Elin Hilderbrand, My Summer Obsession
I’ve read them all, here’s my ranking of every book!
Summer, to me, will always be synonymous with Elin Hilderbrand. Nicknamed the queen of beach reads, she’s been writing novels filled to the brim with drama, mystery, and glamour since 2000 and I’ve devoured every single one. Last June marked the publication of her last Nantucket-based novel, and while yes, I am somewhat in mourning over this, it was just the inspiration I needed to remember to reread my favorites. And now, with these temps rising again, there’s no better time to join me on Hilderbrand’s Nantucket, a magical place with pristine sand and dirty secrets.
28. Summer People
Three months after successful attorney Arch Newton dies in a plane crash, his widow Beth and twins Winnie and Garrett head to their Nantucket house for the summer. This year though, they have a guest: Marcus, the son of Arch’s last client, whom he invited prior to his death. I’ll admit that I needed a refresher on the plot, but even after I read the synopsis, I found it difficult to recall any details or even the ending. This book was forgettable, and I give you permission to skip it.
27. A Summer Affair
Main character Claire Danner Crispin has a lot on her plate: a husband, four kids, a gala to co-chair, her glassblowing career, a famous ex, and an affair with Lockhart Dixon. As a woman, I related to Claire’s overcommitted, people-pleasing ways. As a reader, I didn’t find the book as interesting as many of Hilderbrand’s others.
26. The Castaways
The Wheelers, Drakes, MacAvoys, and Kapenashes are best friends—that is until Greg and Tess MacAvoy drown after their boat capsizes. This leaves the three other couples to make sense of what happened while, predictably, unearthing buried secrets about each other. The six individual perspectives made the story hard to follow at times, but overall, it captures grief well and was an interesting read.
25. The Island
Family dynamics are always complicated, and Hilderbrand captures them skillfully here. After Chess calls off her engagement, her mom rallies younger daughter Tate and sister India for some electricity-free time at their family cottage on Tuckernuck, Nantucket’s rustic sister island. While the trip is originally intended to help support Chess, it ends up being both healing and revealing for all the women. While the plot was right up my alley, the story is slow at times, and I didn’t find any of the romantic partners very compelling.
24. Nantucket Nights
Val, Kayla, and Antoniette have a 20-year tradition: Every summer, they dedicate one night to bonding, drinking, and skinny-dipping on Nantucket. Antoinette, however, doesn’t make it back to shore. As is always the case in an Elin Hilderbrand novel, the mystery of Antoinette’s disappearance causes secrets to be revealed—some of which are legitimately shocking. I always look forward to stories about female friendships, but I ended up finishing the book with more questions than answers. This is one of Hilderbrand’s earliest novels, and I think if she were to rewrite this today, it’d be much stronger.
23. The Love Season
Former chef Marguerite Beal receives a call from her goddaughter, Renata Knox, whom she hasn’t seen since her mom died 14 years ago. Though Renata has been forbidden from contacting Marguerite by her dad, she meets with her while on Nantucket anyway to learn more about her mom. Of course, that’s only the tip of the iceberg, and surprise after surprise unfolds.
This is the only book of Hilderbrand’s that takes place over just 24 hours, which instantly made it memorable for me. However, I couldn’t get over how Renata was only 19 and engaged in the story, which seemed exceptionally young and unrealistic considering her overprotective dad. I didn’t expect it to, but it ended up taking me out of the story a little bit.
22. Barefoot
This story is bittersweet from start to finish. Three friends escape to Nantucket for the summer after experiencing complex personal crises: Vicki’s lung cancer diagnosis as a mom of two, Brenda’s relationship with a student that got her fired, and Melanie’s miracle pregnancy after finding out about her husband’s affair. Though 22-year-old Josh Flynn is hired as a nanny for Vicki’s children, he ends up becoming so much more to all of them. When the going gets tough, there’s nothing like female friendship, but this book is definitely less escapist than many of Hilderbrand’s others. I was also surprised by how unappealing I found the main characters at times.
