Winter Solstice
By: Elin Hiderbrand
Published Year: 2017
Publisher: Little Brown and Company
Pages: 262
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Raise one last glass with the Quinn Family at the Winter Street Inn.
It's been too long since the entire Quinn family has been able to celebrate the holidays under the same roof, but that's about to change. With Bart back safe and sound from Afghanistan, the Quinns are preparing for a holiday more joyous than any they've experienced in years. And Bart's safe return isn't the family's only good news: Kevin is enjoying married life with Isabelle; Patrick is getting back on his feet after paying his debt to society; Ava thinks she's finally found the love of her life; and Kelly is thrilled to see his family reunited at last. But it just wouldn't be a Quinn family gathering if things went smoothly.
First Impressions
This is book 4 in the Winter series, so I was super excited (and surprised) when I saw this cover. I honestly thought that the series was going to be over after book three, so book four was a bit of a pleasant surprise. It’s a cute cover that would’ve caught my eye, but the first two are still my favoties.
What I thought
As a warning, this is the 4th book in this series. There will be spoilers, as it’s a bit difficult to review this book without any.
As with the previous books, this one picks up a year after the last one left off. Bart has been found and is back home, Ava is in New York with her new boyfriend, Kevin and Isabelle are married with a second baby, Patrick and Jennifer are still maneuvering life after jail and addiction, and Kelley is dying of brain cancer.
It was the first of the novels to have everyone in the Quinn family home. I also believe that it was the earliest starting novel of the series. Winter Solstice starts right before Halloween and actually ends on Christmas day. The story centers around Bart, Kelley, Ava, and Jennifer most of the time. We do get a check-in with Mitzi and Margaret as well, but Kevin is pretty non-existent, along with Patrick.
Ava is in New York with her new boyfriend and is on the edge of realize whether or not he is the one she wants to be with for the rest of her life. Bart is home and struggling with being a civilian again. He also has a severe case of survivors guilt. Mitzi is, obviously, dealing with Kelley’s cancer, and Kelley has some chapters from his perspective which was heart warming.
There’s also a character new to this series, Eddie Pancik, who is apparently from another of Hilderbrand’s novels, The Rumor. I haven’t read that book, so it’s a bit confusing to begin with when this new character with an already established background is thrown in, but I think Hilderbrand does a decent job of making it understandable without having read The Rumor.
I think the biggest question is whether or not a fourth book was necessary. I did like having more time with the Quinn family and finding out what had happened in their lives. I liked watching Bart and Jennifer tackle their demons. However, I liked not knowing exactly what happened with Kelley, but I think that’s just because it’s a heartbreaker.
If you are a fan of the series, I’d definitely recommend checking it out. This is not a series that will make sense if you read them out of order. There’s a lot that happens from year to year and the stories build on that and the relationships. It’s not as Christmas-y as the previous ones, as it ends on Christmas day, but it’s a good book to read in the months leading up to Christmas to help you get in the mood.