Beautiful Day

by Elin Hilderbrand

'A wedding readers won't be able to resist crashing' - KirkusThe Carmichaels and Grahams have gathered for a wedding. Plans are being made according to the wishes of the bride's late mother, who left behind The specific instructions for every detail of her youngest daughter's future nuptials. Everything should be falling into place for the beautiful event - but in reality, things are far from perfect.In the days leading up to the wedding, love will be questioned, scandals will arise, and hearts will be broken . . .**************Praise for Beautiful Day'A perfect summer read' - The Picky Girl'No other author screams summer read more than Elin Hilderbrand. Her novels ooze saucy, sandy, sunny secrets. This was such a fun book to read' - The Book Bag**************Further praise for Elin Hilderbrand'A gritty and moving read that oozes plenty of drama' - Heat'A gem of a summer read with a glamorous location, elite lifestyle, and Hilderbrand's appealing take on the constant stress that fills the lives of women everywhere' - Booklist'This book was a great read - you really care what happens to the characters. Perfect holiday reading. I didn't want to put it down' - Candis'Touching and uplifting' - U Magazine

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Romance, Audiobook, Beach Reads, Contemporary, Summer Reads

398 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 25, 2013

About the author

Elin Hilderbrand lives on Nantucket with her husband and their three young children. She grew up in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and traveled extensively before settling on Nantucket, which has been the setting for her five previous novels. Hilderbrand is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the graduate fiction workshop at the University of Iowa.

Facebook.com/ElinHilderbrand

Pinterest.com/ElinHilderbrand

Reviews

[Nette · Rating 2 out of 5]

I spent the second half of this wedding-in-Nantucket novel hoping that Jaws would Sharknado himself right into the rehearsal dinner and chomp down every single character. Horribly entitled rich people with names like Edge, Chance, Beanie, Griff and Drum run around having domestic crises, interwoven with pages and pages of porn-y descriptions of hand-sewn Irish linen tablecloths and and lemon-drizzled crab rolls and bridal bouquets with tight, NOT blooming, peonies. What kind of peasant would have a blooming peony in her bouquet, for God's sake?

[LibraryDanielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

even though I disliked 90% of the characters it was a decent story. well written and with an ok plot. the characters are all selfish, petty, annoying, or all three. even the dead ones.
jenna is getting married. and even though her mother is dead she doesn't have to worry, she planned out jenna's entire wedding before she died of cancer. manipulating her entire family into giving jenna the wedding she wanted, simply by planning it out just before dying. and how is she going to achieve her plan? by putting everything on her eldest daughter's shoulders. even though she and her husband made margot miserable and feel like she's a failure in everything except her professional life. and this carrys onto everyone in the family. they treat her like crap, but yet expect her to bend over backwards to do their dirty work. and like a good doormat, she does. even though it means making her life take a step back and not doing what she wants.
and jenna. a spoiled brat who is so used to getting her way she turns her fiancee into a weenie who can't make a decision for himself. she wraps everyone around her finger and gets her way.

wow. I apparently liked this book less than I thought...

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I used to LOVE any book by this author. The Blue Bistro, The Beach Club, and Nantucket Nights were wonderful. But her past couple have been really awful. I mean, totally boring, nothing compelling or even all that interesting. It makes me sad :(

The characters in this book aren't even remotely likable, and there are wayyy to many of them. I had a hard time keeping up with all the characters, and so many of them weren't even critical to the plot - so they were like useless filler. The story itself was booooorrring. I couldn't wait to finish it. I just couldn't find myself caring enough about an overpriced posh wedding with a bunch of spoiled, wealthy, shallow people in attendance. And the whole idea of the Notebook? Weird. I suppose it's supposed to be sweet and sad and all, but I think it's just ridiculous that modern day women would follow the suggestions (or, direction) of their deceased mother to the tee. Where are their own ideas and desires? What did the groom and his family think about having virtually no say in anything? It's just silly.

I'm really going to re-considered reading anything by this author again.

[Ang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish there were...different scales of ratings for books. Because this is a five-star entertaining read, and it took me no time at all to read it. But it's not like I'll take anything away from it. It was JUST entertaining. It wasn't fascinating. It didn't make me think. It just diverted my attention (happily! willingly! wonderfully!) for a few hours. It was a lovely story, but that's all it was.

