Are you one of those readers who has had a Hilderbrand book on your Goodreads want-to-read virtual shelf for years? Are you forever walking past the display of Hildrebrand’s books at your local bookstore and wondering what all the hoopla is about regarding this specific author? Or are you a BookTokker wondering if all those buzzy recommendations for Hilderbrand’s stories are really worth the hype? If so, we’ve got you covered! We have put together a list of the most popular Elin Hilderbrand questions, and answered them all. Plus, we’ve also outlined the order of Hilderbrand’s books and explained which ones are standalone stories and those that should be read in order as part of a series.
All About Elin Hilderbrand
Does Elin Hilderbrand Live In Nantucket?
The idyllic Massachusetts island isn’t just the setting for many of Hilderbrand’s books—it is also her home. She grew up outside of Philadelphia but spent her childhood summers at her family’s second home in Brewster, on Cape Cod. She’d also visited nearby Martha’s Vineyard over the years, but when she rented a room in a house during the summer of 1993 on Nantucket, she fell in in love with the island and made it her permanent home the following year.
Is Elin Hilderbrand Retiring from Writing?
The 51-year-old author had planned for her latest release, Golden Girl, to be her last. But her publisher proposed a three-book deal that Hilderbrand couldn’t turn down, she told Forbes. “But Summer 2024 ends my writing career,” she declared. “I want to go out when I am on top." https://www.tiktok.com/@pats.pages/video/6983780490272673026?sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6895827873492895238&is_from_webapp=v1&is_copy_url=0
When Is Elin Hilderbrand Retiring?
The author, famous for her beach reads, confirmed in an interview with the Associated Press back in June 2021 that she will retire in three years. “I feel myself coming to the end of my natural material,” said Hilderbrand, who wants to quit while there’s still a public interest in her books. But even if she’s no longer writing books, Hilderbrand hopes to become a book influencer or maybe someday write a cookbook or her memoir.
Is Golden Girl Elin Hilderbrand’s Last Book?
When Is Elin Hilderbrand’s Next Book Coming Out?
The author has been averaging two books a year—one released in the summer, and one released in the winter. But so far, there has been no announcement that Hilderbrand has a new book coming out in the winter of 2022. But the author did reveal on Instagram that in November, The Matchmaker will be getting a new cover and the printed book will include the bonus prequel story The Tailgate, a short story which had previously only been available in e-book format.
What is Elin Hilderbrand’s Net Worth?
It is estimated that the popular author’s net worth is around $2 million.
Did Elin Hilderbrand Have Cancer?
Yes, Hilderbrand is a cancer survivor. After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014, the author had a double mastectomy that same year. Since then, the prolific novelist has become an ardent breast cancer advocate. “I really feel like it’s my responsibility now to do whatever I can to promote awareness of the disease,” she told Boston Magazine. “The world needs voices that are positive and grateful, and that can be me.”
Is Elin Hilderbrand Still Married?
No, Hilderbrand is not married. She and her husband, Chip Cunningham, got divorced in 2015, and she is a single mom to sons Maxx and Dawson (who are both in college) and daughter Shelby, a high schooler in Nantucket. “My ex-husband and I are great friends,” she told a local parenting blog, the South Shore Moms, in 2020.
What Are Elin Hilderbrand’s Best-Selling Books?
Many of Hilderbrand’s books have landed on The New York Times Best Sellers list—like her most recent release, Golden Girl, which hit the top spot on the fiction hardcovers list during its debut week in June. Other books the prolific novelist has had on the coveted list are 28 Summers, What Happens in Paradise, Summer of ’69, and The Identicals.
Have Any of Elin Hilderbrand’s Books Been Turned Into Movies or TV Series?
None of the author’s books have been made into finished movies or television series just yet, but there are several projects in the works to do exactly that! Ellen Pompeo from Grey’s Anatomy is developing a limited series for ABC called Winter In Paradise, which will be based on Hilderbrand’s Paradise trilogy: Winter in Paradise, Troubles in Paradise, and What Happens in Paradise. Other Hilderbrand titles that have been optioned for television are Summer of ’69 as a limited series; a Hulu drama series based on The Identicals, The Blue Bistro, and The Matchmaker; and movie adaptations of 28 Summers, The Perfect Couple, and her most recent release, Golden Girl.
Elin Hilderbrand’s Books In Order
Based on their publication date, here are Hilderbrand’s standalone novels, in order, and a brief synopsis of each.
The Beach Club (2000)
At the exclusive Nantucket Beach Club and Hotel, a series of personal dramas play out amongst the employees during the season’s May opening through the October finale.
Nantucket Nights (2002)
The ties between best friends Kayla, Val, and Antoinette run as deep as the ocean—but as two of them learn after the third’s death, so do the secrets.
Summer People (2003)
In the wake of their patriarch’s death, the Newton family’s annual retreat to their Nantucket home becomes a place of rolling emotions, turbulent passions—and shocking secrets.
