Here comes another good beach read by Elin Hilderbrand. I know when I sit down with a Hilderbrand book, I will always enjoy it. Hilderbrand transports you to Nantucket and brings the island to life with her descriptions of the town, the food and the people. Her characters are engaging and likeable. Although this was a terrific beach read that I read quickly, I have to admit the premise slightly bothered me. Jake and Mallory spend one weekend a year for 28 summers at her Nantucket cottage. Thats it, just one weekend, then they both go back to their daily lives. This just struck me as slightly unbelievable,, but it still was a good read..

This is a great beach read and a different take on romance. Like most of Hilderbrand's books, this book is beautifully written and addictive, with the background of Nantucket hovering in the background, as always. It also takes turns through DC (my current city), Seattle, South Bend, Indiana, and Newport, adding a bit of flavor and variance to the story.

Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for the Preview!

*Mild spoilers ahead*

The story is based on the life of Mallory Blessing, the protagonist (perhaps self-modeled after the author, in some ways?) who leaves Manhattan for Nantucket in her early 20s and has a unique tradition at the end of each summer (28 summers): a labor day weekend romance. Reading the opening lines to each chapter--a different year--is like opening a time capsule--what were we talking about that year? (Bill Clinton, Justin Timberlake, etc). At first, the idea is incredible, and I loved traveling with Mallory and her crew through the 90s and early 2000s. But just like any idea, there are only so many ways to use it before it gets old. You find yourself catching up with Mallory's age as chapters slow down a bit in her 30s, before grimly trudging through her 40s and the 2010s, until you're just about ready for the book to end where it belongs, in 2020.

**Major Spoilers ahead**

My major issue with this book, apart from the previously-mentioned repetition, is the ending of the story. Obviously, you didn't make it through the whole book for it to...end exactly how you would expect it to after the first chapter? Granted, the AOC-Mayor Pete-HRC-Ursula story was somewhat entertaining, if not ridiculous, but I was truly hoping for a twist that would put the latter part of the book in a different perspective. It didn't happen. Knowing the ending, I would reread the first half of this book more than once over and never bothering to finish it again.

Another great read by Hilderbrand! I love the way her books transport you to Nantucket and her characters are so vivid, flawed and relatable. I adored Mallory and Jake and didn't want the novel to end. I think this is one of Hilderbrand's best! Highly recommend.

I take sleep medication for insomnia. Read 28 Summers most of the day. Read it while in bed waiting for my medication to kick in...the book was so interesting, I think my adrenaline over rode the sleep med and at 2 am, I gave in and finally took another sleeping pill! Finally - around 3am I was able to close the book, that's how wonderful, fascinating all the characters are. The writing just flows. Every chapter moves easily into the next. I love the introduction of each chapter and what was happening in the year. I am a bit of a prude, and would never be cheering on "cheaters" but here I was, cheering everyone on! There is a part where it get a bit soap opera or Real Houseswives (if they were authentic and intelligent), but that makes it more interesting. I love character of Nantucket too. Such a great escape this book is. LOVE LOVE LOVE.!!!!!!!!

Just like the old Alan Alda movie, Same Time Next Year, Mallory and Jake have a meet-once-a-year love affair, getting together every Labor Day weekend on the beautiful island of Nantucket to spend time at a beachfront cottage Mallory inherited from her Aunt Greta. Very complex, well-paced story and fully developed characters make this book hard to put down. The perfect beach read!

I have never read an Elin Hildebrand book that I did not love! 28 Summers was no exception!! Mallory is such a relatable character that loves with everything she has. Her struggles through the years, as well as her steadfast love for Jake remind us all that there truly is true love.

Elin did it again. She is hands down my favorite author. Her books grab you and draw you in. I connect with the characters and feel like I am in the book. I wanted to read it slower and savor it but at the same time, I couldn’t slow down. 28 summers is about the two lives of people and their yearly summer weekend. I enjoyed growing to love them as they grew older. I also enjoyed reading her synopsis about what was happening in the world every year since that was about my childhood, then high school and early adulthood. I am so thankful for an ARC from netgalley, so I didn’t have to wait for summer to read this!

One of her best in years! I fell right into this story and never wanted to leave. Loved traveling through time with the characters. God I wish someone would leave me a cottage in Nantucket! This books left me craving summer!!

