What Happens in Paradise

Ayers, one of the novel’s point-of-view characters, acts as a crucial bridge between the worlds of the Steele family and Rosie Small. As Rosie’s best friend and a surrogate aunt to Maia, she functions as a protector of Rosie’s memory and Maia’s well-being, navigating her own sorrow while providing stability for the grieving child. She’s one of the few characters who knew Rosie intimately, yet she, too, was kept in the dark about the full extent of Rosie’s relationship with Russ, the “Invisible Man,” which positions her as a counterpart to Irene as a seeker of truth, though her quest is complicated by her fierce loyalty to her deceased friend.

Throughout the novel, Ayers wavers between the familiarity of her on-again, off-again relationship with her unfaithful boyfriend, Mick, and her new, unexplored romance with Baker, which is fraught with complications, as Baker is a tourist, still married, and inextricably linked to the trauma surrounding Rosie’s death. Hilderbrand utilizes a love triangle trope to explore the complexity brought on by The Challenges of Choosing to Love Again After Heartbreak, forcing Ayers to confront her own patterns and decide what she truly wants from a partner. Her internal conflict is deepened by the discovery of Rosie’s journals, which provide a direct and unfiltered account of the past. Reading the journals compels Ayers to reconcile the loyal, principled friend she knew with the woman who willingly engaged in a years-long affair with a married man, prompting Ayers to develop a more nuanced understanding of love, morality, and human fallibility.

By delving into Rosie’s past through the journals, she gains a deeper, more complicated understanding of her friend, which in turn helps her to navigate her own life with greater clarity. Ayers’s journey is one of maturation, as she learns that love and friendship are rarely simple. She moves from a reactive state of grief and romantic indecision to a more thoughtful position, weighing her options and her feelings for Mick and Baker with a newfound perspective informed by Rosie’s complex story.

Huck functions as a mentor and ally to many of the characters in the narrative. He provides an essential anchor of stability and moral clarity amidst the fallout of Rosie and Russ’s deaths. As Rosie’s stepfather and Maia’s devoted grandfather, he sees his primary role as that of a protector. Having already lost his wife, LeeAnn, and now his stepdaughter, his world revolves around safeguarding Maia from further pain. He is a man of simple principles, deeply rooted in the rhythms of his life as a charter boat captain on St. John. This steadfastness makes him a grounding force for the other characters, particularly Irene, who finds in him a source of quiet strength and dependability.

Huck also serves as the story’s moral compass, deeply uncomfortable with the web of deception he uncovers. When he and Ayers discover a large sum of illicit cash in Rosie’s dresser, his immediate instinct is to do the right thing, and he reports the money to the FBI without hesitation. This action contrasts sharply with the moral compromises made by Russ, Rosie, and Todd Croft, establishing Huck as a figure of unwavering integrity. He’s pragmatic and direct, unwilling to engage in speculation or drama. His focus remains on the tangible: protecting his family, running his business, and navigating the immediate challenges before him.

While Huck begins the story defined by his past losses, his relationship with Irene prompts an emotional reawakening. He is drawn to her resilience and fortitude, recognizing a kindred spirit who shares his practical nature and love for fishing. Their connection develops slowly, built on a foundation of mutual respect. For Huck, Irene represents a second chance at companionship, while for Irene, Huck offers a model of honesty, transparency, and unwavering support.

In the Paradise series’ second installment, Baker grapples with the choice between a fresh start in St. John with Ayers and the familiar structure of his life and community in Houston. Even once he’s enrolled Floyd in school, taken a job on the island, and flown back to Houston to rent his house, Baker finds himself wavering: “Baker loves his school wives. How will he ever leave them? […] Baker has a hard time believing that he was in Ayers’s apartment only two days earlier. He has switched worlds. Which one of them is real?” (228). Both Baker and Ayers struggle to let go of the familiar in pursuit of the new, taking them on parallel journeys across the novel.

Baker’s arc is one of maturation and taking control of his destiny. He begins the story as a man reacting to events, but he gradually evolves into a proactive agent of his own life. Despite his personal turmoil, Baker’s most defining trait is his devotion to his four-year-old son, Floyd. He’s a hands-on, nurturing father, and his primary concern is creating a stable and happy environment for his child. He confronts Anna and her new partner to establish clear terms for their separation and co-parenting, and he makes concrete plans to relocate to St. John. This transition from a reactionary state to one of decisive action marks his growth, transforming from a wronged husband into a self-sufficient single father ready to create his own version of family and home.

