Fabulous beach read set on Nantucket. Holly Shaw is reeling after the sudden death of her husband. She decides to host women from 5 phases of her life on an incredible girls weekend in an attempt to heal from tragedy. The weekend brings many surprises. I loved this book.

Another great beach read by Elin Hilderbrand. I loved this book, the characters are real and heartfelt, each with their own issues and stories, secrets, quirks and drama. The story transports the reader straight to Nantucket and gives me a beach read with just enough drama to keep it interesting, but not too much drama where I have to concentrate too hard! The story centers around grief, friendships old and new, and mother-daughter relationships. I love all the details the author gives on Nantucket - this book is exactly what a beach read should be! Every year I look forward to Elin Hilderbrand's newest book, and every year I am never disappointed! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

Absolutely perfect! I will definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a beach read with a bit more. Love, love, love Hilderbrand.

Elin Hilderbrand is a master of her craft, queen of beach reads, and likely needs no extra promoting–if you’re a fan, you’re going to run out and buy her novel, in hardcover no less, the week it comes out. I loved The Hotel Nantucket a little bit more, and nothing quite compares, for me, to The Blue Bistro, but The Five Star Weekend is a solid addition to her oeuvre.

Recently widowed pandemic food blogging sensation Hollis has invited a friend from each era of her life to join her for a girl’s weekend in her home on Nantucket: Tatum, the high school bestie who still lives in town, cleaning and running errands for the wealthy; Dru-Ann, the college roommate/sports agent; Brooke, Hollis’s Wellesley friend who she raised her children with; and Gigi, a new Internet friend who’s been a rock as Hollis navigates Matthew’s untimely death. Each of the women is dealing with their own issues: Tatum is awaiting results of a breast biopsy; Dru-Ann has been cancelled on social media due to dismissing a client’s mental health claims; Brooke’s husband has been served for sexual harassment (again) and Gigi was having an affair with Hollis’s husband Matthew when he was killed in an automobile accident. Their interpersonal dynamics between the women adds another level to the tension and drama: Tatum hasn’t forgiven Dru-Ann for a slight from Hollis’s wedding. and Brooke is glomming onto the mysterious Gigi. Hollis’s first love, Jack Finnigan, is also on the island, visiting Tatum’s hubby and bringing back many memories of their double-dates in high school. Meanwhile, Hollis’s daughter Caroline, in the middle of an internship (and an affair) with a documentary filmmaker, has been invited to return to the island and is getting paid to film the entire proceedings. Caroline comes off as super entitled and bratty, all eye-rolling and whining… but the personal interviews become a way to understand her mother as a student, a friend, and a woman, and help to heal the rift between them.

There is a LOT going on, but Hilderbrand manages it all adeptly. As in her more recent novels, one of the narrative voices is a collective we, observing the goings on from a slightly detached perspective. We also get points of view from all of the major characters. The original concept of the five-star weekend is not Hollis’s (she reads an article about it and decides it will help her out of her funk), and I’m wondering if there is a missed opportunity to delve more deeply into ownership and appropriation issues (thinking of Black feminist and activist Tarana Burke, who coined the #MeToo movement while Alyssa Milano got a lot of recognition for promoting it, and Black poet, activist and rage baker Tangerine Jones who got scooped by white cookbook authors). Throughout the novel, Hilderbrand does address issues of race, mental health, generational gaps, the orgasm gap, and queerness.

The Five-Star Weekend has all the things we’ve come to love about an Elin Hilderbrand book set on Nantucket. It’s self-referential to other characters and their stories, it’s full of mouth-watering descriptions of gourmet food, both prepared at home and while dining out. It name-drops favorite beaches, shops, and eateries. The familiar natural beauty and landmarks are described with love. And, if you didn’t google and then buy a trendy patio dress (yep, muumuus are back!) to wear while hosting your next barbeque, you’ve missed the memo.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #TheFiveStarWeekend from #NetGalley.

The Five-Star weekend is another hit from Elin Hilderbrand!

