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Nantucket Nights
The ties between women can run as deep as the ocean--but so can their secrets.
For 20 years, Kayla, Antoinette and Val have performed their own special summer ritual. Once a year, the old friends put aside their daily, separate lives to drink champagne, swap stories and swim naked under the Nantucket stars. But on one of those bonding nights, one of their trio swims ou
...morePaperback, 240 pages
Published
May 12th 2009
by St. Martin's Griffin
(first published June 3rd 2002)
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After having loved Hilderbrand's books, Silver Girl, Barefoot, The Island, etc. I am on a mission to read all of Hilderbrand’s books! Which led me to Nantucket Nights and just like her others this book did not disappoint. Despite having fewer characters, fewer pages, and fewer parallel stories, this book was a far more complex book then some of her others.
This novel is an intricately woven story of family, of friendship, and of our perceptions of the truth. It is the story of instincts ...more
This novel is an intricately woven story of family, of friendship, and of our perceptions of the truth. It is the story of instincts ...more
I needed an easy read for the bus and well this book fit the bill. However, I can't say that I enjoyed it.
The plot centers around three women, Kayla, Val and Antoinette and their decades long friendship. They share an annual, secret sharing ritual and call themselves the Night Swimmers, but when one woman disappears during this ritual everybody's life is thrown into turmoil.
An interesting premise, no? Unfortunately Hilderbrand executes it poorly. I could not get behind an...more
The plot centers around three women, Kayla, Val and Antoinette and their decades long friendship. They share an annual, secret sharing ritual and call themselves the Night Swimmers, but when one woman disappears during this ritual everybody's life is thrown into turmoil.
An interesting premise, no? Unfortunately Hilderbrand executes it poorly. I could not get behind an...more
Whoa! I read this one fast! I wanted to keep reading and find out more but was also hesitant to finish it. When I like books I don't want them to end. I am always nervous about the ending. Will it satisfy me? Will it end like I want it to end or will it leave me feeling empty?
I liked this story. Three friends meet once a year at the beach to enjoy lobster and champagne, take a swim and share secrets. Fun, right? What's better than that? The simplicity of it all comes to a screeching ...more
I liked this story. Three friends meet once a year at the beach to enjoy lobster and champagne, take a swim and share secrets. Fun, right? What's better than that? The simplicity of it all comes to a screeching ...more
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I have been meaning to check out a book (any book, but I think Barefoot got me interested) by Elin Hilderbrand since 2009, but have kept pushing it off because I'm afraid I won't like it and I really want to like her books. She sort of made me think of Kristin Hannah, who I adore, but I was so afraid that I would roll my eyes and not like a book of hers I put it off until this August when I finally checked out a few of her books. Nantucket Nights, is the first book of hers that I've read and I ...more
This book is based on the friendship of three women; Kayla, Val and Antoinette. They have been friends for many years and once a year they get together to go night swimming in the ocean and share secrets. On this particular night, one of the friends goes missing. After this the friendship implodes and secrets are revealed.
I was along for the ride for most of the story, but the ending was a complete disappointment to me. I just felt let down by it, there was no real closure in my mind....more
I was along for the ride for most of the story, but the ending was a complete disappointment to me. I just felt let down by it, there was no real closure in my mind....more
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This is complete soap opera & I enjoyed it thoroughly. All summer I've been looking for the perfect book & I've had some close calls but most, by the end of the story, have disappointed. I got this book because it takes place on Cape Cod & I've spent quite a bit of time there - it is always fun to read about places you know. This is a story about friendship & family & secrets that can destroy both. The lesson learned is that no one should take their perfect life for granted & it is certainly...more
As I read the book I thought I would give it more stars. Many unanswered questions were left to wonder about at the end of the book, which frankly irritated me. I wish the author wrote an epilogue to satisfy all those threads left open. Her books often show women with close friendships, but who betray each other. Among other questions, I was not satisfied with the conclusion of her relationship with her husband. I did not like how it appeared that Kayla allowed the deceit of Antoinette's disa...more
This is the third book from Hilderbrand that I have read and this book was not nearly as well written as the previous two that I have read and reviewed previously.