I don't feel sad about that, right? But rating it alongside Homeward Bound: Why Women are Embracing the New Domesticity feels strange. Because that book was good, it was entertaining, but it was something else too. It fed my brain. It made me think. The two books, they don't belong on the same scale. Is all I'm saying.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel somewhat bad giving this only two stars, particularly as I finished the book but ... the characters are caricatures. There seems to be little regret over truly regrettable behavior. The marriage of the older couple (though the wife is dead) was just simply perfect, don't you know. And she's now pulling the strings for her younger daughter's wedding, per "the notebook," which might as well be another character. The husband is kind of a schmo! COme on, your former wife is dead. It's not fair to blame that on your current wife. (I'm not giving away any plot points here; this is within the first 3 chapters.)

And frankly, the material excess got to me after a while. Very, very few of us are rich enough to inhabit the Nanctucket world. This wedding was estimated at $170,000 to $180,000. Really? Because we all live in a world where we can spend that much on one stupid wedding weekend.

Sorry: spoiled rich people, many of whom have real problems. But ... nothing rang true.

[Niki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually love love love Elin Hilderbrand books but this one wasn't my favorite. The whole premise of the whole book, the Notebook (yes, with a capital N) turned me off right from the getgo. The idea of a dying mom writing advice to her daughter for her wedding day sounds nice in theory, but Hilderbrand's execution of this idea turned Jenna into a pushover who got talked into a total domination of her wedding by her saintly dead mother. We are expected to feel sentimental and gushy about this mother, but I couldn't stop thinking that if she had been alive and planning all these details, she would have been looked upon as an overbearing royal pain in the butt. I mean, she planned everything right down to the brand of knives Jenna should ask for in her registry to how the vegetables at the wedding (asparagus) should be cooked. In a couple places in the Notebook, the mother basically says stuff like "oh don't feel obliged to wear my wedding dress, but the thought of you in it makes me cry so much that I have to stop writing". Hello manipulation!

I also thought it was really unfair that Pauline got treated the way she did...the only thing I could tell that she did that wasn't so great (at least till the end) was read the Notebook without permission, but she was probably feeling so left out of everything that I really can't blame her. Essentially, she got punished just because she wasn't Beth. I felt sorry for her.

Also, I really didn't like it how Jethro kept getting referred to as "Ryan's boyfriend" throughout the book. All the other characters were introduced once by describing who they were in relation to the other characters, and then referred to by name for the rest of the book. For example, Beanie was called Beanie, not "Kevin's wife". I felt like Hilderbrand was trying make sure that we all knew that she included a gay couple in her cast of characters. I felt like she also stereotyped them, such as when Ann found some decent food in the fridge and it said that she assumed that Jethro and Ryan had been the ones to do the grocery shopping.

In addition to all that, I found this book pretty boring. Even the things that were supposed to be big dramas ended up being let downs. I seriously disliked Jenna's character - I thought she was a whiny spoiled brat. And sorta hypocritical - the book in general and the Notebook in particular mentions several times how Jenna is so wonderful because she doesn't care about material possessions or fancy things, and yet the book goes on to say that Jenna's wedding band cost $15,000 - $20,000 and her wedding was $170,000 - $180,000. I also couldn't figure out what sort of idiot finds Ann and Jim's story "romantic".

All in all, glad I read it. But it left me feeling sorta like I want to hurl.

[Marla · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 older 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.

[Suzanne Graziano Publicover · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hilderbrand has lost her touch. Blue Bistro, Silver Girl, Barefoot - those stories brought the characters (one being Nantucket) alive. Her last two books have been incredibly formulaic with no depth to anyone, least of all - the island. Very disappointing. The premise of Beautiful Day is perfect for a summer read. But Hilderbrand phones it in with an undeveloped story line, uninteresting plot "twists", and general blah character development. Very disappointing.

[Cammie · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's nothing like a wedding to bring out everyone's true colors--it's emotional, it's stressful, it's busy, it's expensive. Elin Hilderbrand brings all of these elements together and more in Beautiful Day.
Jenna Carmichael and Stuart Graham are getting married on Nantucket. Jenna's older sister Margo coordinates all the wedding details because their mother Beth died seven years ago from ovarian cancer. However, Beth's presence is felt very strongly throughout the book and at the wedding.
Beth wrote The Notebook, a wedding instruction manual, for Jenna, knowing she wouldn't be alive for Jenna's future wedding. The Notebook both simplifies and complicates the wedding weekend for Jenna and her sister and brothers Kevin and Nick as well as their father Doug who is remarried to Pauline. At times, The Notebook is straightforward and business like but other times, it was sob inducing.
There is much drama for both the Carmichael and the Graham families in true Elin Hilderbrand fashion. The cast of characters is wide and diverse with many likable and some not-s0-likable characters.
Ultimately, mother-daughter relationships can be tough but I cannot imagine if my own mother had not been at my wedding, and I can't imagine not planning my own daughter's wedding someday in the future.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. Because it made me feel like I was in the story living it with the characters.