When Hollis shaw’s husband dies unexpectedly, she decides to host a five star weekend at her Nantucket home. She invites one important person from different time period on her life. Her last “friend” added is a follower from her blog that has a connection to Hollis that no one knows about prior to the weekend.

These ladies have an amazing weekend that strengthens their original friendships with Hollis. Each lady is struggling with something secretly on their own. As the weekend unfolds, each of the “stars” is able to come to terms with their struggles and are ready to move forward.

Elin Hilderbrand doesn’t disappoint! It wouldn’t be summer without reading one of her books. Make sure this is in your beach bag. It’s all about friendship, family and forgiveness

This is such an engaging look at friendship, growing up, and connecting phases of your life. Hollis builds a career as a home chef with an effortlessly chic lifestyle. Then her husband dies unexpectedly and she brings together friends from her various phases of life for a "five-star weekend" on her home island of Nantucket. I really enjoyed seeing how each woman related to Hollis and the secrets they brought to the island with them. The biggest secret was connected to Gigi, the woman Hollis met in her online community and invited on a whim. Hers ended up being the least interesting story to me because of the lack of history involved but it still held my attention. I love reading about female connections and the moving through the various stages of life so this book was a perfect fit for me. I read it by the pool and loved each page. Thanks to Elin Hilderbrand, Little, Brown and Company, and NetGalley for an ARC of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Its not hyperbole to say that Elin Hilderbrand’s books mean it’s officially summertime.

Once again I was magically transported to Nantucket and all of its indulgent summer pleasures. Elin has somehow perfectly combined both romance and women’s fiction in this captivating beach read.

Hollis is a wildly popular food blogger whose picture-perfect life is in reality, nothing but. She recently lost her husband in a tragic accident and her daughter can barely tolerate her.

Hollis decides to invite friends from every stage of her life - childhood, college and marriage - to spend a “Five-Star Weekend” with her at her fabulous house in Nantucket. Each activity and meal has been carefully curated by Hollis. The only wildcard is her online friend Gigi, a follower of the blog but whom Hollis has never actually met in real life. Hollis even hires her daughter Caroline to document the entire weekend for the blog.

What follows is a thoroughly engaging and unpredictable story that packed a punch. The Nantucket setting is dreamy and Elin nailed all of the female friendships, loyalties and old rivalries. If Elin is still planning to retire in 2024, I hope it’s after the summer! 😩 Because I, for one, can’t get enough of her summer reads!

(𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦, 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.)

This book was so amazing! It pulled you in from start to finish. I have never been to Nantucket, but this book made me not only want to go, but feel like I had just been. Hollis has lost her husband and it wanting a distraction and sees where someone has a Five-Star Weened and she takes the idea and invites for a girl's weekend five friends from different stages of her life. This makes for a fascinating read! I hated for it to end.

Always such a good summer vibe from Elin . Honestly such a good book and I love that there's always conflict but it’s not over the top. Normally more than one POV isn’t for me but Elin does it so well. Great summer book.

Elin Hilderbrand is one of my favorite authors and this summer, I've decided to read the books of hers I haven't read. (It wasn't surprising that I hadn't read this one; it's the most recent release). This book is, like most of hers, an excellent summer read. It's incredibly fun, dramatic and just a complete joy.

Highly recommended.

This book was Elin Hilderbrand and her original recipe. I was so excited when I finished because it felt like it was back to the books she used to write. It is the perfect beach read and I loved every second of this book.

It's not summer until I've read the newest story from Hilderbrand. She is extremely dependable and you know each time you start a book that you're going to get a great summer story set in Nantucket. She continues to get better with each book; just loved this one!

I love Elin Hilderbrand's books so I was so excited to recieve this one. Especially since its one of her last. I gave this one 3.5 but rounded up to 4 on GR. This wasn’t one of my favorite EH novels, I found some of the Gen Z talk a little bit cringy and used in the wrong context and I also really didn’t like the MC’s daughter Caroline. I did like the idea of the book, and I thought it would be really cool to have a Five Star Weekend with five friends. Although I have no idea who I would invite. I always enjoy a good beach read and this was just that. It was exactly what was needed to sit by the pool or on the beach and read.

