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- Title: Five-Star Weekend
- Author: Elin Hilderbrand
- Narrator: Erin Bennett
- Length: 12:46:00
- Version: Abridged
- Release Date: 13/06/2023
- Publisher: Hachette Book Group USA
- Genre: Fiction & Literature, Contemporary Women, Family Life
- ISBN13: 9.78E+12
It’s not every day you stumble across an audiobook that feels like a sunburned weekend escape, but Elin Hilderbrand’s “Five-Star Weekend”, narrated by the remarkable Erin Bennett, does just that. The story unfolds like a coastal breeze sweeping through Nantucket, carrying with it the salty tang of the sea and the messy, beautiful complexity of human connection. As a travel writer who’s spent more nights than I can count listening to stories under foreign skies, this one hit me square in the chest – partly because of its setting, partly because of its heart.
I first cracked open this audiobook – well, pressed play, really – while driving along the winding roads of Cape Cod, not far from Hilderbrand’s beloved Nantucket. The landscape outside my window mirrored the one in the story: rugged dunes, weathered shingle cottages, and an endless horizon that seemed to whisper secrets. It reminded me of a time when I was holed up in a fisherman’s shack in Maine, nursing a broken heart and a cup of chowder, listening to the locals spin tales of lost loves and second chances. There’s something about coastal towns that strips us bare, and “Five-Star Weekend” captures that rawness with a warmth I couldn’t shake.
The premise is simple yet genius: Hollis Shaw, a food blogger reeling from her husband’s sudden death, gathers four friends from different chapters of her life – teenage years, twenties, thirties, and midlife – for a weekend on Nantucket. It’s a recipe for nostalgia, drama, and a little self-discovery, served up with Hilderbrand’s signature knack for weaving personal stakes into a sun-soaked setting. You can almost taste the lobster rolls and hear the clink of rosé glasses as these women navigate old wounds and new revelations. For me, it echoed those evenings in Oaxaca years ago, when I’d sit with a family and listen to their grandmother weave stories of her youth. She’d pause at just the right moment, letting the silence settle like dust, and Erin Bennett’s narration here has that same magic – knowing when to linger, when to push forward.
The book’s strength lies in its characters. Hollis is the anchor, her grief palpable yet never overwrought, and her food blog, “Hungry with Hollis”, feels like a love letter to the transformative power of a good meal – something I’ve chased from street stalls in Bangkok to trattorias in Tuscany. Then there’s Tatum, the childhood friend with a chip on her shoulder; Dru-Ann, the sharp-tongued sports agent fighting a PR nightmare; Brooke, blindsided by her husband’s betrayal; and Gigi, the enigmatic wildcard who ties it all together. Each woman’s voice is distinct, and Hilderbrand balances their perspectives with a finesse that makes you root for them, even when they’re at each other’s throats. It’s like watching a group of strangers become family over a campfire – messy, imperfect, and real.
Bennett’s narration elevates the whole experience. Her voice is warm and textured, shifting effortlessly from Hollis’s quiet vulnerability to Dru-Ann’s biting wit. You can almost feel the sand between your toes as she describes Nantucket’s beaches, and her pacing – steady but never rushed – lets the emotional beats land. It’s the kind of performance that reminds me of that grandmother in Oaxaca: intimate, deliberate, and utterly captivating. The audio quality is crisp, too – no distracting background noise, just pure storytelling that wraps around you like a well-worn sweater.
That said, the audiobook isn’t flawless. The plot leans heavily on coincidence – like Hollis’s first love, Jack, showing up out of the blue – which can feel a bit too convenient, even for a weekend getaway tale. And while the characters are richly drawn, some of their conflicts resolve a tad too neatly, leaving me craving a little more grit. I’ve seen life’s rough edges up close – lost luggage in Lisbon, heartbreak in Havana – and I wanted just a touch more of that chaos here. Still, these are minor quibbles in a story that’s more about the journey than the destination.
Thematically, “Five-Star Weekend” is a love letter to friendship and the way it evolves – or sometimes frays – over time. It’s about the masks we wear and the truths we uncover when we’re forced to sit still with the people who’ve known us longest. As someone who’s spent years chasing stories across continents, I found myself nodding along to Hollis’s need to reconnect, to sift through the wreckage of her life and find something solid. It’s a sentiment I felt driving through the Atacama Desert once, listening to “One Hundred Years of Solitude”, the narrator’s voice blending with the surreal landscape until I couldn’t tell where the story ended and my own began.
Compared to Hilderbrand’s other works like “The Hotel Nantucket”, this one trades some of her usual breezy escapism for a deeper emotional core. It’s less a beach read and more a beach reckoning, though it never loses that sunlit charm. Fans of contemporary women’s fiction – think Liane Moriarty’s “Big Little Lies” or Kristin Hannah’s “Firefly Lane” – will find plenty to love here, especially in the audiobook format where Bennett’s voice brings every nuance to life.
If you’re a listener who craves stories about human connection, with a side of coastal vibes and a narrator who knows how to pull you in, “Five-Star Weekend” is worth your time. It’s perfect for a long drive, a lazy afternoon, or even a quiet night when you just need to feel less alone. And here’s the kicker: you can snag this audiobook free through certain platforms – check Audiobooks.com for a trial if you’re curious. For me, it was a reminder of why I love this medium: the way a good story, told well, can turn any moment into a journey.
Reflecting on it now, “Five-Star Weekend” left me thinking about my own patchwork of friendships – the ones that weathered storms and the ones that didn’t. It’s not a perfect tale, but it’s a d*mn good one, and it’s lingered with me like the taste of salt on my lips after a day by the sea. Maybe that’s the highest praise I can give it: it feels like a memory I didn’t know I had.
Until the next road, the next story, stay curious,
Marcus Rivera
