This “beach” book definitely sparked a lively conversation for our book club last night. We shared stories, had lots of laughs with only a few times minor disagreements about the book. 😝

We wanted to start with what we liked:

Collectively, we enjoyed the pop culture references threaded throughout 28 Summers, particularly at the beginning of each chapter. We spent lots of time reminiscing as well as disbelieving that some of these events and pop culture references took place so many years ago.

The close-knit relationship between Mallory and her son, Link was another highlight of the book. There were lots of wonderful depictions between mother and son that felt sweet and honest.

We also agreed that we can see why Elin Hilderbrand has such a large following; her writing is quick, easy, and devourable.

What we didn’t like:

Some of us took issue with the premise of this novel. It was difficult not to be frustrated with the secrecy and infidelity in this book. We even felt if the circumstances surrounding the infidelity had been changed we might have been more forgiving.

That being said, we selected a quote about marriage because the book’s entire plot hinges around marriage and relationships. Perhaps if the characters had considered this quote everything would have worked out differently for them 😂

Despite not loving this book we would definitely read another book by Hilderbrand.