Few authors are as synonymous with “beach read” as Elin Hilderbrand. The writer’s lush, extravagant, and quietly aspirational novels are all set on the tranquil “billionaire’s isle” of Nantucket, Massachusetts, transporting readers to rocky shores and sandy beaches even in the dead of winter.
Hilderbrand’s novels are mostly romances tinged with a mystery-thriller side. She has written more than twenty-five of these beachy reads to date, although she recently told The Wall Street Journal that the appropriately-titled Swan Song (2024) will be the last of the Nantucket-based novels. “I have run out of really good ideas for Nantucket novels, and I don’t ever want to put out a product that is subpar,” Hilderbrand explained.
With the end of the Nantucket days in sight, let’s review our ten favorite Elin Hilderbrand novels to date, with our favorite in the number one spot.
10. Barefoot (2007)
Barefoot: A Novel is Hilderbrand’s sixth book, and it’s a fan favorite that packs an emotional punch readers can’t seem to forget. It’s about three friends, each faced with their own trials and tribulations, who take refuge together in Nantucket one summer. Vicki has been diagnosed with cancer and coping with all that lies ahead; Brenda just lost her big fancy job due to work relationship gone awry; and Melanie just found out her husband is having an affair … and she’s pregnant. Barefoot is a story about friendships, love, and holding onto memories while leaving sadness behind.
9. The Identicals (2022)
The Identicals represents Hildenbrand’s Parent Trap moment, and fans couldn’t get enough! The story is about Harper and Tabitha Frost, a pair of identical yet estranged twins who live on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, respectively. The sisters refuse to speak for over ten years, but when their own lives become a cesspool of secrets and lies, they decide to reunite and swap lives to try to fix things for one another. What could possibly go wrong with this scenario? How about everything!
8. The Matchmaker (2021)
Matchmaker Dabney Kimball Beech has successfully paired up 42 couples in their quiet beach community, but she may have gotten her own match wrong. She’s been married to the same boring economist for decades, but she still pines for a blue-eyed boy who left Nantucket years ago to find his fame and fortune. Now he’s back, forcing Dabney to reassess everything she holds dear, and to reveal shocking secrets from her past that could change the future forever.
7. Beautiful Day (2014)
We know how stressful throwing a wedding can be, yet somehow Beautiful Day makes the strife worthwhile. Every summer, two families get together on Nantucket to spend time. Now, two of their offspring have grown up and fallen in love, and the families must throw an epic beach wedding … but there’s a catch. The bride’s late mother left behind a detailed book of instructions for every aspect of the big day, and fulfilling those ideals proves more difficult than anyone expected. Soon both the Carmichaels and the Grahams are choosing sides and taking aim. Will they be able to resolve their issues before the big day?
6. The Five-Star Weekend (2023)
Food blogger Hollis Shaw’s perfect life comes apart after a tragic accident claims the life of her husband. Soon all of the things she’s been trying to hide or ignore are pulled into the light, so she grabs some friends and heads out for a “Five-Star Weekend.” A five-star weekend is when a woman arranges a trip for her best friend to celebrate every decade or phase of her life, from the teen years on up. Hollis decides to throw herself a five-star weekend, but the results are anything by idyllic!
5. Silver Girl (2011)
Hilderbrand loves to cull stories from headlines, and Silver Girl tackles the aftermath of a Bernie Madoff-esque crook whose wife’s life is turned upside down when his crimes are discovered by the press. Meredith Mertin Delinn lost everything when her husband was found guilty of swindling his rich investors and stealing billions. Nearly friendless, she leaps at the chance to flee to a friend’s house on Nantucket to heal and get a fresh start. But things at the beach aren’t perfect either, and soon she must confront the truth about what her life might have been if she’d only allowed herself to fully live.
4. Summer of ’69 (2019)
Summer of ’69 is Hilderbrand’s first historical novel, yet it stays true to its beachy roots with the action taking place firmly on Nantucket. This novel explores the tumultuous titular year through the eyes of four siblings who usually spend the summer together at the beach. This year, however, everything is different. The only male sibling has shipped off to Vietnam, the oldest sister is pregnant and stuck in Boston, middle sister Kirby is a hippie involved in civil rights protests, and 13-year-old Jessie is trapped with her worried family, watching as the world seems to come apart at the seams.
3. The Hotel Nantucket (2023)
This is one of our favorite Hilderbrand novels, and it would have taken the number one spot on this list if the competition weren’t so stiff! The Hotel Nantucket is a multi-character dialogue extravaganza, with protagonist Lizbet Keaton taking center stage. Lizbet has been charged with revamping a rundown old hotel, but that’s no mean feat. With lively characters like English billionaire owner Xavier, Instagram influencer Shelly, a temperamental chef, and eccentric guests galore, there’s never a dull moment at The Hotel Nantucket. They even have a ghost!
2. Golden Girl (2022)
This bestselling novel is often described as a “page-turner,” and with good reason. It’s the riveting story of mom and author Vivian Howe, who sounds remarkably like Hilderbrand, and it takes us to a whole new realm beyond this world. Vivian is out jogging one day when she gets hit by a car and dies. In heaven, she’s given the ability to observe her grief-stricken family for one last summer. She’s even given three “nudges” that she can use to influence them. She watches and worries as her kids make the usual mistakes you’d expect young people to make, but it’s a secret about her own life she’s hidden in her most recent manuscript that has her truly worried.
This may seem like a very different Hilderbrand novel, but rest assured it’s full of all the beautiful things we expect from the author. The meals are sumptuous, the beach is sunny and warm, and readers walk away feeling satisfied on every level.
1. 28 Summers (2021)
Mallory Blessing has a secret, and she doesn’t reveal it until she’s lying on her deathbed. She passes her son, Link, a slip of paper with a phone number on it. He calls it and finds himself speaking to Jake McCloud, the husband of a powerful politician who’s currently running for President.
As the story unravels, we discover that Mallory and Jake had a deep connection that lasted for 28 summers, until her death. Their love was never meant to be, yet they couldn’t stop themselves from getting together one time each year in the manner of Same Time Next Year, the classic film Hilderbrand based her novel on. It’s a moving, emotional, and ultimately uplifting story readers won’t soon forget.
What are you waiting for? Pack up the cooler and grab your Elin Hilderbrand novels. The beach is calling!
Published: Jul 17, 2024 04:00 am