[Jennefer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand and I have to say I think this is my favorite novel thus far from her. Although I do love all her chick lit stories about the beautiful majestic island known as Nantucket.

The novel begins with a wedding invitation advising of the pending nuptials of Jenna Carmichael and Stuart Graham which are to be held on the beautiful island of Nantucket. While almost every bride hopes to recruit the advice, help and wisdom of their mother in planning ones dream wedding, this particular wedding was planned by Jenna's mother approximately seven years earlier written in what is referenced as "The Notebook". Jenna’s mother, Beth, wrote this notebook of wedding do’s and don’ts as she was dying of ovarian cancer. As I have also lost a parent, I found myself really drawn to this part of the story, what a wonderful gift for Beth to leave behind for her daughter.

One of the main characters narrating this lovely story is Margot, Jenna’s sister and maid-of-honor. Margot is a divorced mother of three young children and although Margot has a failed marriage trailing behind her she has a thriving high-powered career. Margot has not been lucky in love and she believes that "love dies" after all. Margot truly just wants the weekend to be over with, although she is happy for her sister, Jenna. Margot is anticipating seeing her secret lover, Edge, who just happens to be much older than she and he happens to also be her father's law firm partner which is not helping this situation of Margot’s one bit.

Another main character is Doug, Jenna's father, who is a divorce attorney and is just now coming to the realization that he is in a loveless marriage with his wife, Pauline. Pauline is Doug’s second wife, and his true love has and always will be Beth, Jenna's deceased mother. Doug was tasked with reading the last page of the notebook Beth wrote as it was written for him but he has been struggling to do this one simple task.

The last main character I will discuss is Ann Graham, the groom's mother, who is a state senator from North Carolina. Ann’s life has been defined by her first and second marriage to the same man, Jim. The reason there were 2 marriages to Jim is due to the fact he betrayed Ann by having an affair with their family friend, Helen Oppenheimer. This affair resulted in the birth of a son named Chance and Jim and Helen’s marriage lasted a measly 29 months. Since Chance is one of the groomsmen, Ann decides to invite Helen to the wedding, thinking she would decline. But Helen doesn’t decline, and now Ann has to spend the weekend of her own son's wedding seeing the woman who nearly ruined her personally and professionally.

Although each of these families was betrayed by love in some form or another, they all truly believe happiness is possible and they believe in this union between Jenna and Stuart.

Elin Hilderbrand is such a wonderful storyteller! Her characters are likable and fairly multifarious. As do all her novels, Beautiful Day pays respect to her love for the beautiful island of Nantucket. This is a great read for a day on the beach, a vacation in which you are tucked away somewhere wonderful or even if it’s just a nice lazy day at home. As always, Happy reading my friends :)

[Devon · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was my first attempt at an Elin Hilderbrand novel, and while the Nantucket setting was intriguing, I had to abandon the audiobook a little less than halfway in. All of the characters were insipid, whiney and annoying. The plot was absurd; of all the years and events for all her family members, the dead mother chose her youngest daughter's wedding as the single most important day in the family's lives, worthy of expending all her deathbed energy to plan every last detail. I kept hoping there would be a major shift in the plot or the tone of the novel, but after reading some of the reviews here, I'm glad I didn't spend any more time on this book.

[Connie Rea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't going to review this one, even though I so enjoyed it. However....after my decision, I read the first few reviews listed on Goodreads....and I I felt a bit irritated! So here I am....So many of the 2 star reviews were from people that have read Elin Hilderbrand in the past and just didn't think this one was as good as the some others....several said, "good characters, good story, good writing, but I liked x or y better".....So this kind of validates Margaret Mitchell and Harper Lee's decision to never write a second book, eh? Ha Ha! I jest! I jest! Of course this isn't a masterpiece. I'm not trying to imply that! I'm sure Hilderbrand didn't mean for this to measure up to a renowned classic....My point is that, not all books are the same....not even the ones written by the same author! How boring would that be? Now, I confess....there are tons of books/authors just like that. I for one, usually grow tired of these very quickly. I guess some don't....not only do they not grow bored, they almost expect it. Again, this is my first Hilderbrand novel...but if this is her worst....hey ho! I am so excited to read the others!

