Review: What Happens in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand (audio)

Title: What Happens in Paradise

Author: Elin Hilderbrand

Series: Paradise, #2

Narrator: Erin Bennett

Published: October 2019, Hachette Audio

Length: 9 hours 47 minutes

Source: Publisher via Libro.fm

Summary:

Secret lives and new loves emerge in the bright Caribbean sunlight, in the

follow-up to national bestseller
Winter in Paradise

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.

Lush with the tropical details, romance, and drama that made Winter in Paradise a national bestseller, What Happens in Paradise is another immensely satisfying page-turner from one of American’s most beloved and engaging storytellers.

My thoughts:  It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of Elin Hilderbrand’s books. I’ve read or listened to everything she has written and while I love her summer books which are all stand-alones, I have come to love the series that she has been writing. You all know I love a good series!!!

I loved the author’s note right in the beginning of this book where Elin herself notes that this book can be read as a stand-alone, and that while not necessary to read the prior book, Winter in Paradise, a more richer experience will be had by doing so. I always find that…that you definitely get a better experience having read a series the way the author creates it and I try my very best to do so. One of the reasons I love reading series is for the character development and you really only get that when you read the books in order.

But enough about that. This book picks up shortly after the first left off, where Irene learned that her husband died in a helicopter accident and she and her sons, Cash and Baker, discovered he had a completely secret life in the Caribbean.  After being down on St. John’s, they are realizing that they each want to be back there – each for their own reasons. 

I loved that while this book shows the family trying to move on, it also gives us a look at Russ and Rosie’s relationship and how it came to be through Rosie’s journals. At the same time, the FBI are stepping up their investigation into what really happened and things get a little intense. Seems all is not really as it appears to be on that front.

Once again, we are left with quite the cliffhanger and book 3 cannot come out soon enough! This book is just as addictive as the first book and will leave you wanting more. The characters are so endearing and you can’t help but want the best for them. And the setting…oh how I desperately want to visit St. John’s some day!

Audio thoughts: I was ecstatic to see that Erin Bennett was narrating this book. She narrated the last one, and typically narrates all of Elin’s books, so she was able to bring consistency to the characters from the previous book in this series. I was able to binge-listen to the book and loved every minute of it. I find that Erin just gets Elin’s characters and is able to bring out the nuances of them and make them come to life in just the way Elin created them. I really do enjoy listening to Elin’s books and part of that is the narrator!

Books in this series:

1. Winter in Paradise
2. What Happens in Paradise
3. ???