Publication
New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2018.
Collection
Call number
Fiction H
Physical description
viii, 310 p.; 25 cm
Status
Available
Call number
Description
Fiction. Literature. Romance. HTML: A husband's secret life, a wife's new beginning: escape to the Caribbean with #1 New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand. Irene Steele shares her idyllic life in a beautiful Iowa City Victorian house with a husband who loves her to sky-writing, sentimental extremes. But as she rings in the new year one cold and snowy night, everything she thought she knew falls to pieces with a shocking phone call: her beloved husband, away on business, has been killed in a helicopter crash. Before Irene can even process the news, she must first confront the perplexing details of her husband's death on the distant Caribbean island of St. John. After Irene and her sons arrive at this faraway paradise, they make yet another shocking discovery: her husband had been living a secret life. As Irene untangles a web of intrigue and deceit, and as she and her sons find themselves drawn into the vibrant island culture, they have to face the truth about their family, and about their own futures. Rich with the lush beauty of the tropics and the drama, romance, and intrigue only Elin Hilderbrand can deliver, Winter in Paradise is a truly transporting novel, and the exciting start to a new series. "I will just say that, 24 hours after I started this book, I purchased its sequel, What Happens in Paradise, and I did not leave either book to be enjoyed by strangers at the end of my vacation." �??Elisabeth Egan, New York Times… (more)
Subjects
Series
Genres
User reviews
LibraryThing member DKnight0918
I love her books about Nantucket but this was even better in a way, I learned a lot about the US Virgin Islands. Oh man, the scandalous relationship, the love triangle, the beautiful scenery, etc. This book is going to be an awesome read for her fans and I think will inspire new people to read her
Show More
books, too. I am so excited that this will be a trilogy. So many questions need to be answered. I guess I will have to wait til late 2019 or early 2020 for the sequel. #teamCash thanks Netgalley for the review copy. Show Less
LibraryThing member jbarr5
Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand
Starts out where all are stateside based. There are many and they don't appear to be connected til you read further.
Wish there was a list of characters at the start-feel lost.
Love the details, very descriptive of the island and the culture...
Like how everyone
Love hearing of the different jobs on the island.
Interesting how the two brothers are in love with the same woman-all kinds of love are shown in this story.
Like the mystery of the invisible man-so cool and the pirate-it just fits perfectly.
Petroglifics and trails are treasures and conch shell holds a special place in my heart also as my grandmother gave me one.
Like where the future will find them...love that this is a trilogy, can't wait to uncover more mysteries and secrets.
Received this review copy from Little, Brown and Company via Netgalley and this is my honest opinion.
Starts out where all are stateside based. There are many and they don't appear to be connected til you read further.
Wish there was a list of characters at the start-feel lost.
Love the details, very descriptive of the island and the culture...
Like how everyone
Show More
is connected and you learn over time just how close they are. Liked being on island time and how the tourists adjust.Love hearing of the different jobs on the island.
Interesting how the two brothers are in love with the same woman-all kinds of love are shown in this story.
Like the mystery of the invisible man-so cool and the pirate-it just fits perfectly.
Petroglifics and trails are treasures and conch shell holds a special place in my heart also as my grandmother gave me one.
Like where the future will find them...love that this is a trilogy, can't wait to uncover more mysteries and secrets.
Received this review copy from Little, Brown and Company via Netgalley and this is my honest opinion.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Carlathelibrarian
Elin Hilderbrand is one of my go to authors, especially when it comes to island settings. This is a great introduction to a new series, taking place on St. John. This book, like her others, is full of relatable characters, real issues (although not issues I would ever have to deal with) and an
It’s New Year’s when Irene Steele receives a phone call that rocks her life. Irene is a mid-western magazine editor, with two grown sons, who is embarrassed by her husband’s outward showing of affection. She is happy spending time alone in her huge Victorian home while her husband Russ is off working throughout the U.S. When the news of her husband’s death in a helicopter crash over the water of the Virgin Islands, with an unknown woman, hits her, she heads off to his island home to find out what is going on. Her sons, Baker and Cash, who are both dealing with their own personal issues meet her there. Once in St. John's both sons fall for Ayers, the best friend of their father’s mistress and that ratchets up the competitiveness that the boys have dealt with all their lives.
