REVIEW: THE PERFECT COUPLE, BY ELIN HILDERBRAND

 

It’s Nantucket wedding season, also known as summer-the sight of a bride racing down Main Street is as common as the sun setting at Madaket Beach. The Otis-Winbury wedding promises to be an event to remember: the groom’s wealthy parents have spared no expense to host a lavish ceremony at their oceanfront estate.

But it’s going to be memorable for all the wrong reasons after tragedy strikes: a body is discovered in Nantucket Harbor just hours before the ceremony-and everyone in the wedding party is suddenly a suspect. As Chief of Police Ed Kapenash interviews the bride, the groom, the groom’s famous mystery-novelist mother, and even a member of his own family, he discovers that every wedding is a minefield-and no couple is perfect.

 

My Thoughts: Against the backdrop of the gorgeous fairytale setting of Nantucket, The Perfect Couple offers romantic moments and promises of happily-ever-after.

But for the wedding couple, the promises do not come off as planned. Slipping back and forth in time, we learn the secrets behind the facades of the wealthy Winbury family, and we only begin to see what Celeste Otis wants and needs as the wedding date approaches. Her true heart will be revealed as the clock ticks toward the exchange of vows. A tragedy then takes everyone off course, and in the midst of chaos, self-examination must take place.

What makes a happily-ever-after couple? Will Celeste’s dreams of perfection, based on what she sees between her parents, the original “perfect couple,” guide her toward her own true love? Or will the trappings of wealth and privilege owned by the Winbury family misdirect her, forcing a focus on security and comfort? How does a last-minute attraction push her off course? Will she acknowledge her true feelings before it is too late?

Solving the mystery of the body in the harbor keeps everyone a bit off balance for the duration. Meanwhile, the vision of a perfect couple, and what that looks like, haunts each of the characters. Taunting them, reminding them of what others have, and what somehow eludes them. In the end, answers come, but they seem sad and anticlimactic. 4.5 stars.***

WEEKLY UPDATES: BACK FROM THE SHORE….

Good morning! Today’s post will link up to The Sunday Salon, The Sunday Post and Stacking the Shelves, for weekly updates.

**Mailbox Monday is hosted at the home site: Mailbox Monday.

And let’s join Kathryn, our leader in It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?, at Book Date.

An hour ago, I just walked in from the beach getaway.  We headed down on Friday afternoon, and came back home on Sunday.  Friday’s drive was exhausting.  There was a two-hour traffic jam due to a horrible accident with two cars crushed and a truck on its side.  We were so grateful to arrive in Cayucos without any mishap.

Saturday was a gorgeous day for the wedding.  Sunshine and only a slight breeze.  Check out the bride and groom.  The guests on chairs (to the right) are not visible in this photo.

 

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I got a lot of reading in the early morning, before the wedding, sitting on the terrace and overlooking the beach…

 

My total reads for the week:  THREE, and they were all review books from Amazon Vine.

Let’s take a look at my week:

LAST WEEK ON THE BLOGS:

Spring Bloggiesta:  Finish Line Post…

Tuesday Sparks:  “The Cutaway”

Hump Day Potpourri:  Let’s Look at Our Reading…

Off To the Shore:  The Books Are Coming, Too…

Curl up and Read:  Monthly Wrap-Up

Review:  Persons Unknown, by Susie Steiner (Amazon Vine)Review:  The Cutaway, by Christina Kovac (Amazon Vine)Review:  Small Hours, by Jennifer Kitses (Amazon Vine)

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INCOMING BOOKS:  (Titles/Covers Linked to Amazon)

I received one Amazon Vine review book in my mailbox…and two NetGalley review books.  I downloaded two purchased e-books.

Woman No. 17, by Edan Lepucki – (Amazon Vine)

 

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Downloads:

Not a Sound (e-book), by Heather Gudenkauf (NetGalley – 5/30)

 

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The Breakdown (e-book), by B. A. Paris (NetGalley – 6/20)

 

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All Grown Up (e-book), by Jami Attenberg (Purchased)

 

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The Arrangement (e-book), by Sarah Dunn (Purchased)

 

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WHAT’S UP NEXT?

Currently Reading:  One Perfect Lie (e-book), by Lisa Scottoline-(NetGalley- 4/11)

 

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That’s my rather rushed week….and now I’m off to the reception.  Yesterday, I had this seafood lunch after the wedding (fish and chips).  The bride, across the table from me, appears to be studying her husband’s lunch.

 

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MY BOOKISH (AND NOT SO BOOKISH) THOUGHTS….

Welcome to another Bookish/Not So Bookish Thoughts post.  To participate, click on over to Christine’s Bookishly Boisterous site.

• How did the week fly by so fast?  Yes, each day had errands or appointments, so that was part of it.  Yesterday’s appointment for my annual physical took up most of the day, as I fiddled about getting ready, and then afterwards had lunch out to relax again.  However, I have been doing a little reading, having finished reading and reviewing two books so far.
• Earlier in the week I got an e-mail notification that Spring Bloggiesta is coming next week:  March 20-26.  I’ve been spending some time each day creating potential new blog headers.  This blog will be the focus of the event, but I tend to spend a little time on each site.
• Only two more weeks until the beach trip for my daughter’s “wedding.”  Yes, in quotes, because they actually tied the knot in November so she could be on his health plan, but had already arranged for the beach getaway.  We will get to dress up, she will be wearing “bride’s” clothes, and we will have dinner afterwards.  Then…back to the city the next day for the reception.
• I had trimmed down my list of NetGalley Review books...but then, unexpectedly, received two more!  Now I have four…but they are sort of spread out, with two in April, one in May, and another in July.  The newest one:

Bridges:  A Daphne White Novel (e-book), by Maria Murnane.  I loved this author’s Waverly Bryson series.

 

I also love the cover!

• Yesterday I received a new Amazon Vine review book in the mail:  Small Hours, by Jennifer Kitses, which I’ve been ogling.

 

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So….these are my meandering thoughts on this Thursday.  What are yours?

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REVIEW: MYSTIC SUMMER, BY HANNAH MCKINNON

 

 

Maggie Griffin and Erika Crane have been best friends for many years, and now, while sharing an apartment in Boston’s Back Bay, their friendship is about to take another turn.

Erika and her fiancé Trent Mitchell are planning a summer wedding.

Meanwhile, Maggie is ending the school year, teaching at Darby, a private school, and her future as a teacher is up in the air due to budget cuts.

Will going home to Mystic, Connecticut, for Erika’s wedding help Maggie figure things out, even as she plays a supporting role for Erika through her wedding celebration?

Mystic Summer was a light and comfy tale about events that unexpectedly change the course we are on, and remind us of the people and places that make us feel at home.

I liked feeling as though I were right there in the lovely village, eating at Mystic Pizza, and remembering the movie that was set there…and walking along with the characters on the cobbled streets as they reminisced, and as they made decisions about who feels like home among their various acquaintances and friends.

I was definitely not a fan of Evan, Maggie’s boyfriend, an actor who had little time for her, but wanted everything to march to his tune. He liked everything neat and settled, so when anything was the least bit untidy, he liked cleaning it up. On his own, without consulting Maggie.

On the other hand, Maggie’s ex-boyfriend Cameron is back in town, with a baby girl in tow. The baby’s mother has left them, and he is handling it all on his own, with some help from his parents. And now Maggie feels a unique pull toward the baby girl, while remembering how Cam makes her feel. His life is definitely a little messy, a little chaotic…but it all clicks for Maggie.

Wonderful read that earned 4.5 stars from me.

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