The Blue Bistro (2005)
During the final summer of business at a popular Nantucket restaurant, newcomer Adrienne falls for her boss—even though Thatcher seems to have an odd relationship with his chef and business partner, Fiona. Will Adrienne open her heart to Thatch? And why is such a successful restaurant on the brink of closing?
The Love Season (2006)
Over the course of one day—and supplemented with lots of flashbacks—the lives of reclusive chef Marguerite and her god-daughter Renata are changed forever in this tale of love and friendship, food and wine, deception and betrayal, and forgiveness and healing.
Barefoot (2007)
Sisters Vicky and Brenda and their friend Melanie head to Nantucket for the summer to deal with their real-life problems—marriage, motherhood, infidelity, scandal, tragedy, and illness—along with some help from Vicky’s handsome young manny, Josh.
The Island (2010)
A family in upheaval after a canceled wedding fill a summer at a remote island with heartache, laughter, and surprises—and long-buried secrets. Before summer has ended, dramatic truths are uncovered, old loves are rekindled, and new loves are found.
Silver Girl (2011)
In this ripped-from-the-headlines tale, Meredith flees to the Nantucket mansion of her oldest friend after her husband cheated investors out of billions of dollars. As she reconnects with her high school beau, Meredith must reconcile the differences in the life she is leading and the life she could have had.
Summerland (2012)
After a graduation night celebration ends in a tragic car accident, questions linger about what happened in the moments before that fateful ride. As summer unfolds and the community comes together in support, startling truths are revealed about the survivors and their troubled families—secrets kept, promises broken, and hearts betrayed.
Beautiful Day (2013)
When the Carmichaels and Grahams gather on Nantucket for a wedding meticulously planned out by the bride’s late mother in a notebook she’d left behind, everything should be falling into place for the celebration. But while the bride and groom are quite happy, their loved ones find their own lives crumbling.
The Matchmaker (2014)
When tragedy threatens matchmaker Dabney’s own second chance at love, she must face the choices she’s made and share painful secrets with her family. Determined to make use of her gift before it’s too late, she sets out to find perfect matches for those she loves most in a heartbreaking story about losing and finding love, even as you’re running out of time.
The Rumor (2015)
If there’s anything Nantucket likes better than cocktails on the beach at sunset, it’s a good rumor… as best friends Madeline and Grace find out when the latest gossip swirling around town is about them. Facing the possible loss of the happy lives they’ve worked so hard to create, Grace and Madeline try to set the record straight—but the truth might be even worse than rumor has it.
Here’s To Us (2016)
A grieving family finds solace where they least expect it when celebrity chef Deacon Thorpe’s three wives, children, and best friend gather on Nantucket to say farewell. As the women, all bitter rivals, let go of the resentments they’ve held onto for years and remember the good times, secrets are revealed, confidences are shared, and improbable bonds are formed as this unlikely family says goodbye to the man who brought them all together.
The Identicals (2017)
Just because identical twins look exactly the same doesn’t mean they’re anything alike. When a family crisis forces estranged sisters Tabitha and Harper to band together—or at least appear to—the twins slowly realize that the bond that they share is more important than the sibling rivalry that’s driven them apart for most their lives.
The Summer of ’69 (2019)
Everything changes for the Foley-Levin family during the tumultuous summer of 1969 in this historical novel. Drama, intrigue, and lots of family secrets mirror the real-life events that took place that fateful summer, the year Hilderbrand and her twin brother were born.
Golden Girl (2020)
After dying in a hit-and-run car accident, Nantucket novelist Vivi has one final summer to watch from Beyond as her loved ones on earth struggle to live without their golden girl. With three “nudges” to change the outcome of events in her nearly-grown children’s lives, Vivi will have to think carefully about where to use them.
Which Elin Hilderbrand Books Are Part of A Series?
Hilderbrand has three-book series to date, and it is best to read the books in each series in order so that you can fully enjoy the story she’s created! The following Hilderbrand books are part of a series.
The Nantucket Books
A Summer Affair (2008)
Hearts break and emotions stretch to the point of snapping in this in-depth look at one woman’s attempt to deal with loves past and present, raise a family, run a business, and pull of a charity event unlike any the island of Nantucket has ever seen. Heroine Claire discovers that doing good and being bad are not mutually exclusive—and that nothing is ever as simple as it seems.
The Castaways (2009)
Just before the beginning of another idyllic summer on Nantucket, Greg and Tess MacAvoy, pillars of the community, are killed when their boat capsizes during an anniversary sail. As the warm weather approaches and the island mourns their loss, nothing can prepare the couple’s closest friends for what will be revealed.
The Perfect Couple (2018)
The Otis-Winbury wedding promises to be a lavish society event to remember. But it’s going to be memorable for all the wrong reasons after a body is discovered in Nantucket Harbor just hours before the ceremony—and all of the members of the wedding party are suspects.
The Winter Series
Winter Street (2014)
In Hilderbrand’s first Christmas novel, the dysfunctional Quinn family’s holiday gathering at the patriarch’s Winter Street Inn is filled with a love triangle, an unplanned pregnancy, a federal crime, a small house fire, many shots of whiskey, and endless rounds of Christmas caroling.
