After 6,000 votes in our “Battle of the Beach Reads” bracket, fans chose “28 Summers,” just as Hilderbrand predicted, calling it “the ultimate summer romance.”
August 25, 2025 | 10:08 AM
2 minutes to read
After 10 days and more than 6,000 votes, readers have officially declared a winner in Boston.com’s first-ever “Battle of the Beach Reads” bracket, featuring Elin Hilderbrand’s 16 most popular books.
Hilderbrand’s best beach read is “28 Summers,” at least according to Boston.com readers.
The Nantucket-set romance, which ranks third on Goodreads’ list, beat out 15 other fan favorites to claim the crown. In total, 6,159 votes were cast between August 13 and August 22.
Hilderbrand, often called the “queen of the beach read,” said she wasn’t surprised by the outcome.
“That was the book I predicted would be the winner,” she told Boston.com. “It is my most romantic novel. It’s a little like an adventure back in time, because you go back 28 years and visit all the years. I’m just very, very, very proud of that book. It does not surprise me at all.”
Inspired by the classic play “Same Time, Next Year” by Bernard Slade, “28 Summers” tells the story of Mallory Blessing and Jake McCloud, who share a secret love affair over Labor Day weekend every summer for nearly three decades. Hilderbrand said she drew on her own viewing of the play’s film adaptation as both a teenager and an adult for her inspiration.
“I thought I could improve on this in a novel,” she said. “It is honestly the ultimate romance.”
Part of the book’s appeal, Hilderbrand added, is the way Mallory’s story resonates with readers.
“Maybe more people understand that Mallory is a very complete and happy person by herself,” she said. “She has a career, she has her family, she’s got her son, she has a house, she has a life, she has friends — she has a complete circle by herself. And then one weekend a year, she gets to experience this very intense romance. In some ways it’s like such a perfect relationship for her. So I think that must resonate with a lot of people.”
The author also enjoyed watching the bracket — the first one done of her bibliography — unfold. “It was so much fun,” she said with a laugh.
While “28 Summers” may have secured the title of Boston.com readers’ favorite, Hilderbrand fans won’t have to wait long for her next release. “The Academy,” a novel she co-wrote with her daughter about an elite New England boarding school, arrives September 16.
Annie Jonas is a Community writer at Boston.com. She was previously a local editor at Patch and a freelancer at the Financial Times.
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