This book was received as an ARC from Little, Brown and Company in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was such a refreshing treat to read. I am a fan of Elin's book and they do not disappoint The love and passion in this story was so evident that it made the story more enjoyable. The past of Mallory and Jake and how they met and as soon Mallory found out she was dying they slowly drifted apart Jake is now married to Ursula who is running for president and Mallory on her deathbed gives her son Link a phone number to call and it happened to be Jake, her one love that got away and she wanted to see him before she dies for the memory. My heart felt so warm through and through and had a huge smile on my face the entire time.

We will consider adding this title to our Fiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

I loved the pacing of this story, how quickly time passed as we followed the characters through their lives. I also enjoyed seeing each character's perspective of each other from their own points of view. The little paragraph at the start of each new year, summing up what was happening in the world at that time, was such a fun perk! Lots of good nostalgia to ground me in the time that the characters were currently living in. Overall, these were the things that kept me reading.

I did not particularly care for the story itself, of these two characters continuing an affair for the length of their lives. It left me feeling incredibly sad for Mallory by the end of the book and SO frustrated with Jake for not being man enough to leave his wife whom he clearly didn't love *enough*.

I've read quite a few Elin Hilderbrand novels and with what's going on in the world (pandemic) right now I was really looking forward to escaping away to Nantucket in her latest book. Unfortunately this one really fell flat for me. I did not love the premise of two people living their normal lives but then one weekend every year coming together and cheating on their partners. I didn't really enjoy any of the characters or sympathize with them, which made it hard to enjoy. Was it a terrible book? No. Was it just mediocre? Yes. And the sub-plot stuff with the wife of Jake (the main male character) trying to keep expanding her political career there was way too much political chatter for my liking.

This is a very quick beach read.. At first I really liked it, because I liked the movie Same Time Next Year, but if you really think about it, it is not a good thing. In this book he is cheating on his wife and she only has true love for 3 days every year. She never has a normal loving relationship. It is basically a sad story. He should have stayed with the main character, if he really loved her. I just wish I was lucky enough to get her inheritance and job. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I love all of Elin Hildebrands books. I think she is just the most fun writer and her books always make me want to go to the beach!

Elin Hilderbrand did it again. Another book I could not put down. This book gave me all the feels that I couldn’t help but keep going back to it.

Just like everything else HIlderbrand has penned, this book was thoughtfully written and delightfully entertaining. It's the perfect diversion from this pandemic summer and one to revisit the "same time, next year." 10/10!

Oh 28 Summers!! I laughed, I cried. I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish this gem!! My only complaint is that I felt like the ending was a little rushed. What Iove about this author's writing is I felt like I knew these characters personally and even though I didn't agree with their choices, i atleast felt like i understood them. I recommend 28 Summers as your next beach read.

I look forward to the new Elin Hilderbrand book each year. I love going back to Nantucket in her stories. The descriptions are so vivid that I feel like I am there. This was an interesting book in the fact that it starts in the present and then goes back 28 years and moves forward from there back to the present. Although I did like some of the characters, I found them frustrating at times in the story. This was a good summer read, but not my favorite book by this author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

28 Summers isn't your typical love story. We follow a couple that can only be together in secret, one weekend a year. This unique set up makes us as our selves is true love worth being lonely 362 days a year?
What I loved most about this book was how the author portrayed time passing. She opens each summer with "what we are talking about". These cultural touchstones from 9/11 to Beyonce immerse you the era. It gives context to how our characters are living and feeling outside of their lover's weekend.
Fans of emotional romances like The Notebook will love 28 Summers.

28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand is probably one of the saddest books I have read lately. During the summer of 1993, Mallory has just inherited a beachfront cottage on Nantucket from her aunt, and she agrees to host her brother's bachelor party. Cooper's friend from college, Jake McCloud, attends, and Jake and Mallory form a relationship that will survive through 28 summers for one weekend a year. Based on the classic film Same Time Next Year (which Mallory and Jake watch every summer), the story explores the hurt and romance of a one-weekend-per-year affair. It is hard to believe that a woman would subject herself to this kind of torture of loving a man and only spending one weekend a year. I felt so sorry for the main character and really wanted her to stand up for herself.

Thank you Elin and NetGalley for this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book had my moral compass spinning. I rooted for the forbidden Love story all 28 summers while also feeling so perplexed as to why they stayed in their current situations. This book was the perfect read and held my attention the whole book. I wanted and needed more.

This is by far my favorite of all of her books! I loved all of the characters from the start and I loved following them throughout the years. Just a pure joy to read.

