Nantucket Nights: A Novel

I thought the book was well written as usual but it was dark. I am accustomed to her books being more on the light side.

I love reading books that take place at the seashore and "Nantucket Nights" is a good one to read at the end of summer going into fall when leaves first start drifting down from the trees. Reading a few of Elin Hilderbrand's books, which usually take place in Nantucket, during the fall and winter is a good way to remind myself that spring and summer will come back again."Nantucket Nights" I found to be very enjoyable and also very hard to put down. The story is built around three female friends who rented rooms in the same cottage in Nantucket after graduating from college. Kayla and Val were friendly with each other, but Antoinette always stayed to herself and didn't socialize much with the other two or anyone else. But one summer night Antoinette, who had been a dancer with the Joffrey Ballet, got the other two young women together and off to a secluded part of the beach they went for their first of many meetings of the Night Swimmers. They each told some little piece of personal information or secret about themselves, drank champagne and then went swimming in the ocean and slept on the beach all night, returning home in the morning.The Night Swimmers were still keeping their tradition twenty years later when Kayla was married with children and with a husband who was building the largest home for a couple that Nantucket had yet seen. Val was a lawyer and married, and Antoinette was independently wealthy enough that she never had to work but had a beautiful, secluded home with every book she ever wanted in it. Antoinette had never married since the other two had known her, but she had revealed a secret to them twenty years ago, and when they met for the twentieth time she had an even more startling secret to tell. She never had the chance, for when she danced into the water and started swimming out into the ocean, she disappeared and never resurfaced.What happened to Antoinette, what her secret was and the impact of the those events on the other two women is devastating and makes the story tense, mysterious and for Kayla it has the power to ruin her marriage and the lives of her children.The setting of the book, first of all, is wonderful if you love the idea of the ocean and lighthouses and all that goes with living on an island thirty miles out to sea. Three women who have been close friends for most of their adult lives and get together once a year to swim naked in the ocean, drink champagne and tell their secrets to each other is a pretty intriguing story, especially when the secrets are more than little everyday things and turn into life-changers. The book goes by very fast and isn't that long, so it's a fast and very enjoyable, thoughtful and suspenseful reading experience. Highly recommended, especially for women.

The aspect of this book that I liked the best was the fact that it was real. I have lived in island towns and this story could have happened in any of them. It wasn't farfetched, actually I've known a couple of cases like this that were almost the same so I liked all but the ending.

I have read most of Elin Hildebrand’s books and enjoyed them. The book held my attention but the only characters I liked were Raoul and Theo. The central characters weren’t relatable. Kayla was too insecure, Val was an insecure bitch and Antoinette was supposed to be a strong woman but let one emotional tragedy rule the rest of her life. The ending was rushed and not satisfying.

She hadn't seen her Mama in twenty years.Bad feelings drove them apart.Butis that the way it really happened? Did it really? Wasn't there extenuating circumstances that was dictated by life choices? Mama was a proper well brought up Charleston lady taught to keep her place one step behind her wealthy but dictating old money husband. Cara was like a young colt longing to run free, see the world, feel the depths of life like the cooling waters of the ocean at Primrose Cottage on the Isle of Palms. Words were said and actions took place. Now it's twenty years later and once again circumstances have intervened and Cara finds herself back on the Isle of Palms. A week turned into a month and a month into the summer and , well, I'll let you find out what happened next. Nantucket Nights is a book that demands attention and devotion. You will find yourself staring off into space wondering what in the world is Cara and Lovie,her Mother, going to do. It's sort of like when you go to the beach and you wiggle your toes in the sand and then the breakers. As your courage grows you venture out into the delicious cool water and then you say,'what the heck!' and dive in. You will dive into Nantucket Nights and discover the secrets each family member has kept all these years. I would suggest a comfortable stuffed chair, a drink handy so you don't have to leave the book for a minute, a box of tissues, and an open heart to embrace the characters in this book. I got Nantucket Nights at Amazon and would recommend you do the same. Happy reading and don't blame me if you lose a few hours of sleep because of it.Abby from Carolina

Can't believe how well Elin Hilderbrand understands human nature and the world and the times in which we live. Her knowledge, understanding, education, et. al. is as deep as the deepest well. For somebody who lives on a small island, or for anybody for that matter, she has a world view and a universe of understanding and knowledge. For those of us from The Cape and Islands, she brings back a world and scenes from decades of our lives.For those of us who grew up with Cumberland Farms, The Cape Cod Mall, the Ferries, Stop Shop, Cape Air, the Summer crowds, the non-moving traffic, the full and jammed parking lots, et. al., Hilderbrand writes in HD big time. If the current version is 4 HD then that is certainly where she is at now. She is unafraid of life and all its dilemmas. Most of us at any age or of any gender have been where her characters are. To paraphrase the old ABC Sports, it is the "human drama of. . .competition." The thrill of agony and the victory of defeat.Hilderbrand has dug into Nantucket and human nature to beyond their very bedrock.

Rather a disappointment. I’ve come to Elin Hildebrand’s books late, reading her most recent ones, whereas “Nantucket Nights” was published in 2002 apparently. There’s a crudity about it that’s different to the elegance of these later novels, and has more overt sexual content. It didn’t seem as well written, and the sudden ending was rather unbelievable. Could Kayla really forgive Antoinette so easily for the devastation she’d wrought? Sorry, not keen on this book and will think twice about reading some of the author’s earlier novels. Such a shame.

Short easy to read. No great thrills just a gentle story set in modern times Nantucket. Central plot involves only few characters, no surprises to keep you on edge so easy to pick up and put down if travelling.

I just love this authors books, always looking to see what of hers is available.

Fantastic read brilliant storyline well written love this book

This book is a miniature and I can't read it. I was t aware of this when I purchased it.