Book Review - The Island by Elin Hilderbrand

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5 stars

Thank you Elin Hilderbrand for helping me to love reading again! I was an avid bookworm as a teenager (28 y.o. now) and after becoming an adult, reading has not been the same since (though it’s still close to my heart!) As an adult, it’s hard to find time, it’s hard to keep a decent attention span, and it’s even hard to pick a book that’ll impress you (because the longer you’ve been around, the more you’ve seen, the harder it is to find something WORTH reading.)

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Anyway, as far as what I think about the book - it is a true FEEL GOOD heart-warming story in that the characters so realistically portray the realities of family relationships. These characters are worth reading about. Though it is heart warming, it’s not one of those over-popular cheesy chick flick books. These characters have real depth and relatability. Chess, who has called off her wedding reveals how she likes her fiance very much but does not love him enough to marry him. That right there is an unfortunate reality of life that is important to acknowledge - things are not black and white, or simple! Though, in my opinion she should have taken the bad with the good and stayed with him. (Easy for me to say, I know).

Even her Aunt India portrays this same duality in relationships. India unfortunately lost her husband, the father of her two sons, to suicide. Though he is gone, she does not hold back from airing his dirty laundry to the reader. She loves him and loathes him all at once. He will leave a deep and permanent impression on her existence - despite the fact they spent the last of their married times in separate bedrooms.

In my personal life a recent important life lesson has been the one I've read about in this book - two things can be true at the same time. You can love and dislike something simultaneously. It is not always easy to give an easy to understand conclusion on something because there can be a contradicting swirl of emotions coexisting.

Life has moments so good that you want to relive it, and times so bad it makes you wonder why you’re even alive.

As a side note, I appreciate the imagery provided about savory and elegant meals put together. I enjoy cooking so I appreciated that part. It wasn’t overdone such as when an author goes on and on about small details. It was just right.

Overall, I LOVED reading this author and would want to read her again in the future, though I am curious - a lot of her books are set on an island or at the beach so do they end up kind of too similar?

How many books have in read in 2024?

• 0
• 1-10
• 11-20+