This book was like comfort food. for me. I saw it advertised, read the description and requested it from NetGalley. Elin Hilderbrand ranks high on my list of women's fiction summer reading, and I was interested from the start.

A blogging sensation, Hollis lives what appears to be a perfect life sharing recipes, tips and tricks with her faithful, immense audience.. One morning before Christmas her life takes a tragic turn and she is left to pick up the pieces of her life, alone and devastated. After months of grieving she stumbles on an article describing a five star weekend in which someone invites friends from all the stages of her life to celebrate and share their stories together. She adapts it to her own purposes, and invites her own stages-of-life friends for an unforgettable five star weekend at her Nantucket beach house. As we get to know her friends and all of their quirky connections, we also learn more about our own chances and choices in life. Hollis discovers more about her life and marriage than she ever expected, and she learns that the gifts of healing come in unexpected, unforeseen packages.

Women's fiction is an interesting concept. In the literary world it is somehow communicated that women's fiction and women's life stories are of lesser literary value than fiction written by other writers on more "important" topics.. Personally, I find reading true-to-life fiction inspiring and relatable. It inspires me that anything can and does happen to each of us. No matter how perfect - or imperfect - our lives are, there is hope and promise waiting for us, even during our darkest hours. I am grateful to Elin Hilderbrand for writing such fabulous stories, and I am grateful to Little Brown for sharing a copy with me to read and review.