28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand | Little, Brown & Company {Book Review}

28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand

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Book Summary:

Their secret love affair has lasted for decades — but this could be the summer that changes everything. When Mallory Blessing’s son, Link, receives deathbed instructions from his mother to call a number on a slip of paper in her desk drawer, he’s not sure what to expect. But he certainly does not expect Jake McCloud to answer. It’s the late spring of 2020 and Jake’s wife, Ursula DeGournsey, is the frontrunner in the upcoming Presidential election.

There must be a mistake, Link thinks. How do Mallory and Jake know each other? Flashback to the sweet summer of 1993: Mallory has just inherited a beachfront cottage on Nantucket from her aunt, and she agrees to host her brother’s bachelor party. Cooper’s friend from college, Jake McCloud, attends, and Jake and Mallory form a bond that will persevere — through marriage, children, and Ursula’s stratospheric political rise — until Mallory learns she’s dying.

Based on the classic film Same Time Next Year (which Mallory and Jake watch every summer), 28 Summers explores the agony and romance of a one-weekend-per-year affair and the dramatic ways this relationship complicates and enriches their lives and the lives of the people they love.

Publication Date:

June 16th, 2020

Genre:

Contemporary Fiction

Purchase Your Copy:

Amazon Link | LibroFM Bookstore Link

My Review:

I listened to 28 Summers through the LibroFM ALC program (an advanced listener audiobook reviewing program)and it was everything I ever wanted in a fiction audiobook. *You can get your first month of LibroFM FREE when you use my referral link HERE. 

I have been a fan of Elin Hilderbrand since the mid-2000s and will never forget exactly where I was when I read some of her first novels, hello The Blue Bistro!! Like almost all of her books, 28 Summers is set in Hilderbrand’s beloved Nantucket. While I have never visited, over my years of reading her books I can picture it so clearly it feels like I been there. I love that she always incorporates local businesses and landmarks that help set the scene and also bring you back to her past novels.

I have to be honest for a minute and say that while I have continued to be a big fan, I haven’t loved some of her past releases as much as her older books. I just didn’t fully connect with the characters or feel like the plot was totally flushed out, but then I read this one.

28 Summers spans decades and we follow Mallory, Jake, and their families, over yes, 28 Summers, starting in 1993. First off, one of my very favorite parts of this book was Hilderbrand’s inclusion of some pop culture references at the start of each chapter. Not only did it totally help set the scene but it also brought back so many amazing memories…for instance, it totally inspired me to listen to R.E.M. on Spotify…

The characters are multifaceted and while it is a total beach read in its accessibility factor, the plotlines were quite nuanced. It does have elements of infidelity which could be off-putting to some readers but I did enjoy that the characters were imperfect and while you might not agree with all of their choices, you get to know them and learn more of the “why”.

This book made me laugh and it also made me cry, which doesn’t happen a lot for me with reading, LOL. It definitely has some scandal and also some elements of hope. All in all, it is one I won’t forget and I highly recommend it. Is this one on your reading list? I would love to hear!

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company and LibroFM for providing a review copy in exchange for sharing my honest thoughts. I also purchased a hard copy to add my own bookshelves when it was released yesterday. 

Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links. This means if you click through and make a purchase, I receive a small commission that helps support this blog at no cost to you. In addition, whenever possible, I will be including the LibroFM bookstore link alongside any other referral links. This allows you to purchase the book from your choice of independent bookstores.