The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand Book Review
Hello reader friends! Welcome back to the blog. Today we’re going to be discussing The Hotel Nantucket by author Elin Hilderbrand. This story is similar to many of her other books and yet it also feels very different. It may be about a fancy New England island, but the characters are interesting and flawed. They’re completely unique, and this makes for a very surprising story.
Once you start reading this latest offering by Elin Hilderbrand, you’ll find that it’s an absolute page turner. You’ll be dying to know what happens next to the new general manager of The Hotel Nantucket, as well as her charismatic staff.
What is The Hotel Nantucket about?
The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand is another perfect Summer read. It’s filled with romantic drama, yummy descriptions of food, and an army of wonderful characters. What’s not to love?
The Hotel Nantucket may have been something special back in the day, but not so much in current times. Back in 1922 there was a tragic fire that killed Grace Hadley, a young chambermaid. The hotel never recovered. It’s a constant topic of discussion around town, but people are especially interested when Xavier Darling (a London billionaire) decides to purchase the property. He has dreams of bringing the historic hotel back to life.
But first he needs a general manager. After a bad breakup, Lizbet Keaton is looking for a new gig and a change of pace. It’s up to this Nantucket sweetheart to pull together a suitable staff that’s capable of earning Five Keys, the most prestigious award that can only be granted by Shelley Carpenter, a mysterious travel blogger who is just bound to stay on their property during their opening Summer season.
Although the hotel starts out as an abandoned eyesore, it becomes a blissful paradise for all who visit. But while guests enjoy the grand hotel, they also have to deal with the mostly harmless shenanigans of Grace Hadley, the ghost of the 19-year-old chambermaid who was killed in the fire all those years ago. Grace is judgmental of all of the new people milling around the hotel.
And why wouldn’t she be? The Hotel Nantucket is her home. There are all kinds of secrets going on in the hotel and it’s up to her to watch over everyone and figure out how to move on to the afterlife. Nineteen-year-old chambermaid Grace Hadley is a force to be reckoned with. Not all of her ghostly hijinx are nice, but she truly looks out for the employees and guests at the hotel, in an attempt to figure out where she belongs.
What Should I Know About The Hotel Nantucket?
Well, this story has a lot of drama and a lot of characters. It is told in third person POV, and there are quite a few points of view. But each character has a unique backstory and individual voice, so it is easy to tell them apart, even when you listen to the audiobook.
Elin Hilderbrand is a very prolific writer and this is the beloved beach novelist’s 28th book. If you love her Nantucket tales filled with great surprises, this is definitely the book for you. Hilderbrand’s Nantucket is definitely a place I would love to visit. My best friend and I have joked about how we’re going to start saving up money so that we can visit Nantucket for our 40th birthdays (at the time of writing this, that is 9 years from now lol).
My First Elin Hilderbrand Book
Why did I wait so long to read my first Elin Hilderbrand book? I think I had some unfair feelings and preconceived notions about these books. I always saw people much older than me enjoying these books and I had the unfair assumption that they would be bland, romance novels (Kind of like Debbie Macomber. Some of her books are better than others, but some of her books are so boring lol).
So I can’t say if this was one of Elin’s best books, because it’s the only one I’ve read. But I can say I enjoyed it immensely! I think this book especially will appeal to a wide audience because of how the main characters at the hotel are so varied and interesting. Some are male, some are female. They are all ages and in all walks of life. I found them all so interesting. In The Hotel Nantucket, Hilderbrand proves once again that she is the absolute queen of the beach read.
What I Liked About The Hotel Nantucket
Because of her fabulous writing style, the author creates a scenic story in a classic fictional setting. Now to be fair Nantucket is obviously a real place, but to me, it feels like this story has a classic fictional setting because of the small town vibes. Everyone knows each other and don’t even bother to try and keep a summer scandal a secret because people will find out about it. They love juicy gossip almost as much as they going out for drinks and dancing the night away at The Chicken Box.
The thing about these books is that they are so authentic. Elin Hilderbrand has so much local expertise, that she crafts a story that is so delightful. I read about the restaurants and the beach and the fun and I just want to go visit there immediately.
What I Didn’t Like About The Hotel Nantucket
As I mentioned previous, the book follows many different points of view. From what can tell, this is different from others of Hilderbrand’s novels. While I appreciated the fact that we got to see so behind the scenes of so many different characters lives, it did feel a little confusing at times trying to keep track of everyone.
But with that being said, maybe that’s a good thing! There were a few twists and turns in this story that I didn’t see coming, and that made for a compelling summer drama.
Is The Hotel Nantucket realistic?
Yes and no. I studied hospitality management in school and I have worked at the front desk of quite a few hotels. It’s a difficult job, but it can also be very rewarding. I only wish that one of the properties that I worked at had a resident ghost. How fun would that be?
A big part of this story (and also the most important part) is that the Summer has to go very well. Otherwise, who knows what the fate of the hotel will be? Everyone has to work together to create great experiences for their guests. The employees at The Hotel Nantucket are under a lot of pressure to get The Fifth Key, in favor of their new London billionaire owner.
But then there’s the ghost aspect of the story. I thought it was funny to have Grace Hadley be a character in this book, and her plotline was an added touch of historical reality, as well as twenties history. I found it to be fun, because I’ve never read a contemporary fiction book where we also get the point of view of a ghost.
So yes, there are some realistic parts to this story. But when it comes the ghoulish part of the storyline, probably not!
In Conclusion
I found this book to be unlike anything that I’ve read before. It’s a story filled with many complicated situations and relationships, but also a lot of happy aspects. There’s the sweeping love story between general manager Lizbet Keaton and her new man. There’s the heartwarming friendship between a manager and their new employee. Many characters get a fresh start in this story. And then there’s the food. So many mentions of great food in this book!
If you like women’s fiction that takes place at the beach, I think you will enjoy this book. It might seem like this story is just a summer of scandal, but it’s a satisfying story with plenty of emotional depth.
But Wait, There’s More:
If you enjoyed this post, here are some other book review you may enjoy.
xo Marian
