Narrator: Kathleen McInerney
ASIN: B00UXW794A
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Publication Date: 6/16/2015
Format: Other
My Rating: 3.5 Stars
A friendship is tested in this irresistible page-turner from New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand.
Nantucket writer Madeline King couldn't have picked a worse time to have writer's block. Her deadline is looming, her bills are piling up, and inspiration is in short supply. Madeline's best friend Grace, is hard at work transforming her garden into the envy of the island with the help of a ruggedly handsome landscape architect. Before she realizes it, Grace is on the verge of a decision that will irrevocably change her life.
Could Grace's crisis be Madeline's salvation? As the gossip escalates, and the summer's explosive events come to a head, Grace and Madeline try desperately to set the record straight--but the truth might be even worse than rumor has it.
About the Author
The following rumors about Elin Hilderbrand are true: She writes her novels longhand, she is a good cook and a terrible gardener, and she is fighting breast cancer. Everything else is up for speculation. THE RUMOR is her 15th novel. Website Twitter
WINTER STROLL
COMING 10/15!
The Quinn family celebrates their most dramatic Christmas yet in this enchanting sequel to Elin Hilderbrand's bestselling Winter Street.
My Review
Elin Hilderbrand returns with her annual Nantucket summer beach read THE RUMOR - A contemporary chick-lit, with tantalizing scandals, lustful affairs, hidden secrets, financial ruin, writer’s block, desperation, greed, prostitution, town gossip, and rumors which turn this beach island upside down. 3.5 Stars
With a page taken from a series of Wisteria Lane’s Desperate Housewives, we meet a cast of characters, whose lives connect in many ways for some wit, summer fun, and naughty mischief.
Meet the characters:
Grace and Madeline are best friends. Grace’s daughter Allegra and Madeline’s son Brick are involved. Fast Eddie (town’s real estate broker, currently in financial ruin with the real estate bust) finds a way to bring in some fast cash. Grace his wife, who is secretly in love with her landscape architect –clueless, a dreamer romantic--- has no clue what is going on with her own household—(daughters, husband, friend), and begins an affair.
Eddie owes Madeline and her husband a large sum of money from a bad real estate investment; His bill is due at the country club, and things are closing in. He cannot let his family, nor the town know he is broke, as will ruin his real estate career.
Madeline, an author is suffering from writer’s block until she gets some inspiration from her best friend’s secret affair and begins writing her sizzling novel, betraying her trust. (loved her editor and her enthusiasm).
Behind Eddie and Grace’s perfect façade, a beautiful home, stunning gardens, and an upcoming featured story in the Boston Globe, we find twin teenage daughters with much drama. Of course Grace is not paying attention to her daughters, her husband’s illegal scheming, nor her financial woes, as all she is consumed with is her gardens, looking good, and her handsome and charming landscape architect, Benton Coe (and the garden shed). However, does Benton really return her feelings?
Having read all Hilderbrand’s books and a long-time fan, excited she is back with her old writing style which made her a big success. With her real-life courageous fight against breast cancer, she still manages to crank out her annual summer beach reads and her winter family charming reads.
I enjoyed THE RUMOR, as Hilderbrand demonstrates flaws, drama, and real life characters, versus picture perfect, especially when people lose track of what is important in life, and the lengths they will go in order to keep up appearances.
Highly recommend the audiobook, as Kathleen McInerney (one of my favorite narrators), delivers a smashing summer scandalous beach read, where reality- may be worse than the rumor.
