It's Hilderbrand, of course i read it. She's a terrific summer read. She is always spot-on with character development and sympathy toward them from the reader.

Winter Solstice brings the Winter series by Elin Hilderbrand to an end. There were several teary moments in these last two books, especially this one even though I knew how some events would turn out. Saying good-bye to the Quinn family was harder than I expected it to be. The Quinn family is real and relatable, at times entertaining and other times completely dysfunctional.
I was a bit confused by the importance of Eddie, but his role not only as Allegra's father but also as a realtor on Nantucket becomes more clear as the story continues.
The Quinn family has been through so much in the last four years--an affair with Santa, insider trading and a prison sentence, pharmaceutical addiction, reality TV, broken engagements, a prisoner of war in Afghanistan, terminal cancer...
I read the four books of the Winter series one right after the other and didn't realize until the end that Elin Hilderbrand intended to end the series after the third book. I am so glad that she didn't end this series after Winter Storms. There is much more closure and character development with the fourth book added to the series.

I enjoyed this very much, an excellent book from start to finish! Looking forward to her next one, I am never disappointed by Elin Hilderbrand!

What a great end to the Winter Street series!
For the most part, I found this story to be heartwarming and touching. Many of my questions from previous books were answered. I felt a connection with most of the characters and just really enjoyed these books.

I'm going to miss spending time at the Winter Street Inn.

The Winter Street series was supposed to be a trilogy (read my reviews of Winter Street and Winter Stroll, and Winter Storms), so when I saw Winter Solstice in the NetGalley offerings, I didn’t even wait for the audio to be offered to us, as I have in the past. Author Elin Hilderbrand explains in the Acknowledgements that when her editor asked her to write a fourth Winter Street book, she realized she could “write a ‘double sequel’ and include some of the characters from The Rumor and weave their stories together.” It just so happens that The Rumor is the only non-Winter Street book I’ve read by Hilderbrand. Serendipity!

Winter Solstice covers the last 3 months of the year following the events of Winter Storms, focusing on Halloween, Thanksgiving, and of course, Christmas. Life isn’t perfect for the Quinn clan, but they put their differences aside to be with Kelley for the holidays as he succumbs to cancer.

Bart has been home from Afghanistan for 10 months, but hasn’t adjusted well to life after captivity. When he meets Allegra Pancik at the birthday party Mitzi insisted on throwing for him, he wonders if he really can find happiness. Ava is loving her life in New York City, but when her boyfriend’s son comes to visit, she wonders if he’s the man she thought he was. Jennifer has kicked her pill habit and has to turn down a well paying interior decorating job when the client turns out to be a creep. Could all of her problems be solved by an offer from her old dealer? Margaret and Mitzi both also have big decisions to make concerning their futures, and poor Kelley doesn’t have much time left.

It’s been interesting to me how different books in the series focus on different characters — it’s not only the main Quinn family members whose stories are told. I didn’t love Ava’s storyline this time, and I find the characters unnecessarily keep way too many secrets from each other, or spend too much time making assumptions instead of actually communicating. I also would have liked to have heard more from Kevin and Isabelle’s point of view but they were sidelined for Eddie Pancik, who is trying to resurrect his real estate career after his stint in prison and lucks into a cold call from Powerball winners who want to buy on Nantucket. Eddie’s storyline brings in some comic relief from the somber overtones of Kelley’s looming death, so I did not mind it so much.

Those minor quibbles aside, I loved this follow-up to the trilogy and devoured it in a few sittings. Although I admit I shed a few tears at the end, it was satisfying to know that everything is going to be ok for the Quinns. I definitely recommend reading the first three books first, I don’t know that The Rumor is required as enough details are included that someone who hasn’t read it wouldn’t be lost.

This book came as a surprise to me, as I thought that the story ended with Winter Storms (book #3). Happy to be revisiting this family on the island of Nantucket and to see how their story comes to a close.

When I think of Elin Hilderbrand, I think of beach reads--stories set at the beach in the summer, stories that entertain but don't tax you mentally. This week I'm at the beach and I perused my TBR stack on my Kindle and found Winter Solstice by Hilderbrand and decided to give it a whirl. I guess I should have realized that a book called Winter Solstice wouldn't end up as a warm summery read.

Chapters of the books were titled by the name of a character and showed that character's take on events. When I read the book I did not realize it was part of a series, but I probably should have guessed as it had a large number of characters with a lot of history that was alluded to but not fully explained.



One of the characters mentioned that the good thing about the winter solstice is that days get longer thereafter--up until then you watch the days get shorter and shorter. We learn early in the book that the days of the father of the family are getting shorter--he has a brain tumor and has said "enough" to treatment. In October, no one seems settled--a lot of the characters have moved out of one part of their lives but haven't fully become established in another and as we watch Kerry's life fade, we watch his children stretch their wings and grow their days.