21. Beautiful Day
Before Jenna Carmichael’s mom died, she filled a notebook with instructions for her future wedding. Now, the nuptials are just days away, and—you guessed it—chaos ensues. The excerpts from the notebook had me teary-eyed, especially as a mom myself. While I wish the characters were a little more interesting, I still consider it the perfect quick read.
20. The Identicals
Parent Trap fans, this one’s for you. Identical twins Harper and Tabitha Frost, who were separated by their parents’ divorce as teens, have been estranged for 14 years. After their dad’s death brings them back together, the 40-year-olds decide to swap lives, one going to Martha’s Vineyard and the other to Nantucket. Surprisingly, I wasn’t very invested in the plot, but the twins’ dynamics (Hilderbrand is one herself!) and the rare trip away from Nantucket held my interest.
19. Here’s to Us
After celebrity chef Deacon Thorpe dies, his wife, two ex-wives, kids, and best friend head to his Nantucket cottage to say goodbye. Throw in drug addiction, infidelity, and financial ruin, and I can’t think of a messier Hilderbrand plot than this one. The characters are highly flawed, sometimes to the point of being flat-out unlikable, but you feel invested in them nonetheless. My one gripe is that the heroine subplot was rushed, at first underwhelming, and then just plain frustrating.
16-18. The Paradise Series: Winter in Paradise, What Happens in Paradise, and Troubles in Paradise
After Irene Steele’s husband dies in a helicopter crash in the Caribbean, she makes her way to St. John with her two sons. It quickly comes out that he’d actually been living a double life, adding new, heavy layers to their grief. These books are definitely sequential, but the second and third books provide enough context that you’ll still know what’s going on if you go out of order. I initially ranked this series lower because the last book, Troubles in Paradise, isn’t as strong as the first book, Winter in Paradise. However, the character development is so satisfying that I thought it deserved to be bumped up.
15. Summerland
Contrary to what the title implies, this story definitely isn’t as breezy as Hilderbrand’s others. Grief is a heavy theme in the book, centered around the death of Penny Alistair after she deliberately crashes her boyfriend’s car on graduation night. Told through multiple points of view, the survivors and their parents spend all summer trying to figure out why she did what she did. Once I started this book, I couldn’t stop because I was so invested in everyone’s healing. After finding out why Penny drove everyone off a cliff, however, I felt confused by her decision because the consequence of the secret seemed so extreme.
4. The Rumor
Madeline King is battling writer’s block at the same time her best friend Grace Pancik is having an affair—which she ends up drawing inspiration from. At the same time, Grace’s husband “Fast Eddie” is running a prostitution ring. Unsurprisingly, rumors start to run rampant on the island. Some of the behavior is frustratingly short-sighted and irresponsible, I couldn’t stop—I had to know how everything turned out.
As much as I loved reading this book, I love the backstory even more: After news spread about Hilderbrand’s cancer diagnosis before she even got her biopsy results back, she decided to incorporate all of the real-life gossipers into the story.
10-13. The Winter Series: Winter Solstice, Winter Street, Winter Stroll, and Winter Storms
When you’re craving some Elin Hilderbrand during the off-season, pick up this series about the Quinn family and their hotel, Winter Street Inn. You’ll get all the warm and fuzzies and even end up wishing you were on an island 30 miles out to sea in the dead of winter, too—even through the drama, the Quinns are just that charming. While you don’t have to read the books in order because the second, third, and fourth books have informative enough recaps, I’m a purist and still would anyway.
9. Silver Girl
Inspired by the fall of Bernie Madoff, this book is about Meredith Martin Delinn, wife of billionaire fraudster Freddy Delinn. As Meredith’s life is falling apart, her old best friend Constance Flute reaches out, and they end up fleeing to Nantucket. The plot alone had me hooked, and I thought Hilderbrand’s depiction of a rekindled female friendship was both authentic and touching.
8. The Five-Star Weekend
Hollis Shaw is a food influencer who, after the death of her heart surgeon husband Matthew, arranges a girls’ trip to Nantucket with four friends from different phases of life. In true Hilderbrand fashion, the picture-perfect weekend Hollis planned ends up revealing secrets about each of them. Every character is endearing in their own way, and by the end, I found myself yearning to be a part of their group. I also couldn’t get enough of all the food, fashion, and design details—it made the story all the more immersive.