The second group of people that rated the book low were those that said the story was boring. That the characters were not likable....HELLO!!!!????? That's exactly why I liked it. I confess (this is not the first time I've confessed this) I am not the biggest HEA fan. Life is NOT always a HEA ending wrapped up in huge pretty bow. Life is full of people just like those you will find in this novel. In real life, we often find ourselves out of sorts with those we love the most. To me, THAT is HEA!!!! When we can see something not pleasant about those around us....yet, at the end of the day....no matter how upset we are.....no matter how much something seemed so wrong....no matter how unattractive we found a trait in someone we love....well...at the end of the day, we still love them....we are still committed to them.....a place where we face our mistakes....and we pick up and we move on....NO ONE IS PERFECT!!!!! How frustrating would that be? I mean seriously....if my spouse (I love you, J.) were perfect, I can't even begin to tell you how annoying that would be! There's only room for one of us to be perfect! bwhahahhahaha...I jest I jest! Seriously though, isn't it when we are at our maddest....our most annoyed....where we are looking at someone and wondering WTH did this person come from? and then something happens and we laugh....well....that is the times when we know it's all worth it, isn't it?

This is a story that takes place during the last few days before the wedding of a youngest daughter....The story is mostly told in the oldest daughter's voice....but we also have many others that pick up the story as well....including a notebook left behind by a mother that passed away several years earlier....

There isn't a person in this novel that I loved completely.....but they weren't my family.....This novel shows us what *real* life is like....how special events bring together all sorts....You have extended families....you have broken families....you have personalities of all sorts...and for a few days....or a few hours....you throw them all together and then you are forced to sit back and pray for everything to go smoothly.....it very often does not! Here, Hilderbrand presents all of these personalities....often giving them a voice at some point....current spouses, past spouses, children, step children, absent parents, adulterers and innocent bystanders!

I loved this story simply because it didn't have a clean HEA ending wrapped up in a clean bow. All of the story lines weren't finished in the end....but we all know that some people live for drama and as their stories started long before the wedding, it's only fair that they continue on indefinitely as well....I suppose that's why I don't care for so many HEA books.... I realise that some people need them in their life...they need everything to be settled and happy at the end...but my life has never been that way....I need to believe in a story a bit (yes, even the fantasy stuff I read from time to time).....I believed in this one.....

okay....my rant is over.....I think you should give Hilderbrand a try....I know I shall be trying more of her books.....

www.RandomBookMuses.com

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good and quick.

I kept thinking that this would make a great TV movie for Lifetime.
The characters are all flawed in some way, put a wedding in the mix and those flaws are always going to come out.
The notebook The brides mom wrote was a fun touch, What daughter can argue with a notebook her mom wrote on her death bed!
I know I told my mother and mother in law' NO' several times, and I am not sure if I could have done it if she did it on her death bed.
In some ways I do think the mother manipulated the situation to get what she wanted but lets face it some mothers of the bride are like that.
Putting a wedding together changes three main people more often then not
The Bride
The Mother of the Bride
and
The Mother of the Groom (especially if she has all sons)
Those three people just do things they normally would not do.

I was going to give this 3 stars this morning but the more I think about it the funnier and true to life the whole thing is.

[Julie Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh I was so happy when the Notebook was thrown in the fire.

[Stephanie Kline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interestingly enough, Elin Hilderbrand managed to make me dislike just about every single character I was supposed to like and sympathize with, while also managing get me to really enjoy this book (which I listened to via Audible). How she did this is beyond me. I chock it up to her impressive writing skills and entertaining, witty, and lighthearted story-crafting. This really was a fun story, and it was perfect because I'm newly engaged and planning a wedding myself - so this story line centered around a Nantucket wedding was really fun.

The story is about Jenna Carmichael's upcoming wedding with Stewart Graham. Both families will, naturally, be joining the couple for an extravagant, over-the-top wedding on Nantucket (costing around $170,000 - omg). Jenna and Stewart actually play very minor roles in the story, however. The book is mainly focused on the families themselves, and the drama, scandal, and heartache that surrounds them as they come together for this happy weekend.

