Swan Song

I loved everything about this book!!! The characters were like personal friends. I literally love anything Elin writes!!!She is my favorite author by far.

Such a great summer read ! Ties in all of the previous characters in this series .Very well written!

I really enjoyed the first ¾ of the book. It was a fun and easy read but then it just fell off a cliff or seemingly into the ocean. What happened here? The story suddenly, jarringly, began wrapping up. It felt like a forced, time -constrained ending that was uninspired and predictable Such a disappointing conclusion.

Such a great summer read! I could not put it down! Great characters and story!

Another good read from Elin Hilderbrand wrapping up all the tales of the Nantucket series. Well done, neatly brought together at the end. The writing style is easy to read and keeps you wanting to read on.

This story kept me wanting to finish - part mystery part romanceWish the main characters had been more developedBeautiful description of Nantucket!Seems like it could almost be second book with this storyline.

My favorite author, never disappoints

I wonder if this book is actually the author's “swan song”. I certainly hope not but if it is I wish her all the best for a very long and happy retirement!

loved the beginning and the end of the book but the middle seemed a little slow to me… loved this though!!

Like the other books in this series this book was very interesting with an eclectic group of characters. My only issue with some of the books in the series is that they end leaving with questions. For instance it seems like Ed died in the end… that is so sad

This was a nice way to bring back many of the characters from other novels over the years. It was interesting but point of view changed to much for me.

All the favorite Nantucket characters reappear as a new couple moves to the island. The Richardsons throw lavish parties and befriend, seemingly everyone. Then, the plot twists and friendships end, and you'll have to read the book for the rest. Swan Song doesn't disappoint, though the ending feels like an afterthought.

I adore Elin Hilderbrand and have enjoyed all of her books. I feel like I need to vacation on Nantucket so see for myself everything her books bring to life . My one complaint is whoever read this book before publication missed 2 different repeats. I thought I had somehow went back up but nope repeated! If there is another Elin book I will mos def be reading, if not thanks for the many enjoyable hours. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

For this being the last book that the author is writing that will be set in Nantucket, it was a huge let down. I wanted a big send off, an unforgettable ending, and this lacked that. It seemed like the author had stopped caring a few stories back, but this "swan song" was not what I was hoping for. An overall ok read, and of course any true fan of the author would have to read it because it is her last book - but it was just ok for me. Not the Elin Hilderbrand books/stories that made me love the author.

Loved this book, literally couldn't stop reading until I finished it. I didn't love the ending, but I can't tell you why without ruining it.Have really adored most of her books. My absolute favorite was The Blue Bistro. I've always thought that was by FAR the best, and that's saying a lot. Someone here commented that they disliked it, but I have to disagree.If you like her work, you'll like this book. And, BTW, in the Acknowledgements, she says she might write one or two more at some point, but left it open-ended.She's certainly earned a good rest and a happy retirement. Maybe she'll write other things, too...who knows?Thanks for all the wonderful books, Elin!

Her novels are so satisfying. Once you start reading, you easily get swept up into the Nantucket groove. I’m sure it’s no coincidence that the story revolves around the police chief’s impending retirement just as this is the author’s last book set in her beloved seaside community.​The chief is retiring, albeit a bit reluctantly, newcomers, who flaunt their wealth, are overly eager to be accepted with the in-crowd move into a showstopper beachfront mansion and causing quite a stir amongst the gossip set. Invitations to the couple’s extravagant parties are coveted, but soon, they become more dangerous than fun. It’s feisty games of pickleball, snarky well-heeled ladies who lunch at the club, toss in a house fire, a girl gone missing, and secret romance. Summer might be over, but you can still feel the heat in SWAN SONG.

I love Elin's books. The only one I DNF was Blue Bayou, only because it had too many detailed descriptions of food. It got boring and kind of gross actually. Anyway, Swan Song is highly captivating and smart, with a juicy plot and well-developed characters. The plot is well thought out and layered. The characters stand out, and Elin does a masterful job of describing them in emotional and physical detail. Her character descriptions were one of my favorite things about this book. The only part I didn't like was the chapter titles. Some were dates, and some were words. At times I had difficulty figuring out how that chapter fit with the timeline. I am not sure why authors do this. It was confusing and completely unnecessary. Nevertheless, the book was highly enjoyable and I will probably re-read it. It is a lengthy book and held my interest until I finished. Swan Song is a brilliant final book for this author.