Winter in Paradise is the first book in what is going to be a Trilogy. There were so many questions in the first book and they were not all solved. The relationships discovered were shocking and a bit scandalous. You will be transported to a beautiful island that is richly described to the point that I really want to go and see it for myself. The ending also leaves us with another detail that had me saying "what?" I started this book in the morning and read it straight through until I finished it late in the day. I am looking forward to where Elin Hilderbrand will take us next. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book upon request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.
Show More
original mystery storyline. The story is told through several character POVs and that gives the reader a full insight into what is happening. Each of the six characters that tell this story have connections to Russ Steele. It’s New Year’s when Irene Steele receives a phone call that rocks her life. Irene is a mid-western magazine editor, with two grown sons, who is embarrassed by her husband’s outward showing of affection. She is happy spending time alone in her huge Victorian home while her husband Russ is off working throughout the U.S. When the news of her husband’s death in a helicopter crash over the water of the Virgin Islands, with an unknown woman, hits her, she heads off to his island home to find out what is going on. Her sons, Baker and Cash, who are both dealing with their own personal issues meet her there. Once in St. John's both sons fall for Ayers, the best friend of their father’s mistress and that ratchets up the competitiveness that the boys have dealt with all their lives.
Winter in Paradise is the first book in what is going to be a Trilogy. There were so many questions in the first book and they were not all solved. The relationships discovered were shocking and a bit scandalous. You will be transported to a beautiful island that is richly described to the point that I really want to go and see it for myself. The ending also leaves us with another detail that had me saying "what?" I started this book in the morning and read it straight through until I finished it late in the day. I am looking forward to where Elin Hilderbrand will take us next. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book upon request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.
Show Less
LibraryThing member mchwest
OMG. I’m already complaining about having to wait for the sequel. Such great details of the beautiful island and I hope if I ever get there they will have recovered from the hurricane! But I’ll have it in my book memory, where you can envision being somewhere you’ve never been. That’s
Show More
called a great writer, and the cover always helps too. Show Less
LibraryThing member maggie1961
Could your husband have a whole secret life with you having no idea? Shouldn’t you have seen the signs? Shouldn’t you notice something?
Irene gets the call that there was a helicopter crash down in Caribbean and her husband Russ was dead. Caribbean? Why would Russ have been there? Irene and her
This was a delicious read. Key ingredients that I love from Elin Hilderbrand. There are so many secrets and betrayals. Sibling rivalry. Love and jealousy. A few surprises and some intrigue. And so much more. The only thing that would have made it better would be to be reading it on some warm sandy beach.
This is definitely one of my favourite books of Ms Hilderbrand and I cannot wait to dig into the next book of hers in this series.
Irene gets the call that there was a helicopter crash down in Caribbean and her husband Russ was dead. Caribbean? Why would Russ have been there? Irene and her
Show More
two adult sons Baker and Cash, who have their own drama going on, go down to the place where Russ died and find out much more than they bargained for. And much more than they had imagined. This was a delicious read. Key ingredients that I love from Elin Hilderbrand. There are so many secrets and betrayals. Sibling rivalry. Love and jealousy. A few surprises and some intrigue. And so much more. The only thing that would have made it better would be to be reading it on some warm sandy beach.
This is definitely one of my favourite books of Ms Hilderbrand and I cannot wait to dig into the next book of hers in this series.
Show Less
LibraryThing member flourgirl49
Not as good as her Nantucket books, but, generally speaking, Elin Hilderbrand does not disappoint. There are lots of very loose ends in this book, which will obviously have to be dealt with in the upcoming 2 books of this series set on the island of St. John. It was a good read, not great.
