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2nd out of 58 books
—
23 voters
The Beach Club
In this juicy first novel by a talented newcomer, a series of personal dramas are played out during one summer at a Nantucket Beach Club. It's about the love of summer, summer love, and the special feelings we all have for that special summer place--in this case, a hotel and an island.Mack Petersen, manager of the hotel, has been working at The Beach Club for 12 summers. O...more
Hardcover, 320 pages
Published
June 1st 2000
by St. Martin's Press
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This was an interesting book.......I really enjoyed it, but struggled. I think I am spoiled because the first book by Elin Hilderbrand that I read was The Blue Bistro, and I was completely captivated by it. So The Beach Club was sort of a struggle for me. Too many characters, not enough H.E.A. for my taste. But excellent, solid story line set in a beach club/hotel I pictured perfectly in my mind, and with enough drama to make me anticipate my reading time each day with a grin on my face. I recom...more
***3,5 stars*** Having read Blue Bistro by this author, I knew Ms. Hilderbrand to be a talented writer. She simply does an excellent job depicting characters and places and making them come alive. As it turns out, I genuinely enjoy reading about the ins and outs of the hotel business as a working place (or the restaurant business as a working place - like in Blue Bistro). The fact that this author picks Nantucket Island to set her books in adds so much charm and enchantment to them. I have never...more
This should probably be closer to three and a half stars. I've read enough of Elin Hilderbrand's books to recognize her style immediately, and I have found I often forget which title goes with which plotline. This story revolved around Mack Peterson who has lost his parents and finds himself escaping to Nantucket where we works as a manager of a beach club. He struggles in his decisions as to how to move forward in life- sell his parents farm or go back and run it, marry the girl he's been with...more
I picked up Beach Club, Hilderbrand's first Nantucket novel. It's the story of Mack Peterson, a man whose parents died way too soon and sent him adrift on a journey to find himself. Problem is he's taking his sweet time much to his girlfriend's chagrin. Maribel wants Mack to grow up, make some decisions, and ask her to marry him. Yet neither of them really know what they want.
Bill and Therese Elliott own the hotel Mack loves, but they plan to retire soon and pass the hotel on to their only child...more
Bill and Therese Elliott own the hotel Mack loves, but they plan to retire soon and pass the hotel on to their only child...more
Elin Hilderbrand was an author I knew nothing about until I discovered she grew up in a neighboring town. I started off reading Silver Girl last year and then continued with Summerland this year. Even though she is a great summer read, she is by no means a frivolous one. Her stories revolve around characters you truly grow to care about. More than possibly any other author I’ve read, you can get completely lost in her books, with hours passing before you realize you read half of the novel alread...more
I really want half stars for my reviews. It's not really a 4 but I don't like to take it down to a 3 either. Consider it 3 1/2.
The story was okay, if a little far-fetched at times, a la Hilderbrand's usual style. I like her books because they're easy reads and my mind doesn't really want to be over-taxed at the moment. Even so, some of her stuff is just a little too much to believe. Then, she did it again. She got way too wordy and descriptive right at the end of the book. Just finish the damned...more
The story was okay, if a little far-fetched at times, a la Hilderbrand's usual style. I like her books because they're easy reads and my mind doesn't really want to be over-taxed at the moment. Even so, some of her stuff is just a little too much to believe. Then, she did it again. She got way too wordy and descriptive right at the end of the book. Just finish the damned...more
Another classic beach read by Elin Hilderbrand. Nantucket at its best in the summer with all the vacationers at the beach club. An exclusive place to stay with only the best! On top of that you can "rent a memembership" to sit there on the beach under the umbrellas! Great main characters who are in the midst of a variety of crossroads. Each choosing a path for the future. Bill reciting Robert Frost to stay calm. Lacey drinking a Dewers every day at five mourning her husband of decades. Love want...more
This is my third Hilderbrand novel. I have read "Nantucket Nights" and "Castaways". Out of the three novels, I enjoyed "Beach Club" the most even though this was Hilderbrand's debut novel. Entertaining read with true-to-life human roller-coaster emotions. One very small triviality I noticed was that Maribel was reading "The Collected Stories of John Cheever" at the end of Chapter 3 of "Beach Club". Delilah in "Castaways" read "Complete Stories of John Cheever" as a runaway teenager. Hilderbrand...more
Fabulous! Elin Hilderbrand is my new favorite author with her charming stories centered on the Island of Nantucket. I love picturing the beaches, people and other places around the island and setting myself right in the middle of it! Hilderbrand creates characters that you will remember for a long time. Although she seems to always use a lot of characters in her books, she focuses on each equally enough so that you aren't confused and you feel as though you know these people. I look forward to r...more
i thought this book was a good, enjoyable, and an easy read. it would make the perfect beach book in the summer-time. the characters are nicly developed, the story line is good and there are some unexpected twists and turns that surprise you and keep you reading.
basicly this family has a beach club and they run it (mostly) in the summer with the help of some loyal, as well as, new staff members. as the charaters come across new experiences of growing up things change and they have to decide weat...more
basicly this family has a beach club and they run it (mostly) in the summer with the help of some loyal, as well as, new staff members. as the charaters come across new experiences of growing up things change and they have to decide weat...more
Absolutely loved this book. End of summer is the perfect time of year to read it, too. I was feeling sentimental about summer being over, and a friend had mentioned this book several times over the last few years. Wish I would have listened to him a long time ago. This is a book where the characters aren't just characters, they're people I learned about and cared about. I definitely see re-reading it next summer.