What can I say? Elin has done it again! Another great love story with so many moving parts! I found myself fighting going to sleep at night to read the next chapter! This is a fast read once you get into it and want to find out more. There were some sad parts and I cried like a baby at the end, but this story was so worth it!!!! A MUST READ!!!! Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book!! I enjoyed reading it and will recommend it to others over and over again!!!!

I enjoyed this book. I was surprised to not feel more angry at the characters than I did. The characters were likable and the book kept me engaged and wanting to find out what was going to happen with Mallory and Jake. I did find it strange at times when the characters perspective changed because it seemed to be sudden and at random times. Overall, this was a fun, beach read. Elin does it again!

Mallory meets Jake, her brother's college friend, at what was supposed to be her brother's bachelor party, but what turned into a Same Time Next Year romance for Mallory and Jake. Though they date others and Jake marries, they live for those 3 days together each year.

That part of the story is fine and semi-believable. It was the fact that starting with her book about the summer of '69, the author seems to want to put us in the moment with all sorts of things we were thinking about then. Since the book is in chapters, one for each year, we get to see the facts that were happening each year at the start of the chapter. With the last book and with this one, I felt she was using it as filler, maybe paid by the word? It's too much. It was way too much when she went in detail, for pages, about a possible justice and his past. It was like she took the facts from the most recent Supreme Court Justice selection and just substituted different names. That is not good writing, that is copying. Changing the names and the places is not good writing.

Also, Mallory is a high school English teacher. She and Hildebrand, should both know that "Me and Him" as in "...me and him, one weekend a year, for a long time now." is grammatically incorrect and annoys the hell out of those of us who choose to speak correctly. None of us are perfect, but we all know not to talk like that.

She mentions in her acknowledgements that she is writing two books a year and it shows. Cutting corners to pump out more words, more books by using filler isn't what readers want. Once again, I was left disappointed with an author I used to like.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

This was my first book by Elin Hilderbrand, and IT. WAS. SO. GOOD!
The story of Mallory Blessing and Jake McCloud was extremely unconventional to say the least. I'm not a proponent of this, but that didn't stop the story from drawing me in. It all started in 1993, when Jake and Mallory meet in person for the first time at Mallory's Nantucket home. They create a bond and promise each other they will meet on the same weekend every year "no matter what". The story unfolds for 28 summers....through love, life, loss, kids and one tragic illness, their bond continues to grow stronger.
I truly enjoyed getting to know all of the characters in this book. Elin slowly draws you in, and before you know it you're invested in the lives of Blake and Mallory. However, the ending threw me for a loop- I was like "wait, what?!" but then ultimately I decided the ending was perfect.

Every time Elin Hilderbrand comes out with another book, I think to myself, “Can she really write another book that is as good as the last one I read?” And the answer, of course, is, “Yes! Yes she can!” Once again I fell in love with the characters, and the setting could not be more perfect for me as Nantucket is my love! I’m going to have a hangover from this one once again - I LOVE Mallory and I LOVE Jake and I LOVE the story! SO GOOD!!!!!

Inspired by the movie Same Time, Next Year, 28 Summers tells the love story of Mallory Blessing and Jake McCloud.
28 Summers is like a time capsule of my adult life.
I immediately fell in love with Mallory who is lost in New York City and is being tossed aside by her roommate/friend Leland. The inherited cottage on Nantucket is perfect for her, and the fact that she becomes an English teacher is even more perfect. (I wonder if Elin ever saw herself becoming an English teacher on Nantucket.)
The fact that the characters are developed over many years instead of just a weekend or one summer makes them all literally come to life for the reader.

BOOK REVIEW: 28 SUMMERS BY ELIN HILDERBRAND

Overall rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing style: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Buy or borrow: BUY IT!
Drink rec: Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy

“They weren’t breaking any rules if there were no rules. They weren’t burying anyone’s feelings if no one knew”

I enjoyed this unique summer love story based on the film Same Time Next Year. Hilderbrand follows Mallory and Jake over the course of several decades as they navigate their lives while maintaining their annual meet up on Nantucket on Labor Day Weekend.

I found this one to be compelling in the sense that it made me grapple with the morality of cheating on one’s spouse and maintaining a side relationship but only for three days of the year. Their complicated relationship made me frustrated at some points, this story ultimately tugged at my heartstrings and made me feel ALL OF THE FEELS!

I really enjoyed the blurbs that Hilderbrand included at the beginning of each chapter to paint a visual of what was going on during that year. These pop culture references really got me in the headspace to understand the setting.

I would recommend this one to Hilderbrand fans or to readers that are looking for a summer romance that follows characters’ journeys throughout their lifetimes.

TW: infidelity, cancer, sexual assault