Nantuckety and drama-filled than usual!

It would not be summer for me without falling in love with a new Elin Hilderbrand book!

Synopsis:
Hollis Shaw’s life seems picture-perfect. She’s the creator of the popular food blog Hungry with Hollis and is married to Matthew, a dreamy heart surgeon. But after she and Matthew get into a heated argument one snowy morning, he leaves for the airport and is killed in a car accident. The cracks in Hollis’s perfect life—her strained marriage and her complicated relationship with her daughter, Caroline—grow deeper.
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 life: 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 husband of Hollis’s childhood friend Tatum arranges for Hollis’s first love, Jack Finigan, to spend time with them, stirring up old feelings. Meanwhile, Tatum is forced to play nice with abrasive and elitist Dru-Ann, Hollis’s best friend from UNC Chapel Hill. Dru-Ann’s career as a prominent Chicago sports agent is on the line after her comments about a client’s mental health issues are misconstrued online. Brooke, Hollis’s friend from their thirties, has just discovered that her husband is having an inappropriate relationship with a woman at work. Again! And then there’s Gigi, a stranger to everyone (including Hollis) who reached out to Hollis through her blog. Gigi embodies an unusual grace and, as it hap- pens, has many secrets.

I felt like this one was a bit hard to get into because it is full of different women with different stories that don't seem to overlap much. I felt like each woman could have had their own book and it may have been better.
Overall, It was a good one, but it just didn't give that beach read magic that I usually can expect from an Elin Hilderbrand summer read.