Travel to the bright Caribbean for love, romance, and passion in this sizzling summer read from a nationally bestselling author and “Queen of the Summer Novel” (People). After uprooting her life in the States, Irene Steele has just settled in at the villa on St. John where her husband Russ had been living a double life. But a visit from the FBI shakes her foundations, and Irene once again learns … and Irene once again learns just how little she knew about the man she loved.
With help from their friends, Irene and her sons set up their lives while evidence mounts that the helicopter crash that killed Russ may not have been an accident. Meanwhile, the island watches this drama unfold–including the driver of a Jeep with tinted windows who seems to be shadowing the Steele family.
As a storm gathers strength in the Atlantic, surprises are in store for the Steeles: help from a mysterious source, and a new beginning in the paradise that has become their home. At last all will be revealed about the secrets and lies that brought Irene and her sons to St. John–and the truth that transformed them all.more
Likable characters kept me going through this trilogy. But the constant “high school drama” among the adults that got old. Also, a lot of filler, particularly in this book.
I’ve very much enjoyed this trilogy set in the Virgin Islands and will be sorry to see it end. As we pick up with the story, the Steele family has just been raided by the FBI, lost access to Russ’s mansion villa and all his fortunes obtained illegally through his money laundering. Irene has also lost her house back in Iowa. Her two sons, who were planning to move to St. John with her, are now adrift and trying to find housing. And Ares may have a surprise of her own.
This was a delightful conclusion as we see the family work through their current set of troubles, figure out what direction they plan to go for their futures, and as always, are treated to surprises on St. John as they come. There was also a surprise Easter Egg moment with a character from another beloved series and I was thrilled to get a little check in with those characters to see how they were all doing.
I really enjoyed reading the third installment of this trilogy set on St. John’s. It’s escapist literature at its best. I could picture the setting and the story moved along at a brisk pace. The characters are engaging. It was unpredictable enough so I didn’t see the end coming a mile away. I recommend this book and the others in the trilogy.
Book 71 towards my goal of 280! 5/5 stars for this series finale. I’m so sad to see these characters go! Nobody does family drama quite like Elin! Was very excited for the little cameo from the Winter Street fam too! I don’t want to say too much since this is the last in the trilogy, but just trust me when I say you need to pick up this contemporary romance!! Trust me! I mean, just look at these covers!
I read the first book and the second in the series and was enthralled with the first, found the second acceptable but the third really kind of left me cold.
I know that in the first we were discovering the characters and in the second we delved more into the beings waiting for relationships to gel to the outcome we wanted.
I am not sure that we should not have stopped after the second. When we got to the third I was waiting for something dramatic to come out of the story but it basically was just finishing up with the loose ends of the first two books. I would much rather have thought of the ending that I had in my mind instead of the way it actually read.
I can’t say that I hated the book because I had come to love the characters and wanted everyone to live a Happy Ever After scenario and in a way I guess they do but just not with oomph.
I guess I would say if you have read the first two you might as well read the third but just don’t expect a lot.
Great book, I actually think it’s the best of the series! (I loved them all). I like how the story was allowed to still grow in this the third and last book but yet the ending was natural and not rushed in giving the prime characters an ending. (hope that made sense?).
I recommend this book 100%!
A widow and her sons survive a hurricane and the author depicts the true goodness of friendship as they recover all that happens to them.
It’s been a long time since a book has made me cry, but I teared up at the ending of the Steele’s story. All things came ’round again in the most satisfying way.
It is easy to read and a welcome change from heavier books
Author Elin Hilderbrand delivers a compelling and satisfying finish to her beloved Paradise Trilogy with the aptly-titled Troubles in Paradise. Indeed, her endearing characters face numerous challenges as the story winds toward its conclusion.
