6 Favorite Elin Hilderbrand Books

Happy Publishing Day to Summer of ‘69! In celebration, I thought I’d share some of my past favorites.

I’m slightly embarrassed every time I post about Elin Hilderbrand, but what else is a fan girl to do? Summer of ’69 is out in the world today and everyone should go buy it! Or get on your library holds list before it gets too long because this is going to be one you want to read. 

I love Elin’s books because I grew up in New England. The first time I visited Nantucket, I was blown away by its charm and history. I love New England because it has such delightful charm and you can learn something new in a place you’ve visited a hundred times before. 

I love how engaging her writing is and I love how real her characters are. They all have flaws, yet you find yourself rooting for them no matter what because people are people, regardless of the mistakes we make. 

Once you read one book, you’ll want to read ALL the books. So here are my 6 favorite to recommend: 

  1. Silver Girl—This was my first Elin book and made me fall completely in love. I think my mom found it as Cosco while shopping for my high school grad party and I flew through it in a day or so. 

  2. The Rumor—I’m a big fan of this one, though I know some people aren’t. I love Grace and Madeleine; plus many of the characters reappear in Winter Solstice, the final book in her Winter Street Series. 

  3. The Castaways—If you love mystery/thriller, I’d say this is a light mystery with a lot of backstory and character development. 

  4. The Identicals—I really liked this one because it seemed different from the rest of her books. I don’t think it really is, but it really laid into the flawed characters and I enjoyed it. 

  5. Beautiful Day—I read this one for the first time last summer, because I was on a huge wedding kick. It’s sweet and paints a great picture of the island. 

  6. The Winter Street series—Technically 4 books, but my they are my favorite of all time. Not appropriate for summer, but once Autumn rolls around, move these to the top of your reading list! 

I think I’m going to save Summer of ’69 for the week of the fourth of July, when I will have a mini vacation and some serious me time for the first time in a while. I wait all year for these books to come out and I don’t want it to go too quickly! 

Who is your favorite contemporary author?