Books › The Beach Club
The Beach Club
A Novel
368 pages
A sun-drenched, multi-perspective drama that captures the intoxicating, fleeting magic of a summer spent working by the sea.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like checking into a bustling seaside resort where you are privy to everyone's most intimate secrets. The narrative unfolds at a steady, sun-baked pace, allowing you to sink deeply into the intertwining lives of a hotel staff navigating love, ambition, and long-held resentments. As the summer heat rises, so does the interpersonal tension, shifting the mood from breezy and nostalgic to stormy and urgent. The prose is highly sensory, practically radiating the scent of salt air and sunscreen, while the shifting perspectives offer a deliciously gossipy, fly-on-the-wall experience. It is a perfect escape for anyone who loves messy, character-driven dramas anchored by a vivid, atmospheric setting that feels like a character in its own right.
- Mood
- sun-drenched
- breezy
- nostalgic
- stormy
- Tone
- gossipy
- observant
- warm
- dramatic
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- summer romance · crossroads and life choices · workplace found family · the fleeting nature of summer · hidden secrets
- The writing
- Accessible and highly descriptive, painting a vivid, sensory picture of island life that makes you feel the sand between your toes.
- The arc
- Begins with the lazy, sun-soaked promise of a new season and builds toward a tempestuous climax that forces every character to confront their deepest desires.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave immersive, multi-POV summer dramas filled with messy relationships and a strong sense of place.
Content notes
- infidelity
- natural disaster (hurricane)
- workplace conflict
About the book
In The Beach Club, the juicy first novel by talented newcomer Elin Hilderbrand, a series of personal dramas are played out during one summer at a Nantucket Beach Club. It's about the love of summer, summer love, and the special feelings we all have for that special summer place--in this case, a hotel and an island.
Mack Petersen, manager of the hotel, has been working at The Beach Club for 12 summers. Only this summer is different. His boss, the owner of the hotel, Bill Elliot, shows up in the spring with a new set of demands. His girlfriend Maribel is pressing Mack to get married and Vance, the African-American bellman, who has hated Mack since the day Mack stole his job 12 years ago, threatens him in a deadly scene. Mack knows something's got to give.
Love O'Donnell, the new front desk person straight from the slopes of Aspen, is desperately searching for a stranger to father her child. The bellman, Jem Crandall, who posed as Mr. November in his college calendar, is on his way to LA to break into agenting, until he falls in love with Maribel. Emotions are at a peak when a hurricane threatens to wash away The Beach Club and all it stands for.
An engrossing, sexy novel that will sweep you away to the beach any time of the year.
Description from Open Library.
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