Elin Hilderbrand is one of my favourite authors and I have read many of her books – 17 to be exact! I visited the Caribbean last year when the first book in the series, Winter in Paradise, was published. It really made me picture the setting of this series.
What Happens in Paradise is the second of three books in the Paradise series. It picks up where the first book leaves off- I encourage reading the initial book before reading this one in order to get the full story. Here’s the Publisher’s description of the book:
Spend your winter on sunlit shores in the New York Timesbestselling follow-up to Winter in Paradise, as secret lives and new loves emerge under the bright Caribbean sky.
A year ago, Irene Steele had the shock of her life: her loving husband, father to their grown sons and successful businessman, was killed in a helicopter crash. But that wasn’t Irene’s only shattering news: he’d also been leading a double life on the island of St. John, where another woman loved him, too.
Now Irene and her sons are back on St. John, determined to learn the truth about the mysterious life — and death — of a man they thought they knew. Along the way, they’re about to learn some surprising truths about their own lives, and their futures.
As this description suggests, the story continues with the picture of Russell Steele and insight into the life he created for himself on the Caribbean island of St. John, secret from his life at home with family in Iowa City. Without giving away too much, his wife Irene and their two sons determine that life on St. John may be just what fits them best at this point in their lives and all decide to move to the island. They build relationships with islanders as they begin to learn more about why Russell had a second home and family on the island. The book has everything I look for in a book – romance, mystery and a captivating location. Now the year-long wait to read the final installment in the series.
I listened to the audiobook version of this book and commend the narrator Erin Bennett on her performance.
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.
Are you a fan of Elin Hilderbrand’s work? Have you travelled to the Caribbean?