Winter Stroll (2015)
The Quinns have returned to Nantucket and the Winter Street Inn for another holiday, having much to celebrate this Christmas. But when the peaceful gathering turns into a hotbed of jealousy, passion, and eggnog consumption, it’s going to take more than a Christmas miracle to get the family (and their beloved inn) through the holidays.
Winter Storms (2016)
The Quinn family has made it through some of the stormy weather of the last few years, but there are still some dark clouds on the horizon. As the Quinn siblings try to iron out their messy lives, patriarch Kelley faces his own mortality—and a historic blizzard threatens to keep the family away from the place they love most.
Winter Solstice (2017)
The series was initially planned as a trilogy, but Hilderbrand gives the Quinn family a bittersweet send-off in the final book of the series. It’s been years since the entire family has been together, but one last gathering includes new opportunities, new trials and tribulations—and a teary goodbye.
The Paradise Trilogy
Winter in Paradise (2018)
Irene Steele’s idyllic life is shattered when she receives a phone call that her beloved husband, Russ, has died—in St. John. Arriving in the Caribbean paradise to sort through the mystery of her husband’s death, Irene is shocked to discover that he had a secret second family.
What Happens in Paradise (2019)
A year after her husband was killed in a helicopter crash, Irene and her grown sons are back on St. John, determined to learn the truth about Russ’ double life and shocking deceits. Along the way, they’re about to learn some surprising truths about their own lives and their futures.
Troubles in Paradise (2020)
As Irene and her sons rebuild their lives in St. John, evidence mounts that Russ’ death may not have been an accident. In the conclusion of the Paradise trilogy, all is revealed about Russ’ money laundering, shady dealings—and whether his death was an accident or a murder.
What Is The Order Of Elin Hilderbrand’s Winter Books?
The Winter series includes four books that take place at the Quinn family’s Nantucket hotel, the Winter Street Inn. The series includes Winter Street, Winter Stroll, Winter Storms, and Winter Solstice. There is also a book titled Christmas on Nantucket that is listed as part of the series—but it is actually the same story as book #2, Winter Stroll, retitled and with a different cover.
Where There Be A Sequel To Winter in Paradise?
There already is a sequel to Winter in Paradise! What Happens in Paradise picks up shortly after where the cliffhanger of Winter in Paradise left off.
What Book Comes After What Happens in Paradise?
What Happens in Paradise is the second book in Hilderbrand’s Paradise series—and like the first book, Winter in Paradise, leaves the reader hanging for the rest of the story. The last book in the trilogy is Troubles in Paradise, which wraps up the story for Irene, her sons, and her late husband’s mistress.
Is There A Sequel To The Blue Bistro?
No, there is not a sequel to Hilderbrand’s 2005 hit, The Blue Bistro. But in 2013, the popular novel was reissued along with The Love Season (which had originally been published in 2006) as a two-for-one book titled One Summer: Two Novels.
Is 28 Summers Part Of A Series?
Technically, 28 Summers is a standalone novel—but Hilderbrand did publish a short story that serves as a postscript sequel to her 2020 hit novel. Titled The Sixth Wedding, the novella was released this past summer and takes place several years later as Jake returns to Nantucket for a Labor Day weekend celebration with his friends.
Is There A Sequel to Summer of ’69?
Yes, there is a sequel to Summer of ’69: Set a decade later, readers can catch up with the Levin siblings in a bonus chapter, Summer of ’79. The short story first appeared in Reunion Beach, an anthology celebrating best-selling author Dorthea Benton Frank, and is also available on its own as a digital book.
Does Beautiful Day Have a Sequel?
No, Beautiful Day does not have a sequel, but Hilderbrand did write a backstory for one of the characters, Margot Carmichael. The prelude is titled The Surfing Lesson and is a digital novella about how Margot comes to terms with her fading marriage and following your own dreams rather than someone else’s. The digital book can be purchased from most retailers. https://www.tiktok.com/@hannah.orens/video/6999758374342511877?lang=en&is_copy_url=0&is_from_webapp=v1&sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6895827873492895238
Are Elin Hilderbrand’s Short Stories Available As One Book?
Soon! On Instagram, Hilderbrand revealed that in the fall of 2023, there will be a special volume that will include all her e-short stories as well as the extra bonus chapters that sometimes appear in her books specific to certain retailers, like Target or Barnes & Noble.
What Authors Are Similar To Elin Hilderbrand?
According to Goodreads, readers who like Hilderbrand’s books also tend to read novels written by Jojo Moyes, Gillian Flynn, Alice Hoffman, Marian Keyes, Karin Slaughter, Louisa Leaman, Diane Chamberlain, Lisa Jewell, and Colleen Hoover. If you are looking for specific books set in beach towns—like Nantucket, where most of Hilderbrand’s stories take place—then check out A Nantucket Wedding by Nancy Thayer, Along the Infinite Sea by Beatriz Williams, Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes, or All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin. Next, read a guide to the Outlander book series.
