I had a few logistical questions about one of them but can’t go into that here without tossing out a spoiler. Tons of highs and lows building to more than one climax and great use of the large cast to bring together unexpected outcomes. And this is a great story – I found myself flipping pages to read “just one more chapter”, despite the fact I had to get up much sooner than I liked. Regardless, I was happy to be able to get lost in the story.

Or possibly it was because each character had gone through their introduction, so their story began to unfold and I had enough information to be interested. Possibly I finally decided there wasn’t going to be just one or two main characters. Then I turned a corner and the story came to life. “The Hotel Nantucket” interpreted by Wombo Dream If the town didn’t care about the hotel, why should I? So the first 40% or so the pacing dragged through the set-up for multiple characters. Even the town is split in their interest – and that’s where the problem was for me. However, issues abound – from apparent con artists appearing the first week, to low occupancy and general lack of buzz about the property, to personal issues plaguing the staff. We follow no fewer than six primary characters as they get hired, trained, and learn to run the hotel to Xavier Darling’s standards (his $1000 per week bonus doesn’t hurt as a motivator). I’m not really a fan of it, but with such a huge cast of characters, an omniscient point of view makes sense. This novel starts with the town as narrator, a feature in several of Hilderbrand’s novels. But the hotel isn’t the only character looking for a new beginning – each member of the staff comes with their own baggage, hoping the summer and their new positions will also give them a fresh start. Then London billionaire Xavier Darling purchases and renovates the property, determined to win the coveted Five Keys from hotel critic Shelly Carpenter.

Here’s the blurb: After a devastating fire in the early 1920s, the Hotel Nantucket has gone through several owners and different iterations, none of which were successful. In her latest novel, she breathes life into a hotel and its resident ghost. I love the fictional residents, many of whom appear in multiple novels, the farms, the towns, everything about the island. Elin Hilderbrand has brought Nantucket to life for millions of readers.

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