Cash relocates to St. John seeking refuge from his own failures, but finds himself drawn to the island environment and community. In contrast to his more methodical brother, Baker, Cash’s spontaneity, easy-going people skills, and love of the outdoors allow him to thrive on St. John. The job on Treasure Island suits his personable nature, allowing his natural charm to flourish in a professional context for the first time. Unlike Baker, whose move to the island is largely motivated by his pursuit of Ayers, Cash’s decision is more about finding a lifestyle and community that fit him. This commitment to building a new life for himself is rooted in Everyday Rituals as Catalysts for Human Connection. He initially views St. John as just another temporary stop, a place to lie low while he figures out his next move. His character arc is defined by his journey from this state of rootless aimlessness to finding a genuine sense of purpose and belonging within the island community.

As he integrates into island life, Cash forges his own distinct set of relationships. While his initial infatuation with Ayers is a motivating factor, it quickly evolves as he develops a genuine connection with Tilda, a fellow transplant who shares his desire to build a meaningful life on St. John. This relationship, along with his growing bond with his half-sister Maia, allows Cash to establish a new support system independent of his family’s troubled history. He steps into the role of a protective older brother to Maia, demonstrating a newfound maturity and sense of responsibility. By the end of the narrative, Cash has transformed from a drifter defined by his past failures into a confident and grounded individual who has successfully built a new identity on his own terms.

Although deceased before the novel begins, Hilderbrand employs the device of Rosie’s journals to present her as a fully realized, round character. The reflections in Rosie’s journals offer an intimate and subjective account of the past that emphasizes the novel’s thematic exploration of The Tension Between Objective Fact and Emotional Reality. Through her own words, Rosie emerges as a complex and conflicted woman, intelligent, introspective, and often infused with a deep sense of romanticism, as well as the pragmatism required of a single mother living on St. John. The journals reveal her deep love for Russ but also her persistent awareness of the moral compromises she is making to be with him.

Rosie’s primary motivation is a desire for a complete and stable family. She is torn between her all-consuming love for Russ and her fierce, protective instincts toward her daughter, Maia. She longs for Russ to leave his wife and commit to their life together, but she is also acutely aware of the pain their affair could cause. This internal conflict is a constant theme in her entries, as she repeatedly resolves to end the relationship only to be drawn back in by Russ’s promises and her own strong feelings. A recurring line in her journal, “Love is messy and complicated and unfair” (300), encapsulates her struggle and her ultimate resignation to the complexities of her situation. Rosie’s secret life with Russ and her tragic death act as the inciting incidents for the series, forcing every other character into a state of crisis and self-examination. Her journals provide the emotional context for the central mystery, creating a nuanced portrait of Russ that humanizes him and their life together.

Through the device of the journals, Hilderbrand paints a rounder, more complex picture of Russ from Rosie’s point of view. In the previous novel, Winter in Paradise, Russ is characterized primarily through the perspectives of his wife and sons—a lens colored by the shock and grief they feel over his infidelity and second family. In contrast, Rosie’s perspective provides a window into the parts of Russ’s life that Irene, Baker, and Cash can’t access. While Irene has always seen Russ as a hopeless romantic fully devoted to his family, Rosie can tell from their first encounter that “Russell from Iowa City [is] a people-pleaser and that his wife, Irene, [makes] him feel like a disappointment and that hearing [Rosie] say he [is] the opposite [will] all but make him fall in love” (82). In this way, Rosie’s journals position their relationship as an antidote to the challenges of his marriage.

As the novel progresses, Rosie continues to grapple with the disconnect between her love for Russ and the morally ambiguous nature of their relationship and his work. Rosie’s often repeated statement—“Love is messy and complicated and unfair” (301)—provides a perfect descriptor of Russ himself, the object of her affection. Ultimately, Russ’s choices lead to Rosie’s death and his own, leaving his wife without a home once his assets are seized by the FBI—an ending that reinforces the disconnect between Rosie’s loving portrayal of Russ and his moral complexity.

At 12 years old, Maia demonstrates a resilience and emotional intelligence beyond her years and often acts as a voice of reason for the adult characters in the story. In one of her journal entries, Rosie notes that she and Russ “didn’t tell Maia Russ was her father; she told us” (313). Following the death of her mother, she navigates her grief with a maturity that often surprises those around her. She’s intuitive and perceptive, readily accepting Baker and Cash as her half-brothers. Her willingness to embrace this new, unconventional family is a key driver of the plot, creating bonds where there might otherwise have been only animosity. Maia’s strength and capacity for forgiveness make her a symbol of hope and the possibility of new beginnings in the wake of tragedy.

Mick serves as a foil to Baker and represents Ayers’s complicated past. He is the manager of the popular Beach Bar and is deeply embedded in the St. John social scene. His relationship with Ayers is defined by a cycle of comfort, betrayal, and reconciliation. His infidelity provides the initial impetus for Ayers to consider a future with someone else, yet his persistence and their shared history make it difficult for her to completely let go. He embodies the familiar but flawed reality that Ayers must weigh against the terrifying but potentially more rewarding possibility of a new life with Baker.