Book Review:
Winter In Paradise
by Elin Hilderbrand
By Phoebe Breed
I chose Winter in Paradise for my Book of the Month Club pick in October, because we got our first snow in September and the sunny beach on the front cover caught my eye. When I read the description I was hooked: an Iowa gal, Irene, who finds out her suddenly and mysteriously deceased husband had a secret life on the island of Saint John. I love me a good mystery. Also, one of the things that I love about Book of the Month Club is that it exposes me to authors that are new to me. This was my first Elin Hilderbrand read, but it certainly won’t be my last.
Irene Steele has an idyllic life: a beautiful Iowa City Victorian house, lovingly restored to perfection; a husband who adores her to skywriting, sentimental extremes; two grown sons out leading interesting lives; and a satisfying magazine job. But as she greets the new year on a cold and snowy night, everything comes crashing down around her with the insistent ringer of her phone and the shocking news that her beloved husband, away on business, has been killing in a plane crash…
What I Liked
The multiple points of view made the story feel so much more relatable for me. I certainly have never lost a husband after years of marriage and then discovered he wasn’t the person I thought he was, but reading the perspectives of Irene’s sons, Baker and Cash, I undeniably related to the story. Growing up often means discovering family members who you have idolized are flawed humans, which is, in a sense, what these men were discovering about their father. Also, Ayers, a woman who lives on St. John and is tied into the story by the death of her best friend, provided another applicable perspective that I loved.
The pace of the book kept me turning page after page, and I was amazed by some of the twists and turns along the way.
What Wasn’t My Favorite
This story definitely contains sibling rivalry, which is normally up my alley, but in the context of the fresh and enigmatic loss of their father, I found myself getting annoyed with Baker and Cash, despite appreciating the perspective they brought to the book.
This is not a standalone book, but rather part of a new series. Elin Hilderbrand posted on her Instagram that she will publish a new book in the series next fall/winter, but I don’t want to wait that long!
Rating 
/5