The Rumor

A Novel

By: Elin Hilderbrand

Narrated by: Kathleen McInerney

Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

A friendship is tested in this irresistible pause resister from New York Times best-selling author Elin Hilderbrand.

Nantucket writer Madeline King couldn't have picked a worse time to have writer's block. Her deadline is looming, her bills are piling up, and inspiration is in short supply. Madeline's best friend, Grace, is hard at work transforming her garden into the envy of the island with the help of a ruggedly handsome landscape architect. Before she realizes it, Grace is on the verge of a decision that will irrevocably change her life. Could Grace's crisis be Madeline's salvation?

As the gossip escalates and the summer's explosive events come to a head, Grace and Madeline try desperately to set the record straight - but the truth might be even worse than rumor has it.

©2015 Elin Hilderbrand (P)2015 Hachette Audio

Ehhhh

Boring characters (many with idiotic names) and a predictable story. The voice actors do a good job but the characters were all so 2 dimensional and dumb (literally) it was still a very long book to listen to.

Could not put it down

I listened to this audio book every chance I had. Work breaks, in the car and working in the garden. A great read/listen. Waiting for the ending but never wanting it to end. Colorful characters and surprises around every corner. Not my typical book, but it was really good. I hope to see a sequel.

Cluttered story with a hurried finish

The heart of the story: “A woman with writer’s block secretly uses her best friend’s extra marital affair as fodder for a new blockbuster novel”, was a good one… why did the rest of the book need to be cluttered up with other storylines? OK, the husband’s storyline was not so bad, and it did relate back to the wife who was cheating on him, but I would have left out all the kid’s stuff and the “we live in such a gossipy town” parts… although then the book could not have been called “The Rumor”, I guess it could have been called “The Affair”.

Stuffing the book with what were in my opinion superfluous storylines, took time away from the good ones. Had they been left out, the Affair storyline could have been further developed, the tension would have had more time to build up and I would have liked more meat for how they got caught and how it all ends, I would have liked to know if they ended up together in the end and does it work out and how does that impact the family etc etc … Really, I think I wanted a totally different book!

As it was, the husband gets involved in some shady dealings that eventually blow up in his face and that sucked all the energy out of the Affair storyline. It felt to me like the author was in a hurry to finish the book and just tossed a grenade into the plot.

Enjoyable

My first book with this author, but I enjoyed this so much I will listen to her other books. Good evocative descriptions of Nantucket.

Cute, entertaining, and easy listen.

What made the experience of listening to The Rumor the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed the charaters in this book. Liked listening to the different lives of each yet the lives and story was interwoven in a very believale way. I live in a small town and it is so true the different rumors that can start because of the different preception people conclude.

What did you like best about this story?

Cute, real to life and very easy flowing and good fun listen.

Which character – as performed by Kathleen McInerney – was your favorite?

I think she did a wonderful job and could ,listen to her on and on.

Who was the most memorable character of The Rumor and why?

I liked Grace and Eddie. The story between them was very believable.

Any additional comments?

Nice summer listen.

More scandalous than typical Hildebrand

Illicit trysts in the garden shed, prostitution, drugs...a bit less wholesome than the typical novel by this author. A little more plot and a little less character development (since there are so any characters). Very good none the less.

The Rumor

Any additional comments?

Released by Hachette Audio in mid-2015, The Rumor is written by Elin Hilderbrand, narrated by Kathleen Mcinnerney, and the unabridged audiobook is just about eleven hours of listening.

Rumors of affairs, most of which are true, and annoying female gossip traverse the pages - which, I guess, was the point. This is definitely a young adult book, as most of the characters are teenagers. The rest are stay-at-home moms with nothing to do other than tend gardens, worry about their teenagers, have juvenile conversation with each other, and gossip.

If you’ve any level of intelligence beyond say … oh … 10th grade, take a pass at high speed. If you’re a teenager, especially the air-head type, go for it. A beach read you’ll probably leave at the beach. Based on the silly content of this book, I actually laughed out loud when a character suggested some sophisticated book titles to a teenager. Given all that is The Rumor, that’s hilarious - but, the book isn’t a comedy - it’s a Peyton Place or soap opera.

The narrators did okay - but annoyingly valley-girly. If you’re considering The Rumor, do yourself a favor and listen to the sample.

The fact that this book has so many good reviews is baffling. For me, The Rumor was a waste of time - glad I’m not the only reader who had a similar take. Not recommended.

Great listen

great story about how even people who are good can make poor decisions and life does go on

Bad decisions all around

Superficial characters making bad decisions who elicit very little interest or sympathy.
There are consequences but everyone is happy!

Story meanders all over the place with boring irrelevant story lines

Story meanders all over the place with boring irrelevant story lines. Not worth 10 hours of listening time