The MAIN character, it could be argued, is "the notebook" - left behind by Jenna's deceased mother, Beth, who wrote down her own thoughts and plans for her youngest daughter's wedding (mind you - Beth died before Jenna was even dating Stewart, but for some reason Beth decided this event would be something she needed to provide guidance on, whenever that may be). ANYWAY, this "notebook" seems, at first, to be a really cute, sentimental thing (and I think it's SUPPOSED to be). But it doesn't take long before it takes on a somewhat manipulative tone. Beth outlines EVERY DETAIL of Jenna's wedding, and provides her guidance on every single thing. It's often phrased in a way that would, without a doubt, make Jenna feel TERRIBLE for disagreeing... so what is she supposed to do? This is no longer Jenna's wedding - it's a tribute to Beth. This just felt bizarre to me. The girl couldn't make a single choice for herself, because GUILT.

Anyway, "the notebook" aside, we see a lot of family drama here. Beth's husband, Doug, is remarried to a woman named Pauline, who just CANNOT live up to Beth's memory. In all honesty, Doug should never have gotten remarried because he's still so hopelessly in love with Beth that poor Pauline just can't win. She's made to feel terrible, and left out, during wedding planning - and while I think we're supposed to dislike her, I felt awful for her! I actually really couldn't stand Doug. But while their marital strife plays out on one side, Stewart's family has their own issues...

Stewart's parents, Jim and Anne Graham, are remarried after an affair between Jim and Helen Oppenheimer, which tore him and Anne apart. They divorced years ago, Helen gave birth to a son (Chance), and then they divorced - leading to a second wedding for Jim and Anne. This is complicated and messy, and Anne (while starting out as a halfway-likable woman) is consumed by SO MUCH BITTERNESS AND SPITE that it took all I had to yell at my Audiobook, "GET OVER IT ALREADY! YOU TOOK THE MAN BACK (YOU IDIOT). YOU FORGAVE EVERYTHING HE DID. GET OVER HELEN. SHE IS NO THREAT TO YOU. SHE DOESN'T GIVE TWO SH*TS ABOUT YOU." (Chance is in the wedding, so of course, Anne makes the questionable decision to invite Helen - uh oh).

Ugh. She was nothing but an insecure, petty woman who has no room in her life for anything but bitterness -- and yet AGAIN, I think we're supposed to sympathize with her. I think she's supposed to be likable, and her emotions realistic and relatable. But I honestly liked Helen better. At least that woman had some self-confidence and swag.

Then there are the siblings - mainly, Jenna's MOH and older sister, Margo. This girl's all over the place, and (without giving anything away), I lost ALL respect for her when she - a 40-year old woman - went crying to "Daddy" to solve her romantic problems for her. Yikes. GROW A PAIR.

So, this is getting to be a long review, and all I've really done is complain about the characters... but weirdly enough, I still enjoyed the story. Somehow I cared enough about what happened to these people - whether I liked them or not. Elin pulled me in, and I felt like I was on Nantucket for this wedding, watching all this petty drama play out before my eyes. I was actually really sucked in, and I feel like I understand these complicated family trees almost as well as my own. That's saying something.

Overall, a really fun, light summer read. Exactly what I was looking for, and while it's no stellar piece of literature with any terribly deep morals or lessons, I recommend it.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilderbrand is a fantastic writer of families and emotions. In this story, Jenna and Stuart go to Nantucket to be married. Jenna is one of four siblings. Her mom and dad were happily married for 35 years until her mom died from ovarian cancer. Knowing that she would not be around for the marriage of her youngest daughter, she decides to write a notebook of advice on how to plan the perfect day. Jenna and her sister, Margot (who is also the maid-of-honor) plan the day following her mom's instructions to a tee but at no time did they expect the drama that would ensue from so many people in three short days. What does it mean to love and be married? These topics are explored and we gain insight into the complexities of love and family.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Beautiful Day" is the story of one weekend in Nantucket where the Carmichaels of the North and the Grahams of the South gather to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of Jenna and Stuart. Seven years before, Jenna's mother, Beth, died and left her youngest daughter The Notebook. A detailed instruction manual of the plan for Jenna's future wedding. Everything should be falling into place, but the people around Jenna and Stuart seem to be falling apart. Can the bride and groom make it to the altar, or will they too succumb to the secrets and lies that surround them?
Beautiful Day is great for a summer beach read or a lazy day around the house.

[noosha · Rating 5 out of 5]

i would do literally ANYTHING to have the sort of “problems” and “drama” and “trauma” the characters in this book have ..... anything

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got the sense Beautiful Day is supposed to evoke a response along the lines of "this is SO romantic!" but instead my most common thought was, "wow, this mother manages to be the most meddling, passive-aggressively opinionated nightmare of a maternal figure control freak from beyond the grave* that I've ever come across...kudos to her, I guess?" *a very specific sub-genre of literary mother!