The first Elin Hilderbrand book I ever read was The Perfect Couple, and this brought back all the same feels - several of the same characters, decadent parties, that New England island feel, and, somewhat unusual for her books - a little mystery to solve. I love a whodunnit so I was totally here for it. I felt like it wrapped up a little too predictably in the end, but it went out with style.The main new character, Coco, was a great addition. I liked St. John tie-in for those of us who read the Winter in Paradise trilogy. Blond Sharon had a moment and I loved it!! She finally got a fleshed-out character beyond being the island gossip, and her actions in previous books suddenly made sense too. That was probably my favorite part of the book. There are lots of Easter eggs to keep Elin's frequent fliers happy, but you can absolutely read this as a standalone as well.The very end was bittersweet. So very bittersweet. It made me sad. I won't say more except that I kicked myself for not seeing it coming. Her earlier books tended to have this sad ending twist more than her more recent books, so it was a fitting way to wrap things up.On a random note, I went to Google trends to check out recent searches on Amalfi lemons, and yep, they're having a little spike in interest right now. One of those searches was me :-DWell worth the read if you've loved her for years, as I have. I'll see you all at the Chicken Box.

It’s the start of the summer and the arrival of the elite, cultured, seductive Richardsons – husband and wife Bull and Leslee – has Nantucket locals in an excited frenzy.Everybody who is anybody is dying to be invited to one of the extravagant, exclusive parties at their newly-purchased, twenty-two-million-dollar, seaside mansion – 888 Pocomo Road – but only a select few will be deemed worthy to glide its halls.Fast forward to August and the Richardsons are persona non grata. What happened?Then on the evening of August 22nd a double tragedy strikes the Richardsons. While partying out to sea aboard their yacht (with some non-locals) they receive a call from the Fire Chief to say their house is ablaze. And when their boat docks, they are one person short – a young woman is missing presumed to have gone overboard. Did she fall? Did she purposefully jump? Or was she pushed? It’s time for the Richardsons to face the music.Swan Song was an indulgence. I relished all the juicy interpersonal melodrama, scandalous behaviour, betrayals, sweet romances, emotional highs and lows, side of mystery, and immense wealth and privilege. It was hard for me not to daydream over what it would be like to be one of these characters living the dream in a lap of luxury on Nantucket (lobster rolls, yes please). The descriptions of 888 Pocomo Road and everything within its walls (clothes, food, etc) were hilariously insane – fascinating yes, but such an over-the-top waste of money. There were a good mix of spoilt unlikeable characters coupled with more down-to-earth ones to keep me happy and entertained.It’s the fourth in a series but can be enjoyed by itself. I’ve only read #3 The Perfect Couple (5 stars), meaning some of the characters were familiar to me, but most were new to Swan Song and specific to this story. And any that were regulars were introduced with all the relevant information from the previous instalments.I’m sorry to report that after thirty fictional books set on Nantucket, Elin Hilderbrand is retiring so sadly Swan Song is her last release. I wish her the best, and luckily for me I still have a lot of her backlist to read including the first two in this series.I devoured the audiobook, and Laurence Bouvard was sensational. I see she has also narrated some of this author’s previous books which makes me so happy. Elin Hilderbrand read the final chapter which left me misty-eyed.A poignant and touching send off!

Strangers come to town* and throw ostentatious parties. We're told everything about the parties - the theme, guest list (who's in/out), decor, attire, food, cocktails, cocktails, cocktails, playlists, shenanigans, & clean up - all in typical EH detail. There's not much of a plot between the partying except that guests fall off the invitation list. The subplot is the narrator's sober view of what's going on while she makes a friend, finds a boyfriend, & gathers material for her writing career. The mystery is really just where is someone who can't be accounted for after a party. It's Nantucket in the summer & all the usual spots are mentioned, but Nantucket doesn't seem exclusive or glamorous in this final book.This is presumably EH's last Nantucket book so every character, location, & shop noted in her previous books gets a mention or sighting. There's an ick factor that many of these 50-something characters are naked at the parties. Not sure why this particular book is called #4 in "The Nantucket Series" when every book she's published (except the St. John series) is set on Nantucket. EH stans will recognize them. I haven't read EVERY book (especially when they weren't novels but a collection of bullet points, recipes, & diary entries that she couldn't be bothered to write in full sentences). Looking back on some of the characters, I was reminded of just how boring or offensive they & their stories were w/a lot of local name-dropping as filler & she relies extensively on playlists to be current. She's not done - she announces in the acknowledgements that her books are becoming films.A few of EH's books were good beach reads - The Beach Club, Silver Girl, The Identicals, and The Castaways. Some of them were clunkers or offensive (still haven't gotten over the 3 BFFs one of whom is pregnant by the teen son of another). All of them had GREAT covers so kudos to the publisher. I'm kinda glad there won't be another Nantucket Beach Read to decide whether it's worth a try. I generally judge her books against each other so 3 stars is meh - not her best, not her worst.*A stranger comes to town is 1 of 2 plots that Blonde Sharon's writing instructor claims exists.