Beautiful Day: A Novel

Good book, lightweight story, but made me want to go back to Nantucket!

Not my favorite. I did not like most of the characters like Pauline, Ramona, Helen or Margo. I liked Jenna some.

My own wedding was the wedding of my mother's dreams. She enjoyed all the details and I just to get it over. Especially when the church's air conditioning broke down in the middle of a heat wave. My aunt could have been right out of this book. My aunt took a very long bath before me, leaving with only enough time for a short shower! We were almost for the wedding, Was I angry, well maybe. Now it is a total comedy when I remember it, I received three identical pressure cookers from my aunts and each one of them asked me mot return the one that they had bought me!

I felt the most of the characters were spoiled and did not care enough for each other. I keep remembering the ugly cost of the wedding!!! Mine cost $100 for the dress, $100 for the cake (I paid for) and $100 for the flowers. $ 75 for invitations. Wow, it is coming back, my sister in law, messed on the orders for rehearsal dinner.

My second wedding was much better, we went to Las Vegas, got a cheap wedding package and our marriage is much better than the first one!

In conclusion, I have decided to avoid reading about spoiled rich people who think they have problems/ I have loved many of theauthor's books but this one annoyed me!

I enjoyed the three points of view, and of course, all of the NC mentions.

Love this book! I didn't want it to end!

The story developed very well and the characters seemed like real people that I want to meet (for the most part anyway). I do wish that the father's storyline had been different. By the end of the book I didn't really like him anymore. I won't say anything more then that I think he was a putz.

I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway.

Not my first time reading this author but this is not my favorite. The characters were somewhat obnoxious and immature and the plot lines were somewhat boring with a few interesting moments thrown in.

Nice light summer read.

Perhaps the fact that I read this sitting on the beach, under an umbrella, with my toes in the sand, set me up for an absolutely perfect beach-read experience, but I really enjoyed this! I've read several of Elin Hilderbrand's books, love the Nantucket setting, and couldn't wait to purchase this for my kindle to read on my beach holiday! Family relationships, beautiful location, second chances, coming home again, a little romance, all adds up to a great escape. I reread it on a second beach vacation.

Still so happy I found out about Hilderbrand. Once again, couldn't put it down. Love me a good beach romance.

I loved this book as an audiobook. The narrator did a fantastic job with the voices and the emotions. There were a lot of characters but I was able to keep them separate. Lots of different personalities getting together for Jenna and Stewart's wedding on Nantucket. It was fun to hear the different personalities and how they interact. I liked the fact that mother Beth, who has died of cancer has left "The Notebook" for Jenna to help with planning the wedding. It brought Beth's personality out and why she was loved by all. There are some wack-a-doodle characters I wanted to slap like Helen, Ramona or Pauline. Sometimes I wanted to smack Margo a few times. She seemed like a smart person yet she was in a relationship with a man 15 years old who is also her father's law partner. If you are going to read this book, I highly recommend you get the audiobook and listen to it on a car trip.

not my favorite but love this author

I have read all Elin Hilderbrand books and the Surfing Lesson (e-short story as prelude for Beautiful Day). I liked the book as lots of drama revolving around the Notebook which was left at the death of the bride’s mother; however, most of the book was about Margo the sister instead of the bride. I was hoping it would pick up from the Surfing Lesson but it jumped to wedding preparations. I thought the funny parts were about the father and in laws. There was a big build up for the secret from Margo which was not that big in the end. To be honest, I really like her older books better than her newer ones.

I challenge you to come up with better beach books than the Nantucketry of Elin Hilderbrand. Everyone's blonde, everyone's tan, everyone has nice old houses and cottages and grannies and roommate's handsome brothers and Jeeps. All attics are filled with captain's trunks and old diaries and wedding veils. There are clouds and sometimes even hurricanes but it all works out in the end. And I am always there for the end at 3 AM, damning these books for their readability and girly fun and missed sleep.