Interesting story about the lives of people of different ages and backgrounds, as they come together each summer at The Beach Club in Nantucket. This book was an easy read and the characters seemed very real to me. There were so many storylines going; however, that I thought there were a few that left me wondering - whatever happened to that person,or that storyline? For example, the tapping on the window at the proprietor's property may have been a ghost. But, this was never explored. Overall a...more
I love to read books set near water, and this book is set at a resort on Nantucket Island. The various dramas played out over the summer...friendships made, love relationships fostered, and all against the backdrop of one summer at a summer resort, were engaging and believable. This is what you call, a great beach read. I've read other books by this author, and she rarely disappoints.
I debated whether to rate it a 2 or 3. It got better at the end so I rated it a 3. It was my first Elin Hilderbrand book to read. Many people had told me she was similar to Kristan Hannah so I decided to try her. She really didn't remind me of her books at all. Characters were there at the beginning and didn't continue throughout the story. I thought this was useless. It was one of those books that was somewhat of a chore to read but I wanted to finish it. I wanted a good summer beach read, but...more
This was my first book by this author, i had read a lot of good reviews about her other works. This didn't leave me wanting to read anything else by her..It was just an easy summer read. I read it while laying out tanning. It slows then picks up after a while. You can really imagine being on that beautiful island. After it was all said and done, itjust left me feeling "meh"
I just finished this one. It is a good 'beach' (or snowy vacation) read.... I grabbed it from my library's 'suggested' reading shelf. it is not a 'serious' book and I probably would not ever want to hear the author read from it but it has interesting characters and plot. And in the end everything works out. I found out it is the author's first book.
When I read her books I want to send all of her characters to see Dr. Phil or Dr. Laura. None of her characters seem to have any idea what is the best or the right thing to do. Her endings are really abrupt in the sense that you don't ever find out what the consequences of her characters' choices are. This is the last Elin Hilderbrand book I will read.
The Beach Club is Elin Hilderbrand's first book. I've read other books by Hilderbrand that are a bit more polished, but that's to be expected. Her books are the quintessential beach reads, all set on Nantucket Island. She writes about relationships and how they intertwine and change unexpectedly. Nantucket is always one of the main characters and after reading her books, I can picture myself in an Adirondack chair overlooking the ocean. Ahh, that feels good...
I enjoyed this story because it was about owning and running a beach club and the many guests and employees made for some interesting stories. However, I found myself questioning the authors choices in some places (like the small, tiny, itty-bitty part involving the gun) because they seemed irrelevent and mindless. Thankfully those places were rare but enough to make me go, "hmmm". I liked the main character, Mack, although I felt he made some stupid life decisions and found myself rolling my ey...more
Hmmm...I liked this book...it kept me interested and you didn't really know what was going to happen next. I thought the book was about to end and then realized I still had 100 pages left. Felt like it ended quick and SBT was thrown in at the end oddly like there should now be a sequel...it was a good beach read.
Another really great one by Hilderbrand. I think it was a little obvious that this was her first novel, just because I've read some of her newer books and her writing style and character development seem a bit more refined. I really did enjoy this one, though -- and must admit, after now reading 3 of her books, I really want to visit Nantucket! :)
I thoroughly and completely enjoyed reading this book. Ms. Hilderbrand is fast becoming one of my very favorite authors. She never disappoints. It is hard to believe this was her first novel! What a treat! I was completely invested in these characters and could not wait till the end to see them find their ways. But of course, now I am sad because I miss them. Please read. So much more than your typical "beach read".
I have thoroughly enjoyed the books I've read so far by Elin Hilderbrand. The stories stick with me long after I finish reading her books. This wasn't my favorite of the books I've read of hers thus far but it was enjoyable nonetheless - there were parts where I couldn't put the book down.
This was a keeper! I keep books I would definately re read again at some point and this book takes you to a charming setting with a myriad of realistic characters in the Beach Club resort on and off season. I loved it! It makes me want to visit Nantucket, probably in the off season though!!!
enjoyable summer read-the characters were interesting-Mack, the manager of the Nantucket Beach Club and Hotel, Love O'Donnell takes the desk job hoping to implement her life plan, the Elliott's who own the Beach Club and lovable Lacey Gardner and the historyand love she brings to SO many
Another good read by Hilderbrand. My favorite characters were the guests at the Beach Club, I liked reading about the different and odd guest and their eccentricities. It pretty much ended as I suspected it would (and the way I felt it should as well) but it was a good read getting there.
"The Beach Club" in Nantucket is an exclusive hotel (really motel) on the beach. You can become a member of the club to use the beach (they provide chair&umbrella) for thousands of dollars. The story involves the people that work at the club and the guests. Good read.
This book wasn't as good as I thought it would be. It was a light read and okay, but it didn't wow me. The descriptions of Nantucket are pretty good. I would have liked more background information on all the characters. Found out more about them. It all seemed to wrap up a little too neatly.
I can hardly believe how bad this one is after enjoying two other books by the same author so much. The characters don't feel fully fleshed-out, and they're pretty unsympathetic. The way a minor "mystery" in the book is wrapped up makes no sense at all. What a waste of time.
Good book, good story...But I couldn't really identify with any of the characters. It didn't leave me thinking about the plot when I wasn't reading or anticipating the next thing to happen. It was not predictable, which is a good thing bit I also wasn't so interested that I spent much time anticipating the storyline.
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Elin Hilderbrand lives on Nantucket with her husband and their three young children. She grew up in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and traveled extensively before settling on Nantucket, which has been the setting for her five previous novels. Hilderbrand is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the graduate fiction workshop at the University of Iowa.
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Jun 06, 2012 06:31pm
Apr 28, 2013 10:14pm