Pick up any one of [Hilderbrand's] books on a grim, cold, what-do-I-have-to-look-forward-to kind of day, and you will be transported to a land of perpetual sunshine, afternoon sails and well-appointed beachfront homes. Her latest, 28 Summers, is no exception. In fact, this sweeping love story is Hilderbrand's best ever. She is the rare writer who can produce more than one book a year without sacrificing quality.
The New York Times Book Review - Elisabeth Egan
"Summer on Hilderbrand's Nantucket is never dull. This time she focuses on former lovers who now lead separate lives but share an island idyll once a year. Captivating and bittersweet."—People Elisabeth Egan, New York Times Book Review Library Journal Kirkus Reviews Praise for Summer of '69: Publishers Weekly, starred review Susan Maguire, Booklist Kirkus The Perfect Couple: People Patriot-Ledger CBS News Bustle The Perfect Couple proves that Elin Hilderbrand is the queen of the summer beach read"—WFMY News 2 Kim Hubbard , People Jocelyn McClurg , USA Today, 10 Hot Books You Won't Want to Miss This Summer Library Journal Sam Anderson , New York Times Magazine Entertainment Weekly
★ 06/01/2020
Jake has spent 28 Labor Day weekends with Mallory at her home in Nantucket, starting in the early 1990s when they were in their 20s. Taking inspiration from the movie Same Time , Next Year , and because Jake is committed to someone else, they decide to indulge their romantic attraction one weekend a year, which they agree to keep secret from family and friends. Despite their deceitful actions, Jake, a charity spokesperson, and Mallory, a teacher, are portrayed as selfless, good-hearted people who just can't deny their love. Navigating a large cast and long time line, Hilderbrand (The Perfect Couple ) steers this tightly written novel with ease and skill, introducing each chapter with the year's current topics. The stakes are raised when Jake's wife becomes a political figure; how long will they be able to keep their secret? VERDICT Because Jake and Mallory meet only one weekend a year, their relationship is rendered, a perpetual holiday. Less a story about a secretive affair and more a tale of sweet nostalgia and fate, this title will be popular with a wide audience. [See Prepub Alert, 12/9/19.]—Sonia Reppe, Stickney-Forest View P.L., IL
Sometimes a book pulls you in and holds on tight—this is definitely one of those. Narrator Erin Bennett is warm, engaging, and enthusiastic as Mallory Blessing and a host of wide-ranging, multidimensional characters. As the story begins, Mallory is dying and her son, Link, is given instructions to call a strange number belonging to Jake McCloud. Listeners are soon taken on a journey back in time as their 28-year love story unfolds. Bennett's narration perfectly matches each stage of Mallory's life—and her unconventional "same time next year" relationship with Jake—as she finds her place on Nantucket. Best of all, each chapter opens with a list of "things we were talking about" during each of the 28 years, making the novel’s journey back in time even more memorable for listeners. K.S.M. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
★ 2020-03-29
Inspired by the 1978 movie Same Time, Next Year , Hilderbrand creates her own pair of annual secret lovers—Mallory Blessing and Jake McCloud. Mallory is a Baltimore girl, born and raised in Anne Tyler territory, who inherits a Nantucket beach cottage from her gay aunt. Jake is her brother Cooper’s best friend from his college days at Johns Hopkins. They first cross paths in 1993, when Mallory hosts Cooper’s bachelor party over Labor Day weekend…and the book’s title gives you a pretty good idea of the rest. When they meet, Jake is already the property of a glamorous but coldhearted powerhouse named Ursula DeGournsey—the two grew up together in South Bend, Indiana—who by the end of the book is a U.S. senator running for president. To get to 2020, Hilderbrand paves a lush path of nostalgia, introducing each year with a rundown of headlines, song lyrics, and pop-culture memories, and also slips in an astute commentary on marriage, showcasing various good ones and bad ones along the way. Come for the sailing, the sunsets, and the sweet romance, stay for the cold gin and tonics, the lobster dinners, and truly unparalleled picnics: “rare roast beef, Boursin, and arugula pinwheel sandwiches, chicken and potato sandwiches with celery and chives; a marinated cucumber salad from the Baltimore Junior League cookbook, and lemon bars with a coconut shortbread crust.” In her 25th novel, Hilderbrand gets everything right and leaves her ardent fans hungry for No. 26.
Oh for the days when life was a picnic on the beach: Hilderbrand sets the gold standard in escapist fiction.
