Winter Storms by Elin Hilderbrand

by:  Elin Hilderbrand
published by:  Little Brown and Co
publish date:  October 4, 2016

Some of the stormy weather of the past few seasons seems to have finally lifted for the Quinns. After a year apart, and an ill-fated affair with the Winter Street Inn's old Santa Claus, Mitzi has returned to rule the roost; Patrick is about to be released from prison; Kevin has a successful new business and is finally ready to tie the knot with Isabelle; and best of all, there's hopeful news about Bart, who has been captured by enemy forces in Afghanistan. 

Anybody that has been reading this blog for awhile knows that I don't like trilogies all that much.  It's a marketing strategy that aggravates me.  However, I love Elin Hilderbrand, so I was torn about starting this series.  I think if you're gonna do a trilogy, she did it in a good way.  You get a summer related book in the summer and the one of the winter books each winter in time for Christmas.  

This was the 3rd book in the series and I would assume the last since all the story lines were tied up.  I really enjoyed this series and don't tell anybody I would ever say this, but I hope she starts another Winter trilogy.  

I would recommend these books to anyone.  There's a little bit of something for everyone.  However, these are predominately women's literature.  I gave them a try and wasn't disappointed, I don't think very many other people would be either.

December Mini Musings

A Spark of Death: I think I've had this one for a long time in my TBR Pile.  I'm not sure what made me finish the book, but I think I was hoping it would get better.  While it's a decent mystery, it's really slow.  The killer was a surprise.  I also thought the electricity parts were interesting. I'm not sure if I will read any more of the series.

Wild Sky: I was disappointed in this sequel to Night Sky. It was OK, just not as good as I was hoping it would be. For the length of the book, not much happens.  Sky and her friends are still on a quest to find Dana's sister.  Cal is accidentally injected with Destiny and can walk.  But, he is a ticking time bomb.  The gang meets a new male Greater Than who is pretty powerful.  That's about it.  Honestly, I feel like this one could have been shorter than it was and maybe combined with the next book?  The ending was kind of left with the possibility of another book and a maybe evil Lacey.  I would also suggest reading Night Sky first.  I don't fell like this one works too well as a stand alone.

The Grownup:  I'm a huge fan of Gillian Flynn.  This little short story of hers was a fun, little, screwy story.  It's about a con artist that sort of meets her
match.  It's not very long at all, in fact it's almost disappointingly short!  It's definitely read worthy!

Winter Stroll:  Another writer of which I'm a huge fan, Elin Hilderbrand.  This book is a follow up to last year's Winter Street.  It has all the same characters and how their lives have changed one year later.  I think this is a fun alternative to her beach books and well worth the read.

The Rumor by Elin Hilderbrand

by:  Elin Hilderbrand
published by:  Little Brown and Co
publish date:  June 16, 2015

Madeline King and Grace Pancik are best friends and the envy of Nantucket for their perfect marriages, their beautiful kids, their Sunday night double dates with their devoted husbands. But this summer, something's changed, and if there's anything Nantucket likes better than cocktails on the beach at sunset, it's a good rumor.

Ok, so it wouldn't be summer without an Elin Hilderbrand book.  I have to have my little escape to Nantucket every now and then to keep happy.  

This book was kind of fun because it dealt with something I'm sure we can all relate to: rumors.  In the book, Madeline and Grace are best friends, however they're both dealing with two very different problems over their summer.  Madeline can't write her book and Grace is in love with her gardener.  When Madeline rents an apartment for work space and Grace's husband is seen leaving it, the tongues start wagging in their little town.

I liked this book a lot.  I thought it was pretty funny.  There were characters from other books that made an appearance in this one, and that's something that I always like.  I can't wait for the next book to come out!

Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand

by:  Elin Hilderbrand
published by:  Little Brown and Co
publish date:  October 14, 2014

Kelley Quinn is the owner of Nantucket's Winter Street Inn and the proud father of four, all of them grown and living in varying states of disarray. Patrick, the eldest, is a hedge fund manager with a guilty conscience. Kevin, a bartender, is secretly sleeping with a French housekeeper named Isabelle. Ava, a school teacher, is finally dating the perfect guy but can't get him to commit. And Bart, the youngest and only child of Kelley's second marriage to Mitzi, has recently shocked everyone by joining the Marines. 

As Christmas approaches, Kelley is looking forward to getting the family together for some quality time at the inn. But when he walks in on Mitzi kissing Santa Claus (or the guy who's playing Santa at the inn's annual party), utter chaos descends. With the three older children each reeling in their own dramas and Bart unreachable in Afghanistan, it might be up to Kelley's ex-wife, nightly news anchor Margaret Quinn, to save Christmas at the Winter Street Inn. 

