Elin Hilderbrand is best known for her Nantucket novels, but her bibliography gets a little trickier once you move beyond the biggest titles. That’s where an Elin Hilderbrand books in order guide becomes useful, especially when you’re trying to sort out the series, the standalone novels, and the shorter follow-up pieces that connect to earlier books.
Some of her books are easy to pick up on their own, while others make more sense when you know where they fit. Below, you’ll find the full list organized clearly so you can see what belongs together, what can be read as a standalone, and where the extra stories fit.
Jump to:
- Elin Hilderbrand Series in Order
- Standalone Books
- Short Stories and Anthologies
- Elin Hilderbrand Book to Screen Adaptations
- Who is Elin Hilderbrand?
- Elin Hilderbrand Books FAQ
Elin Hilderbrand Series in Order
Below, you’ll find the full list of Elin Hilderbrand books in order, grouped by series and type. Within each section, the books are listed in publication order so it’s easy to see what belongs together and where each title fits.
You don’t need to read her books this way, but it’s usually the best approach for the connected stories. The sections themselves are also arranged by when each group began, so her newer books appear later in the list.
Nantucket Books
Elin Hilderbrand’s Nantucket books are all set on Nantucket Island, but they aren’t a traditional series with one continuous storyline. Most of the novels follow different characters and different plots, though they’re loosely connected through shared settings, overlapping timelines, and occasional character appearances.
- A Summer Affair (2008)
- The Castaways (2009)
- The Perfect Couple (2018)
Other Nantucket Books
Not everything Elin Hilderbrand has written about Nantucket fits into her Nantucket fiction, so those titles are listed separately here.
Winter Books
Elin Hilderbrand’s Winter books follow the Quinn family at the Winter Street Inn, which is owned by Kelley Quinn. Set during four consecutive Christmas seasons on Nantucket, the series picks up with the family each holiday as old problems resurface, new relationships take shape, and the drama around the inn continues to unfold. In some editions, Winter Stroll has been published under the alternate title Christmas on Nantucket.
- Winter Street (2014)
- Winter Stroll (2015)
- Winter Storms (2016)
- Winter Solstice (2017)
Paradise Books
The Paradise trilogy moves Elin Hilderbrand away from Nantucket and into a very different kind of family drama. After Irene Steele learns her husband had been living a secret life on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, she and her sons are pulled into a world of grief, betrayal, and long-buried secrets.
- Winter in Paradise (2018)
- What Happens in Paradise (2019)
- Troubles in Paradise (2020)
28 Summers Books
Inspired by the film Same Time Next Year, 28 Summers follows Jake McCloud and Mallory Blessing as they begin a complicated relationship built around one weekend together each year. What starts as a private arrangement grows into a story about love, loyalty, timing, and the ripple effects their choices have on the people around them.
- 28 Summers (2020)
- The Sixth Wedding (2021) (Short Story)
The Academy Series
Co-written with her daughter, Shelby Cunningham, The Academy series follows the students, faculty, and families connected to Tiffin Academy, a prestigious New England boarding school where status, secrets, and personal ambition collide. It also marks a clear shift away from Elin Hilderbrand’s Nantucket-centered fiction and into a more contemporary boarding-school drama.
- The Academy (2025)
- The Thoroughbreds (2026)
Standalone Books
These standalone novels are a great place to start if you’re new to Elin Hilderbrand. They aren’t tied to one ongoing storyline, so you can pick them up in any order.
- The Beach Club (2000)
- Nantucket Nights (2002)
- Summer People (2003)
- The Blue Bistro (2005)
- The Love Season (2006)
- Barefoot (2007)
- The Island (2010)
- Silver Girl (2011)
- Summerland (2012)
- Beautiful Day (2013)
- The Matchmaker (2014)
- The Rumor (2015)
- Here’s to Us (2016)
- The Identicals (2017)
- Summer of ’69 (2019)
- Golden Girl (2021)
- The Hotel Nantucket (2022)
- The Five-Star Weekend (2023)
- Swan Song (2024)
Short Stories and Anthologies
Short Stories
Elin Hilderbrand’s short stories are separate from her standalone novels, though some connect back to earlier books. This section includes her individual short fiction along with Endless Summer, her short story collection.
- The Surfing Lesson (2013)
- The Tailgate (2014)
- Summer of ’79 (2020)
A follow-up short story to Summer of ’69. - Endless Summer: Stories from Days That Last Forever (2022)
- Natural Selection (2024)
Anthologies
Elin Hilderbrand has also contributed to anthology fiction, though this is the only title currently in that category on her bibliography.
- Reunion Beach (2021)
Elin Hilderbrand Book to Screen Adaptations
Elin Hilderbrand’s first book to make it to the screen was The Perfect Couple, which Netflix adapted as a limited series in 2024. That project gave her bibliography its first true on-screen breakthrough and showed how naturally her ensemble-driven, setting-heavy novels translate to television.
The next adaptation to move forward in a meaningful way is The Five-Star Weekend. Peacock ordered the series in 2025, with Jennifer Garner attached to star, giving it a much firmer status than the many Hilderbrand projects that have spent years sitting in development.
Several other books have also been connected to film and television plans. Swan Song has been linked to Netflix as a follow-up within the The Perfect Couple anthology approach, while The Paradise trilogy, The Hotel Nantucket, 28 Summers, the Winter Street series, and The Academy have all been reported in development at different points.
At the same time, not every adaptation plan has made it all the way through. The Identicals, Summer of ’69, The Blue Bistro, and The Matchmaker have all been tied to screen development over the years, but those versions did not ultimately reach production. Taken together, that makes The Perfect Couple the first finished adaptation, The Five-Star Weekend the clearest one to follow it, and the rest part of a much larger pipeline of Hilderbrand projects that Hollywood has tried to bring to the screen.
Who is Elin Hilderbrand?
Elin Hilderbrand is a bestselling American novelist best known for her Nantucket-set fiction. She grew up in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, graduated from Johns Hopkins University, and later studied at the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop.
After traveling extensively, she settled on Nantucket, which went on to become the setting for many of her most popular novels. She also spent part of her childhood summers on Cape Cod, a coastal influence that helps give her books their lived-in sense of place. Over the course of her career, Hilderbrand has sold more than 20 million books worldwide.
Elin Hilderbrand Books FAQ
What is the best Elin Hilderbrand book to start with?
That depends on what kind of story you want. Many readers start with one of her best-known standalone novels, since they give you a strong feel for her writing without requiring any background knowledge.
Are Elin Hilderbrand books all connected?
Not exactly. Most of her books work as standalones, but some are part of clear series, and others have loose connections through shared settings, recurring side characters, or brief crossover appearances.
Is Elin Hilderbrand still writing Nantucket books?
No. Elin Hilderbrand has said Swan Song was her final Nantucket summer novel, though she has continued writing outside that lane, including The Academy series with Shelby Cunningham.
Looking for more books in order?
If you want more romance authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Romance Books in Order index.
One thought on “Elin Hilderbrand Books in Order: Complete List”
I enjoyed your Paradise series . Will there be a sequel to the third book? I’d like to find out what the outcome will be. TY