That's because Beth Carmichael is clearly a manipulative sociopath and an emotional vampire, and she's raised at least a few others. The whole idea that she would spend her dying days writing a detailed notebook full of instructions for how her youngest daughter's wedding should look like makes me want to sit her down and say, "Girl, reassess your priorities." SHE IS DYING OF CANCER. Surely there are more important things to do or say than write out your thoughts on table linens and how the bridesmaid dresses should be celery green shantung silk in a sheath style because that will go best with the green and white theme you're forcing on your currently single daughter to choose one day in the vague future when she will, OF COURSE, get married to a man...because it's not like this is the 21st century or anything.

Naturally, Jenna won't instead decide to not get married, or maybe get married to a woman, or have a common-law relationship with someone, or just, you know, stay single. It's like her mother is setting her up to either become an extension of Beth's own clearly ragingly narcissistic ego, or doomed to feel like a failure for the rest of her life because the ONE thing her mom had mapped out for her - the Disney princess fairy tale ending of a marriage to her prince - either didn't happen or didn't unfold exactly the way Beth planned, down to the hor d'ouevres served, how the asparagus is cooked, and the music played.

(Side rant: why doesn't Beth have higher hopes and dreams for her daughter? More useful life advice to impart as she is dying than "don't messily feed each other wedding cake when you cut the cake, it's tacky"?? This boggles my mind. She also doesn't leave any notebooks of "wisdom" for her other three children, just the blessed golden child that is Jenna, ostensibly because her oldest, Margot, has always had everything under control and her two sons...are men who won't have to plan weddings - #ladywork - so I guess they don't need her sage instructions?)

All I know is, I would be devastated - and furious - if my mom thought the only thing I needed from her was a notebook laying out the hypothetical wedding she had planned for me from her deathbed. Doesn't Beth have anything else to offer? Doesn't Jenna?

Honestly, this whole central conceit of the novel bugged me so much that I could never enjoy the whipped-cream fluff of the various plot threads. Not that they were that compelling to begin with, but I was mildly interested in the older sister Margot's story - she's in love with someone who is definitely not right for her, she's got an intense career, she's got more interesting and conflicting emotions and personality traits than dull, happy, perfect, saintly, insipid Stepford Jenna. And I also liked Ann's story - she's the mother of the bland groom Jenna selects, a state senator from the South who chafes at the Northerners' Waspishness on display at this Nantucket wedding, and who has a really interesting and complicated love story of her own. I liked the reference to why she was named Ann without an e (Saint Ann, good girl Ann, Catholic schoolgirl, play by the rules Ann) instead of Anne with an e (that's for queens, not saints). Give me more Ann and Margot! And WAY less Beth, Jenna and the Notebook of Doom and Rage.

Other tertiary stories, like Jenna's best friend Finn's poorly-considered adulterous fling with Jenna's lothario brother Nick, were just distracting. I don't have quite as much a problem with entitlement and the lack of realistic discussions about money (even though Jenna is, like, a kindergarten teacher in Manhattan and is 29 and seemingly has no financial worries or limits? But I guess her dad IS picking up the $180,000 bill) as some reviewers have mentioned because I get that this is Hilderbrand's particular brand of escapist fiction. We don't WANT the characters in these stories to have money issues. We want them to live on their island in beautiful homes and wear silk shantung sheath dresses, and that's fine because isn't that the definition of a beach read? This was...a pleasant diversion, a cream puff of a story but once you bite into it, you realize it's mostly just air and sugar whipped up into mostly nothing.

But I still want my beach reads - and my so-called heroines in these books - to aspire to something more than just the perfect wedding. It's ONE DAY, PEOPLE. Sure, it can and should and hopefully will be a beautiful one. But it's still just one day in hopefully a long stretch of beautiful ones.

[PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won a free arc copy of BEAUTIFUL DAY and was asked to give my honest review and I can honestly say, I loved it.
Jenna Carmichael and Stuart Graham are getting married this weekend in a wedding planned and orchestrated by Jenna's mother, Beth, who's been dead for seven years. When Beth was dying of cancer and realized she would not live to see her youngest daughter fall in love and get married, she wrote a Notebook (with a capital N), to help Jenna plan het wedding in Beth's absence.
Marriage is the central theme in this absorbing, well written novel. It seems like every marriage is on the brink of collapse from the groom's married, divorced, and remarried parents, to one of the newlywed bridesmaids, to father-of-the-bride Doug, currently in a loveless marriage to maid of honor, divorced Margot, who we met in the short story prequel THE SURFING LESSON whose ex is engaged to his Pilates instructor.
BEAUTIFUL DAY is told in multiple POVs, primarily Doug's and Margot's voices, with excerpts from The Notebook as well as outtakes from the wedding video, which give us a window into the personalities of minor and major characters. The only criticism I have, and this is minor, is that I appreciate when sections with different POVs have more distinct voiced.
The characters are rich, multidimensional. Family relationships and sibling rivalries are realistic in their complexity. I love Elin Hilderbrand's books, set on Nantucket and usually released just in time for summer. Each year her writing becomes richer, her characters have more depth, and her stories more compelling. I can't wait until next year!

