I really enjoyed the storyline of this book and how she incorporated the characters from other books. Another great beach read!

I have recently become a big fan of Elin Hilderbrand's novels. When I saw she had a new novel out, I knew I had to read it. The Perfect Couple is set in Nantucket, as most of her books are. A wedding is set to take place on this beautiful island until the maid of honor is found dead the morning of the wedding. The story of the bride and groom, and their friends and family, is told in the present and through flashbacks to the start of their relationship, all while trying to solve the mystery of how the maid of honor died.

Fun, light, easy beach read set on the idyllic Nantucket. I was totally snared by the who-done-it nature of this murder mystery. The chapters alternate perspectives, but the characters were distinct and didn't get confusing. Going into the final chapter and the big discovery, I would have given this book 5 stars, but that final chapter and the who-done-it discovery were a bit flat and anti-climactic.

Celeste is from a lower middle class hard working, close-knit, very moral family and Benji is from a very privileged upper class family that originally came from England, but now lives in the US.  Her mom works at the Crayola Factory in Easton, PA and his mom is a well-loved novelist.  Her dad sells men's clothing at Neiman Marcus and his dad is some sort of hedge fund manager or something financial like that.  But Celeste and Benji meet and date and decide to get married.  

On the morning of their wedding, her maid of honor is found floating in the marina outside Benji's family's Nantucket compound.  An investigation ensues to determine if this was foul play or an accident or even suicide.

The mystery is playful.  It didn't feel dark or sinister, yet it was very intriguing.  I kept thinking that I had figured it out, and then was wrong.  Over and over.  Which was fun and kept me reading.  

There are two beautiful love stories.  I loved Shooter's storyline and Karen's storyline.  I think Karen and Bruce (aka Betty and Mac) ARE the Perfect Couple.

The author encouraged the reader to contemplate how class and privilege weigh in to people's decision making.  Were the Winburys more morally corrupt because they had been given everything and just thought they could/should have whatever they wanted?  Did the Winburys make poor choices because their choices never involved survival, homes, cars, foods would never be an issue for them.  Did Mac and Betty make better choices because they had to work hard for everything they had and the threat of it being taken away was always there?  Did Mac and Betty have higher morals because they couldn't afford not to?

I thought the author did a great job with keeping a murder mystery not too heavy or dark (who wants heavy and dark on the beach?), but still raising questions about class and privilege and still telling a fabulous story!

It is the wedding weekend for Celeste Otis and Benji Winbury. They come from two different worlds. Celeste is from a humble background where her parents worked hard to give her every opportunity to move ahead. Benji was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His parents are extremely wealthy and have homes all over the world, including a compound on Nantucket. Their wedding is everything you could dream of and Celeste is eager for everything to be perfect for her family, especially her mother who has terminal cancer. Never mind that the educated, successful bride has suddenly developed a debilitating stutter. On the morning of the wedding, they all wake up to find the Maid-of-Honor, Merritt, dead on the beach. As the Nantucket police interview all those in attendance and try to piece together the last 48 hours, it becomes apparent that things are not as they seem. There are a lot of secrets being kept, but how killed Merritt?

Elin Hilderbrand's Nantucket is my dream summer vacation. This year's trip to Nantucket involves a murder mystery. Celeste Otis, the bride, seems like such a grounded young woman. She comes from a humble background and struggles to make ends meet, but loves her job as the director of the Bronx Zoo. Benji's world is one of wealth and privilege and as much as he tries to make Celeste feel comfortable, she can't really be herself. There is only one person who makes her that comfortable and that is Benji's best friend. I really liked Celeste, I could be friends with her. And I understand why she feels out of place with Benji and on Nantucket. When revealed, the truth didn't really shock me, but it made me feel sorry for all those involved. The Winbury family had all the money in the world, but they could not buy the happiness they so desperately crave. CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS

Bottom Line - The Perfect Couple is a book about three couples who appear to be perfect in every way. Celeste and Benji. Tag and Greer. And Celeste's parents. The reality is that none of them are perfect, but all of them just want to be happy. Elin Hilderbrand is an author that I don't miss and I think that The Perfect Couple is one of her best books yet.
Details:

The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand
On Instagram
Pages: 480
Publishers: Little, Brown, and Company
Publication Date: 6/19/18
Buy it Here!

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I found it to be an easy, fast read though not without some minor flaws. As other reviewers have noted, it was difficult to keep the timeline of events straight, especially when reading the electronic version.