LibraryThing member joannemonck
Good summer read. Quick. Love interests. Sadness. Secrets. Odd assortment of characters all put together after a husband dies in a helicopter crash on an island and it turns out he also had a villa and a mistress there
LibraryThing member cherybear
Irene is notified on New Year's Day that her husband has died in the Caribbean. Things all sound unbelievable and mysterious. She and her two sons travel to the island where he has a home (a villa!) they never knew about. They learn he had a secret life, and another family, but there are many
Show More
things they don't learn. They each learn a lot about themselves, and each other. The book ends abruptly, but never fear, it is the first in a trilogy! Show Less
LibraryThing member WeeziesBooks
A delightful beach read. The descriptions of the sand, water and island life provide a bit of travel for the the mind. The characters were fun and though the book was framed with questions about a mans life, it was a simple and fun read.
LibraryThing member VashonJim
It may be a chick book, but I'm hooked. Loved the characters and the descriptions of the islands were amazing.
LibraryThing member JHSColloquium
Bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand introduces readers to a vibrant, complicated, and endearing cast of characters in the first volume of her Paradise Series.
Irene Steele has devoted her time to renovating the beautiful Iowa City Victorian house she owns with her devoted husband, Russ. Thanks to
But tragedy strikes. Irene is notified that Russ has been killed in a helicopter crash on the Caribbean island of St. John. But the news is baffling. Irene has no idea what Russ was doing there when he was supposed to be on a business trip. She has no inkling as to what kind of business would have led him to a tropical paradise.
Ayers Wilson, a waitress at a popular restaurant on St. John, rings in the New Year without her best friend and coworker, Rosie, who is spending the evening with the Invisible Man. That’s the name ascribed to the mysterious boyfriend Rosie spends time with when he is on the island. She does not reveal any details about him, and Ayers has long suspected he is married. When Ayers learns that both Rosie and the Invisible Man have been killed in a helicopter crash, she is devastated and heartbroken for Rosie’s stepfather and her lovely young daughter, Maia.
Irene and her sons immediately travel to St. John to attempt to make sense of Russ’s untimely demise. There, they are shocked to learn that Russ had been leading a double life. He owned a gorgeous, secluded home that he was obviously sharing with another woman. Irene sets out to learn the full extent of Russ’s deceit and, in the process, finds herself drawn into the magical, spiritual island culture.
Hilderbrand’s new series is off to a fine start. Employing her signature style, Hilderbrand creates multi-layered, fully-developed, believable characters. Most importantly, every character, including the deceased Russ, is flawed, but sympathetic. In addition to Ayers and Irene, the cast includes Rosie’s stepfather, Huck, a gruff but charismatic widowed fishing captain who puts the well-being of young Maia above all else, even as he and Irene develop a strong connection, founded on grief. Nick is the longtime unfaithful boyfriend with whom Ayers broke up. Irene’s sons, Cash and Baker, both become smitten with Ayers, but have left their own complicated lives back in the U.S. to accompany their mother on a journey of discovery about who their father really was and the way he was living his life when apart from his Iowa family.
The action moves at a brisk pace, never stalling or stuttering, as Hilderbrand pulls readers into the complexities of the characters’ lives and their struggle to come to terms with the secrets Russ kept. They also strive to understand how and why Rosie came to be in the helicopter with him and lost her own life. There are many questions about Russ’s financial dealings, the business interests of the mysterious company where he was employed, and what the future holds for Irene and her sons, not to mention Maia. Hilderbrand injects details about the beautiful island, a place she knows well and clearly loves.
The combination of the lush tropical setting and Hiderbrand’s intriguingly compelling characters mesh perfectly into an enjoyable, engrossing story with a jaw-dropping ending that sets up and leaves readers clamoring for the next installment, What Happens in Paradise.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
Irene Steele has devoted her time to renovating the beautiful Iowa City Victorian house she owns with her devoted husband, Russ. Thanks to
Show More
his promotion to a well-paying job with a boutique investment firm, their financial situation improved dramatically, but required him to travel extensively. Now the house is a showpiece, and when at home with Irene and spending time with their two grown sons, Russ is a doting, sentimental husband. The kind other women wish their own husbands would emulate. Which is why Irene finds herself unable to tell any of their friends in Iowa about the mysterious circumstances surrounding her husband’s demise.But tragedy strikes. Irene is notified that Russ has been killed in a helicopter crash on the Caribbean island of St. John. But the news is baffling. Irene has no idea what Russ was doing there when he was supposed to be on a business trip. She has no inkling as to what kind of business would have led him to a tropical paradise.