Nantucket Nights once again centers around well off women on the island of Nantucket. The 3 main characters (known as the Night Swimmers), go for their annual swim and one goes missing. There in starts the 'murder mystery'. Unlike Castaways or Barefoot by Hilderbrand the plot and character development was rushed and the ending wa...more
Nantucket Nights once again centers around well off women on the island of Nantucket. The 3 main characters (known as the Night Swimmers), go for their annual swim and one goes missing. There in starts the 'murder mystery'. Unlike Castaways or Barefoot by Hilderbrand the plot and character development was rushed and the ending wa...more
I'm a writer, so I hate criticizing other people's books, but this is one that I just can not find any real praise for. I tried to like this book. I really did. It was billed to me as a fun, light read. Wrong.
I found the characters to be more selfish than believable. The ending was hurried, like Elin Hilderbrand had two days to deadline and fifty more pages left to crank out.
I may try another one of her books in the future. Maybe chick-lit just isn't my style. Maybe I like charact...more
I found the characters to be more selfish than believable. The ending was hurried, like Elin Hilderbrand had two days to deadline and fifty more pages left to crank out.
I may try another one of her books in the future. Maybe chick-lit just isn't my style. Maybe I like charact...more
I'd like to give this book 3.5 stars. If you are looking for a quick, easy, summer beach read this will do the trick. A book set in Nantucket about 3 women who are friends and have an annual ritual of swimming at night and telling eachother their innermost secrets. The book is narrated by Kayla who is a mom of 4 children and wife of a Nantucket construction baron. One of the friends goes missing during the annual swim and things proceed to get really messed up in Kayla's life because of it. I wo...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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I read this book in less than a day. It was an easy read and it definitely held my interest. However, the plot was quite disturbing to me and at the end I really didn't feel like the story was resolved to my satisfaction. I don't need every story I read to have a happy, feel-good ending, but I certainly prefer it! This story just depressed me. I can't get this book out of my head, though, and I guess that says something. It was definitely thought provoking!! The friend who recommended this...more
It was a easy read. Read it in a day. It didn't seem that any of the women had their heads on straight. It proves that keeping secrets only complicates peoples lives. Antoinette in the ends decides to keep the baby this is her second chance at motherhood. Yet she doesn't try to work on a relationship with her first daughter who was anxious to get to know her. It all sounds selfish to me. Val was definitely a user caring more about herself than Kayla. It doesn't sound like real friendship to me...more
This was my 4th book by Hilderbrand. This one was a bit shorter than some of the others I've read, so there wasn't quite as much plot and character development, but it worked out great. I enjoyed the usual 'mystery' to be solved, and the layers of deception and secrets that were uncovered as we learned more about each of the players in the story. It really makes you think about how much you really know your friends, and what they are capable of, or what they might do, in certain situations....more
I have no idea why I decided to read this book. I keep a Things to Read list and I've been reading a lot of award-winning young adult literature lately. Why this? Anyway, once I realized it was a summer beach read, I was willing to give it a shot.
And it really wasn't too bad. The narrative shifted among three main characters while following a single plot. I really didn't like the fact that main character (Kayla?) ended up being dismissively screwed by so many different people. ...more
And it really wasn't too bad. The narrative shifted among three main characters while following a single plot. I really didn't like the fact that main character (Kayla?) ended up being dismissively screwed by so many different people. ...more
I used to be a total book snob. Then last year, I learned of the joys of an easy beach read in tough times. I rank books based on how well the author does what he/she is intending to do. This book isn't fancy, but it's a great summer read--full of lies, betrayals, and a little suspense. I love reading books set in New England, for which I am very homesick. The descriptions of island-living in Massachusetts took me back in time to the vacations in my childhood. Highly enjoyable.
So far, meh. Fine for a library book, but she seems pretty formulaic, even for chick lit. Nantucket + affairs + hot contractor husband + a dash of real estate porn. We'll see though.
Finished it, and I still agree with all of the above plus:
- a hurried, impractical ending that didn't really make sense with the characters' established personalities.
- selfish, un-relatable characters
- unexplained plot points
In all fairness, I would actually give this ...more
Finished it, and I still agree with all of the above plus:
- a hurried, impractical ending that didn't really make sense with the characters' established personalities.
