All 33 Elin Hilderbrand Books in Order
Updated: May 05, 2023Get ready for Elin Hilderbrand's newest novel by catching up on her most popular summer beach reads to date
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Let the countdown begin!
With vacation season just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to curate your summer reading list. When you start packing for your beach getaway, save some room for Emily Henry‘s newest contemporary romance Happy Place, or bring along Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty books in order to prepare for the release of Season 2 of the show on Amazon Prime. And of course, no trip to the beach would be complete without at least one book from the “Queen of Beach Reads” and No. 1 New York Times bestselling author, Elin Hilderbrand. Lucky for us, she’s about to publish her newest novel, The Five-Star Weekend, on June 13, which means it’s a great time to read (or re-read) all the Elin Hilderbrand books in order!
From her first book, The Beach Club, to her bestselling novel Summer of ’69, Elin Hilderbrand has been at the top of our list of favorite authors of beachy reads and travel books for years. A resident of Nantucket, Hilderbrand knows the beach and how to spin a cozy yarn that will have you coming back for more. So if you’re looking for some of the best books to read this summer, kick back on your beach chair with a cool drink and get comfy with one of these hot summer books from Elin Hilderbrand.
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1. The Beach Club
Series: N/A
Release date: 2000
While you don’t need to read Elin Hilderbrand books in order, if you’re not sure where to start, why not begin at the beginning? The Beach Club was Hilderbrand’s first novel, and it was published in 2000, setting the scene for many more fiction books to come. This book is all about the sweet vibes of summer and summer love, and it’s set in the Nantucket Beach Club. Filled with an intriguing cast of characters, The Beach Club is a juicy glimpse into all the drama that can occur at an island hotel during the summer season.
2. Nantucket Nights
Series: N/A
Release date: 2002
Nantucket Nights came out two years after Hilderbrand’s first novel, and this touching tale tells the story of best friends Val, Kayla and Antoinette, who have been celebrating their friendship on Nantucket every year for the last two decades. But when one of the friends takes a swim in the ocean and doesn’t return, the remaining women must confront their grief and face dark secrets that have been bubbling beneath the surface for years. If you’re looking for popular books for women, this exploration into friendship and the ties that bind is a must read!
3. Summer People
Series: N/A
Release date: 2003
Hilderbrand’s third novel, Summer People, has everything you want in a beach read, but it explores tough topics like first love and loss, which could make for an interesting book club discussion too! This novel tells the story of the Newton family, who have been summering on the island of Nantucket for years. But when Arch Newton tragically dies in a plane accident, his beautiful wife, Beth, continues the tradition and brings the family to Nantucket. However, she also invites Marcus, the son of Arch’s final client, to join the family on the island, thus beginning a story of passion, betrayal and one family’s secrets that finally come to light.
4. The Blue Bistro
Series: N/A
Release date: 2005
Hilderbrand next published The Blue Bistro, in 2005, which tells the story of Adrienne Dealey, a world traveler who never stays in the same place for very long. But when she is offered a job at one of the hottest restaurants in Nantucket despite having no experience, Adrienne wonders what the handsome owner, Thatcher Smith, sees in her. While the passion between Adrienne and Thatcher is palpable, can it lead to more? And what is the connection between Thatcher and the restaurant’s head chef, Fiona? If you love romance novels with a twist, you won’t be able to put The Blue Bistro down.
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5. The Love Season
Series: N/A
Release date: 2006
Like most of Hilderbrand’s books, The Love Season takes place on Nantucket, but it has an even wider scope, with scenes in Morocco, Paris and Manhattan too. When esteemed chef Marguerite Beale receives an unexpected call from her goddaughter Renata, her life changes drastically. Renata has so many questions, but mostly she wants to know the truth about her late mother, Candace. The story that unfolds spans decades and touches on the complicated relationships that can take place between mothers and daughters, as well as themes like friendship, healing—and good food and wine.
6. Barefoot
Series: N/A
Release date: 2007
After the success of Hilderbrand’s previous novels, Barefoot was one of the most-anticipated books for summer reading when it was released in 2007. In this enthralling story, readers meet three friends, Vicki, Melanie and Brenda, who are each dealing with their own personal struggles, from infidelity to infertility. In hopes of getting away from it all, the three women decide to take a trip to Nantucket, but things get a bit more complicated when Josh Flynn, a handsome 22-year-old with troubles of his own, arrives at their door.
