Call him. That begins are story that takes us through 28 summers in Nantucket. Can I just go there now?

Mallory inherits her aunt's home on the beach and one summer, her brother asks if he can bring two friends for a bachelor weekend. The weekend goes a bit haywire and Mallory ends up alone with Jake. They hit it off immediately and when they decide to do a "Same Time, Next Year" thing, we have our story. We have our couple. We follow them over the years when they are not together. Jake marries his girlfriend of many years. Mallory has relationships. They both have a child but they always meet and spend that Labor day weekend together. You might say, well, then they are having an affair, which is true but these two belong together!

The ending will have you in tears.

I loved this book. I could not put it down. I always love how Elin Hilderbrand takes me to this beautiful coast and I so want to visit it. My big problem with the story is these two belonged together! They loved each other so much. Jake didn't love his wife. I feel it was more of a comfortable thing for him because she was friends with his late sister but she was more interested in her career than in him. That just felt all kinds of wrong to me. Mallory and Jake belonged together forever, period. That is a moot point now, I know, and it wasn't my story to write but if I did.....

Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for a copy of this book.

Mallory and Jake. A standing date to see each other, every Labor Day weekend, for 26 years. ⁣
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Sounds romantic, huh? But then you learn the details - Jake is a married man. And then the more you think about it the more you realize that means they are committing to a future of adultery and always lying to spouses and significant others. I understand the strong love connection between the two main characters, but I guess I just can’t get over the infidelity and deceit to make it feel like a relationship I can cheer for.⁣
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I love that each year starts with a “What are talking about...” review of pop culture. Some of the current events woven into the main storyline, though names have been changed, are incredibly similar to actual events.⁣
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I did enjoy the confrontation between Mallory and Ursula over Jake’s trips to Nantucket, though it felt a bit flat for a two-decades long love affair. It also made me feel bad for Mallory that she never found an “everyday love” that she deserved.⁣
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What I didn’t like: referring to the two main characters as “our girl” or “our guy.” I understand that we dip in and out of the characters’ lives but that phrasing makes the story and situation sound more flippant and casual like a teen movie from the 90s.⁣
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28 Summers is a wonderful "same time next year" novel. It is a beautiful and sometimes sad love story between Mallory and Jake. One of the things I loved about this book was the opening to each chapter. The listing of what was happening that year brought back wonderful memories. Is what Jake and Mallory are doing wrong? Is it okay to have a once a year affair? I did not judge while reading this one, I just went with the story. Both were okay with the situation on one hand, but had so many regrets. It was an easy to read story with likable characters. The opening lets us know how this story is going to end, but it still seemed a bit abrupt. This was an enjoyable summer read, one of the reasons why I look forward to Elin Hilderbrand's summer story.

Oh boy...unpopular opinion time. This is only my second book by this author, my first being The Blue Bistro, which was an automatic add to my favourites list....so I’m definitely up for trying more of her backlist. But this one was not great for me. ⁣
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𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘥:⁣
•how the book spanned over a 28 year period, but sometimes I found it jumped around oddly, the timing of each year was weird ⁣
•the “what we’re talking about in the year ***”, was a fun little reminder of what was going on in that time period⁣
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𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘦:⁣
•infidelity being romanticized⁣
•(not a spoiler, it’s in the synopsis)- Jake and Mallory’s “Same Time Next Year” deal no matter what the other persons circumstances was selfish and unfair. It’s not romantic, it was unhealthy and harmful IMO.⁣
•Ursula - enough said. (But even as awful as she was...she still didn’t deserve what Jake does to her)⁣
•if this is “true love” that spans 28 years...(and don’t get me wrong, I DO see the connection and I did like them together)...then be in love and be together, figure it out, make it work...or DON’T. ⁣
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3 stars but....verging on 2.5
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Thanks to LittleBrown for the #gifted copy to review! ⁣
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When I started to read this book I had no idea how emotional I would be when I finished it. Wow. This was the second last book I read this summer and let me tell you it’s the perfect summer read. Elin Hilderbrand has such a beautiful writing style and I devoured this book over a weekend sitting outside. I loved Mallory and Jake and the timeline the book is told over. I would definitely recommend this book.

In "28 Summers" Elin Hilderbrand gives us the non-traditional love story of Jake and Mallory who over the course of 28 years share one weekend each year yet their love never lessens. The book opens with Mallory giving deathbed instructions to her son Link to call a # on a slip of paper which turns out to be Jake. Then we go back and relive the events and love of their lives. I was in from the opening chapter and although we know the ending, it doesn't stop us from hoping for an alternative. Always a fan of Elin, this book was exceptional and I loved it.

This was such a good book! Honestly, it felt a little strange to be rooting for a couple to have an affair but the actual story was so good. The descriptions and scenes really make you feel like you're there. The story was so sad and I was glad that I was home when I finished the book. Really well done and I will be looking forward to reading this author again.

