📖 Book Review: A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand
I picked up A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand as an audiobook to keep me company while road-tripping over the Fourth of July weekend. I’ve heard her name come up often in the "beach read" conversation, and I figured this would be a perfect light companion for a holiday drive. Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite live up to the hype.
What’s It About? (Spoiler-Free)
The story centers around Clare, a talented glassblower, mom of four, and generally overwhelmed woman who agrees to co-chair a large charity gala in Nantucket. Amid the stress of event planning, she finds herself pulled into an affair with a wealthy and married man. Themes of infidelity, guilt, personal ambition, and self-worth run through the novel as Clare tries to balance her roles as a mother, wife, artist, and woman.
What I Liked
✔ The Nantucket setting – Hilderbrand has a great way of evoking coastal summer life. You can practically feel the salty breeze and hear the clink of wine glasses at a beachfront fundraiser. The setting was immersive and added a lot of atmosphere to the story.
✔ The premise had potential – There were moments where I felt the tension and emotional messiness could build into something meaningful. The side characters, especially as new perspectives were introduced, started to pique my interest.
What Didn’t Work for Me
❌ Clare’s internal monologue – I struggled with Clare as a protagonist. Her inner world felt stuck on repeat—full of self-doubt, guilt, and long-winded justifications that didn’t really evolve throughout the book. Instead of growing or gaining clarity, she seemed to circle the same frustrations over and over again. I didn’t need her to be perfect—but I needed her to be interesting.
❌ Pacing and predictability – The story dragged in places and often felt overly introspective without much payoff. I found myself zoning out during long stretches of inner conflict that never really went anywhere. I had hoped for deeper character development, but instead, the plot just kind of coasted along.
❌ Other characters were underutilized – Just when I started to perk up with the introduction of different character POVs, it felt like the story didn’t fully commit to exploring them. There was so much potential for richer, messier dynamics, but most of it was left undercooked.
❌ The ending – No spoilers here, but I’ll just say: for a book titled A Summer Affair, the outcome felt... unsatisfyingly clean. The lack of consequences or meaningful reflection left me feeling like the emotional stakes never really landed.
Final Thoughts
⭐ Rating: 3/5 Stars
This wasn’t a terrible book—it just wasn’t the engaging, layered read I was hoping for. The setting is gorgeous and the premise had potential, but the character work and story progression didn’t deliver. If you’re a diehard Elin Hilderbrand fan or love a morally murky beach read, this might still be worth the listen. But if you’re looking for something with a little more emotional payoff or character growth, you may want to look elsewhere.
📚 Pairs well with: A glass of wine, a long summer drive, and a willingness to roll your eyes now and then.
