Book Review & Blog Tour: The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand

The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand definitely fits the category of summertime escape reading. It's the perfect book to take on vacation to read at the beach, poolside or sitting in your backyard soaking up the sun. This is the story about 4 couples who become dear and close friends. They become friends after they all find their way to the island of Nantucket. As they marry and have families they become inseparable, loyal and devoted friends. Then, there is a turn of events, a tragedy that rocks their world. Friendships are questioned...realities are made clear and they each find that there were many hidden secrets that they all were part of protecting. There is mystery surrounding the tragic death of one of the couples that devastates the core of their friendships. They each must decide if they will divulge their own secrets and grieve and move forward in a way to honor their friends deaths.

I liked the mystery angle to the story told in The Castaways that made you wonder where the story would go and what would be unearthed....did the couple die in an accident or where they murdered? I liked how the author chose to tell the story from the varying perspectives of the 6 remaining friends. Although, there were parts of the story that dragged for me at times. When the characters went into details about their pasts or reminiscing in details, it tended to be a bit too drawn out and slow for me. I loved reading about the details of life on the island of Nantucket, this was an added bonus for me. I have been to Martha's Vineyard, which is a beautiful island but I have not had the opportunity to visit Nantucket. Reading about the island of Nantucket in The Castaways makes me want to whisk away and jump on the Ferry to escape for a summer vacation there!

Thanks to Miriam from Hachette for organizing this book blog tour. You can check out other tour stops here and make sure and check out Elin Hilderbrand's wonderful website here.

You can read an excerpt here.

Check out The Castaways Book Club here.

Check out the Original "The Castaways" cocktail recipe here.

About the Author:

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.