28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand: Should You Invest Your Time? ~ A Rich Idea

In this book review of 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand, I will tell you why some women didn’t like it, why I liked it, and what you’ll learn about love.

But first off as always, I need to tell you why I picked it as my read for the week.

I came across Elin Hilderbrand about 3 years ago as I was embarking on a summer trip to Martha’s Vineyard. Upon asking someone for a good summer excursion read, they mentioned that Elin Hilderbrand writes novels that are always set in or around Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and the surrounding areas.

So I thought WTF … we’ll give it a shot.

It turns out Elin Hilderbrand could be included in this group of women who write about suburban intrigue. As I wrote about in my review of The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica, these women include Liane Moriarty, Shari Lapena, and Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen — all these women have the Midas touch transforming the mundane suburban existence into something fascinating.

And it is fascinating — because even when our outer worlds are ostensibly boring, our inner worlds are often still riddled with turmoil, anxiety, and intrigue.

Let’s take a look at why, or why not, 28 Summers may offer similar reactions.

28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand: A Quick Summary

You will read on the Amazon page for this book that it’s based on the classic film Same Time Next Year, a movie in which a couple only see each other once a year and in spite of this — or perhaps because of this — they develop a lifelong love.

This is the premise and I’m not sure that you need to know more.

Sure, there are characters and subplots that allow the book to move at a healthy clip, but at its core, this is the essence.

28 Summers: A Provocative Book

Can a lifelong love persist for a couple that only sees each other once a year? Is a love like this a really true love or is it a blind love in which the couple are unwilling to overcome the circumstances that limit their relationship to this time frame?

I think readers will spend valuable time considering this situation.

Certainly, I read a lot of this book’s feedback on both Amazon and Goodreads and I can tell you that the Same Time Next Year concept is provocative.

Those in stable relationships seem to think it’s a relationship cop out while one also senses that they are a bit jealous of the romance and excitement created by that same time next year encounter that has long been absent in their lives.

Another point of contention in the book, which completely escaped my notice, was one of the characters comments regarding the Brett Kavanaugh sexual assault accusations. Surprisingly, the women on this GoodReads comments page were far more supportive of Kavanaugh than the women he allegedly abused.

Though I for one thought it was Kavanaugh’s demeanor in response to these accusations that spoke to his unfitness for office, this subplot was neither here nor there for me.

28 Summers: Should You Read It? Will You Enjoy It?

I really enjoyed the timeliness of this book. As noted just above, it references recent events like the Kavanaugh hearing and even Covid — I think she probably finished writing it in the midst of the pandemic.

And I liked how each chapter begins with what is going on in the time frame as we see in the photo below.

But let me confess something — I cannot write this review with much impartiality. From my first reading of Elin Hilderbrand on Martha’s Vineyard, I knew I would return time and again to read her books.

Yes, they’re a bit formulaic and certainly not geographically dispersed but the topics her books explore are those of humanity, love, life, laughter, and loss.

And those will always be topics of endless interest to me and, if they are to you, I definitely recommend this book — more than 11,000 other people seemed to feel similarly — check out the Amazon reviews!

Richard Cummings

2021-10-21

In this book review of 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand, I will tell you why some women didn’t like it, why I liked it, and what you’ll learn about love.

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Richard Cummings

Author at Obvious Conclusions

Richard Cummings is a writer, traveler, and web content developer.

Get your copy of his latest book entitled Obvious Conclusions, stories of a Midwestern emigrant influenced and corrupted by many years living in San Francisco and abroad. It just received its first outstanding review "...reminiscent of David Sedaris or Augusten Burroughs" on Amazon UK.