Throwback Review: Winter Street

Okay, how sick are we of Elin Hilderbrand at this point? I hope not at all cause I have throwback review posts scheduled for the enter Winter Street Series…I mean I just love them! I can’t help it! I probably could, but I love Christmas and I love books about family traditions. I’m a December baby, what can I say? 

I read Winter Street for the first time the day after Christmas in 2014, the year it came out. I had given it to my mom as a stocking stuffer because I knew she loved Elin and she’s also a Christmas freak like me ( I guess that’s where I get it from). It tells the story of The Quinns, a blended and modern family. Kelley, the patriarch, runs The Winter Street Inn on Nantucket with his second wife, Mitzi. He has three children, Patrick, Kevin, and Ava, with his first wife, Margaret, who is the CBS Evening News Anchor. Think a younger, chicer Barbara Walters. Kelley also has one son with Mitzi, Bart. 

Still with me? It’s a tiny book that holds a lot of drama and holiday joy, told over the Christmas holiday from December 23-25, so it’s totally fun and kinda reminds you how long those days can seem. 

Mitzi is distraught because Bart has deployed with the Marines into Afghanistan and when Kelley discovers a secret between her and George the Santa Claus, all hell breaks loose. 

Ava just wants to get engaged, Kevin’s finally in love after getting his heart broken in his first marriage, and Patrick is in trouble with the law, possibly the worst trouble he could be in. 

Margaret comes to the rescue to remind her family they are the resilient Quinns and Christmas is Christmas and that a family, no matter how troubled, will always stand by each other. 

I love this book because all the characters are flawed yet so endearing. It’s a story that is so relatable, I can’t help but pick it up every year. Plus Hilderbrand writes about the island and FOOD with such beauty, you’ll want to book your spot on a ferry right away while drooling over the Quinn’s Christmas dinner. 

Margaret is my favorite character. She’s intelligent, successful, and motivated by love rather than revenge. She has a beautiful relationship with the father of her children that doesn’t include a marriage, but a deep friendship. It’s really wonderful to witness and I think can be a great reminder in 2018 that families are all shapes and sizes and colors. But the thing that every family has in common is love. 

Ugh, I was trying to avoid being so cheesy, but it really is the message I get from the book! It’s definitely not Hallmark Cheesy though, I promise. I saw on Twitter over the weekend that Hallmark actually turned down making it into a movie because it was “too racy.” So if you need another selling point, there you go! It’s juicy. 

I can’t recommend this series enough. And they just get better! But I do love the first one because of its structure, over the day before Christmas Eve through the 25th. It’s just so cozy and real. 

Have a great Thursday!