My Review: Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice

About the Book:

It's been too long since the entire Quinn family has been able to celebrate the holidays under the same roof, but that's about to change. With Bart back safe and sound from Afghanistan, the Quinns are preparing for a holiday more joyous than any they've experienced in years. And Bart's safe return isn't the family's only good news: Kevin is enjoying married life with Isabelle; Patrick is getting back on his feet after paying his debt to society; Ava thinks she's finally found the love of her life; and Kelly is thrilled to see his family reunited at last. But it just wouldn't be a Quinn family gathering if things went smoothly. A celebration of everything we love--and some of the things we endure--about the holidays, WINTER SOLSTICE is Elin Hilderbrand at her festive best. 

My Comments:

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.