Is there anything I haven't already said about Elin Hilderbrand?  She's hands down one of my favorite writers.  Winter Street is her first Christmas novel.   Now that it's starting to get a little chilly outside in some parts of the world this would be a great book to snuggle up with and get in the holiday mood.

In Winter Street nothing in going right for the Quinn family.  Every family member is having their own personal crisis.  Despite that, they all have to put on a smile and carry on the tradition of the Christmas Open House at the Winter Street Inn.  I loved the idea of the Open House and it was portrayed so well.  It definitely got me in the mood for a good holiday party.

If you're looking for a book to read this holiday season Winter Street would be a great pick.  Or it would make a great present for the reader on your shopping list.  

The Matchmaker by Elin Hildebrand

by:  Elin Hildebrand
published by:  Little, Brown and Co.
publish date:  June 10, 2014

Dabney Kimball Beech, the 48-year-old fifth generation Nantucketer, has had a lifelong gift of matchmaking (52 couples still together to her credit). But when Dabney discovers she is dying of pancreatic cancer, she sets out to find matches for a few people very close to home: her husband, celebrated economist John Boxmiller Beech; her lover journalist Clendenin Hughes; and her daughter, Agnes, who is engaged to be married to the wrong man.  As time slips away from Dabney, she is determined to find matches for those she loves most - but at what cost to her own relationships? 

I'm a huge Elin Hilderbrand fan.  I've loved all her books.  This one was no different.  However, I did feel it had a different atmosphere than her other books.  I felt very frustrated with the main character throughout the story.  This character is dealing this a life changing illness and Elin Hilderbrand herself was recently diagnosed with cancer, so perhaps it may have been some of that in the writing.  I don't know how much of the writing happened during or after her diagnosis.

The biggest frustration I had with the character Dabney was that she just wouldn't go to the doctor.  She kept thinking she was "lovesick".  What the heck?  Is that really a thing?  You're a 50 year old woman, you should know better right?  Then, the people around her didn't seem to be very forceful about making her go either.  However, the reader has the luxury of knowing what's wrong with Dabney.

Once again, Elin Hilderbrand has written an excellent Summer read.  It's the perfect book for a lazy day at the beach or pool to dream about living on Nantucket.  We wish Elin the best of luck in her recovery and I hope she gets back to writing books really soon!

Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand

by:  Elin Hilderbrand
published by: Reagan Arthur Books
publish date:  June 25, 2013

The Carmichaels and Grahams have gathered on Nantucket for a wedding. Plans are being made according to the wishes of the bride's late mother, who left behind The Notebook: specific instructions for every detail of her youngest daughter's future nuptials. Everything should be falling into place for the beautiful event--but in reality, things are far from perfect.

This was one of those wedding stories for people who are wealthy.  The elite that have the money to spend nearly $200,000 on a wedding.  While that part of the story was crazy and amazing, the rest of it was more like all us regular folks.   Some relationships were perfect, some were falling apart, some were just beginning and all of it was taking place in the shadow of this wedding that planned many years earlier.

Jenna was the baby of the family, so she was much younger and unmarried when her mother was dying of ovarian cancer.  Her mother's big regret was that she was going to miss Jenna's wedding.  So, she wrote The Notebook planning out Jenna's wedding on her deathbed.  That notebook became the bible for planning the wedding.  It worked perfectly until the actual wedding weekend, when everything started falling apart.

I love everything Elin Hilderbrand has written, this book included.  I'm not a big chick-lit fan, but to me her books just don't feel like they fall into that category.  Her books are great beach books, so if you're trying to hold on to that last little bit of Summer check out Beautiful Day.

Review: Nantucket Nights by Elin Hilderbrand

by:  Elin Hilderbrand
published by: St. Martin's Paperbacks
publish date:  July 1, 2003

For 20 years, Kayla, Antoinette, and Val have performed their own special summer ritual. Once a year, the old friends put aside their daily, separate lives to drink champagne, swap stories, and swim naked under the Nantucket stars. This time though, one of them swims out from the shore and doesn't return. After the surviving friends emerge from their grief, they realize that the repercussions of their loss go far beyond their little circle, and they begin to uncover layers of secrets, and their connections to each other, that were never revealed on the beach. What has made their friendship strong now has the power to destroy their marriages, families-and even themselves.

Nantucket Nights is told from Kayla's viewpoint.  She is a middle-aged mother of four kids married to a prominent Nantucket contractor.  She spends her days counting calories and worrying about her husband's fidelity.  But the facade of her world comes crashing down around her the night Antoinette disappears in the Atlantic Ocean.

Once again Elin Hilderbrand created a story of Nantucket that utterly captivated me.   Because of her books, I so want to go there.  Or find my own island.  I found that when the story went off island, it lost some of its magic.

I found that this book really probed some of the interesting aspects of the friendships between women.   Those friendships can be complex and not always reciprocal.  The way they change and mellow over time is evident in this book.