Another great read from Elin Hilderbrand! Can a once-a-year-only romance stand the test of time? Spend 28 summers exploring the relationship between Mal and Jake as they navigate through their lives together every Labor day Weekend and apart for the rest of the year. Featuring Hilderbrand's signature colorful and flawed characters, you'll have a hard time putting this one down.

Hilderbrand does it again with another successful escape to Nantucket.

I look forward to every book that Hilderbrand releases. Eagerly anticipating my next vacation to the island of Nantucket. This story takes place over the course of 28 years. I enjoyed that every chapter begins with, “What are we talking about in...” I was really able to be transported back to that year, even if I was young during parts of it.

There wasn’t a character that I disliked in this book. Everyone was so developed and I really felt as if I knew these people. Their choices and actions made sense based on how their characters have been portrayed in earlier chapters.

This book only feeds the desire of visiting Nantucket and I only hope that one day I will be able to live out that dream. In the meantime, however, I know that I will always have Hilderbrand’s books for my yearly trip.

Absolutely my favorite Hilderbrand book to date. Love love love this!!! I actually want to reread it. Such great character development.

I really liked Elin's new book. I didn't love Summer of "69 so was so happy that this one reminded why I love Elin! The characters were well developed and of course I always love the Nantucket setting. Elin did a great job describing the beach cottage and I loved the descriptions of her renovations (can you tell I'm into interior design?) I did feel lots of sadness for Mallory- never finding real love and being Jake's play toy for one weekend of each year. Jake was a selfish jerk unable to stand up for his own feelings. Yuck! It was hard to pull for Mallory when she allowed herself to be such a doormat. I loved how the story started with her dying and flashed back to tell the story and so fun how Elin started each summer describing the trends for that year. Great book!!

Each new Elin Hilderbrand book feels like a gift, and a new Nantucket saga is exactly what I needed right now! There is a certain magic about Hilderbrand's writing that makes each story so easy to consume--she has such a gift for bringing a place and a time period to life, all without taxing the reader. 28 Summers spans decades, and I enjoyed the trip down memory lane (especially the "peek into the past" at the beginning of each chapter). The novel begins in 1993 when Mallory Blessing is 24, and she inherits her aunt's Nantucket cottage. She hosts her brother Cooper's bachelor party, and she shares a life-changing weekend with her brother's best friend, Jake McCloud. Over the course of 27 subsequent summers, Mallory and Jake meet every Labor Day for a weekend together. All of the wonderful beach details, food descriptions, and familiar characters from the Hilderbrand universe (Ava Quinn of the Winter Street series appears!) that make these books so enjoyable are included. The only aspect I didn't enjoy was the premise: 20-plus years of infidelity feels both unrealistic and unromantic. Recommended for long-time fans and lovers of beach books--just be sure to bring the tissues. Many thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the librarian preview!

Beach-read author Elin Hilderbrand pays homage to playwright Bernard Slade with her similar to Same Time Next Year plot of 28 Summers, a story of a once-a-year rendezvous for two lovers.

I was torn on this one because I am usually repulsed by illicit love affairs but I couldn’t help liking Mallory Blessing and the man-who-should-have-married-her, Jake McCloud. The beginning chapter does give away the denouement of the book, which to me was a mistake; I did not want to see that ending coming.

The setting is Nantucket, where Mallory lives and Jake visits every Labor Day Weekend. It started out as a bachelor party for her brother Cooper at the beach but it turns into a love affair that lasts for decades.

What could go wrong with this arrangement? Nothing if Jake wasn’t committed to the totally wrong woman for him and goes ahead and marries her instead of Mallory, the woman he truly loves. It is no surprise that his marriage is unfulfilling for either party, and his wife is no saint herself, having to wonder if their unborn baby is her husband’s or someone else’s.

Only could Hilderbrand’s deft hand turn this tale into the story of a relationship that “complicates and enriches their lives, and the lives of the people they love.”

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting April 13, 2020.

I highly recommend this book for Elin Hilderbrand’s fans. This is a book that is unputdownable because even though the reader knows how it is going to end, the plot must be pursued to that final outcome. Of course, this is the classic beach read that she gives readers every year: romance, beaches, food and drink, ocean, beaches, and sand dollars. Remember the sand dollars.

