The Five-Star Weekend

An absolutely addictive story about friendship, love, and self-discovery from the queen of the beach read

By: Elin Hilderbrand

Narrated by: Laurence Bouvard

After tragedy strikes, five unlikely friends at different stages in their lives gather in Nantucket to spend an unforgettable weekend together, by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hotel Nantucket and 'the queen of beach reads' (New York Magazine).

Hollis Shaw, creator of the popular food blog Hungry with Hollis, finds her life turned upside down when her heart-surgeon husband is killed in a car accident on a snowy February morning. As Hollis searches for comfort, she discovers the idea of the 'Five Star Weekend': a gathering of the best friends from each stage of your life. But when Hollis decides to host her own version on Nantucket, the weekend isn't exactly a Hallmark movie...

First, there's Tatum, Hollis's best friend growing up on Nantucket - and her husband's best friend, Jack, who just happens to be Hollis's first love.

Then there's Dru-ann, her best friend from college, now a prominent Black female sports agent in Chicago, whose Twitter comments have just landed her - and her marriage - in hot water.

Brooke is the best friend who helped raise her kids with Hollis during their thirties, until she was ousted from the local mum's group by Electra, self-appointed queen bee. But Brooke and Electra are finally meeting up to make amends this weekend . . .

And lastly, Gigi, who reached out to Hollis on her food blog to become 'internet besties', but has never met her in real life.

All the weekend needs is Hollis's daughter Caroline, a documentary student, who wants to film the entire party... What could possibly go wrong?

Filled with the emotional depth and trademark cast-of-characters perspective of Hilderbrand's novels, The Five-Star Weekend promises a story of a remarkable weekend between friends-old and new-like no other.

(P) 2023 Hodder & Stoughton Limited©2023 Elin Hilderbrand

Critic reviews

Elin Hilderbrand is my number one go-to author for sunny escapist reads . . . the intricate characterisations, the twists and turns, and the sheer depth of emotion truly make this an unforgettable experience. I've adored all her books, but this is undoubtedly her best yet

Light hearted

A nice listen. But story was a bit slow and never grabbed me fully Prefer more exciting thrillers

Yawn

Faint attempt to incorporate diverse characters. The Black friend sounded like a dude her voice was portrayed deeper than the male characters and the mixed Asian friend was immoral.