The Identicals: A Novel

by Elin Hilderbrand

Kindle Edition

Published June 13, 2017

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

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Reviews

[Ashley Cunningham Drapcho · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Finished the book on the ferry to Nantucket, what’s better than that!?

[Brianna Gruenwald · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5! .5 for the epilogue 🥹

[Fiona Prestemon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

Romance, conflict, and some drama! I feel like some of the drama was unfounded personally so one of the characters irked me a bit, but I always love a book by this author.

[Courtney Halverson · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Twin sisters Harper and Tabitha Frost haven’t spoken in years after a major falling out. Living separate lives on neighboring islands, Harper on Martha’s Vineyard and Tabitha on Nantucket, they swap places for the summer, stepping into each other’s worlds. As they navigate unfamiliar lives, relationships, and responsibilities, both sisters begin to confront past mistakes, heal old wounds, and rediscover their bond, leading to second chances in love, family, and their relationship with each other.
This has been one of my favorite Elin Hilderbrand books that I have read so far. It gave me Parent Trap vibes but like the grown up version. I really liked Harper and Ainsley's relationship and how much Ainsley evolved with some love and attention. I do wish it had ended differently, I felt like it left some things unfinished which I didn't love. This one kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time!

[Mary Combrink · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Grown-Up Parent Trap

What a fun read! Estranged twin sisters Tabitha and Harper haven’t spoken to each other in many years, until the day their father dies on Martha’s Vineyard, where he and Harper live. Tabitha, who lives on Nantucket with her daughter and her mother, arrives on the Vineyard to attend her father’s funeral. Both have their own reasons for needing a break from their current lives, so they trade places, Harper going to Nantucket to help care for her niece and the boutique her sister runs, and Tabitha moving to the Vineyard to ready their father’s house for sale. It’s an engrossing story of two sisters who have to learn to work through their pain and heartache to become close again, along with details of life on the islands that will make you want to spend the summer there. Oh, and Fish, perhaps the greatest part of the book.

[Kaitlyn Dowling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible book about sisterhood, love, tragedy, familial conflict and more!
Trigger warning for friends sensitive to infant/child loss, death of a parent, or mild domestic violence. This book mentions alcohol and illegal drugs use as well.

I loved this book! It does have some sexual content, but not explicit or detailed. This book is “cracked door” in my opinion.
I fell in love with the sisters of this books- yearning for their relationship to be repaired. I enjoyed the character development of all of the characters- especially Ainsley. I would love a book about her next!

This is a classic summer, beach read. This is the first books I’ve read by this author, but excited to read more!

[Hannah Zimeri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another Elin Hildebrand book that I absolutely loved! I enjoyed reading the chapters from different POVs of the family members. I felt like she wrote each persons stage of life perfectly each time. I love how it tied in actual parts of history during this time period, and even her own life mentioned in the authors note. My ONLY issue (reason for 4 stars and not 5) is that the book ended before Tiger’s return?! It still wrapped up very well but I guess I just wanted the cliche happy ending! But overall this read really resonated with me, probably because of the family dynamics :)

[Shan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t completely love this story, but one thing Elin Hilderbrand consistently does well is character depth. Her characters always feel layered and real. While I stayed interested in the people at the center of the story the overall plot didn’t fully come together for me. It felt like something was missing that would have tied everything together. Still, the strong character work kept me engaged and reminded me why I continue to pick up her books.

3.5

[Liz Canella · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking for a light and fast read - which this was. I was disappointed, however, with this book.
The main characters were uniformly repulsive at the beginning of the book. There was a lot of gratuitous snobbery. Felt like both the author and the editor were asleep at the wheel. Elin can and should do better.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Identicals is part family drama, part beach read, and completely fueled by complicated sisters. The Vineyard vs. Nantucket rivalry was almost as entertaining as the family dysfunction. A great summer escape with plenty of heart, secrets, and second chances. Perfect for reading with sand between your toes.

[Melissa Mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW. I was searching for a book that was just a good story. I didn’t want to expect any twists, nothing to keep me on “the edge of my seat”, very little romance. This one did it for me. About two identical sisters and their lives. A little drama, but a big happy ending. Loved it!

[Molly Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 3.5 stars. The story never quite reached the ending I was hoping it would. Instead, it felt like a lot of storylines were left unfinished. However, it was a nice story and it kept me interested the whole time.

[Leah Manfra · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5! I usually enjoy Elin H books but this one dragged on for a bit. I liked the different perspectives between Tabitha, Harper, Ainsley, and the islands though. Some of the plot took a while to develop and there were just a lot of things going on.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This author is hit or miss. This book started to fizzle about halfway through. I think the author lost me each time she seemingly justified a husband's affair as the fault of the wife. Problematic. She did, however, portray the sisters' relationship in a realistic way. Idk. Just meh.

[amypete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good beach read for a December vacation. Lively characters and setting.

[Mary Klementowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great storyline

Elin Hilderbrand is a wonderful author. She keeps the reader’s interest with different twists and turns. And she intertwines family emotions into this book.

[Alyssa Wray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fab, breezy, mamma mia-like read, would recommend.

[Carrie Schaller · Rating 3 out of 5]

A total beach read, no matter where or when you read it

[Cindy W · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book

enjoyable read
I liked the plot and characters in the story line. I found it easy read and could not put it down.

[Emily Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twins. Two islands. A feud lasting 14 years and two women falling in love with the “wrong” guy. Another fabulous book by Elin!

[Liselouh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just meh. Not her best. I enjoyed the epilogue from the dig more than the book itself - not something I would usually say with an Elin book.

[Amanda Bivens · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was maybe my least favorite Hilderbrand so far. I really never warmed to Tabitha and the ending was awful. It just stoped.

[Gianisa Dougherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

GWOW! This got me out of my reading slump. Such a good book. No notes

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find twins an interesting topic and enjoyed this book despite the conflict you don't expect between twins.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite Elin Hilderbrand but still liked it!

[Jamckeen1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio. The usual beach read.

[Joelleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

thank god she didn’t kill the dog at the end

I was very worried the dog of 12 1/2 years was dying at the end of of the book. I would have given it zero stars if that happened

[Sara Canada · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can never go wrong with an EH book

[Abby Heinen · Rating 3 out of 5]

a beautiful story but so… slow in some parts. Felt like the story didn’t fully tie together

[Kennedy Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started off strong but it got pretty slow half way through. Then at the end it felt like a lot was being crammed in just to tie up loose ends. A fun and easy summer read but not the most engaging.