[Maggie Cavanaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the fast paced, multi-layer story I’ve been craving lately. I loved reading about the Carmichael’s.

I do have to rant about how much the dead mother’s “notebook” annoyed me. From the beginning, we know that the bride followed her mother’s instructions for her wedding to a t, and it’s not fair that she wasn’t able to make her own decisions. Every time an entry from the notebook popped up, with the passive aggressive instructions, it ground my gears. This woman planned a hideous wedding in 2006, and the bride had to follow it in 2013, because the GUILT she would feel if she didn’t would be unreal!

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the premise of this book with the bride's late mother leaving behind a notebook of her wishes for her daughter's wedding. I have always enjoyed the beach setting and the family dramatics in the books I have read by Elin Hilderbrand and this one did not disappoint. This was an enjoyable, light read with a great touch of emotion. It was touching that the daughter was adamant on following her mother's wishes for the wedding and that the family respected it.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Should’ve read the description where it said the brides late mother wrote her a notebook on how to do her wedding

[She's Always Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Beautiful Day’ Shines, With A Few Clouds”
Review Written by Colette Byfield

**Spoiler Alert
***Advanced Copy

A wedding story about divorce. “Divorce is paying for this wedding,” declares Margot, the divorced, slightly embittered, matron of honor and central character of this un-wedding story. It is Margot’s caustic observations of life and family that transform “Beautiful Day” from being a wedding story into a marriage story.

I wasn’t sure I would be able to fully relate to “another wedding story”. The travails of the white upper-middle class are often amusing and slightly confusing to those of us from the ethnic working class. The idea of spending over $100,000 on an elaborate society wedding on Nantucket or some other “traditional” New England site is not only financially unsustainable, but seems largely pointless. Why spend so much for family drama?

And family drama rules the wedding weekend Jenna Carmichael, the “perfect” bride and baby sister of Margot, the sarcastic oldest sister and Doug, their widowed, unhappily remarried father, all being driven crazy by a host of immoral, self-righteous, adulterous, and reckless friends and relatives. Written as diary entries, the main characters get very personal and insightful about their own feelings, failures, and foibles and they aren’t shy about telling on their lacking family members and friends. In other words, let the family drama begin!

The wedding weekend is centered around “The Notebook”- not the movie - but a detailed wedding planning log purposely left behind by the bride’s deceased mother. The ghost of Beth Carmichael is on every page as Jenna strives to imitate every aspect of her mother’s final wishes to the chagrin of their stepmother and disappointment of Margot. The Notebook drama heightens when it goes missing for a time only to be found in the stepmother’s grasp – not good.

The story does not revolve solely around one dramatic event, but a warren of interwoven dramas, so similar to my own personal soap operas that tears welled up in my eyes more than once. The author perfectly captures the petty arguments and jealousies of siblings, the detached languor of the New England wealthy, the ubiquitous “tacky” wedding guests, and the human emotions of regret and fear in our quest to find real love.

The emotional and metaphorical transformations of the characters are well represented by the main locations in the book, Connecticut, New York, and Nantucket. Some of the characters are very “New York” – frantic and demanding. Others are very “Connecticut” – emotionally sterile and appearance conscious, while the “Nantucket” people are as hearty and soulful as a big bowl of New England clam chowder in the winter.

As a resident of Connecticut and New York, I gleefully enjoyed this sneak peek into the tumultuous personal lives of the “other half” who reside in those elegant, imposing buildings on UES (upper East side) that give way to the staid colonial elegance of Fairfield County.

Hildebrande doesn’t shy away from revealing the ensuing emptiness of a life of wealth, ease, and privilege that lacks the input of a prematurely departed, dearly loved mother and the love of a devoted husband or wife. However, you don’t feel sorry for the characters, you feel like you could be any one of them – the “black sheep”, the third wheel, the “baby”, the “bossy one”, or the drama queen. Ahh, how truly satisfying to have family drama validated.