7. Summer of ’69
Taking place at the same time as Ted Kennedy’s Chappaquiddick scandal, the Vietnam War, and Apollo 11, this is Hilderbrand’s only historical novel—and I wish it wasn’t her last. It follows the four Levin children who typically spend the summer at their grandmother’s home on Nantucket but are separated this year by various circumstances. While reading, I was super impressed by how the family drama ties in seamlessly with the actual events of 1969. If I had to nitpick, I’d say Hilderbrand could have provided more historical detail, but given her genre, I don’t think it’s necessary.
6. The Hotel Nantucket
One hundred years after a fire kills chambermaid Grace Hadley, The Hotel Nantucket is purchased by London billionaire Xavier Darling and returned to its illustrious roots. While Lizbet Keaton and the rest of the ensemble work to reestablish the hotel, the chambermaid’s ghost continues to haunt the property. I adored Grace, who’s just as charming as the rest of the motley crew (if not more!). It can be difficult to effectively represent so many characters in a single book, but Hilderbrand makes it look easy. Oh, and you won’t see the twist at the end coming.
5. Swan Song
As Hilderbrand’s last Nantucket novel, Swan Song is exactly what we’ve all come to expect from her: gossip, glamour, mystery, and romance. When the fabulously wealthy Richardsons arrive on Nantucket, they quickly make an impression on people—both good and bad. The question is, what are they hiding? While reading, the direction of the plot became obvious earlier than usual. I didn’t mind, however, because it gave Hilderbrand the space to play with the settings and subplots. Fair warning: The very end wasn’t as obvious, and it left me ugly crying.
Though not necessary, I’d tackle at least a handful of Hilderbrand’s other books before reading this one. So many fan-favorite characters make a return, with a heavy focus on the upstanding Chief of Police Ed Kapenash, which you can only appreciate if you’ve already gotten to know them.
4. The Matchmaker
A beloved character in the Hilderbrand-verse, Dabney Kimball Beech is a middle-aged wife and mom whose life is turned upside down when her high school sweetheart returns to Nantucket and serious health problems pop up. As a skilled matchmaker with a 100 percent success rate, she’s on a mission to find perfect matches for her loved ones before time runs out. When I started reading this book, I didn’t expect it to be as emotional as it was. You’ll love getting to know some of her matches throughout the story but be prepared to sob over the ending.
3. The Blue Bistro
Hilderbrand says this is her favorite of all her books, and I get why. It follows Adrienne Dealey, a restaurant industry rookie, during her summer working at Nantucket’s hottest eatery. While she does have a love interest (the owner), it’s the scrappy characters and restaurant lingo that will really capture your attention. It was an immersive read, and I sometimes felt like one of the staff watching everyone interact.
2. 28 Summers
Every Labor Day weekend, Mallory Blessing and Jake McCloud reunite on Nantucket for three days of romance, otherwise completely uninvolved in each other’s lives. The last chapter wrecked me, and I promise it’ll wreck you too. I never thought I could root for people having an affair spanning nearly three decades, but that’s the magic of Elin Hilderbrand. She somehow manages to accomplish this without villainizing their partners.
1. The Perfect Couple
It’s impossible to hate this book, which takes place during an over-the-top wedding weekend interrupted by murder. The way all the characters are intertwined is masterful, and the fact that the mother of the groom is a famous mystery novelist? Brilliant. Characters from The Castaways, A Summer Affair, and Beautiful Day are included, making this an even more fun read.
more bookish reads…
The Second Act is an entirely reader-supported publication written and created by Danielle Wraith. Click here to subscribe or gift a friend a subscription here (if a friend sent you this —tell them thanks!). Anything you want covered? Questions? Reply with a comment below! You can also find me on Instagram. Please come say hi!
Danielle, this is SO helpful! I think I’m going to start with The Blue Bistro - the restaurant setting is really calling to me. But now you’ve got me interested in more of her novels!
This is quite helpful for me as an EH newbie