I’d like to thank Little, Brown and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

This story takes place of 28 stories and is telling the story about two people and their lives over those 28 summers when they manage to meet in Nantucket for Labor Day weekend. I typically love saga's that help us keep up with the characters as the grow. The transitions between the summers were nice, although a few felt very short or skipped over which makes sense to as their lives were more than just the summers. That is probably what kept me engaged in this story to the end, that and Elin Hilderbrand being one of my favorite authors. I enjoyed the setting and seeing other characters from her novels, Other than that, I did not care for this one at all. I found all the characters completely unlikable and unpalatable. I really couldn't stand Mallory by the end the book. She became more and more insufferable as the chapters went on. I think the only character I sort of enjoyed was Cooper, although he seemed like more of a joke with all his marriages. Leland was a bit of a relief at times, and I think her analysis of Mallory was spot on, but then later Leland became the villain. Some of the plot lines just were dead ends. We spent much of a chapter hoping Mallory would went this award for money ( that she really did not need) and then she didn't and it just seemed pointless. Also, the fact that the entire story involved around some great love story surrounding infidelity was hard to swallow. Their story started before marriage so it just seemed silly that this was the great love of both their lives. There was not family, or class issues or royalty preventing them from being together so it just seemed pointless and not romantic. Overall, I did not care for this story. I loved the way it was put together though and would love a more realistic or story about two people keeping up a friendship or relationship over 28 summers that doesn't try to make infidelity seem like a great love story. I think I pictured people and families growing up together over 28 summers and not two adults cheating or avoiding their lives in favor of "love". I'll be eagerly awaiting Ms. Hilderbrand's next book. This was one a miss for me.

Out 6.16.20 | Free from Netgalley/Little, Brown and Company | Finally, a 5 star read! I was absolutely enchanted by 28 Summers, and although I’m still fairly new to Hilderbrand I think this is her best one yet. Mallory is a young 20-something trying to find her way after college when she inherits a cottage in Nantucket from her beloved aunt. Her move from Manhattan changes her life, and her first Labor Day weekend there she falls in love with her brother’s friend, Jake McCloud. The two embark on a relationship that lasts for 3 days and 3 days only every Labor Day weekend for 28 years- no matter what. The story was sweet and filled with longing. It really made me think about the little choices that we make everyday that can completely change the course of our lives. I adored Jake and Mallory and really appreciated the exploration of nontraditional love and family. This would be a fabulous book club pick, especially for women in their 30s and above. A surprising 5 stars!

Thank you #NetGalley and #LittleBrownandCompany for the opportunity to read and review this advance copy. I am a huge Elin Hildebrand fan. I have read everything she has written. When I type Elin, my keyboard automatically knows the next word is Hildebrand. This was possibly my favorite of all of her works. I did not want it to end. Jake is Mallory’s brother’s best friend. They come to visit her cottage in Nantucket over Labor Day weekend. When her brother leaves early, Jake and Mallory give in to their growing attraction for each other. Realizing a long distance relationship will not work, they agree to meet at the same place, same time, every year, for the next 28 summers. My heart was with this couple from the very beginning. I loved the notes the author added before each chapter telling you what we were talking about that year. Really brought me back each time. Highly recommend this to anyone who loves romance, Star crossed lovers, beach reads, etc. This will be the book to read this summer!

Reading an Elin Hilderbrand novel is like spending time with an old friend. Sometimes literally - long time readers will find familiar names sprinkled throughout her latest stand-alone novel. New readers will be likewise immersed in the Nantucket setting, the drama that spans 28 summers, and of course the food descriptions. It seems Hilderbrand gets better with every novel, as this is certainly one of her best.

Absolutely Elin Hildebrand's best book. I got chills on the first page! I devoured this book in less than a day. I kept stopping because I didn't want to be finished with these characters, but then I had to know what happened. This book is absolutely going to be the hit of the summer!

Elin Hilderbrand never disappoints when it comes to a beachy summer read. This book was no exception.
The book follows flashbacks from summers in the past, and a romance that spanned one weekend per year. The author is so descriptive in setting the location that it makes me feel like I can feel the wind in my hair and toes in the sand of Nantucket.
For readers that struggle with reading about infidelity, this book might not be for you.
That is one of the reasons I marked it lower starred rating...