The Nantucket setting was vividly drawn but many of the characters were very unlikeable. While the death of the bridesmaid that occurs early on was being investigated, readers learned about many of the guests’ unsavory lives and duplicitous relationships.

The story is well-plotted, in spite of the problematic timeline issue, and I was drawn to keep reading to find out what happened. The ending was unexpected and I was left with a lot of questions about the unresolved issues of many of the characters.

I would recommend this as a light, interesting ‘beach’ read and I give it a solid three stars. Many thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Co. for access to the advance e-copy of this book.

** spoiler alert ** While I love Elin Hilderbrand's books because they are set on Nantucket and it is now on my bucket list of places to visit because of her fabulous descriptions of sights, shopping, restaurants, and LOBSTER...I had a few issues with her latest book.

- I read it as an ebook on my Kindle and I had a hard time keeping the timeline straight because it bounced around from 2016-present. I couldn't page back and forth to see where I was at.

- It was a lot of build-up to a "murder" that ended up not even being a "murder."

- We never found out what happened to some of the characters in the book that were discussed at length. Karen's mom miraculously started feeling better the morning of the "murder," but we knew she was gravely ill. So what was that all about? Do Shooter and Celeste finally end up together?!? Or is this a teaser to a sequel (like the Winter Street series - which I loved by the way!) What becomes of Benji? Greer? Thomas & Abby? Does she have a baby finally? I didn't really care what happened to Tag, but would have been nice to hear how his and Greer's marriage ended. And how about Finn and Lola? And Chloe? And Marty and Keira? These characters were introduced but never had their story lines wrapped up. Way too many unanswered questions for my liking.

All in all, I flew through the book because I wanted to see what happened and it was great for a summer read - just left me wanting more details at the end. I was given an advance copy of the book by #netgalley.

Well, is there really such a thing as a perfect couple?? This book shows you the strengths and weaknesses of the many characters within the novel and their struggle to follow their hearts. You could identify with the main characters and their emotions. Unfortunately, what your heart wants and the need to make your family happy are not always the same thing. As such, being a "people pleaser" is never easy. I enjoyed this great beach read and will recommend it to my friends!

The Perfect Couple is a perfect blend of mystery, family drama, and soapy intrigue. The plot kept me guessing until the end. A perfect book for late summer nights!

All I needed to see was the author’s name and I was intrigued. I enjoy Elin Hilderbrand’s books, they are always really good and they always make me want to move to an east coast beach town!

I am so super excited to read this book which practically screams SUMMER TIME!

Synopsis:

It’s Nantucket wedding season, also known as summer, the sight of a bride racing down Main Street is as common as the sun setting at Madaket Beach. The Otis-Winbury wedding promises to be an event to remember: the groom’s wealthy parents have spared no expense to host a lavish ceremony at their oceanfront estate.

But it’s going to be memorable for all the wrong reasons after tragedy strikes: a body is discovered in Nantucket Harbor just hours before the ceremony-and everyone in the wedding party is suddenly a suspect. As Chief of Police Ed Kapenash interviews the bride, the groom, the groom’s famous mystery-novelist mother, and even a member of his own family, he discovers that every wedding is a minefield-and no couple is perfect.



I love to read so much, I don’t even want to tell you how many hours I spend seeing whats coming up in later 2018, 2019. I get super excited when I see one of my favorite authors has a new book coming out!

I am new to this author but found her writing to be perfect, light summer reading. A good mix of romance and realistic relationships, it was easy to feel as if you were friends within this world. Great summer vacation book to tuck in your bag.

The Perfect Couple is the very first book I've read so far by Elin Hilderbrand, and it will definitely not be my last! I've had quite a few of her books on my TBR for a while now, and even bought one of her previous books to read last summer while we were on vacation. Unfortunately I did not get a chance to read that book, and opted to save it for this summer, and I'm so glad I did. Reading The Perfect Couple has definitely made me want to read more of Elin's books, and I'm happy to add them all to my TBR for this summer!

I was initially drawn to The Perfect Couple by it's beachy book cover. I was looking for summer themed books to read this summer, and this one definitely fit the bill. Not only is it set at the beach during the summer, but there's also a beach wedding, (perfect for wedding season), AND a murder mystery. Everything you're looking for in a great beach read!

