(CAUTION: SPOILERS)NO!! No,no,no,no,no....I just finished this book and feel like throwing it through a wall! What a waste of a perfectly good Sunday afternoon! I don't like to give a book a one star rating but I had no choice on this one. I am so frustrated and irritated right now! I hope that this is a new author (or either her first book and she's developed a lot more technique since writing this one) because this book was so poorly written I am shocked.The 3 main characters were not likeable...not in the least. Kayla needed to grow a backbone. She's an embarrassment to the female race with her wimpy crying and not standing up for herself. Val, was just a slimey bitch, and Antoinette was a blank canvas....absolutely nothing to her; she was cold and empty...no personality, no ability to feel or care about anything, just....nothing! The first 3/4's of the book take place almost all within a day or two....there was way too many unnecessary details and repetitions and empty words trying to weave together a mystery involving friends. These women weren't friends or at least not my definition of a friend. If that is Hilderbrands definition, then I feel so very sorry for her! My friends would never do to me the things they all did to each other. There was no love there, no real trust, no respect, no loyalty....it was just 3 women who met once a year to go out to the beach, get drunk and swim naked at midnight. This "friendship" that she tried to force on us in this book just makes me sad and bitter and angry. It's like telling me there really isn't anything honest and true in friendships between women and it quite simply depressed the hell out of me!Another thing that annoys me is how fast the author is to "wrap it all up." It's like she got bored writing this (boring, sad) book and just wanted it over with. All of these terrible things happen (in way too much detail at times and not enough at others) and suddenly a miracle happens and life is back to normal for Kayla within a few short pages....or at least I think so. I don't really know how things progressed with her and Raoul or anything else!And what about the part where Jacob just jumps in his truck and takes off....that storyline could have actually made the book a little more intriguing if it had been developed instead of everybody just taking off in their trucks, running away!More questions....what happened to Theo? Did he and Lindsay fall in love? Did he pull his life back together and have a wonderful future? Did he continue with his broken heart and search for Antoinette? Did he find her? WHAT?Did the community ever learn the truth that Antoinette was alive and that Kayla wasn't a murderer or did they continue to think she was? How did life get back to normal so quickly for Kayla? And why not more interaction/arguing between Kayla and Val? Kayla had every right to a more in depth confrontation with Val and to top it all off the author dealt with Val at the end like she was an afterthought! "Ooops, better tell them what Val decided to do and let her leave the Island looking like she was a saint." AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHThis is my first book by Hilderbrand and I was really hoping it would be one that I would love but I'm afraid this novel just scared me off. I am way too frustrated right now to even think of reading another one....
Kayla, Antoinette, and Val, thrown together on Nantucket twenty years ago, spend one night each year as the "Night Swimmers" drinking champagne, eating lobster, and swimming off the shores of the island. When Antoinette disappears during one of these swims, much about all three women becomes exposed and nothing is as it seems. They will never be the same again. I usually really enjoy Hilderbrand's books, but this one fell short for me. I wasn't vested in the characters, and the whole story seemed somewhat off to me. The title also really bugged me...as I was reading, I came up with others that seemed to make much more sense and be fitting to the plot. If you're interested in reading Hilderbrand, please start somewhere else. This is the only book of hers so far that I have found disappointing. That being said, I am looking forward very much to her new book out this summer!
What do You think about Nantucket Nights (2003)?
OverwroughtVal is so contemptible that she is unbelievable.We are bombarded with so much that it becomes completely impossible to feel anything for these characters. It is all too much. I think I'm done for with this author.I'm so angry at myself. Went all the way to the end and the ending was worse than the whole. I wish I had stopped reading when I realized the absurd level theat they were taking the melodrama to. Theo's behavior towards his parents makes no real sense, why is he so angry with
—Michelle Robinson
Whoa! I read this one fast! I wanted to keep reading and find out more but was also hesitant to finish it. When I like books I don't want them to end. I am always nervous about the ending. Will it satisfy me? Will it end like I want it to end or will it leave me feeling empty?I liked this story. Three friends meet once a year at the beach to enjoy lobster and champagne, take a swim and share secrets. Fun, right? What's better than that? The simplicity of it all comes to a screeching halt when one of them goes into the water and doesn't come out. Layers of secrets begin to converge on the girls and their lives begin to spiral downward. It quickly becomes a mystery. Is she dead? And if not, where is she? As the friends and family members deal with their grief, questions of friendship and loyalty take center stage. Throw in a surprise pregnancy and adultry and it's a hot mess, which makes for a good read! The ending, however, was a disappointment for me. I can't say why without spoiling the story but let's just say it seemed rushed and unrealistic. I would have liked 3 more chapters with a more detailed, developed ending. Would I recommend it to Hilderbrand fans? Yes. It's a quick read. Do I hope the next one will be better? Yes. I like this author and will definitely read her other titles.
—Cherice
At first i was not sure where this book was going or if I even liked it. I decided to read it because the author seems to set her stories on or around Cape Cod which I love having spent much of my time vacationing there in earlier years..I was ready to give up on this book early on, but I felt there had to be a lesson in it somewhere. I suspect the lesson for everyone is different, but mine was, the only one you can really trust completely is yourself and God. This book makes you re-evaluate what your definition of a friend, never mind true friend, really is. It also makes you evaluate yourself and how you view people you call your friend, through rose colored glasses or with a truthful eye.For me, I was glad that I read it and forced myself to finish it and happy that I found a reason for it.
—E