Elin Hilderbrand is one of my favorite writers.  I always highly recommend her books.  They're great summer reads.

Book Shout Out: The Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand

by:  Elin Hilderbrand
published by:  St. Martin's
publish date:  May 30, 2006

Adrienne Dealey has spent the past six years working for hotels in exotic resort towns. This summer she has decided to make Nantucket home. Left flat broke by her ex-boyfriend, she is desperate to earn some fast money. When the desirable Thatcher Smith, owner of Nantucket's hottest restaurant, is the only one to offer her a job, she wonders if she can get by with no restaurant experience. Thatcher gives Adrienne a crash course in the business...and they share an instant attraction.

But there is a mystery about their situation: What is it about Fiona, the Blue Bistro's chef, who captures Thatcher's attention again and again? And why does such a successful restaurant seem to be in its final season before closing its doors for good? Despite her uncertainty, Adrienne must decide whether she'll move on, as she always does--or finally open her heart…

At this point I don't know if there's anything else that I can say about how much I love Elin Hilderbrand's book.  I've read almost all of them and except for a couple of little disappointments here and there, I've adored everything about all of her books.

The Blue Bistro is an older book, but it's still super good.  I listened to the audiobook and it was very well done. 

Elin has put it in my head that I WILL go to Nantucket some day.  After reading all these books I can't not go!

The Love Season by Elin Hilderbrand

by:  Elin Hilderbrand
published by:  St. Martin's Press
publish date:  May 30, 2006

Marguerite Beale, former chef of culinary hot spot Les Parapluies, has been out of the public eye for over a decade. This all changes with a phone call from Marguerite's goddaughter, Renata Knox. Marguerite has not seen Renata since the death of Renata's mother, Candace Harris Knox, fourteen years earlier. And now that Renata is on Nantucket visiting the family of her new fiancé, she takes the opportunity, against her father's wishes, to contact Marguerite in hopes of learning the story of her mother's life--and death. But the events of the day spiral hopelessly out of control for both women, and nothing ends up as planned.

Anybody that's been reading this blog for awhile has probably figured out that I've turned into big fan of Elin Hilderbrand.  Any time my library adds a new audiobook of hers I'm all over it.  That's how I ended up with this book.  It's one of her older titles, but don't let that scare you off.

The Love Season tells the story of Marguerite Beale and her life as a chef both off and on Nantucket Island.  This was a little bit of a departure for Hilderbrand as most of her books take place solely on Nantucket Island, but I liked it.  I thought Marguerite had a very romantic and exciting life and her experiences made for a great story. 

I think everytime I read one of Elin Hilderbrand's books I fall in love with the idea of Nantucket.  When I finish the book I think "that was my favorite book of her's ever".  However, with this book, I think it really might be my favorite book of her's ever.  It was a story full of amazing changes and forgiveness long overdue.

 

Review: Barefoot by Elin Hildebrand

by:  Elin Hilderbrand
published by:  Little, Brown & Co.
publish date:  July, 2007

It's summer on Nantucket, and as the season begins, three
women arrive at the local airport, observed by Josh, a local
boy, home from college. Burdened with small children,
unwieldy straw hats, and some obvious emotional issues,
the women--two sisters and one friend--make their way to
the sisters' tiny cottage, inherited from an aunt. They're all
trying to escape from something: Melanie, after seven failed
in-vitro attempts, discovered her husband's infidelity and
then her own pregnancy; Brenda embarked on a passionate
affair with an older student that got her fired from her
prestigious job as a professor in New York; and her sister
Vickie, mother to two small boys, has been diagnosed with
cancer. Soon Josh is part of the chaotic household, acting
as babysitter, confidant, and, eventually, something
more, while the women confront their pasts and map out
their futures.

You'd think maybe by now I'd be tired of Elin Hilderbrand books.  I'd be tired of books about people spending their summers on Nantucket.  You might think all her books are the same.  It amazes me that they aren't.   Elin Hilderbrand is hands down one of my favorite "chick-lit" writers. 

I've never been to Nantucket.  I lived in Massachusetts for TEN YEARS and never went there.  Over the last couple of years since discovering Elin Hilderbrand and her books, I feel like I've been there.  I crave to go there.  Her books make Nantucket feel like such a tangible place as you're reading them, it makes you feel like you're right there with the characters.

The book Barefoot is no different than her other books.  It's an excellent story.  All these women and their problems are crammed into one tiny cottage for the summer.  A local boy, Josh, becomes their savior for the summer.  He takes care of the whole household in various ways.   I really liked all the characters in this book, except maybe DeeDee, Josh's ex-girlfriend, but the reader isn't supposed to like her.

Barefoot is one of Elin's older books, but if you haven't read it, I recommend it.  It's a great warm weather read for these cold days of winter.