7. A Summer Affair
Series: Nantucket, Book 1
Release date: 2008
The first book in Hilderbrand’s bestselling Nantucket series, A Summer Affair introduces readers to Claire, a successful artist who seems to have it all, including a thriving business and a husband who loves her. But when she meets the billionaire Lock Dixon at a gala and they discuss work over a glass or two of wine, their relationship becomes something a bit more than strictly business. For anyone who loves steamy seaside romances, Nantucket is one of the best book series you can find!
8. The Castaways
Series: Nantucket, Book 2
Release date: 2009
Fans of A Summer Affair didn’t have to wait long for the next installment of the Nantucket series, which was released the following year. The second book in this winning trilogy, The Castaways explores similar themes of infidelity and intrigue that readers were introduced to in A Summer Affair. In this novel, however, readers are taken on a journey into the McAvoy’s marriage, which is in trouble due to accusations of an affair. But when the couple tragically drowns in a boating accident, their friends are left to unpack the secrets of their marriage, which are as dark and deep as the ocean itself. If you like mystery books, The Castaways has enough twists and turns to keep you entertained.
9. The Island
Series: N/A
Release date: 2010
After working on the Nantucket series, Hilderbrand switched things up and published The Island in 2010, which is a standalone book anyone can enjoy, even if you’ve never read another Hilderbrand novel. A story about love, loss and starting over, it follow Birdie and her daughters as they travel to a remote island to recover from the shock of a recently canceled wedding. There, lovers, both new and old, reveal themselves and the family rediscovers their connections to each other, as well as secrets they never thought would come to light. If you’ve enjoyed any of the Virgin River books, The Island has a similarly remote location and plays upon themes of new beginnings and reinvention.
10. Silver Girl
Series: N/A
Release date: 2011
Feel-good books make some of the best summertime reading, and Silver Girl delivers all the cozy, small-town charm you could want—but with plenty of suspense too. Threatened with homelessness, Meredith retreats to Nantucket to spend time with Constance, her best friend from years ago. Back on the island, the two women reconnect with their past and a long-lost love or two, while facing the very real question: Is the life we lead the life we’d choose if we had it to do all over again?
11. Summerland
Series: N/A
Release date: 2012
Hilderbrand delivered yet another hit in 2012 with Summerland, a gripping story about rising above the ashes. This novel begins on a steamy summer night, when the students of Nantucket High gathered together to light their traditional bonfire to celebrate graduation. But when the night ends in tragedy, the survivors are left with their own questions, and they find that they can only embrace the future by facing the past.
12. Beautiful Day
Series: N/A
Release date: 2013
Like Hilderbrand’s The Island, Beautiful Day also focuses on a Nantucket wedding day and all the planning that can go into it. But while the couple in this novel is delighted with their upcoming nuptials, their families are feeling a bit differently as the big day approaches. Exploring topics like marriage, loyalty and commitment, Beautiful Day is a heartwarming story, but one with enough scandals and intrigue to make it a real page-turner too.
13. The Surfing Lesson
Series: Beautiful Day, Bonus Short Story
Release date: 2013
The Surfing Lesson is a short story that’s a must-read for anyone who plans to read Beautiful Day, as it offers a bit of backstory to Margot Carmichael, one of the lead characters in that novel. Faced with the dissolution of her marriage, Margot decides to take a unique approach to revive the spark in her relationship, and she encourages her surfer husband to take surfing lessons with his ex-girlfriend and fellow surfer, Hadley. But will jealousy be the secret to saving their marriage? Or has Margot made a big mistake?
14. The Matchmaker
Series: N/A
Release date: 2014
Finding good book recommendations can be hard, which is why it’s so nice to find an author you love, then you can marathon all their books in a single summer if you want to. But if you don’t have enough time to read all the Elin Hilderbrand books in order, you need to at least read The Matchmaker, which is one of her most popular books. In this story, readers are introduced to Dabney, who has a real gift for matchmaking. Yet, despite her success in setting up others, Dabney has yet to find love for herself. But when she has the opportunity to connect with a long-lost love, will she seize it?
15. The Tailgate
Series: The Matchmaker, Bonus Short Story
Release date: 2014
The Tailgate, published the same year as The Matchmaker, gives the backstory for the central romance in the novel. In this brief tale, readers get to meet a younger Dabney and her high school sweetheart, Clendenin Hughes. If you want to fall deeper in love with the enchanting characters of Hilderbrand’s The Matchmaker, you need to read this short story!