Winter in Paradise set the stage and focused on exposition — the characters’ reactions to the shocking deaths of Russ and Rosie, and their struggles to come to terms with loss and the revelation of the nature of their relationship. The next chapter of their journey was examined in What Happens in Paradise. Irene found strength she never knew she possessed as she reviewed her life up to the point of Russ’s death and realized that it was ultimately empty and unfulfilling. Cash left his failed Colorado business behind and began working on a tour boat with Ayers, his feelings for her growing. And Baker decided to move into Russ’s villa and raise his son on beautiful St. John, while Ayers tried to convince herself that Nick could fully commit to her and be faithful.
But FBI agents descended on the island to investigate the helicopter crash and Russ’s business dealings. As Troubles in Paradise begins, Rosie and her sons are shaken to learn that they have nothing. The government seizes Russ’s assets, including the showplace home in Iowa that Irene spent so long restoring, the antiques she filled it with, . . . and the villa in which they are residing.
Of course, they are not without resources because over the course of the year they have established relationships on the island. Cash has the means, thanks, in part, to the settlement of his divorce from a successful physician, to check into a resort until he can find suitable housing. Determined to stay on the island, he proceeds with looking for employment, getting his son started in school, and getting acquainted with the mothers dropping off their children each morning. It’s not easy and readers will relate to his parenting struggles and efforts to establish a new life. He also grapples with his feelings for Ayers, wondering if she is ready to move past her failed relationship with Nick. Hilderbrand’s depiction of their interactions is charming and touching.
Cash has a job he enjoys on the tour boat, a new love interest, and finds a charming house to rent.
Maia, who lost both of her parents, yet inherited a whole new family, is growing up and sneaking around with her friends. In addition to breaking into the villa with her friends, they find another secret place to meet. Is she getting involved with the wrong crowd of kids and headed for trouble?
Irene moves in with Huck and Maia, and continues working on the boat with him. They care deeply for each other, but it is not all smooth sailing for the couple.
Ayers is harboring more than one secret with the power to change her life, as well as the lives of the Steele family. She knows she should turn Rosie’s journals over to the FBI. They contain the story of Rosie’s romance with Russ and she would like to preserve them so Maia can read about her parents when she is old enough. But they also hold evidence, particularly about Russ’s boss, Todd Croft, that could lead to answers about the helicopter crash — who was behind it and why. Rosie’s words are Ayers’ last remaining line of communication with her beloved friend who was taken from her so violently and without warning.
Hilderbrand compellingly delivers answers to all the questions raised in the first two installments of the story. In particular, she unravels the secrets that Russ was keeping. She introduces the people he was working for, how he got involved with them and, perhaps most importantly, why he continued. She compassionately examines the impact of those revelations upon Irene, a woman who thought her life was well-ordered, on a predictable trajectory, and stable. She thought she had a happy, loving, long-term marriage, and never could have imagined that her husband was a duplicitous cheater who fathered a child with another woman. But the things Irene learns help her to see that her life was illusory and not as satisfying as she once believed. And that Russ was inherently and completely human — a flawed man who made bad decisions, and misjudged people to his own and his family’s detriment. But still a good man in many ways. Will she be able to use that knowledge to heal and be able to enjoy what she has gained, despite her losses?
The island of St. John survived Hurricanes Irma and Maria in late 2017, and Hilderbrand notes that the island depicted in her trilogy is the one that existed before those devastating, category 5 storms tore it apart. But she also points out that the Virgin Islands have, in the interim, recovered and St. John is better than ever.
Hilderbrand’s characters find themselves in the midst of an emotional and psychological hurricane that descends upon them the morning that the helicopter carrying Russ and Rosie crashes. It’s as real as the actual hurricane that descends upon St. John near the end of the book. In the process of surviving both, they learn about resiliency and determination, and that life requires the ability to be flexible and pivot when circumstances unexpectedly change. They are served lessons in patience and acceptance of things that cannot be changed. The Steeles find a new family that includes Maia, Huck, and Ayers. Irene, in particular, delves deep within herself to decide if she is capable of forgiveness, as she reinvents herself and redesigns her life, concluding that it, like St. John, was badly damaged, but not destroyed.