Silver Girl

Author: Elin Hilderbrand
Publisher: Reagen Arthur Books


Meredith Martin Delinn just lost everything: her friends, her homes, her social standing - because her husband Freddy cheated rich investors out of billions of dollars.


Desperate and facing homelessness, Meredith receives a call from her old best friend, Constance Flute. Connie's had recent worries of her own, and the two depart for a summer on Nantucket in an attempt to heal. But the island can't offer complete escape, and they're plagued by new and old troubles alike. When Connie's brother Toby - Meredith's high school boyfriend - arrives, Meredith must reconcile the differences between the life she is leading and the life she could have had.

Kari's thoughts:

I had to take a few days to think about this one.  I have come to the conclusion that this one just OK for me. I will be giving it 2 stars on Goodreads.  I'm not sure I can totally pinpoint why I didn't care for it.  I think it came down to the characters.  None of them appealed to me.  I didn't like Meredith at all.  I didn't feel badly for her situation one bit. Nobody can be that blind for 30 years. I wasn't even really convinced that she had changed that much in the end.  I also didn't care for Constance.  She could have made more of an effort to get back with her daughter, but instead she chose to wallow in self pity.  To me, Toby was the most honest of the 3 of them. But, he was almost felt like an after thought.  Like there was a need for a romance for Meredith, so let's bring back the old boyfriend.  I didn't buy it.

The other problem I had with the book was the pacing.  All of the inner reflection and remembering the past slowed down the book for me.  It was too long and probably could have been cut down a bit.    Personally, I don't think you will be missing anything if you skip this one.  I haven't read anything else by this author, but Autumn tells me her earlier works are good.  I'll have to pick one of those up!

Autumn's Thoughts:

I'm somewhat torn on this one.  I don't think I disliked it as much as Kari.  However, I don't think I liked it as much as The Island by Elin Hilderbrand.  One of the things that I will say that I disliked about this one was all the references to designers, clothing, shoes, furniture, etc.  I guess that's supposed to appeal to the chick-lit readers, but it started to annoy me.  I don't know designers, I don't know what it looks like, especially things that are going to appeal to 50 year old billionaire women.

Overall, I think this book was supposed to be sort of like taking a look at all these "Bernie Madoff" type scandals from the wife's point of view.  Sometimes the family are just innocent bystanders.   I didn't totally hate Meredith, but I thought she was kinda being a baby at times.  There was such harping on how incredibly intelligent she was, but I felt like she was kind of lazy.  She could have done more to make something of herself, by herself.   I wanted to like Connie, but she started to aggravate me too.  If she wanted her daughter back, I would think that after two years you would get up off your ass and go visit her and apologize in person.   I really hope I'm raising my daughters to be tougher, more self-sufficient women than these two.

What I did like, and what I like about other works from Elin Hildebrand are all her descriptions of Nantucket and what a lovely place it is.  It always makes me want go buy a house on an island.

I also want to mention that we both listened to the audiobook.  I don't think either of us were thrilled with the narrators.  They weren't completely awful to the point you couldn't listen to it, but they weren't awesomely fantastic either.  However, I do want to thank Hachette Audio for providing the copy I listened to.

The Island - audiobook

by:  Elin Hildebrand
published by:  Regan Arthur Books

Birdie Cousins has planned a getaway with her daughter Chess on rustic, charming Tuckernuck Island off the coast of Nantucket, a chance to bond before Chess's upcoming marriage. Birdie's been through a difficult divorce herself, so she knows the big commitment that marriage entails. She's only recently dared to tiptoe back into the waters of romance.


When Chess abruptly breaks off the wedding and her fiancé shockingly dies in a rock climbing accident, it leaves Chess feeling guilty and deeply depressed. Birdie circles the wagons, convincing her younger daughter Tate, and her own sister India to join them on Tuckernuck for the month of July. Secrets and intrigue soon make their way to the surface, as Elin Hilderbrand once again weaves a masterful story of summer suspense.

I've never read anything by Elin Hildebrand before and I'm clearly missing out on something.  I won the audiobook of The Island recently.  I absolutely loved it.  I'd have to put this up there with the best books I've read this year.  I have The Castaways around here and it got move up near the top of the TBR Pile after reading this one. 

The story was great.  I loved it.  I loved all four of the women.  They were every woman in different ways and they all dealt with things that all women deal with at some point in their lives.  The island setting was perfect.  They were stuck with each other until their problems got resolved.  I loved the idea of Tuckernuck.  I want to go there, but apparently it's pretty hard to get there.

The audiobook reader, Denice Hicks, was awesome!  I loved the way she portrayed their emotions.  There were times I'd say "Oh Hank" or "Barrett!" to myself and she'd say it the same way.  I'll be on the lookout for more audiobooks read by her for sure.