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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
I always love a good, easy to read Elin Hilderbrand Book.
this book focused on an upcoming wedding day of the youngest daughter in a family. While everybody's gathering for the wedding, the story unfolds the troubles and difficulties in everybody else's lives.
The story is told from an interesting view point, starting each section as a letter from the bride's mother on all of her suggestions and recommendations for the wedding weekend which she wrote as her life decline with ovarian cancer so that even after she was gone, she could still be part of that day.
The only thing I wasn't a huge fan of was that it was pretty darn difficult in the beginning to keep all of the characters and storylines straight, especially in audiobook format. Elin Hilderbrand's books are always told from multiple viewpoints but it was a bit of a challenge for me to keep all the names of the characters straight first off, and then the story lines that were discussed throughout the book.
By about 40% through, I had a good grasp and was connected to the main characters. Definitely one that I enjoyed and reminded me of all the stress AND bliss that went into a wedding.
this book focused on an upcoming wedding day of the youngest daughter in a family. While everybody's gathering for the wedding, the story unfolds the troubles and difficulties in everybody else's lives.
The story is told from an interesting view point, starting each section as a letter from the bride's mother on all of her suggestions and recommendations for the wedding weekend which she wrote as her life decline with ovarian cancer so that even after she was gone, she could still be part of that day.
The only thing I wasn't a huge fan of was that it was pretty darn difficult in the beginning to keep all of the characters and storylines straight, especially in audiobook format. Elin Hilderbrand's books are always told from multiple viewpoints but it was a bit of a challenge for me to keep all the names of the characters straight first off, and then the story lines that were discussed throughout the book.
By about 40% through, I had a good grasp and was connected to the main characters. Definitely one that I enjoyed and reminded me of all the stress AND bliss that went into a wedding.
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very cute beach read
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
First read: August 2014:
Why have I not read an Elin Hilderbrand novel before??? I did not want Beautiful Day to end. It was fantastic. It was funny. It was sweet. It was heartbreaking at times. Beth Carmichael, who died several years ago, left a notebook with suggestions for her youngest daughter when she was planning her wedding. While Jenna is the bride and the novel revolves around the weekend of her wedding on Nantucket, the story is not necessarily about her. The story is told from the perspective of Margot, Jenna's older sister. Doug, Jenna's father and Ann Graham, Jenna's future mother in law. Each of these characters has their own story that unwinds (and in some cases implodes) over the course of the weekend. As with any wedding or get together with family, there is a lot of drama and a lot of secrets let out of the bag. For example, Ann invited the woman with whom her husband had an affair and subsequently a son (named Chance of all things!) to the wedding and then regrets that decision very quickly. Stuart, the groom, had briefly been engaged to another woman many years ago and neglected to tell his wife to be - the best part about this is that they refer to the ex-fiancé as "She Who Must Not Be Named". Love it!
This is a wonderful book. I highly highly recommend it. As for myself, I am now going in search of other Elin Hilderbrand books to savor.
Re-read January 2022:
I loved this story the second time I read it as much as I did the first time. What I love about re-reads is that although you may remember the main plot or theme of a book, you don’t necessarily remember all of the details that make up the story you loved the first time.
I love to highlight quotes that resonate with me in the books I read and found a new one with this second reading of A Beautiful Day.
“… every family is happy in their own fashion, and every family is unhappy in their own fashion. Every family is both functional and dysfunctional.”
Why have I not read an Elin Hilderbrand novel before??? I did not want Beautiful Day to end. It was fantastic. It was funny. It was sweet. It was heartbreaking at times. Beth Carmichael, who died several years ago, left a notebook with suggestions for her youngest daughter when she was planning her wedding. While Jenna is the bride and the novel revolves around the weekend of her wedding on Nantucket, the story is not necessarily about her. The story is told from the perspective of Margot, Jenna's older sister. Doug, Jenna's father and Ann Graham, Jenna's future mother in law. Each of these characters has their own story that unwinds (and in some cases implodes) over the course of the weekend. As with any wedding or get together with family, there is a lot of drama and a lot of secrets let out of the bag. For example, Ann invited the woman with whom her husband had an affair and subsequently a son (named Chance of all things!) to the wedding and then regrets that decision very quickly. Stuart, the groom, had briefly been engaged to another woman many years ago and neglected to tell his wife to be - the best part about this is that they refer to the ex-fiancé as "She Who Must Not Be Named". Love it!
This is a wonderful book. I highly highly recommend it. As for myself, I am now going in search of other Elin Hilderbrand books to savor.
Re-read January 2022:
I loved this story the second time I read it as much as I did the first time. What I love about re-reads is that although you may remember the main plot or theme of a book, you don’t necessarily remember all of the details that make up the story you loved the first time.
I love to highlight quotes that resonate with me in the books I read and found a new one with this second reading of A Beautiful Day.
“… every family is happy in their own fashion, and every family is unhappy in their own fashion. Every family is both functional and dysfunctional.”
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Sometimes I don't like stories that switch from one person to the other, but this one was so well done I loved it. I really admired Margot and her strength, Jenna for her optimism, Doug for his never-ending love. It was a real family story about love, loss, and endearing love.
There are so many things I love here - the characters I love, the characters I loathe, the lovely depiction of Nantucket, the way love truly wins. The finale page of the notebook makes me weep every time. Always a great re-read for me.
Probably my least favorite Hildebrand book. It wasn’t completely terrible, but definitely not on the same level as Matchmaker or Summer of 69.
I love all of Elin Hilderbrand books - like the others this one is an easy to read story - you do sort of know how things are going to end up so it is no surprise when certain revelations are made, but overall just a good solid story.
This is probably my favorite of all the Elin Hilderbrand books so far. I think it's sweet, touching and funny. I would definitely recommend this to any woman who loves weddings or any bride-to-be, and especially those woman who have lost their mothers and had a wonderful relationship with their moms. My mom passed away in 2005 and I miss her terribly. I have 2 little girls who she isn't here to help me raise, but I know she is looking down on us everyday, seeing all I go through, and making sure I don't go too crazy. I only wish that when I get married she would be there. Everyone should appreciate their mothers, especially those who have amazing relationships with theirs.
I had been looking forward to reading this book for such a long time. I have no idea why I put it off for as long as I did. Maybe I felt like once I read it, it wouldn't be there to read for the first time again? I have no idea! I have to say I was probably really silly putting this off for so long because I really enjoyed this book! I love when Elin Hilderbrand includes weddings in her stories. Nantucket is the perfect setting for them and I love to see the drama that Elin concocts to put these families through.
This book was a lot of fun and atmospheric as always. One day I will finally get myself to Nantucket. If I haven't convinced you with my millions of reviews of Elin's books, I'm not doing my job. Please go read her books!
This book was a lot of fun and atmospheric as always. One day I will finally get myself to Nantucket. If I haven't convinced you with my millions of reviews of Elin's books, I'm not doing my job. Please go read her books!