Troubles in Paradise is a story of hope, personal power, and family. A fitting and emotionally resonant conclusion to an engrossing and entertaining story.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader’s Copy of the book.
This was wonderful conclusion to the Paradise series by Elin Hilderbrand. I loved travelling back to St. John’s with the Steele family and watching their new loves unfold. As in all of Elin Hilderbrand’s books there was some family drama but it kept me wanting to turn the page and find out more! We also say hello to another major character in one of the other well known books which was fun because we were in a different setting.
Loved it!!
4.5/5
Troubles in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand is the third and final book in the Paradise trilogy and boy is it a doozy. Hilderbrand has been very clear in the other books that she has been writing St. John’s before Hurricane Irma hit in 2017, but in this last one we get a taste of what it was like when it hit. I have loved the description of the island and all of the places there, and even though a lot of them are no longer there thanks to the hurricane, it has given me a new appreciation for the people that live on these islands. I loved seeing an appearance by one of my favorite characters from another trilogy, and I don’t think I could have asked for a better conclusion to this trilogy.
There are a lot of things that happen in Troubles in Paradise, and we find out the conclusion to these character’s stories, as well as what really happened with the helicopter crash that killed Irene’s cheating husband Russ. There are so many satisfying moments in this book and even though there is tragedy as well, there is an overwhelming sense of hope. I listened to the audiobook for all three books and I love Erin Bennett’s narration of them. They seem to fly by, and I had to do them all in a row because I had to know what would happen. These books are best read in order, and I loved seeing how they build on each other as they go. I feel like I really got to know all of the characters as well as the island of St. John. These are perfect if you are on a beach or wishing you were on one, and I highly recommend them. They have the perfect amount of mystery and romance, as well giving you all the best feels.
Awesome book. 6 stars. Read in 1 day. Couldn’t put down.
Troubles in Paradise, #3 in the Paradise trilogy, by Elin Hildebrand.
I am sorry to see the gang go! I loved the characters, the plot, twists and HEA’s– these are feel-good-getaway-reads in the dark COVID climate of 2020. So happy to start 2021 on a happier note. All of Hilderbrand’s books deal with human frailties and the fallout of wrong decisions, but she shows the character’s growth as well as their angst. I enjoyed the audio version.
Having read the other books in the series, I felt compelled to read this one. It definitely wrapped up some story lines, so that part was good. However, to me the story felt disjointed, jumping from character to character with their current soap opera-ish issue. I liked the book okay, but it seemed too long, with a lot of superfluous details that I didn’t need to read and enjoy the main story. I’m glad I read it and recommend it to those who have read the other books in the series. This book won’t make a lot of sense to you unless you have read the others.
Disclaimer
I checked out a copy of this book from my local library on the Overdrive App. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.
I was really looking forward to this book to find out how this trilogy would end, especially after the cliffhanger at the end of book 2, What Happens in Paradise. Irene, Cash and now Baker are living on St. John and trying to get their lives in order. There are some secrets that are finally revealed and we find out more about Russ and Todd Croft. I like the supporting characters of Huck, Ayers and Maia and how they are all involved in the story lines that are happening, and how some of the characters from previous books were brought in to the story too. The descriptions of St. John are always wonderful and make you feel like you are seeing it for yourself. Overall this was a good end to the trilogy, but I wish there would have been a few more chapters to finish the story completely.
I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from Little, Brown and Company through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Entertaining! This is the third of the Paradise series and wraps up the story of the Steele family in the Virgin islands and all their troubles with the law and their messy relationships. Very enjoyable.
Such a satisfying ending to a mesmerizing series. If I could, I’d book the next flight to St. John and live like Ayers!
This author is becoming one of my favorites! Her stories are emotional and satisfying.