This was my first book by Elin.

I listed to this one on my way to and from work and I was not impressed.

I did make it the whole way through so that says something as there are many I don't care enough to care about what happens.

But know that I read it - I am not sure I would tell someone else to read it.

This was the story leading up to Jeanna's wedding day. Her mom had died and left a notebook full of details of how the wedding show go.

There were lot of characters in this book and I couldn't relate to any of them.

Not sure if I will give this author another chance.

AUTHOR: Hilderbrand, Elin
TITLE: Beautiful Day
Date Read: 01/26/14
RATING: 4.5/B+
GENRE/PUB DATE/PUBLISHER/# OF PGS: Women's Fiction/2013/Little Brown & Co/401 pgs
SERIES/STAND ALONE: SA

TIME/PLACE: Summer 2013/Nantucket Island
CHARACTERS: Jenna Carmichael/school teacher - Bride; Stuart Graham/attorney - Groom

FIRST LINES: They were on the ferry, the hulking white steamship that was properlly named the Eagle, but which Margot had always thought of as Moby-Dick, because that was what her mother used to call it.

COMMENTS: I chose this book in a swap-bot swap (pick 1 of 10 books your partner has listed) because I've been collecting Hilderbrand books to read …someday. This one came at the right time since I was immediately drawn to it. The appealing cover of the a woman on a beach really called out to me as an escape from these temps in the single digits. The story is set over one weekend in July on Nantucket Island at the summer home of the Carmichael family. Jenna at 29 is the youngest child of Doug & Beth -- preceeded by Margot 40, Kevin 39, and Nick 37. Beth died of ovarian cancer 7 yrs ago and left a notebook behind for Jenna w/ guidelines for her wedding. Jenna & Stuart seem to be well-suited and may just have what it takes to not only get through the weekend of the wedding but a lifetime of married life together. We get a glimpse into the relationships and marriages of the members of both the Carmichael & Graham families and how the various members view the wedding weekend. Very enjoyable reading.

Beautiful Day by Elin Hildenbrand
Have read the author's other works and love her style, always a good read. This one is also one of those.
The family will be gathering for the wedding on the island. I found so much of this book to be truly funny as to the things that happen.
With that many people from the same family together there is bound to be some mishaps. Jenna's mother had left a note because she had died and wanted the perfect day for her daughter. She wrote down what tie to wear and every little detail. Now to follow it to the letter.
Each chapter begins with a page from the notebook that Jenna's mother Beth, had written-notes on the wedding. Loved hearing of the different relatives relationships with one another, comparing them to my own.
Everything is planned as time goes on everything seems to go wrong. Love laughing and crying with it all.. Loved all the old music that I grew up on.
Lots of characters but it's easy to keep track of who is who. Touching moments of the past life's.
I received this book from Libbio via the author in exchange for my honest review.

A Beautiful Day takes place over the course of a weekend wedding in Nantucket. I found the characters easy to relate to, and refreshingly interesting and real. No one was perfect or without fault, but everyone cared for each other, and the story was an easy read and enjoyable.

I always enjoy Elin Hilderbrand's books so I looked forward to reading 'Beautiful Day.' It's the type of book I'd like to take on vacation because it held my attention all the way through.

The setting is Nantucket which is where all of this author's books are set. Sometimes I feel as though Nantucket is actually a character in her books. She certainly makes me want to visit there!

This novel is about a wedding weekend and all the problems that occur since no wedding ever goes perfectly smooth. The bride's dead mother wrote a Notebook for her daughter to follow when she got married since the mother knew she would not be alive to guide her daughter through wedding preparations. Since money was not a factor, this wedding is lavish. Be prepared to squirm at the cost of everything except the bride's dress which, of course, was her mother's wedding dress.

This story is told from the various viewpoints of several of the main characters who are strong and memorable. Ms. Hilderbrand does a nice job of moving the story along and her attention to the wedding details is interesting. I'll be looking forward to her next novel.

