Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - 28 Summers

Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand

6 reviews

grettypop's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

4/5 stars - no spice

Mallory Blessing is dying (this is not a spoiler, you find this out on page 1). On her deathbed, she asks her son, Link, to call up one person Link had no idea had any connection to his mother, Jake McCloud. Jake is the husband of the soon-to-be first female president of the United States.

So how do those two know each other? Well, Mallory and Jake have met 28 years ago, and have agreed to meet up for one weekend a year, every single year, to "catch up". Yes, theirs is a love affair. And we follow this through 28 summers, along with learning about the life, growth, and troubles of each of the characters involved.

I was very torn on what to rate this book, because of my conflicting feelings. I do NOT condone cheating, and while this book definitely romanticizes it and makes it seem "acceptable" and "everyone does it", my moral compass felt off the entire time.

Also I was extremely annoyed with the whole Mal & Jake thing... Why do you CHOOSE to make yourself unhappy?! - as my therapist would say. "Just be with each other!" - I screamed at them.

With that said, I devoured this book. I laughed, cried, and felt along with each of the characters. The book felt fast paced, sprinkled in with real life events that happened in each of those years that lead up to the heartbreaking conclusion you KNOW is coming. I loved this book, but I could not relate to these characters. If you find love, why wait?! Hold onto it!!

Content Warnings