A friendship is tested in this irresistible page-turner from New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand. Nantucket writer Madeline King could not have picked a worse time to have writer’s block. Her deadline is looming, her bills are piling up, and inspiration is in short supply. Madeline’s best friend Grace, is hard at work transforming her garden into the envy of the island with the … envy of the island with the help of a ruggedly handsome landscape architect. Before she realizes it, Grace is on the verge of a decision that will irrevocably change her life. Could Grace’s crisis be Madeline’s salvation? As the gossip escalates, and the summer’s explosive events come to a head, Grace and Madeline try desperately to set the record straight–but the truth might be even worse than rumor has it.
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I enjoyed the characters in this book. Each character had a story and I wanted to see how their story would end. The author made their stories come to life. An enjoyable read. Now I’m looking for another one of her books.
This is yet another great book that you can’t put down by Elin Hilderbrand.
Elin Hildebrand, always entertaining!
Elin Hilderbrand’s 15th novel, THE RUMOR, is ablaze with gossip, gossip and more gossip on Nantucket. No one can seem to mind their own business, and people are talking on street corners, in the dentist office, restaurants, public events and anywhere you can imagine on this small island. News certainly travels fast!
Madeline King and Grace Pancik have been best friends for 20 years; they share everything and chat often. Madeline, a novelist, has writer’s block and can’t think of a subject for her next book. She needs to come up with an idea fast as her publisher is getting quite impatient for her to deliver something. Meanwhile, Grace’s friendship with Benton Coe, her good-looking landscape architect, develops into a passionate love affair as they turn her yard into a “garden paradise.” As Grace dishes out the details of her blossoming romance, Madeline writes it down in full throttle as their relationship unfolds.
As the bills pile up, Madeline is desperate to write about anything, so she decides to base her next novel on their hot and steamy romance. But what about her friendship with Grace? What will happen when Grace finds out the truth? Madeline’s publisher is absolutely thrilled with the direction she’s taking, and there’s no turning back now. Rumors begin to fly that her forthcoming book is about Grace and Benton.
Madeline decides to rent an apartment seeking peace and solitude to write the novel. Eddie, Grace’s husband, visits her there; naturally, rumor has it that the two are having an afffair with each other. However, Madeline is happily married to Trevor, an airline pilot, and she’s the mother to Brick, their teenage son. Although Madeline and Trevor have financial problems, their marriage is solid.
Eddie, a realtor who needs to sell his spec homes, runs into financial troubles. He turns to Madeline and Trevor for “an investment” but knows he can’t double their money as promised. He sees no way out and asks the five young Russian women who clean the houses for him to perform the oldest profession in the world — prostitution — and they agree! As Hilderbrand gets her characters involved in more complex issues, she keeps the suspense compelling.
Meanwhile, Brick is dating one of Grace and Eddie’s twin daughters, Allegra, who is as selfish as they come and cares about nobody but herself. She and her twin, Hope, couldn’t be more opposite. When Allegra cheats on Brick, rumors abound once again. With all the humiliation and nasty comments from her close friends, it’s Hope who comes to her rescue. Even though Allegra and Hope are on the opposite end of the spectrum, there is nothing that can break their bond. Although the twins are not the main characters, their story exposes a lot about sibling rivalry and adds much to the book.
Elin Hilderbrand, queen of the romance novel, never disappoints her readers — and here she is at the top of her game once again. She details every character superbly, her themes and plot lines are well thought out, and you can picture every scene in your mind so vividly. I read THE RUMOR quickly because I needed to know what ultimately happens and had no idea how it was going to end. As I kept reading, I thought of different scenarios but turned out to be completely wrong. Rumor has it that you will enjoy this book as much as I did.
I liked the different narrators of the book, they did a great job.
There were a lot of different characters in this book and the author did a good job with them. There was a ton of gossip, sometimes worse than my home town. This was sort of a what I think they call a summer beach read. It was nice enough, but I have read better Elin Hildebrand books.
Go ahead and give it a try.
This was a good one. Quick read, a bit shallow but also fun and a great escape to Nantucket!
This was my first book by this author. The title alone had me curious enough to see what was going to happen and I wasn’t disappointed. I enjoyed the characters, the townspeople, and everything about the book. So true how rumors get started and the devastating consequences. Highly recommend this book. In the process of getting more books by Me. Hilderbrand.
Good beach read
A glimpse at the life of a “Nantucketer”
The funny thing about rumours is that if you change a few words in a story that is otherwise quite innocent, the fall out can be immense.
This story is told through different third person POVs. The set up was clever and the execution flawless. I was especially impressed with how well the author did Hope – who is sixteen years old no less. I must say I felt a little sorry for Hope’s dad Eddie. He meant well, but…