16. Winter Street
Series: Winter Street, Book 1
Release date: 2014
Before Hilderbrand finished the final installment of the successful Nantucket trilogy, she began another bestselling series: Winter Street. This is the first book in the series, and while you don’t need to read all the Elin Hilderbrand books in order, it really does help to read all the Winter Street books at once, since the stories flow so beautifully together. A heartwarming Christmas story about the Quinn family, Winter Street has it all, including a tantalizing love triangle and lots of Christmas caroling and cheer.
17. The Rumor
Series: N/A
Release date: 2015
Hilderbrand is well known for living on Nantucket and using the island as the setting for most of her books. The Rumor, published in 2015, is even truer to life, as it focuses on the trials and tribulations of a successful authoress who just happens to live on Nantucket! With rumors spreading and island gossip threatening her livelihood, writer Madeline King and her best friend Grace have to think fast and uncover the truth before it’s too late.
18. Winter Stroll
Series: Winter Street, Book 2
Release date: 2015
The second book in the Winter Street series, Winter Stroll follows on the heels of Winter Street and brings the Quinn family back in all their glory. In this installment, the Quinns are haunted by the ghosts of Christmases past, or rather by past lovers and an estranged ex-wife who makes trouble with the local Santa Claus. With all the Christmas charm you’ve come to expect from Hilderbrand’s holidays series, Winter Stroll is a feel-good book and even more fun to read during the heat of summer.
19. Here’s to Us
Series: N/A
Release date: 2016
If you love enemies-to-lovers romance stories, Here’s to Us may be your favorite Hilderbrand novel yet. While the main characters aren’t lovers, per se, they do share something in common: a husband. To say Deacon Thorpe’s life is complicated is an understatement: The man has three wives, and they all hate each other. But when Deacon dies, he leaves a mess for his wives to clean up, and the wives must come together in Deacon’s Nantucket cottage to unravel the tanged web he weaved and, just maybe, start some unlikely friendships too.
20. Winter Storms
Series: Winter Street, Book 3
Release date: 2016
Celebrate Christmas in July with another installment from Winter Street! Winter Storms came out one year after Winter Stroll, and it is the third book in the series, featuring the same Quinn family we’ve all come to love. In this touching work, the Quinns are busy preparing for an upcoming wedding at the inn, but with a winter blizzard threatening Nantucket, will the wedding have to be canceled?
21. The Identicals
Series: N/A
Release date: 2017
Unlike the Quinns, not all Hilderbrand’s characters have happy families, and that’s true of the two sisters in the 2017 novel The Identicals. While Tabitha and Harper are identical twins, one of them lives on Nantucket and the other on Martha’s Vineyard, and they might as well live on different planets, as far as they’re concerned! But in an effort to save their family, the two sisters switch islands and the change in scenery reveals a series of secrets that may unravel the family—or put it back together. Given its themes of family, sisters and the ties that bind, if you love this story, you may want to check out similar reads, like some of the Colleen Hoover books.
22. Winter Solstice
Series: Winter Street, Book 4
Release date: 2017
The latest addition to the Winter Street series, Winter Solstice was published in 2017, and it’s bursting with more enchanting tales of the Quinn family. With happy newlyweds and the safe return of son Bart from Afghanistan, there’s much to celebrate. However, it wouldn’t be a Christmas with the Quinns unless there was some mischief afoot too!
23. Winter in Paradise
Series: Paradise, Book 1
Release date: 2018
Hot on the heels of Winter Solstice, Hilderbrand published another winter-themed story in 2018. Winter in Paradise is the first book in Hilderbrand’s newest Paradise trilogy, and unlike Hilderbrand’s previous work, this story takes place on the tropical island of St. John, where the reader meets Irene Steele, who has a perfect life … or so she thinks. But when her husband dies tragically and she learns he has a second family on St. John, Irene must travel to the island to discover the truth her husband had been hiding all along. If you love stories like the Witcher books that can transport you to another time and place, Winter in Paradise may be your favorite Hilderbrand story yet.
24. The Perfect Couple
Series: Nantucket, Book 3
Release date: 2018
The Perfect Couple is the final book in Hilderbrand’s Nantucket series, and with Netflix currently filming an adaptation of these books, this summer is an ideal time to read all the Nantucket Elin Hilderbrand books in order. In The Perfect Couple, some of our favorite Hilderbrand cast members make a reappearance, including characters from The Castaways and A Summer Affair. Set during the Nantucket wedding season, this beachy bestseller has lots of intrigue, a whodunit mystery and plenty of Nantucket charm too!