The Five-Star Weekend is a five star summer read! Great characters, multiple points of view and of course the chance to catch up with the happenings on Nantucket. In an effort to deal with her grief after the death of her husband, Hollis invites friends from various periods of her life, to gather on Nantucket. Lots of drama! One of the things I appreciate about Elin Hilderbrand’s writing is how she includes us as part of the narrative.

Food Blogger, Hollis Shaw has unexpectedly lost her husband and decides to host a Five Star Weekend with her 4 closest friends from different times in her life. She invites her best friend from high school, her best friend from college, her closest friend from after college and a new friend she had met through her website. The weekend is full of delicious food, fun events and as you can imagine, drama. Just because these friends love Hollis doesn’t mean they like each other and each of them have some really big things going on in their own lives. With Nantucket as the back drop for the story and a few reappearances of character’s from Elin’s previous books, I’d give this book a 5 star review. Elin continues to outdo herself with each new novel. With only one Nantucket book left, I’m going to miss these yearly releases terribly.

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I am a faithful Elin fan and I look forward to her books each year. I thought this story was very unique in that it really didn’t have much romance as her books typically do. This story centered around 5 friends who come together for a weekend of summer fun after one of their husbands passes away. This is a perfect read if you love books set in beach towns with people doing beach type activities. One thing I love about Elin’s books each year is that they take you on your annual summer journey to Nantucket to visit with some new friends and some old ones. I really enjoyed this and of course will look forward to the next trip back to Nantucket next June.

Hollis Shaw's life is turned upside down when her husband is killed in a car accident. She had felt something was off between them beforehand. Hollis had become a huge social media influencer with her Hungry with Hollis blog and a lot of her life is revolved around that. Her daughter is incredibly angry after her dad's death and takes it out on Hollis. (Which is one part of the story that really bothered me. There was just so much anger and Hollis tries so hard.)

Hollis is heading to their summer home in Nantucket (where Hollis grew up) and she decides to throw a five star weekend with a best friend from each season of her life, from childhood till now. They are a diverse group of women who all have their own secrets going on in their lives. Her friend from now, Gigi Ling, she hasn't even met in real life yet but boy, does she have the biggest secret of them all.

I loved how each woman found themselves in the company of women. Elin is always so great at writing real women characters, especially women of a certain age. The only thing that missed for me was the angry daughter but she comes around eventually.

A great summer beach read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for a copy for review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️
Five stars for The Five Star Weekend!! Maybe many readers begin their review with this predictable phrase, but I don’t care! That won't stop me, because this book deserves it!

Hilderbrand skillfully delivers a story that, although has a clear main character in Hollis Shaw, navigates multiple points of view. Within the first chapter for each of these POVs, it was easy to immediately become invested in every character. I enjoyed every chapter of this wonderfully paced and fun read. It was nuanced without being heavy, and definitely a great story to pick up if you’re looking for a good read during your summer vacation!

Thank you NetGalley, Elin Hilderbrand, and Little, Brown and Company for this free e-book in exchange for an honest review.


For 2023, I’ll be using this rating scale:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I mourned the ending of this journey 🥹
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ really enjoyed and would recommend
⭐️⭐️⭐️ it was fine
⭐️⭐️ I didn’t enjoy this journey
⭐️ I dnf’d or wish I dnf’d
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ this is smutty smutty erotica 🥵
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ medium burn
🌶️🌶️🌶️ slow burn
🌶️🌶️ romantic b plot / closed door / YA romance
🌶️ no romance / nonfiction

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book. I have read a lot of Elin Hildebrand books and this is in the top 3 favs! It had a unique premise with choosing 5 friends from times in your life to bring on holiday, and a secret that only one of the friends knows. It made me think who would be my 5 friends I would take, and gives off beach feels.