Ayers Wilson, a waitress at a popular restaurant on St. John, rings in the New Year without her best friend and coworker, Rosie, who is spending the evening with the Invisible Man. That’s the name ascribed to the mysterious boyfriend Rosie spends time with when he is on the island. She does not reveal any details about him, and Ayers has long suspected he is married. When Ayers learns that both Rosie and the Invisible Man have been killed in a helicopter crash, she is devastated and heartbroken for Rosie’s stepfather and her lovely young daughter, Maia.
Irene and her sons immediately travel to St. John to attempt to make sense of Russ’s untimely demise. There, they are shocked to learn that Russ had been leading a double life. He owned a gorgeous, secluded home that he was obviously sharing with another woman. Irene sets out to learn the full extent of Russ’s deceit and, in the process, finds herself drawn into the magical, spiritual island culture.
Hilderbrand’s new series is off to a fine start. Employing her signature style, Hilderbrand creates multi-layered, fully-developed, believable characters. Most importantly, every character, including the deceased Russ, is flawed, but sympathetic. In addition to Ayers and Irene, the cast includes Rosie’s stepfather, Huck, a gruff but charismatic widowed fishing captain who puts the well-being of young Maia above all else, even as he and Irene develop a strong connection, founded on grief. Nick is the longtime unfaithful boyfriend with whom Ayers broke up. Irene’s sons, Cash and Baker, both become smitten with Ayers, but have left their own complicated lives back in the U.S. to accompany their mother on a journey of discovery about who their father really was and the way he was living his life when apart from his Iowa family.
The action moves at a brisk pace, never stalling or stuttering, as Hilderbrand pulls readers into the complexities of the characters’ lives and their struggle to come to terms with the secrets Russ kept. They also strive to understand how and why Rosie came to be in the helicopter with him and lost her own life. There are many questions about Russ’s financial dealings, the business interests of the mysterious company where he was employed, and what the future holds for Irene and her sons, not to mention Maia. Hilderbrand injects details about the beautiful island, a place she knows well and clearly loves.
The combination of the lush tropical setting and Hiderbrand’s intriguingly compelling characters mesh perfectly into an enjoyable, engrossing story with a jaw-dropping ending that sets up and leaves readers clamoring for the next installment, What Happens in Paradise.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
Show Less
LibraryThing member clp412
This was a super fun read and I already want to read the next book in this new series. This book was told from the perspectives of many different people brought together by the death of Russ and Rosie. I loved the descriptions of life on the island and the struggles of the individuals. I knew there
Show More
would likely be a bit of things not tied up neatly in a bow since it is the first book in the series, but I'd call the ending a cliffhanger. Can't wait for book #2 next Fall! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Little Brown and Company, for the opportunity to read this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member bereanna
We’ll told and quick-moving tale of a woman who discovers that her husband died in St Johns VI when she thought he was on a business trip elsewhere. Turns out he owned an extravagant villa there and had fathered a child by his mistress.
LibraryThing member bookworm12
People have been recommending Hilderbrand’s novels to me for years. I finally tried one, and I didn’t love it. Definitely a beach read, but I felt like I couldn’t connect with almost any of the main characters. They were all so incredibly selfish. This is part of the trilogy, and I have no
Show More
desire to read the next one. Just not my cup of tea. Show Less
LibraryThing member DKnight0918
I love her books about Nantucket but this was even better in a way, I learned a lot about the US Virgin Islands. Oh man, the scandalous relationship, the love triangle, the beautiful scenery, etc. This book is going to be an awesome read for her fans and I think will inspire new people to read her
Show More
books, too. I am so excited that this will be a trilogy. So many questions need to be answered. I guess I will have to wait til late 2019 or early 2020 for the sequel. #teamCash thanks Netgalley for the review copy. Show Less
Language
Original publication date
2018
ISBN
9780316421607