- selfish, un-relatable characters
- unexplained plot points
In all fairness, I would actually give this ...more
I read this book because I wanted to get a feel for the island of Nantucket, where the story takes place and where the author lives, since I'll be spending a weekend there this summer and I've never been. What I got instead was a crass, unlikely story full of unlikeable people, melodrama, selfishness, and literally unbelievably bad choices. I was glad to be done with it, and I won't read this author again. I like good chick lit but for me this was chick lit at its worst!
This is my 3rd Elin Hilderbrand book. I started with Barefoot, which I purchased for my Kindle and thoroughly enjoyed. I have since ordered all of the remainder of her books from either the library or Amazon.
One thing I noticed about this book was that it had much more of a "mystery" feel too. What has drawn me to her books is the great character descriptions and the Nantucket scenery - which is a common theme in all her books.
This book is an intricately wov...more
One thing I noticed about this book was that it had much more of a "mystery" feel too. What has drawn me to her books is the great character descriptions and the Nantucket scenery - which is a common theme in all her books.
This book is an intricately wov...more
This novel dealt with a group of 3 women who have an annual midnight party/swim off the coast of Nantucket. They keep a tradition of each woman telling a secret that they have kept. When one of the women disappears, instead of pulling together, their lives veer off course dramatically. Hidden secrets, lies and agendas threaten to tear apart their formerly perfect seeming lives. I found this a little hard to read as I found none of the women to be particularly empathetic and watching them betray ...more
I put this on hold at the library when I was in my Cape Cod book phase. Then I saw that it'd been called a romance and I was less interested - I was worried it'd be full of heaving bosoms and stuff.
It's actually more of a mystery surrounded by a bunch of relationships. I enjoyed it and kept picking it up. It was nice fluff after reading such a heavy book before. I wish I'd had it to read at the beach :-)
It's actually more of a mystery surrounded by a bunch of relationships. I enjoyed it and kept picking it up. It was nice fluff after reading such a heavy book before. I wish I'd had it to read at the beach :-)
This is the story of a twenty year friendship between three very different women.Hilderbrand captures the beauty of Nantucket Island and you feel like you are there,which I loved.The three women get together on the eve of Labor Day week-end at midnight for their own "night swimmers." What happens on their twentieth year will test their friendship in a way none of them ever thought possible.Great beach read.
This thriller/novel is a page-turner. While it's a little slow starting out of the gate, once Hildebrand gets going, she keeps you hooked. This story is about life,death, secrets, mistakes,victories, friendship and families. The surprises keep coming. I finally thought I had the whole thing figured out, but still couldn't put it down until the very last word. I am enjoying my summer reading vacation.
Stupid and naive housewives irritate me. When they are fictional charachters who continue to act stupid and naive I can only blame the writer for perpetuating the stereotype. Otherwise, this story is charming in its earthy and wholesome family life, moving in the depth and scope of the plot, and tragic in its outcome. A good story for summer, but the whole stupid housewife thing still bugs me.
I read this book because I loved Elin Hilderbrand's "A Summer Affair" so much. This was also good but not as good. I love books about friendships among women. This one threw in a mystery that was good even though I had it figured out before the end. There were times that I didn't really understand their friendship which dragged the story, but otherwise, an easy and enjoyable read.
Eeeehhh - this book was OK. I really got into it in the begining, but the end sort of ruined it for me. I thought the ending was lame and incomplete. The story doesn't really conclude, and the measure of conclusion we DO get is completely unbelievable. In my opinion anyway. I think the author could have come up with a better ending - in which case I would have given the book a higher rating.
This book disappointed me. Kayla made me mad from the beginning, and I couldn't get past it. I, too, have some women friends who I share more years than similarities with. But, these three I couldn't connect with or redeem at all. Sadly. This was the first time for me reading this author, I was so excited for someone new to backfill. I'm hesitant to try another.
As far as Elin Hilderbrand books go, I'd actually give this a 3.5 - Elin's writing never fails to disappoint, but I could see where she was going with the mystery, although the ending kept me on my toes. I do wonder what her books would be like if they weren't all set in Nantucket - or maybe that's the magic of them? Either way, it was a good quick read for the train.
this book was very mom-chick-lit. Lots of mama drama and betrayal and heartbreak and hidden secrets and infidelity - really are people's lives like this? ?? I don't think so. I picked this up in the waiting room while waiting to pick up John from dental surgery and basically finished it in one day. it IS a quick read but the characters are a little ridiculous and dramatic.
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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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