I tried this book multiple times but for whatever reason I just couldn't get in to the story. I think the fact that it was about infidelity just gave me an icky feeling. It ended up being a DNF for me.

This was my first Hilderbrand book and i loved it! I cannot wait to read more by Hilderbrand. This takes us on a journey of this romantic 3 days that takes place every summer no matter what.

First, I’ll just say that Elin is SUCH a good writer. Every book I’ve read by her has pulled me in immediately and invested me in the characters. She’s definitely become an auto-buy author for me and I REALLY want to make time to go through her backlist. I rated this book 5 stars on goodreads but with the caveat that while I was totally engrossed in the story, I was sooooo conflicted by what happens!⁣
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Without revealing too much, this is the story of Mallory and Jake and their “same time next year” arrangement - they meet every Labor Day weekend over the course of 28 summers. In between their romantic weekends together, they live fully independent lives. It’s not supposed to be complicated- except it very much is.⁣
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This is where I enter potential spoiler-territory so read on only if you haven’t read this yet!⁣
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While I loved Mallory - her spunk, her independence, her rustic beach cottage, her love of books - I could definitely take a pass on Jake. In this same-time-next-year arrangement, Mallory got the bum end of the deal. While she lives alone and has occasional flings, Jake is married to a powerful attorney turned politician who is made out to be a bitch - and is certainly not an angel - but is likely the most misunderstood of all the characters. I guess I wish that if Jake were so unhappy in his marriage and so in-love with Mallory, he would just moved to Nantucket to make it work. Sigh. Despite my problem with Jake and the whole arrangement, I still really enjoyed 28 Summers. It was the perfect book to wrap up summer, full of nostalgia and beach vibes.⁣

Wow, all the feels with this one. The true love story of Mallory and Jake through 28 Nantucket summers is both heart-wrenching and nostalgic. What starts as innocence turns into more, and as bad as it could be, it is such a sweetness.
The writing is, of course, impeccable- this is Elin Hilderbrand we’re reading. I simply love the chapter intros with the lists of what was happening, as I was able to take my own walk down memory lane! As a teacher who also lives at the beach (NJ, not Nantucket) I found so many connections with Mallory and hated to accept her circle of life. This is a hard one to put down.

Love Elin Hilderbrand's books and this one is one of her best! Her books always take me to another world.

Liked this book, but did not love it. Felt like something was missing. Loved the summaries at the beginning of the chapters and the parallels to real life.

What a wonderful story! And yes, I cried! Another must read.
I received a free copy from the the publisher and Netgalley.

Elin Hildebrand hits it out of the park with a great beach read. Rich characters and added suspense to keep you guessing.

I love Elin Hilderbrand's writing style; her vivid descriptions make this prairie girl feel she is on the beaches of Nantucket (or Winter Street, or tropical islands). I always enjoy the characters and the subtle tie ins to characters from other books (Mallory teaches Ava Quinn!)

This time, however, the story was a little lacking to me. I just didn’t see the appeal of a “same time next year” relationship and felt annoyance at Jake for knowing from the start he should be with Mallory and not Ursula. It seemed like a case of having his cake and eating it, too. I was less annoyed at Mallory, who seemed to have built a rewarding life for herself independent of Jake, but yet still coming back to him every year.

This was my second Elin book and I really liked it. It was a four star read for me because it took me at least 50 pages to get into it and we didn’t get enough Jake and Mallory time. With that being said, I did enjoy it and felt like I was right on Nantucket with Mallory. I loved the two main characters even with their flaws and thought their story was real and authentic to them. All characters made it felt like you knew them and if you didn’t like them you loved to hate them. Was I a huge fan of every character? Uh no, Leland, Ursula and Bayer we’re not great but I felt they did add great dimensions and circumstances to the story. Elin did a great job with this one and I would recommend.

WOW this book left me all up in my feels. Happy, angry, sad and irritated often in the same paragraph.
I am 42, almost 43 years old. I am the mom of boys who are college age or will be soon. They've played baseball. I was their favorite female and I hope to always be. My heart broke for Mallory as Link got older.
I was angry for the love that didn't get to be. I was heartbroken for the death and sadness. I was in love with Nantucket. The descriptions of the island, the cottage, her students, her friends sucked me in to Mallory's life.
Elin Hilderbrand did not disappoint in making these characters come to life. I felt as though I've known them for 30 years.

I loved how Elin used the concept of Same Time, Next Year for the story of Mallory and Jake’s romance. And once again her vivid descriptions of Nantucket make me want to visit. This was a great summer read! ❤️

This book was beautifully written in so many ways. The descriptions took me straight to Nantucket and I felt every emotion the characters felt. But - I just couldn't get behind the storyline. The idea of an affair that lasted as many years as it did really bothered me. I'm usually a Hilderbrand fan, but this one really disappointed me.