I spent this past weekend completely relaxed on vacation in Sea Isle City, NJ. My plans consisted of eating, drinking, walking, sitting in the sand with SPF 50 on, and reading a book or two. All objectives: met.

My boyfriend’s objectives: take some photos with his drone. Objective: met.

Spoiler: two books were read during the weekend - but let’s only focus on one for now.)

Book Read: The Perfect Couple
Author: Elin Hilderbrand
Number of Books Read: 34

Elin Hilderbrand’s novels always take place in Nantucket. So, it seemed fitting I took this book to Sea Isle. I swear I do my best (and quickest) reading at the beach. My sister came down on Friday and by the time she arrived, I was ready to lend this book to her. Impressive, if I do say so myself considering I started reading it Wednesday.

Nantucket wedding season is here, and the wedding of Celeste Otis and Benji Winbury promises to be an unforgettable one. Little do the guests know, it’ll be unforgettable in more ways than one.

The chief of police receives a phone call early one morning (day of ceremony): a body has been found at the house and someone from the bridal party won’t be making the wedding.

So begins The Perfect Couple. Everyone at the house is interviewed, and slowly more and more secrets are revealed. Who would have thought no couple was perfect? Celeste blames herself, Benji still wants to get married, more than a few people look suspicious, and jealousy is not a pretty thing.

Add a bride who develops a stutter when talking about the wedding, a mother who just wants to see her daughter walk down the aisle, a best man with a secret, an affair or two, and a wedding planner who has never seen one like this before into one giant pot and you’ve got The Perfect Couple.

Now I will admit, Hilderbrand’s books are not the most challenging, or sometimes the highest quality, but 98% of the time, they are enjoyable. My sister and I did a count this past weekend. Between the two of us, we have read at least 16 of Hilderbrand’s 21 novels (and who knows, we may have read them all and can’t remember). The Perfect Couple was an easy decision when thinking about what book to read in the sand.

This book moves quickly, passes the time, and is about a death at a Nantucket wedding. Can you go wrong? Probably not.

Helpful tip: if you are headed to the beach, buy a book instead of taking a library book. That way when you get SPF 50 all over it, you don’t have to run away from the book drop so the librarians don’t know you were the one returning something with sunscreen all over it.

Next Read: Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak