Discover the best Elin Hilderbrand books here. You’ll learn reviews and ratings for the most popular works of the “queen of the beach reads” to help you decide what to read. Plus, get a printable PDF of Elin Hilderbrand’s books in order to track your reading.
List of the 10 Best Elin Hilderbrand Books
TOP-RATED PICKS
Summer of ’69: light historical fiction drama set during a momentous summer in Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard
28 Summers: a tear-jerker with a wealth of pop culture references
The Perfect Couple: the ultimate “death at a wedding” in Nantucket mystery
- 28 Summers
- Beautiful Day
- The Blue Bistro
- The Hotel Nantucket
- The Love Season
- The Perfect Couple
- Silver Girl
- Summer of ’69
- Swan Song
- Winter Street
Read these books in The Literary Lifestyle’s Summer Reading Challenge for Adults.
Reviews and Ratings of the Best Elin Hilderbrand Books
Since most of the best Elin Hilderbrand’s books take place in my happy places (Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard), they always feel like a mental escape. I love how, while her preppy books are good beach reads, the characters and storylines also have some complexity. Get details to decide what to read next from her catalog below.
28 Summers
28 Summers has it all: a preppy Nantucket setting. It’s light but still has substance. It has well-drawn-out characters and realistic (yet clever) dialogue. Lastly, it’s compulsively readable.
It’s a summer romance novel about two people, Mallory Blessing and Jake McCloud, who decide to have a “same time next year” meeting that lasts each Labor Day weekend throughout, you guessed it, 28 Summers. Naturally, this becomes more complicated with age, marriage, and kids.
While I can normally be critical about books that glamorize affairs, this book did it smartly. It showed that all relationships are different and complex.
Finally, my favorite part was that each “year” included a rundown of all the pop culture items we discussed at the time.
Beautiful Day
Beautiful Day is Hilderbrand’s wedding novel. When the Carmichael matriarch Beth was living her final days, she detailed instructions for young daughter Jenna’s wedding in a “Notebook.”
Years later, she passed away, and Jenna plans her Nantucket wedding in the family home’s backyard per her mother’s specific wishes, which are sprinkled throughout the story.
Along the way, there are “outtakes” by the guests and all the wealthy family drama that comes along with Hilderbrand books (and weddings themselves) to keep you entertained and wondering how (and if) the wedding will play out.
It’s an easy, breezy, and fun read to escape into.
The Blue Bistro
Going into The Blue Bistro, I only knew it occurred at a Nantucket restaurant. I was not expecting the emotional ride this book took me on!
Adrienne lands an assistant manager position during the last summer the acclaimed restaurant The Blue Bistro will be in business. Within three months, she starts dating her boss, Thatcher Smith, but there’s a third wheel in this relationship—Thatcher’s business partner and lifelong friend, Chef Fiona, who is hiding a very big secret.
The descriptions of the food in The Blue Bistro were nothing short of tantalizing, from the full menu of farm-fresh delights to the daily tomato specials.
The restaurant environment feels so real and alive that you can envision yourself working there, from the bustling bar to the melodic piano and the ocean views.
I was fully immersed in The Blue Bistro, and many avid fans of Hilderbrand’s books consider this her best.
The Hotel Nantucket
According to GoodReads readers, Hilderbrand’s most popular book is The Hotel Nantucket. It juxtaposes high-class people with working-class people in an aspirational setting and offers a light mystery.
The Hotel Nantucket is about the summer when a haunted old hotel is restored to the epitome of luxury, and the staff aims to get it a coveted “5 keys” rating.
Like the TV show Below Deck (which takes place on a luxury boat), the storyline follows drama and love among the staff and the guests throughout the summer. There are even some twists!
Reading Tip: There are many references to The Blue Bistro and The Beach Club for fans of those novels, but you need not read them first. Elin also shared an amazing guide to Nantucket at the end.
Related Post: Discussion Guide for The Hotel Nantucket
The Love Season
The Love Season takes place during one day on Nantucket, in which Marguerite, a middle-aged chef who made it on her own, goes about the day running island errands and preparing for a delectable homemade dinner with her recently engaged goddaughter to whom she must reveal secrets.
Marguerite also recounts her past, setting the reader off on a jet to luxurious places like Paris, Morroco, and New York.
The novel’s short timeframe of one day and the promise that deep secrets will be revealed also add suspense. It’s everything a coastal grandmother will cherish!
The Perfect Couple (Nantucket Series)
The Perfect Couple truly transports the reader to beachy Nantucket in this “death at a wedding” mystery. As you try to solve whether the death was an accident or murder (and if so, whodunnit?), you also learn the secrets of all the major players. So much drama and intrigue!
The bride and groom may not be the “perfect couple” after all, but this is the “perfect” book for a day in the sand. And it gets bonus points from me because I did not correctly guess this ending.
Related Post: The Perfect Couple Review
Silver Girl
Silver Girl is a popular book on Elin Hilderbrand’s backlist. Meredith Martin Delinn has lost everything, all because her husband Freddy cheated investors out of billions of dollars.
Silver Girl is also very much about friendship, as Meredith’s old friend Connie contacts her to heal together in a summer on Nantucket.
The story weaves in the history of their lives, loves, and friendships as they came of age in the Philadelphia suburbs. It’s a great read about starting over later in life and reflecting on your past decisions.
Looking at this scandal from the spouse’s perspective was also unique. I empathized with Meredith’s struggles with public notoriety and her guilt that she benefited from Freddy’s wealth.
Summer of ’69
Summer of ’69 is a summer-themed book that perfectly blends historical fiction, family drama, and pop culture. The plot follows the Levin family during a monumental summer on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.
While they usually all spend the summer in Nantucket with their grandmother, this year, Blair is pregnant with twins in Boston, Kirby is working in Martha’s Vineyard, Tiger is fighting in Vietnam, and only young Jessie is vacationing with their grandmother on Nantucket.
When the Summer of ’69 heats up, Senator Ted Kennedy’s car sinks in Chappaquiddick in Martha’s Vineyard, causing the death of a woman. And, a man flies to the moon, all amidst a backdrop of civil rights and war.
Summer of ’69 immerses you in the family’s lives and transports you to the 1960s simultaneously, making for an extremely satisfying read. I could not stop researching the book’s historical context!
Related Post: Books About Martha’s Vineyard
Swan Song (2024)
Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand (her final novel) introduces an extravagant new couple, the Richardsons, to Nantucket. But before summer’s end, their flashy multi-million dollar estate burns to the ground, and their personal concierge goes missing.
I always find stories that begin with a house burned to the ground immensely propulsive, and this one certainly did not disappoint. Elin Hilderbrand blended everything her readers crave into one final narrative: characters we know and love, Nantucket references, pop culture references, summer fun, drama, romance, mystery, and “rich people problems.”
In addition, she incorporated the most extravagant parties I’ve ever read about. The pink and white party blew me away as a reader!
Reading Tip: Elin Hilderbrand narrates the final chapter of the audiobook.
Related Post: Discussion Questions for Swan Song
Winter Street (Winter Series #1 of 4)
Winter Street begins the four-book Winter Street series. Kelley Quinn owns the Nantucket Winter Street Inn. He is the proud father of four grown children whose personal lives are in chaos as the holiday season approaches.
The oldest, Patrick, is a hedge fund manager dealing with a white-collar crime. Bartender Kevin has a secret relationship with the Inn’s housekeeper. Teacher Ava can’t get her dream boyfriend to commit. Bart, the youngest and the only child of Kelley’s second marriage to Mitzi, is fighting overseas in the Marines.
Christmas approaches, and Kelley walks in on Mitzi kissing the Inn’s Santa Claus, bringing the family drama to a head. It becomes up to Kelley’s first wife, famous news anchor Margaret Quinn, to attempt to save Christmas.
It’s a light yet heartfelt holiday novel filled with all of the family drama that can be characteristic of this festive season. It’s a modern classic in the holiday book genre!
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About Author Elin Hilderbrand: Queen of the Beach Reads
about
A Pennsylvania native, Elin Hilderbrand, is a Nantucket-based American author known for her bestselling beach read books, novellas, and short stories. Her captivating novels blend romance, high-class drama, and picturesque Nantucket settings.
She graduated from Johns Hopkins University and pursued her graduate studies at the famed University of Iowa’s Writers’ Workshop.
Elin Hilderbrand debuted with The Beach Club in 2000 and has since published over 25 novels amidst personal challenges, including a battle with breast cancer.
In 2021, she announced plans to retire in 2024. Swan Song will be her final novel. However, she signed a deal to co-write two books with her daughter, Shelby Cunningham, to be published in 2024 and 2025.
Tip: For similar books, try authors like Elin Hilderbrand, including Nantucket authors Nancy Thayer and Pamela Kelley, who also write beach reads set on Nantucket, and Hilderbrand’s friend, Dorothea Benton Frank, also wrote similar books set in the South.
Recap
This list of the best Elin Hilderbrand books guided you through the “must read” titles from the “queen of the beach reads,” so you can devour all her most popular books first.
SHOP THE POST
- Summer of ’69: light historical fiction drama set during a momentous summer on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard
- 28 Summers: a tear-jerker with a wealth of pop culture references
- The Perfect Couple: the ultimate “death at a wedding” in Nantucket mystery.
remember, it’s a good day to read a book. – jules
The Rumor seems to be included in the winter series??? I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t read it first. My question is there another book that I should read that is part of the winter series??
I’m not 100% sure about this. I don’t recall there being a major connection. Sometimes Elin uses the same characters throughout several novels (like the police chief) but I’m not aware of any books being part of the Winter series other than the Winter series itself.
Is there going to be another book following Troubles in Paradise ? I keep wondering what happened to everyone especially Irene and Huck.
Thanks
I haven’t heard an answer to that question yet!
Hello! Lovely blog! Who doesn’t love a good, beachy book by Elin Hilderbrand?!
I just finished Golden Girl, I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars. Right before I read Golden Girl I read Summer of ‘69 and 28 Summers, and those two books were the ones that created my obsession with Elin Hilderbrand novels. 28 Summers is, so far, my all time favorite book by Elin, Summer of ‘69 is my second favorite and picking a third favorite is hard because I read some of her other books years ago, but I do LOVE the Winter Street Series! In fact, the Winter Street Series were the first books I had read by Elin and I liked the first book of the series so much that when I realized it was a series, I immediately found the other 3 books and devoured them!
I am currently listening to Summerland and I’ve restarted it multiple times, I just can’t seem to get into it, so I think I’m going to put it on my DNF (for now) pile and start a new EL book; my instincts are telling me to go with your #3 favorite EL read, The Perfect Couple! Reading your review I realized The Perfect Couple is a murder mystery book but still on Nantucket! Does a book get any better than “mystery murder on Nantucket” or “beach murder mystery?” I don’t think so! I hope there’s some typical “breakin’ up to be makin’ up” in there or some sparks flying between between the wrong people!
Speaking of, for the critics and trolls who do not approve of the “adultery” and “sexual scenes” then DON’t read it! No one is forcing you! The books are FICTIONAL, meaning, it’s not real or true, those things didn’t happen and the characters don’t exist! I don’t understand people who read an entire series of books only to go behind their computer/iPad/phone, etc., just to author/actress/actor/politician/influencer (whomever) put these people down! It’s cowardly and mean.
On that note, I enjoy your blog and your reviews! I get to read them in between helping my youngest on the potty and helping my daughter with homework. Haha. Thank you and take care! I’ll check back in when I need to pick a new read! 🙂
Thanks for your thoughtful comment! I DEFINITELY recommend Perfect Couple! I recommend it to so many people, and it seems you and I have similar tastes. Blue Bistro is also a really well-liked, unique book, as is Silver Girl.
Reading Golden Girl now! I have read every book. I have had the pleasure of meeting Elin at the Moravian Bookstore in Bethlehem Pa. I was a nervous wreck and she was so nice. Can’t get enough. Please write more. Love her.
I plan on it! I have a few more books on my TBR and I update this post every time I read one. Enjoy the rest of Golden Girl.
Hi Jules!
I just finished my first Elin book .. actually I read the winter series over the last two months! What an outstanding series ! I’m hooked on Hilderbrand!! Thanks to your wonderful blog and information , I will be heading to my local library to check out the Perfect Couple ! Winter series helped me to experience the joy of the holiday season !!!.. I have to agree with you .. I believe I may only be able to read Hilderbrand novels! Lol !!
So many people got into the Winter series this December! I hope you enjoy The Perfect Couple — I sure did!
Thanks for sharing! My faves are Hotel Nantucket, The Rumor and Blue Bistro. I do better when there aren’t so many characters involved, love all the books!
It’s hard NOT to love those three! Looking forward to Swan Song next.