by Elin Hilderbrand

In bestseller Elin Hilderbrand's first Christmas novel, a family gathers on Nantucket for a holiday filled with surprises.

Kelley Quinn is the owner of Nantucket's Winter Street Inn and the proud father of four, all of them grown and living in varying states of disarray. Patrick, the eldest, is a hedge fund manager with a guilty conscience. Kevin, a bartender, is secretly sleeping with a French housekeeper named Isabelle. Ava, a school teacher, is finally dating the perfect guy but can't get him to commit. And Bart, the youngest and only child of Kelley's second marriage to Mitzi, has recently shocked everyone by joining the Marines.

As Christmas approaches, Kelley is looking forward to getting the family together for some quality time at the inn. But when he walks in on Mitzi kissing Santa Claus (or the guy who's playing Santa at the inn's annual party), utter chaos descends. With the three older children each reeling in their own dramas and Bart unreachable in Afghanistan, it might be up to Kelley's ex-wife, nightly news anchor Margaret Quinn, to save Christmas at the Winter Street Inn.

Before the mulled cider is gone, the delightfully dysfunctional Quinn family will survive a love triangle, an unplanned pregnancy, a federal crime, a small house fire, many shots of whiskey, and endless rounds of Christmas caroling, in this heart-warming novel about coming home for the holidays.

I think Elin Hilderbrand is the kind of writer who was made for Christmas/holiday themed books, and I'm surprised that this is her first foray into this theme. The reason I say this is that she writes the type of books that lend themselves to a Christmas setting. They are usually about a family, with some (or lots) of issues that need resolving before the end of the book. Since the holidays usually are the one time of year most people tend to go home, you have a perfect story. Trust me when I say this will not be the last we hear of Ms. Hilderbrand and holiday stories......why, you ask? This book literally leaves you hanging at the end!! I don't think any of the kids issues are resolved....which is sort of interesting, since most of these Christmas stories end on a happy, all is calm, all is bright note 🙂 I feel certain that we have not seen the last of the Quinn family, whether we wait until next Christmas to continue, or we follow them in a later book set during the other 11 months of the year, we will have to wait and see.

I really liked this book, I was interested in all the characters, and it flowed well. It was a light, easy read, and Hilderbrand's books always make me want to visit Nantucket. I'm kind of sad that I will have to wait to find out what happens to this family, and I will be downright annoyed if we never get the sequel that I'm predicting is coming.

Go ahead and pick up a copy of this book, but don't say I didn't warn you about the end!