Title: The Rumor
Author: Elin Hilderbrand
Publisher: Little Brown and Company
Release Date: June 16, 2015
Pages: 384
Book Source: ARC
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.
My Review:
Every time I picked this book back up to continue reading, “Rumor Has It” by Adele would pop into my head. I like the song, but having it stuck in my head was not amusing. Happy to pass that little ear bug onto you!
This will be a perfect beach bag read if you don’t want a book that makes you think hard, and with a plot that has been told numerous times. Not that it’s a bad thing. It’s like an old friend rehashing your high school days every time you get together.
Each chapter began with a new month, starting with May and going through August, and you spend a summer with the characters. The town of Nantucket acted as the narrator and character spreading the rumors. I did think this writing device was nifty. It kept the story flowing and recapped the most current rumor.
The four main characters in the book were Madeline and Grace (best friends), Hope (one of Grace’s twin daughters), and Eddie (Grace’s husband). Each one has a secret, and while trying to hide their secrets, the town’s people can tell something is up, so they start spreading rumors.
I really can’t write too much without giving away everything. All of theses secrets have been happening to people since forever. Affairs, unrequited love, money problems, prostitution… all the juicy things that people love to gossip about, but hope no one ever finds out if they are the ones doing them.
Elin Hilderbrand is a veteran writer so the story did flow nicely, and each character’s stories were revolved in the end. I was content with how it ended. There were no loose ends and nothing unrealistic. With a couple exceptions, everything in Nantucket was back to normal after the summer.
The book was enjoyable enough that I didn’t have to force myself to keep reading, but it didn’t wow me. But if you want to lose yourself in the opulence of the rich and forget about your problems for awhile, this could be the book for you.
*I was given an Advanced Reader’s Copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and I was not given any money or material incentives for an honest review of this book.