I’ve been putting off this review for a while because I’m not really sure what to say. Part of me enjoyed it and another part of me really didn’t. They are at odds with each other.

I really liked the setting of the book and the fact that it is set in Santorini which is one of my bucket list destinations. Also, it really helped that when I was reading the book, it was snowing outside in NYC so it allowed me to feel as if I was transported to a wonderful beachy environment instead.

However, I really despised the characters. Brigit didn’t know what she was doing and she kept going back and forth with her feelings. There were so many times when she was questioned about her relationship with Blake and she would wonder about it herself. But when she decided to confront Blake, something would happen and she would just simply brush the issue aside. It happened over and over again to the point that it was kind of irritating to me because it seemed as if she was willing to overlook a lot of red flags. Or, she would receive explanations that seemed lukewarm at best and would accept it. It was just really odd to me.

I also didn’t feel anything for Blake. I never really felt as if he truly loved her and there was always something about him that seemed off to me. I don’t care what excuses he gave but I really don’t think that love was ever genuine. Even at the end when they broke off the wedding, he wanted an excuse for the guests so it seemed as if he was always playing a role. This is why I don’t think I would ever be interested in dating an actor – I would always question whether or not he’s genuine.

As for Nathaniel, the third piece to this love triangle, I didn’t really understand his attraction to Brigit either. He always seemed to creep around and scare Brigit at random occurrences that shouldn’t really be allowed. For example, he would just show up for breakfast or something and it just struck me as slightly creepy. And he would often sprout strange tidbit to Brigit about Blake yet wish for her wellbeing with him. Or he would tell her a fond memory of their past. Honestly, every time he showed up, he would say or do something that made him seem really strange to me.

And at the end, the ending was just so absurd for me. Brigit called off the wedding and within a short time – I’m talking hours here – Nathaniel came by and proposed to her and she accepted. It didn’t seem as if she was still in love with him so it just felt abrupt and a bit odd to me.
Overall, I think I only liked this book because of the setting – it pinpointed a lot of good places to visit which I will definitely notate. However, other than that, I found the plot and characters to be disorganized and not at all believable.

I love Anita Hughes, her books make me want to up and go on vacation, and Santorini Sunsets is no different. With characters that are true to life and a plot that is at once romantic and heartfelt, I highly recommend this story to anyone who loves to travel and longs for a little bit of romance in their reading life.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is another typical book from Anita Hughes, exotic locale, lots of descriptions of color and clothing and very superficial, underdeveloped characters. Her books always contain so many mentions of designer labels, what color dress the characters are wearing and what jewelry they matched their outfits to. This leads to not much in the way for meaningful storylines or character that go beyond the surface.
This book tells the story of Brigit who is about to get married to Hollywood heartthrob Blake on the
Greek Island of Santorini. All of her family is there including her ex-husband who has been hired by a tabloid to cover the wedding. The presence of Nathaniel causes a lot of drama and doubt for Brigit regarding her wedding and leads her to question if she is making the right choice when it comes to forever love. There are some side stories about her sister Daisy and her parents, but neither one is developed enough to care about.
All in all this was a very quick book to read because unfortunately there is not a lot of substance, just well dressed characters who question everything action and thought they have.