Elin Hilderbrand Books in Order (Updated 2026-02-06)

Elin Hilderbrand’s fiction is best thought of as seasonal, setting-rich standalones with a few true series mixed in. Many books share Nantucket DNA and occasional familiar faces, but most stories are built to work even if you pick them up out of sequence.

If you want the most spoiler-safe and “as intended” experience, use publication order. If you want something simpler, read by mini-series, then dip into the standalones in any order.

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The two reading styles that fit Hilderbrand best

Read like a completionist

Go straight through all novels in publication order (list below). You’ll catch every cameo naturally and never learn an earlier couple’s outcome by accident.

Read like a vacationer

Pick a lane:

• Holiday family saga: the Winter Street books (read in order)
• Caribbean reinvention arc: the Paradise books (read in order)
• Boarding school drama (co-written): the Academy books (read in order)

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True series that should be read in order

Winter Street series

1. Winter Street (2014): A Nantucket family’s Christmas cracks open secrets that refuse to stay festive.
2. Winter Stroll (2015): Holiday fallout spreads as relationships shift and old choices demand answers.
3. Winter Storms (2016): A blizzard forces everyone into close quarters with the truths they’ve dodged.
4. Winter Solstice (2017): A final holiday gathering tests whether the Quinn family can finally reset.

Paradise trilogy

1. Winter in Paradise (2018): A widow learns her husband kept a second life, and a second home, in the Caribbean.
2. What Happens in Paradise (2019): New love and new loyalties collide as the island life stops feeling temporary.
3. Troubles in Paradise (2020): The last revelations land, and everyone has to choose what kind of future they can live with.

The Academy series (with Shelby Cunningham)

1. The Academy (2025): An elite boarding school’s glossy image splinters as rumors and power games spread fast.
2. The Thoroughbreds (2026): Senior-year pressure turns combustible when status, secrets, and ambition collide.

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All Elin Hilderbrand novels in publication order

Use this if you want the cleanest “books in order” list across her whole career.

1. The Beach Club (2000): A Nantucket summer circle tightens until friendship and betrayal become impossible to untangle.
2. Nantucket Nights (2002): A friendship implodes when one reckless night refuses to stay in the past.
3. Summer People (2003): Two families collide over love, loyalty, and the quiet damage of long-held grudges.
4. The Blue Bistro (2005): A fresh start becomes a complicated education in desire, work, and self-respect.
5. The Love Season (2006): A woman’s summer becomes a reset when old patterns stop feeling safe.
6. Barefoot (2007): Three very different women share a house and learn that healing can be loud and messy.
7. A Summer Affair (2008): A perfect-on-paper life tilts when temptation shows up with real consequences.
8. The Castaways (2009): A sudden tragedy exposes what a community didn’t know it was hiding.
9. The Island (2010): Generational wounds resurface when a mother and daughter return to a place that remembers too much.
10. Silver Girl (2011): A disgraced woman seeks refuge on Nantucket and discovers reinvention isn’t painless.
11. Summerland (2012): A teen tragedy ripples outward, turning a community’s grief into a long reckoning.
12. Beautiful Day (2013): A wedding weekend becomes a pressure cooker for family expectations and private regrets.
13. The Matchmaker (2014): A deathbed revelation forces a family to reframe the love story they thought they knew.
14. Winter Street (2014): A Nantucket Christmas exposes fractures in a family that looks stable from the outside.
15. The Rumor (2015): Two friends learn that gossip isn’t just noise, it’s a weapon with a target.
16. Winter Stroll (2015): The Quinn family tries to move forward, but the season keeps pulling them backward.
17. Here’s to Us (2016): A partnership is tested when outside pressures make every compromise feel personal.
18. Winter Storms (2016): A storm traps the family together long enough for honesty to finally land.
19. The Identicals (2017): Twin sisters swap places and discover identity is fragile when everyone expects a role.
20. Winter Solstice (2017): A final holiday chapter asks whether reconciliation is real, or just tradition.
21. The Perfect Couple (2018): A wedding celebration turns into a mystery when the weekend takes a dark turn.
22. Winter in Paradise (2018): A Caribbean escape becomes a deep reset after betrayal reshapes everything.
23. Summer of ’69 (2019): A family’s Nantucket summer unfolds against a national backdrop that changes them too.
24. What Happens in Paradise (2019): Island life stops being an escape and starts becoming a decision.
25. 28 Summers (2020): One weekend a year becomes a lifetime of longing, choices, and quiet consequences.
26. Troubles in Paradise (2020): Secrets reach their limit, and the future demands a final answer.
27. Golden Girl (2021): A mother watches her family from just beyond reach and learns love doesn’t end cleanly.
28. The Hotel Nantucket (2022): A grand reopening turns into a puzzle of reputation, ambition, and buried history.
29. The Five-Star Weekend (2023): A host curates a perfect gathering that reveals exactly what perfection hides.
30. Swan Song (2024): A glittering Nantucket summer spirals when privilege and scandal finally catch fire.

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Short fiction and bonus reads

These are extras, fun for completists, not required for understanding the novels.

• The Surfing Lesson (2013): A brief Nantucket moment where attraction and timing fight for control.
• The Tailgate (2014): A short slice of island life where one event changes how characters see each other.
• Summer of ’79 (2020): A companion-style return that echoes the emotional world of Summer of ’69.
• The Sixth Wedding (2021): A small continuation that feels like a wink to readers who loved 28 Summers.
• Natural Selection (2024): A sharp, self-contained piece focused on choice, consequence, and what people justify.

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A low-effort recommended route

If you want a plan that’s tidy without being strict:

1. Start with one newer standalone: The Hotel Nantucket or The Five-Star Weekend
2. Then choose one “in-order” series: Winter Street or Paradise
3. Finish with a career capstone: Swan Song
4. If you’re hooked, circle back and read everything in publication order from the beginning

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FAQ

Do the Nantucket novels form one big series?
No. They share a setting and sometimes a familiar name pops up, but most are complete, independent stories.

What’s the most spoiler-sensitive part of her bibliography?
The Winter Street books and the Paradise trilogy, both are built as continuous arcs and read best in sequence.

Did she stop writing “Nantucket summer novels”?
Swan Song is widely presented as her final Nantucket-centered summer novel, while her newer work moves into a different setting with the Academy series.