What Happens in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand

Let me start by saying I love the Elin Hilderbrand novels set on Nantucket. She describes life there so vividly that it makes me want to plan a vacation there. That being said, I'm not loving this new series set on St. John (in the Virgin Islands). This is the second book in the series and it felt like the first half of this book was a rehash of the first book. Things picked up about halfway through and the story ends with a cliffhanger to entice us to read the final book in the series.

The story (in the first book) started with Irene Steele of Iowa finding out that her longtime husband, Russ, had died in a helicopter crash in the Virgin Islands. And she didn't even know he was in the Virgin Islands. She also didn't know that he had a whole other life in the Virgin Islands--or what his new job entailed. In this book, Irene and her two grown sons, Cash and Baker, all end up living in their father's villa on St. John and trying to start new lives. But Russ's secret life keeps popping up to thwart them. I will undoubtedly read the final book just to see how the story ends. But I hope we head back to Nantucket soon.