Not my favorite Elin Hildebrand book but still good. If you believe in spirits and the afterlife, read this one.

initial thoughts: another good Elin Hilderbrand story! while there are other books of hers that I have enjoyed more, this one was still full of multiple POVs, family drama, secrets, and of course, Nantucket.

there was an extremely tasteless Anne Frank joke in this book that has gotten some heat, which is deserved. can’t believe the editors (and Elin) let that through in the final draft.

Thank you, NetGalley and Elin Hilderbrand, for this eARC! It was a pleasure to read. I loved the concept, characters, and plot. It seemed different than other books by Hilderbrand that I've read previously, but that wasn't a bad thing! It kept me interested the entire time!

Another good book with heartbreaking family drama from Elin. It wasn't my favorite of hers, but still solid. Elin's books are always a great escape with good storytelling and this book was no different.

Vivian, a novelist, is killed in a hit and run accident in Nantucket. She is given the chance to "view" her family for 45 days and provide three "nudges". This was a really unique premise, and I really enjoyed this book--I think it is one of Elin Hilderbrand's best! Thank you, NetGalley, for the advance reader copy of this book!

I can't believe I waited so long to pick up this book. This is so different from any other Elin Hilderbrand novel that I've read in the past. I liked that it had a slightly mystery element to it, although as a frequent mystery and thriller reader, I knew the outcome of that one right away. But the unique perspective of the story and how it was told was a favorite part of mine. I also liked that we got multiple perspectives and that each character had something that they were struggling with. I will definitely be picking up more from Elin Hilderbrand in the future.

Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand was a great read by the reigning queen of beach reads. I absolutely love all of Hilderbrand's books and auto-buy them every time they come out. Golden Girl was a little different, it felt like a genre-bender with a small play on the "who-dun it" trope which I loved.

I received a review copy of this book from the author/publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Golden girl is an interesting story. With the paranormal aspect within the story it adds a whole new dimension to the book. It is interesting how the mom in conjunction with her "angel" is able to help her children. She is very torn about her past life and how she put career over her children and sees this as her last chance for retribution. An interesting take on an age old problem of guilt with regard to parenting. You won't be disappointed if you pick this book up to read!

I didn’t enjoy this novel at all. I have read every other novel by this author and met her on Nantucket a few times where I tracked her down at book signings with the latest copy of her newest release so to say I was disappointed in this one is an understatement. It reads like a strange memoir of the author’s life, except she is very much alive. This makes it come off as pompous and crude as she hails herself a piece of Nantucket that cannot be lost. I was so baffled by this book. It was just strange to me and left a bad taste in my mouth about the author.

Elin HIlderbrand spins another pleasant Nantucket beach-read novel. Nantucket's best selling author, Vivian Howe, is killed in a hit-and-run accident while taking a morning job. She left behind three grown children, an ex-husband who still loves her, and a best friend who try to make sense of her sudden departure from their lives. As the accident is investigated, Vivian is watching from The Beyond, and with guidance from a heavenly mentor, she is able to send some nudges to guide her loved ones.

If you like Hilderbrand's books you will like this one. Definitely worth picking up even if it is just to have a familiar, comfortable read.

Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand is another fabulous example of why Nantucket Native Elin Hilderbrand is the greatest of all time. The way she weaves perspective and prose is unlike any other. I hope to one day reach her abilities in writing.

On a perfect day on Nantucket, Vivian Howe is killed while running. What unfolds is her life before her in her death, it's like she's an angel looking from above at the changes in the lives of those she loves. Her family goes on, but do they make the decisions that she wished for them? Did they choose the right paths that she might have guided them in? How can she help them without physically being there?

This book was not typical Elin Hilderbrand. It was more than just a novel in the life on Nantucket, it has such deeper and profound meaning....I loved it.

I put off reading this book because the idea of a ghost as a main character wasn't appealing to me. I ended up really enjoying it, though. The characters all seemed so real and were interesting, and the story kept me reading. I actually cared a lot more about the characters and their lives over the mystery of who killed Vivi. Overall, this was a good read.

A big thank-you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for giving me a copy of this book for an unbiased review.

2.5/5 - It was okay.

Having heard about Elin Hilderbrand in every book group imaginable, I was excited to get a copy of this book to review. It left me entertained, I suppose, but overall the experience was a bit of a letdown. The premise was fantastic - Vivi Howe, a celebrated author with a passion for Nantucket, is allowed one last summer to watch her kids navigate their lives from a sort of cozy purgatory after she is killed in a hit-and-run. The narrative blends a "who-done-it" mystery with a drama about the lives of these Nantucket natives.