25. Summer of ’69
Series: N/A
Release date: 2019
According to Goodreads, Summer of ’69 is Hilderbrand’s most successful book to date, and it was also her first foray into historical fiction. Set in Nantucket during the “summer of love,” Summer of ’69 is rich with historical details, and the cast of characters is easy to fall in love with too. It’s focused on the Levin family, who have vacationed at their grandmother’s house on Nantucket every summer for years, where the siblings now face the very real threat of changing times and growing up … plus some secrets that could shake their family to the core.
26. 28 Summers
Series: 28 Summers, Book 1
Release date: 2020
Based on the film Same Time Next Year, this is the first book in the 28 Summers series, and it introduces readers to the complicated relationship between Mallory Blessing and Jake McCloud. On her death bed, Mallory reveals a secret she’s been keeping for years: her love affair with Jake, which has persisted despite marriages and other complications. A dramatic look into relationships and how complicated they can be, 28 Summers treats topics like love, betrayal and time with an expert touch.
27. Summer of ’79
Series: Summer of ’69, Bonus Short Story
Release date: 2020
Summer of ’79 first appeared in the Reunion Beach anthology as a tribute to writer Dorothea Benton Frank, although this short story is now available for purchase on its own. A postscript to Summer of ’69, this uplifting tale picks up with the Levin family 10 years later, as they enjoy the beaches of Nantucket once more.
28. What Happens in Paradise
Series: Paradise, Book 2
Release date: 2020
What Happens in Paradise is the second book in the Paradise series, and it continues the story of Irene Steele, who is struggling to uncover the truth about her husband’s secret life. It’s an irresistible novel that will have readers wanting even more, and if you’re looking for a Hilderbrand series that you absolutely must read back to back, Paradise is it. There’s plenty of suspense and mystery to keep you enthralled, and it’s set in a lush, tropical locale that will transport readers to an island paradise, even if you’ve decided on a staycation this year.
29. Troubles in Paradise
Series: Paradise, Book 3
Release date: 2020
Hilderbrand didn’t keep readers waiting for the final chapter of the Paradise series. The third and last book in the trilogy, Troubles in Paradise continues Irene Steele’s story and picks up after her move to the tropical paradise of St. John. Continuing her quest for the truth about her husband, Irene learns that his death may not have been an accident at all. As the story unfolds, other mysteries are revealed before a final satisfying conclusion that will answer all your questions.
30. Golden Girl
Series: N/A
Release date: 2021
Golden Girl is a unique novel with fantasy elements that diverges from Hilderbrand’s other works. Yet, Golden Girl is set among the same beloved Nantucket scenery and features the same careful details, like good food and comfy beach homes, we’ve come to expect from the “Queen of Summer.” The story begins after the tragic death of successful author Vivian Howe, but curiously, it follows Vivian into the afterlife. From “The Beyond,” Vivian watches over her family and waits for the publication of her final manuscript, which contains secrets that may reshape the lives of all her loved ones and change her legacy too.
31. The Sixth Wedding
Series: 28 Summers, Bonus Short Story
Release date: 2022
A final look into the magical world of 28 Summers, this postscript to the novel follows Jake McCloud on his first trip back to Nantucket after the death of Mallory. A touching, short tale of love lost and the memories that stay, The Sixth Wedding is a must-read if you loved 28 Summers.
32. The Hotel Nantucket
Series: N/A
Release date: 2022
A fun and compelling summer read, The Hotel Nantucket is one of Hilderbrand’s most recent works, and it’s written from multiple points of view, like many of her other bewitching tales. In this novel, readers meet Lizbet Keaton, who is trying to rebuild her life as the new manager of the Hotel Nantucket after a bad breakup. But while the hotel has so much promise and a celebrity chef to boot, it’s been floundering since a tragic fire in the 1920s took the life of a chambermaid, Grace. Rich with details about the Roaring ’20s and modern Nantucket, this page-turner even has a charming resident ghost and other sweet details that will have you craving more!
33. The Five-Star Weekend
Series: N/A
Release date: June 13, 2023
If you read just one Hilderbrand book this year, it has to be her much-anticipated 2023 novel The Five-Star Weekend, set to be released on June 14 … just in time for summer! Following the adventures of successful food blogger Hollis Shaw, who recently lost her husband in a car accident, readers journey with Hollis as she tries to reconnect with her past by organizing a “five-star weekend” in Nantucket for some of her best friends from her younger years. But in true Hilderbrand style, the weekend doesn’t turn out as expected, and there’s plenty of drama, secrets and moments for self-discovery along the way!
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