While the book has plenty of references to past infidelities, everyone in this book remains faithful and there are no sex scenes.



While not exactly the breezy beach read I was hoping for, I did enjoy this book. I would recommend reading the other Winter Street books first -- though in a lot of ways I suspect the whole saga is somewhat soap-opera-ish.



I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley. Grade: B.

The Quinn family is back in the fourth and final installment of the Winter Street series. Bart Quinn is home from his harrowing experience in Afghanistan and is trying to adjust to life back on Nantucket. Ava is settling into life in the city with her boyfriend, Potter. And Patrick is settling back into life with his family after his time served. Everything seems to be back on track for the Quinn children, except all of them are struggling with the news that their father is dying of cancer. The upcoming holidays should be joyous with Bart being safe at home, except the thought of future holidays without Kelly overshadows everything. Will the Quinn family be able to truly celebrate Christmas ever again?

I think that I forgot to blog last year's Winter Street book, but I know that I read it! As a devoted fan of the Quinn family, this year's installment was bittersweet. I was thrilled that Bart was home safely. Jennifer was getting her life together and Ava had moved on. However, Kelly's cancer was heartbreaking. There were also several familiar faces from Hilderbrand's 2015 Summer novel, The Rumor. Grace Panick, her husband Eddie, and their daughter Allegra all have big roles in Winter Solstice. Especially since Allegra and Bart start dating. The author did a great job of wrapping up all of the lingering storylines and even though I struggled with being happy with all of them. - Click here for spoilers.

Bottom line - I have spent four holiday seasons with the Quinn family. It has been a great four years and I have enjoyed visiting Elin Hilderbrand's Nantucket during the winter. The Quinn family have been a nice addition to my holiday traditions and I will miss them!

Details:
Winter Solstice by Elin Hilderbrand
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Pages: 304
Publication Date: 10/3/2017
Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company
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I love this series. I happened upon Elin's books a few years, and now she is a must read author for me. So well written, and has great character development.

I love this author but did not feel much connection with the book. Maybe it's because I didn't read the previous books in the series so I did not know each character's story. But it is not one that I truly enjoyed.

This book was wonderful! I read it slowly as to not finish so quickly. I have been hooked on the Quinn family since book 1. I am hoping some of these characters will be in some of her next books. The family has issues that any family could have. It has its ups and downs. The author also adds some twists to keep the reader interested. The only flaw is the series ends.

I really enjoyed the open-ended conclusion to the Winter Street series. I say open-ended because I think Elian Hildebrandt could easily revisit these characters down the road. I liked the character development and, while others may find the ending too “happily ever after”, it was exactly what I expected from this author.

I first discovered Elin Hilderbrand during the holiday season when so many people were talking about her Winter series, and finally was able to check a copy out of the library myself. I even read the books out of order because the third book became available before the second, but I didn't care, because I had to read it! Winter Solstice was a great conclusion to the Quinn family, and a final chapter in their stories. I am sad to see it over, but it was moving, relatable, and a series that I will come back to each holiday season.

Packed less of an emotional punch than I hoped for, and left a lot of key things unresolved.

This is only the second book I have read in this series and now I feel like I must read the other two! I enjoyed getting to know the Quinn family and can relate to so many of the issues this family faces. It's like "I know these people!" It was a quick and easy read. Elin Hilderbrand is definitely going to be one of my favorite authors!

I have never really been a fan of books where the point of view is continuously changing from one character to another. I think to a certain extent, it keeps us from knowing the characters as well as we could. The beginning of the book was a bit confusing as it jumped from viewpoint to viewpoint, but gained more cohesiveness as the storylines merged. I know this was supposed to be the final in this series, but there are so many questions that still could be answered. So many characters have new beginnings and it doesn't feel final. I did feel that the story was endearing, but it just left me wanting.

I received a copy of this book from my friends at Netgalley.com in exchange for my honest review.

The Quinn family gathers for one last Christmas with their father at the family inn on Nantucket. Old rivalries, new flames, betrayals, and forgiveness all come together for a heart-touching story of family ties and struggles.

I definitely should have read the first three books in the series first (oops), but I still enjoyed Winter Solstice. The Quinn family is lovable and entertaining. I liked seeing the characters interact with each other. And even though the ending was a little sad, I still thought the book, overall, was a light, easily-digestible read. I'm looking forward to reading more of Hilderbrand's books.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book. I thought it was a nice wrap-up to the series. It was good to tie up all of the characters' stories and get some closure. And of course, it was a bit of a tear-jerker, which was to be expected.

Definitely recommend this book and the other three books in the series.

This was a fun addition to the series, however it was a bit superfluous since it was an added title. I enjoyed that the series could have been completed without the title, but the author decided to give us another take of the family drama.