The storyline for this book was definitely interesting and kept me guessing as I turned the pages. I'm usually pretty good at figuiring out the mystery early in a book, and while I thought I had it figured out at first, (I did), I love that the book made me question myself more than a few times! Not too many books do that lately, and I LOVED it! All of the characters in the story were suspicious and mysterious, and none of them where what they seemed, which made the story that much more interesting. So much drama! I'm usually not a fan of dramatic books, but this one had me hooked.

Overall; The Perfect Couple is the very first book I've read by Elin Hilderbrand, but it defintely will not be my last! I'm thrilled to have three of her older books, The Rumor, Here's to Us, and The Identicals on my TBR for this summer, and I can't wait to dive into those books as well. I hope they will be great summer reads also! If you're looking for a good beach read, do check out The Perfect Couple!

Happy Reading!

This was the first book I've read by Hilderbrand. It had me at wedding, family, and murder. A good summer read with great characters, some red herrings, and a setting that sounds divine. It was a bit predictable at times, but overall was good and a great escape.

I wasn't expecting a murder in a summer beach book. It kept me turning pages to find out who in the family and/or wedding party killed the maid of honor the night before the wedding. Lots of good motives made it all very exciting.

Elin Hilderbrand is one of my favorite writers and I will always read her book without reading the description. The Perfect Couple did not disappoint! A dead body, a wedding party, the beach...nothing else is needed to have a great beach read, summer read as always! I am so thankful to have been lucky enough to receive this one from #elinhilderbrand #littlebrownandcompany and #netgalley

Another winner from Elin Hilderbrand! You can always count on Ms. Hilderbrand for giving us the perfect summer beach read. But you don’t have to be at the beach! And a death on the first page! Bam!

I absolutely loved The Perfect Couple. I thought it had the perfect amount of family drama and romance and mystery! It's my staff pick for a summer read!

Two and a half stars: This is not a light, fluffy beach read. Too much drama, and the annoying characters left an unsavory taste in my mouth. Disappointing!

It’s wedding season on Nantucket and a gorgeous wedding is suddenly cancelled when the maid of honor turns up dead. Who would want to harm the maid of honor or was it a terrible accident? Rumors swirl and dark secrets are unearthed as the local law enforcement tries to piece together what happened to Merritt. Perhaps some secrets are best left alone......
What I Liked:
I am not going to lie, I went in to The Perfect Couple expecting a fun, light beach read. What I got was a murder mystery filled with dirty laundry, betrayals and heaps of drama. While I didn’t love the book like I hoped, I will admit that I had a good time reading it.
If you are one who likes secrets and family drama and lots of twists, this is one to check out. Practically every one at the wedding is hiding something from illicit love affairs to sordid secrets. There were plenty of times when my jaw dropped.
This one features a large cast of characters, and I liked that I never knew who was up to what. I was kept guessing the entire time, and when the pieces snapped into place, I was surprised.
Ms. Hildenbrand knows how to write family drama. There is something about her books that sucks you in. She writes terrific, flawed characters who make ghastly mistakes.
The ending while not the most satisfying answered all the questions regarding the murder, no big loose ends.
And The Not So Much:
Ugh... where do I start? I pretty much finished the book hating all of the characters. By the time all the dirty laundry was aired, everyone was soiled and there wasn’t anything redeeming about anyone except the police chief. Talk about a book with a bunch of unlikeable characters!
Too much drama! There is so much angst and drama in this book. It gets to the point where it is too much. I grew tired of the constant upheaval.
I thought this was going to be a light and fluffy beach read, but what I got was a murder mystery filled with unlikeable characters, tons of drama and angst.
I didn’t like the way the female characters were depicted. None of them were likable, and they all made questionable decisions.
Too many view points. There are so many points of view in this one it was hard to identify with the characters. I hated the constant switching and some of the view points felt like filler.
I hated the insta love romance. I won’t go into details here to avoid spoilers, but there is romance that is complete insta love.
I could go on and on, but I think I will stop. This book was a disappointment on so many levels. If you like lots of drama and angst and a passel of unlikeable characters read this, if you want light and fun look elsewhere.

The Perfect Couple is a book I had on my must read summer list, but I was left bitterly disappointed in this one. I am sure others will enjoy this one, but I thought it was a hot mess. It does feature and interesting murder mystery, but after all the sordid secrets and affairs are exposed, I ended up not liking any of the characters. This is one I would skip or check out from the library, or you can read some of the other reviews and decide for yourself.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.

One of my favorite books of hers. I could not put it down. Want another book with the same main characters.

This book was a quick read. It was a perfect summer escape. I like reading Elgin Hilderbrand books because they are light and enjoyable. This book was just that.