As with all novels, there were some artistic stretches that clouded an otherwise authentic fictional landscape. The gay characters were gratuitous and unrealistic, especially as presented as the son and Black boyfriend of a completely accepting Southern senator…yeah, right. Margot’s teary-eyed semi-obsessive, protracted school girl affair with her father’s law partner didn’t fit at all with her independent persona – as bitches go, Margot is right up there with Cruella DeVille and Anna Wintour.

This was the first novel I have read by Elin Hildebrande and is such a delightful, fast-moving summer read that you won’t be disappointed even when this “Beautiful Day” comes to an end.
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Note: **This story bears a striking resemblance to the plot of “Jumping the Broom” except there are more white people, lol. Happy Reading!

[Mostly Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think every year around this time we mention how much we love Elin Hilderbrand’s writing. She is the perfect summer read (although we do read her all year round) her books almost always take place during a summer on the small island of Nantucket. She has the perfect combination of sunshine, beaches, and amazing food in her books. However, her books are much more than summer fun. Her characters are rich, engaging, and easy to relate to. Beautiful Day is her new novel and it will be in our store on June 26th. This is the story of a beautiful wedding that is to take place on Nantucket between the Carmichaels and the Grahams. The soon-to-be-wed couple are following instructions left by the bride’s late mother. The couple are happy and in love, but people around them seem to be spinning out of control with new scandals.

I love Hilderbrand’s descriptions. She does such an amazing job of capturing the island life that it makes me want to pack up for a summer beach vacation. Although her writing always makes me feel like I am right there sitting on the beach feeling the sand beneath my toes. Hilderbrand also has such great insight on family relationships and drama. Whether it be sibling issues or friendships, the problems that arise are always realistic and well developed. I often find myself telling the character to make better decisions and then I am happy when they learn from their mistakes and grow. I always recommend reading an Elin Hilderbrand book when you are needing a nice escape. You will be intrigued by the plot and satisfied with the ending.

[PB · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn't exactly my favorite Elin Hilderbrand novel. I was totally annoyed by all the characters and the non-stop drama and not one character was likable. And a major plot element is a wedding planner left behind by the mother who died of terminal cancer (if I remember correctly?) which everyone calls "the notebook" and sprinkled within the pages are random pages/sections of this notebook talking about a specific aspect of the wedding. It's addressed to the youngest daughter, Jenna, and it's extremely detailed and really exhausting to read. This dead mother, Beth, who the stepmother rightly calls "saint Beth" is not an exception to my dislike of the characters.
The novel could and maybe should have been called "The Notebook" but then it won't hold a candle to The Notebook.

Rant over. Actually, I just changed my rating from 3 stars to 2 stars.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I was reading this book, I kept thinking that the premise - the bride's late mother who apparently was a saint - has left a notebook for her youngest daughter, with detailed plans for the wedding. Everything is planned, down to the flowers in the bouquets, music, wedding invitations etc. and the bride and her family follow the notebook down to the smallest detail. Even though I felt the notebook was too precise, I loved the message on the last page of the notebook. The numerous personal relationship challenges occur during the wedding weekend. It appeared that the wedding couple were secondary in this novel. It was tough to keep track of the many characters in the novel. The author lives on Nantucket so everything about the setting seems precise. Not a great read, but a nice pool or beach read. 3.5 stars

[Elvan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this light fluffy bit of Chick Lit. Hilderbrand throws together all the catastrophes that can happen in a large family wedding and organizes it all with an instructional wedding notebook written for the bride by her dying mother. While this sounds constricting, it was a clever way to ground some of the zany moments during the weekend on Nantucket.
Many, many laugh out loud moments...like the mother of the groom, distressed that her husbands ex wife shows up at the ceremony in a bright fuchsia dress then creates a scene, comments that the woman is a hot pink poker up her a$$. Okay, it loses something in the telling but rolled into the story it was very entertaining.
If I have one complaint it would be that the constant references to The Notebook kept me thinking of Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdam. :)

[Diana · Rating 1 out of 5]

What an utter disappointment. I have really enjoyed the previous Elin Hilderbrand books & picked this hot mess up before I read any reviews.The writing was fine, but very flat. The story was about a dead control freak mother who dictated the terms of her youngest daughter's wedding. Each & every character was so unlikable. It was as if the author just threw together a bunch of entitled 1%'ers in a gorgeous setting and created monsters out of each & every person...even the children were awful! The entire book creeped me out & I will never get back the time that I spent reading this debacle. Save yourself & skip this one.