This was my second Hilderbrand book and I really can't believe I didn't stumble onto her sooner! Love the characters and am beginning to think I might need ot go to Nantucket some day! Great characters, good descriptions and a story you don't want to end.

full review found on my blog: My Home of Books

First, to make a disclaimer, I have been a big fan of Elin Hilderbrand in the past, and though I have not read all her books, I have read several and enjoyed them very much. With Beautiful Day I had such high hopes. Unfortunately it was my least favorite of Ms. Hilderbrand's books so far; it was just okay for me.

As the happy couple is set to marry, other relationships are falling apart all around them. Not many of the characters in this novel are content in their marriages, but they wish for a lifetime of happiness for Jenna and Stuart regardless. I was disappointed that there wasn't a strong storyline in this novel despite all the detail to the wedding weekend. I really didn't care for any of the main characters. I might possibly have felt in Jenna's corner if I got to hear her more of her personal thoughts, but most of the story was coming from those around her, watching the festivities. Though this was a wedding story, there wasn't really any romantic angle to it. We were shown the unhappiness that comes after marriages get stale, with a backdrop of a brand-new wedding that was supposed to cost in the ballpark of $170, 000. The extravagance of it all, with Jenna's mother dictating from the grave down to every last little detail, was disturbing to me. If her mother had still been alive, there would have been fireworks in the family, because I find it hard to believe that a grown woman would give in to her mother on every single decision, including: who should be maid of honor, which color bridesmaid dresses, what food should be served, etc.

Because it is an author I usually enjoy, I can acknowledge that sometimes they don't hit the mark, and will probably read her next book. For some lovely descriptions of Nantucket and the wedding in general, 3 stars.

Exquisite. I wanted to get to know the people in this book, complicated and simple. I think this is EH's best book yet. I read it 2x and would have read it again if it had not been a 7 day book.

The relationships between the two sisters were on target, and it was fun to see how EH brought in the other characters. At first the "outtakes" seemed odd, but in the end, it was a great way to bring in stories that were not as front and center to the plot.

I liked her earlier books better than this last one. Blue Bistro & Beach House seemed to be better writing. I think she might be getting too "commercial" ala Nora Roberts & Danielle Steel. If anyone had left an ironclad book like that for my wedding I would have tossed it, even if it was my beloved mother.

2 stars
Pat56

Hilderbrand's books are the perfect summer read. You can pretend that you have gobs of money and live on nantucket or have a summer house there.

But this book wasn't my favorite. I found Margot's whining and pining for Edge to be more than a little annoying. This is a successful woman. She should have snapped out it and found someone who actually cared for her instead that man. Jenna seemed a bit naive but was sweet.


I felt for Roger and couldn't imagine having his job and putting up with families like this.

This story details the days surrounding the wedding of the youngest daughter. Though dead for seven years, Jenna Carmichael’s mother has left her a detailed notebook of how she thinks the wedding should take place, including any and all details of the wedding that anyone might ask or think about. From the start, I wondered what sort of mother would leave such detailed instructions about her daughter’s wedding, out of fear of being seen as bossy or terribly intrusive. However, the whole family doesn’t seem to mind and has made the deceased mother the object of hero worship, which complicates and overshadows all interactions with each other and with everyone else. Most of the story characters have definite demons/problems with which they are grappling and a lot of the book is spent on these. One fault is definitely prominent: irresponsible men/husbands who never seem to pick up on the correct way to treat the women in their lives. The story begins a few days before the wedding, when the first guests arrive at Nantucket, the site of the wedding, and ends shortly after the wedding. As guests and family members of both the bride and groom arrive, the reader begins to wonder if this marriage will take place and how or if everyone’s problems will overshadow the event. I really did not find many of the characters all that likeable, but the writing is good enough to keep me interested in reading to find out what happens next. This is a fast moving book, though not quite as good as some of her others. Definitely a beach read.