(Unpopular) Book Review: 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand

Elin Hilderbrand is known for her cozy, Nantucket summer romances. The New York magazine even called her “the queen of beach reads”. So with all the hype, I quickly added her to my summer reading list.

One book of hers that I have seen time and time again on the top of the reading charts is 28 Summers.

So, without much knowledge of the premise, I downloaded it onto my Kindle and dove right in.

My (unpopular) Book Review of 28 Summers

Maybe I should have looked a bit more into the plot of the story before diving in…

But somehow I missed that even the title itself is referring to a decades-long affair. (I think i confused the title with summer of ‘69, another one of her popular books). Which, no matter how good the writing is, I’m just not a fan of.

How am I supposed to get emotionally invested in characters who quite literally have zero moral compass in what they are doing?

Even if there was going to be a book where the entire thing is about an affair, then I am at least expecting a really good reason for it. But there wasn’t. It was just two people who were seemingly obsessed with one another, so much so that they had a hidden affair for 28 YEARS, but they never made an actual attempt at a relationship.

Just doesn’t make sense to me.

Now beyond my huge issue with the entire pretense of the story- the writing was fine. I actually really enjoyed her writing style (minus the strange “our girl” and “our boy” parts??). The imagery of a Nantucket life, the weaving of multiple storylines over several decades, fun personalities of the supporting characters..

But 432 pages was loooong for this book.

When I reached the halfway point (or maybe it was a little closer to 2/3rds), I noticed I was skipping full chunks of text. It felt repetitive and clunky. The main characters continued to be complacent in a hidden affair, making their relationship not feel like a priority. Like, if the main characters are only invested in the relationship for a weekend a year, how am I, as the reader, supposed to be emotionally invested in that?

All that to say, it could have been 100 pages shorter. Maybe even 200 pages.

So all in, I give it a 2.5 out of 5 stars. I finished it (although I really considered tossing it on the DNF). And even after reading it, I felt disappointed in the ending and how it all wrapped up. The writing was really good to start, and is what drew me in despite the problematic plot, but it only carried me so far before it too was repetitive, and honestly, kinda boring.

GoodReads Book Summary

If you’re considering reading this book, maybe be more aware of the plot than I was before diving in. I feel like had I realized the entire story was about an affair, I probably would have skipped it entirely. So to prevent that mistake for you, here is the summary straight from GoodReads:

By the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Summer of '69: 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.

Final Thoughts

While 28 Summers was not for me in a lot of ways, I don’t think I have completely given up on Elin Hilderbrand. I believe she has the reputation she has for a reason, and I am willing to try another one of her beach reads.

If you are an Elin fan, let me know— what’s your fave? (minus the sleezy affairs please)

xo

Kae