A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand

I absolutely have a thing for beach books and then you add the fact that I'm completely fascinated with glass-blowing, I knew that this book would have all the ingredients for a great novel. But I think I should have kept my expectations down just a tad, because I really wasn't prepared to read 400 some pages of Sheila cheating on her husband. I know - duh, Kim, "A Summer AFFAIR". For some reason I had it in my head that it was referring to a grand party. After all, the story revolves around the elaborate planning of the Nantucket's Children Summer Gala. Yeah, that was my bad. Still, I have little to zero tolerance for people who have affairs and because the story centers around Sheila, I really had no desire to see things work out for her and felt no sorrow when she struggled. I just felt like - "girl, you made your bed, so deal with it". Oh and then the ending....grrrr.....I WISH I could go off on that one, but there may be some of you who are really interested in this one and I don't want to ruin it for you.

Even still, though I wasn't jumping up and down over the story line and there were times that I could slapped Sheila Cook more than once, and I wasn't satisfied with how it all turned out... I found myself captivated by Elin Hilderbrand's writing style. The story itself didn't completely turn me off to Elin as an author and I've heard wonderful things about Barefoot, which is still on my TBR list. I'm definately giving her another shot, but just keeping my expectations a little bit more in check.

Description:
Sheila Crispin Cook, mother of four young children and nationally renowned glassblower, bites off more than she can chew when she agrees to co-chair the Nantucket's Children Summer Gala. Sheila is asked to chair the benefit, in part, because she is the former high school sweetheart of rock star Max West. Max agrees to play the gala and it looks like smooth sailing for Sheila-until she promises a "museum-quality" piece of glass for the auction, offers her best friend the catering job, goes nose-to-nose with her Manhattan socialite co-chair, and begins a "good-hearted" affair with the charity's Executive Director, Lockhart Dixon.Hearts break and emotions are pushed to the limit in this riveting story of one woman's attempt to deal with loves past and present, family, business, and high-powered social pressures. Elin Hilderbrand's unique understanding of the joys and longings that animate women's lives will make this her newest summer bestseller.

Rating: **

Recommend: Meh.