The Blue Bistro

The Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand

Planning a vacation? Go get this book and pack it in your bags right now. It's the perfect beach read. The setting is Nantucket Island, the main character works in a bustling, "to-be-seen" restaurant, and all the restaurant's guests are wealthy vacationers living the high life. It's got more depth than some stereotypical beach reads, but still light enough to keep you carefree on your vacation. My only disappointment? I wish the ending could've been a little brighter.

Publishers Weekly review from Amazon.com:

The pricey, popular bistro of the title is the real star of Hilderbrand's fourth novel set on Nantucket. After years of hotel employ, peripatetic Adrienne Dealey, 28, lands her first restaurant job within hours of disembarking on the bucolic Massachusetts island. She's got a lot of learning to do as assistant to co-owner Thatcher Smith. Adrienne's soon attracted to the handsome Thatcher, and he seems to return her feelings. But just what is his relationship with his partner, the famous, utterly reclusive chef Fiona "Fee" Kemp? And why will no one talk about her? Hilderbrand specializes in beach reading (Summer People; The Beach Club); the plot doesn't go too far beyond standard romance and the characters don't reach beyond the conventional (though Adrienne does drink a bit more than the average heroine). But the complexities of running a bustling, ambitious restaurant in a summer hotspot are absorbing, and as Adrienne develops survival techniques with the customers and staff, readers follow her progress with genuine interest. Though the romance is a bit tepid and a subplot involving Adrienne's father's new girlfriend doesn't add much excitement, this is still a perfectly enjoyable beach book.