Winter Street

May 1, 2014

New York Times best-selling author Hilderbrand's characters aren't tracking in sand from the beach but snow from the wintry streets as their Christmas gathering on Nantucket takes some unexpected turns. Hilderbrand's foray into holiday fiction.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2014

Best-selling author Hilderbrand (The Matchmaker) sets her trademark women's fiction in a Christmas setting on Nantucket Island in her 14th--and first holiday--novel. Kelley Quinn and his second wife, Mitzi, own the Winter Street Inn, where they host an annual holiday open house, but this year the party may be canceled since Kelley walked in on Mitzi kissing the guy who plays Santa Claus. When Mitzi leaves him for Santa, Kelley's adult children descend upon the inn with their own dramas. Then Kelley's ex-wife, famous news anchor Margaret Quinn, decides she should join in on the yuletide fun. After much crying, eating, drinking, and singing of Christmas carols, the Quinns find love and forgiveness. VERDICT The holidays wouldn't be complete without a little family dysfunction, and Hilderbrand writes it well. [See Prepub Alert, 4/6/14.]

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2014
Hilderbrand leaves the beach for this Christmas novel-though it's still set on her beloved Nantucket. The whole island is looking forward to the annual Winter Street Inn Christmas party, except for the inn's owner, Kelley Quinn, who's just discovered the hired Santa kissing his wife, Mitzi. Mitzi and Santa inform Kelley of their 13-year affair and Mitzi's imminent departure from married life. Kelley, retreating to bed with smokes and booze, blasts Mitzi on Facebook and lists the inn for sale, its extravagant restoration having eaten through his once-sizable savings. Thankfully, he has grown children to help, though they have problems, too. Eldest son Patrick lives in Boston with his wife and kids, but the feds will soon be at the door to charge him with insider trading. Bartender Kevin, whose life was derailed by a bad woman, is now on track: He's in love with Isabelle, the Winter Street Inn's beautiful French manager. If only he can muster the courage to pop the question. And finally there's Ava, a schoolteacher with the perfect boyfriend, except that he's really not that into her. But Assistant Principal Scott is. Perhaps the only one who can tie up all these loose ends is Margaret Quinn, Kelley's first wife and mother to the three kids, who sacrificed her family life in order to become the most famous journalist in America but whose arrival on Nantucket just may save the day. Increasingly, best-selling authors are producing Christmas novels, family dramas in which the Christmas Spirit prevails. They often seem like rushed marketing ploys, though occasionally they hold up to the author's own standards. Hilderbrand's falls somewhere in between; her skill at creating character is present, but the plot feels constrained and a little predictable. A quick read to get you in the holiday mood, but not as strong as Hilderbrand's best.

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September 1, 2014
It is the Christmas season on Nantucket, a setting that will be familiar to readers of Hilderbrand's previous books. A number of changes threaten to complicate the elaborate festivities at Winter Street Inn, which Kelley Quinn bought 19 years ago and now runs with Mitzi, his second wife. Business has been slow, and Mitzi has decamped with the man who plays the inn's Santa every year. Kelley's oldest son, Peter, is in trouble for insider trading. Second son Kevin and daughter Ava are both sorting out romantic relationships. Hovering over everyone is their anxiety about Bart, Kelley and Mitzi's son, who has joined the military and is serving in Afghanistan. Bart's absence makes even Margaret, Kelley's first wife and a successful network news anchor, feel the need to be surrounded by family, so she cancels a vacation in Hawaii and heads for Nantucket instead. Despite some serious notes, this is a generally frothy tale, and the characters' high-gloss lifestyle is part of the appeal.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)