When I am looking for a reliably good summer read, I know I can, almost always, count on Elin Hilderbrand to deliver something that I will thoroughly enjoy. I even have a recurring reminder on my phone to put a hold on her newest book in early April, before it comes out in mid-June. This was more crucial in prior years when we only got 5 holds per library card. Giving up one of my holds for over 2 months was a sacrifice but I am serious about getting them as soon as the library gets them in!
The books aren't always the most memorable, I've read ever single one of hers and I could only give plot points for maybe half and that's being generous. But they make up for that by being reliably entertaining, thought-provoking, and engaging. I know when I crack one open that I am in for a good reading experience. I will enjoy my time spent with these fictional people, even if I don't like them or all of their decisions. I always end up reading them pretty fast, the kind of fast where I find extra time in my day to sneak in more reading. I love being swept up in a good book.
Her books always have strong female protagonists and most of her recent ones (I can't think of a single exception right off) are told from multiple perspectives. Occasionally some men too but women drive the story. The characters have complex lives that don't just revolve around their romantic relationships. They often have jobs, kids, close friends, and hobbies (often food or gardening). The books model (usually) healthy female friendships and a closeknit community on Nantucket.
Ahhhh...Nantucket. I've never been but I'd really like to go some day. Every single one of her summer books are set on Nantucket, most go off-island too but Nantucket is the main setting. I always end up searching Google or Instagram for pictures of Nantucket while reading these books, just to get a better sense of what it looks like and how big it is. It's small but seems to hold a lot of big (fictional) personalities! It's an expensive place to be - both to get to and to stay on, since it's out at sea and the characters are often, but not always, wealthy. Since I'll definitely never live on Nantucket and most likely never be rich, it's enjoyable to visit it through other peoples' (fictional) lives.
I read a lot of books, especially in the summer, but I so appreciate always knowing I'll be getting something good when I open Elin Hilderbrand's latest. I never buy them before reading but I do end up owning quite a few eventually. I wrote a whole post on her Christmas series here and it is also a delight.
If you are looking for a starting point here are some of my favorites (aff. links below):
If you are interested in reading about food...
The Blue Bistro
My absolutely favorite of hers and one of the rare ones that is just told from the perspective of one character. Adrienne is new to Nantucket, looking to make some quick money after a bad boyfriend experience in Colorado. She knows hotels. She's looking to work at a hotel. But she ends up at the famed Blue Bistro restaurant. The manager-owner is confusing, the cook-owner doesn't want anything to do with her, but the food is AMAZING. (I always wish the Blue Bistro was real so I could try their food.) This is the last summer for the Bistro, for reasons unknown at the beginning and Nantucket wants to make the most of it. I so enjoy the food descriptions and the fast paced restaurant setting. And a few characters are from South Bend and Notre Dame gets some mentioned, I'm not any particular fan of the place but I do like anytime Indiana gets mentioned! I read this about every other year.
If you are interested in sister relationships...
The Island
I read this book every single Memorial Day weekend and have for at least 6 years now. Two sisters are spending a month on Tuckernuck with their mom & aunt, in their family's ancestral vacation home. Tuckernuck is a smaller island, privately owned, off the coast of Nantucket and has no electricity, just generators, and to get hot water you have to heat it on the stove. All three women are going through different romantic entanglements back home for a month, it's just the 4 of them on Tuckernuck, with twice daily visits from their caretaker who brings them groceries, collects the trash, and maybe has a romance with one of the girls. I love the rusticness of it, the sister bonds, the women sticking together. You find out what brought them all to the island together for a month and why they all leave the Island different than when they came. It's wonderful.
If you are interested in life long secrets and friendships...
28 Summers
This is the most recent one but I really enjoy it and I think it's going to be my "read every Labor Day" book. The Island feels more optimistic for the start of summer while this one feels a little more melancholy for the end. A woman is dying and tells her son to call a number on a piece of paper in her desk. The man who answers the phone is the husband of the woman who is probably going to win the presidential election in the fall. The son has NO IDEA why his Mom knows this man or why she wants to call him from her deathbed. Then we go back to the beginning, 28 summers ago. As to how these people met and how they became so entwined in each other's lives, even if just for one weekend a year.
If you are interested in death and weddings...there is sentimental death decades before a wedding or a surprise death at a wedding weekend...
If you are interested in death bringing together the many parts of a complicated family...
If you are interested in the slightly wild life of teenagers...
If you are interested in friend groups...
If you are interested in running a hotel at a vacation destination...
And plenty more! Heads up that there is generally a little language but most of the romance is closed door, hinted at but not seen.
I appreciate her smart summer reads, where I get a little more insight to characters that feel real without denigrating into too much material that feels like it's rotting my brain. They are usually, a near perfect summer read.
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