For me, that's where the book stops being interesting. Which is unfortunate, as that's what the book is all about.

Here is my first complaint: I found the characters insufferable. Most of them lead myopic, privileged, self-absorbed lives (yes, the infamous Anne Frank joke is as bad as the internet critics say and it doesn't exactly endear the main character to me). Their lives are written like bad stereotypes - the selfish, childish men having affairs; the younger, jealous "other women,"; the overly busy career mothers who are somehow at fault for the infidelity of their spouses, the younger children who rebel by snorting coke in the bathroom.

Topics like race, infidelity, and even murder are treated with an alarming levity. I was especially irked when the main suspect of the crime kept insisting it was because he was black, although him being a suspect was entirely reasonable and the police chief was already ignoring evidence because he liked the kid anyway. It felt like a very lazy nod to BLM that somehow managed to misunderstand the entire movement while capitalizing on it. Also, as a who-done-it, the book was weak - the murderer is essentially revealed at the beginning of the novel. It's more of a "why-done-it" but that's not really enough to hold my attention when I don't care about the characters.

Perhaps the thing that set me off on the book the most, however, was its impenetrable WASPyness - the characters are almost exclusively white, privileged, and self-absorbed. They're the sort of people who might describe a Coke as "spicy" or try to explain a difficult situation as struggling to finish a plate of spaghetti. From the amount of times that Veuve Clicquot and Casa Dragones are mentioned in the book, you'd think it had been sponsored by brand partnerships. These are characters who complain about the size of their beach homes or are irritated by not being allowed to join a country club. When they don't have plans for a future, they work in a laundromat and somehow get by just fine. When one of them comes out as gay, the "bad" characters label them as "unnatural" and "disgusting" while the more tolerant ones celebrate themselves for NOT doing so, which is almost equally weird.

So why did I give it 2.5 stars and not rate it lower? Well, because it was entertaining enough. The beginning, especially, was promising. The premise was not bad. And there were redeemable moments between Vivi and her children, or her husband, or Brett Caspian. There were warm fuzzies sprinkled throughout, because it's a story about coming to peace with death so of course there were. There was the cozy setting of Nantucket, which is impossible not to sink into. There were fantastic descriptions of delicious-sounding sandwiches and warm pretzel rolls. It was enough to make this a read that was fine, but not something I would personally recommend or return to.

My only complaint - and it's not really a complaint - is that I've had Stone In Love stuck in my head for the last 3 days! The narration of this story is a little different but it has the Nantucket we've come to know and love.

In my opinion, Elin Hilderbrand is a queen and can literally do no wrong when it comes to her books. Even though I thought the subject material might be depressing, I was surprised to find the book uplifting, entertaining, and- as always- hard to put down. I can honestly say that I've never read a "bad" book by Hilderbrand- and thankfully, this is no exception.

ELIN, I LOVE YOUR BOOKS!!! I really loved Golden Girl. I thought the premise of the book was neat and I am so curious about the parallels to Elin’s life. I would love to have happy hour with Elin and pick her brain. On the cover, the two books that Elin has written sequels to are listed. I hope she writes a sequel to this one, too!

It can be hard to separate an author's public actions from their work. This is a case where I can't in good faith recommend this book or author based on her actions last year. I'm specifically referring to the joke about Anne Frank in this book and then how Elin responded to the feedback. But I'm also not going to "review bomb" the book.

Elin Hilderbrand has a niche and she does it well. And frankly I'm part of the target market that eats this stuff up. I love the Nantucket setting, family drama and the easy breeziness of this type of summer read.

However, I won't be reading any of her future books and you won't find them on my feed.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC.

Is anyone better than Elin Hilderbrand at family dramas? Short answer is no. Golden Girl is another wonderful book by Hilderbrand about a mother of three adult children after she dies of a hit-and-run. Vivi is allowed to continue to watch her children and "nudge" them three times to influence their futures one last time. The book is a wonderful view of a mother's love and relationships changing as families grow. I enjoyed it completely, and also the beautiful descriptions of Nantucket.

Always a great story teller, Hildebrand once again writes of family, relationships, and secrets. A bit far fetched, but who doesn’t love a book where an angel gives you 3 “ nudges” to help your family accept your death.