Winter Street

By: Elin Hilderbrand

Narrated by: Erin Bennett

Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's Summary

In best seller Elin Hilderbrand's first Christmas novel, a family gathers on Nantucket for a holiday filled with surprises.

As Christmas approaches, Kelley is looking forward to getting the family together for some quality time at the inn. But when he walks in on Mitzi kissing Santa Claus (or the guy who's playing Santa at the inn's annual party), utter chaos descends. With the three older children each reeling in their own dramas and Bart unreachable in Afghanistan, it might be up to Kelley's ex-wife, nightly news anchor Margaret Quinn, to save Christmas at the Winter Street Inn.

Before the mulled cider is gone, the delightfully dysfunctional Quinn family will survive a love triangle, an unplanned pregnancy, a federal crime, a small house fire, many shots of whiskey, and endless rounds of Christmas caroling, in this heart-warming novel about coming home for the holidays.

©2014 Elin Hilderbrand (P)2014 Hachette Audio

Did not finish

Not my cup of Christmas tea. I would prefer not to read about war and infidelity this time of year.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Too much He Said She Said

I had a hard time listening to this story. I forced the finish. The story was too much he said and she said. The only thing Christmas about this story was it took place at Christmas time. It was very depressing. I won’t listen to the next book to find out what happens next, because it was a bit boring.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Love it

Elin never disappoints I always love her stories and hope to go to Nantucket someday in person. Can't wait for the next book

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

✫✫ 3 Stars ✫✫

I enjoyed the story line in this book and most of the characters. I really liked getting the POV of all of the characters but I'll be honest I didn't like the writing style. Too much he said, she said and I feel like I spent more time aggravated by the writing style then actually enjoying the story which is sad because I really did like the idea of this book. I guess I just don't enjoy books written in third person, it feels to much like a outline rather than a story.

Erin Bennett did a great job narrating these characters.

5 of 7 people found this review helpful

Home for the holidays

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Although the book had many turns and twists it was very predictable. Heartwarming at times I think I would have not played so much I've seen mommy kissing Santa Claus.

Would you be willing to try another book from Elin Hilderbrand? Why or why not?

She's one of my absolute top 10 favorite female writers so I most definitely have has and will continue no matter what. Because not all books are a 100% hit for us in story line..

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

For the most part I would say yes there were some parts that I felt not 100% was given but I would also try this narrator again. She did a great job there were just some parts of the book that had me having hard time listening , but it could've just been the mood I was in the time I was reading it and if I was distracted.

Could you see Winter Street being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Oh I so would be behind a rally to see this on lifetime if not the big screen the author is spectacular with writing love novels which is why I have stuck with her for years and will continue. I look forward to your next book!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Another Great Trilogy from Elin

Would you listen to Winter Street again? Why?

I would probably listen to this again in five years. I will remember everything about it so refreshing my memory in several years would be nice.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Winter Street?

Margaret coming home and heading to the bedroom with Kelly. Yikes! Talk about a modern divorce and getting along with your ex!!

What does Erin Bennett bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She is great at separating the characters with her voice.

Who was the most memorable character of Winter Street and why?

I like Kelly the best. What a great guy. He is so darn accommodating and understanding. Treats his ex wives well with little animosity. I did like when he punched George but other than that he is very calm and decent.

Any additional comments?

Am already well into the second book. Can't wait to read the third. Only problem is that I don't want these books to end!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Another great read by Ms. Hilderbrand!

loved it! Well read, reader put me in the scene and helped me feel the personality of each character.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Loved it

Great book, loved the characters and story. Loved the Christmas time of year in the book.

6 of 10 people found this review helpful

Hilderbrand Gives Fans a Holiday Treat!

Best selling author Elin Hilderbrand’s WINTER STREET is a delightful holiday novel that is just the gift readers should give themselves, and each other. WINTER STREET is Hilderbrand’s first Christmas novel and takes place in Nantucket, a favorite setting of hers. It is there that readers meet the Quinn family and are quickly caught up in the lives of this loving, compassionate, but also wacky family that just might resemble people readers really know. Each character is fully realized thanks to Hilderbrand’s expertise, thus drawing readers quickly in to all of their lives. I thought I really knew these people, and that kept me listening. I hated for the story to end.

WINTER STREET is the name of a charming inn that the Quinn family has run for years. With father Kelley and stepmother Mitzi currently in charge, we are drawn in as Christmas approaches to see if all the children will come home for the annual festivities. Hilderbrand writes about each integral protagonist with great detail so we quickly begin to understand what makes them tick and what part they play in the Quinn family.

Learning about what Kelley is like and how he and Mitzi got together calls for his first wife, and the “children’s” mother, to also be introduced. Margaret Quinn is a celebrity as she deals with her job as news anchor for CBS. Her career is very important to her, keeping her busy with travel and it is the reason her relationship with Kelley ended. She does, however, love her children very much and we see how each of these now grown children feels about her. Because of her schedule, it was mutually decided that Kelley would have custody of Patrick, Kevin, and Ava. While Margaret doesn’t remarry, Kelley does and so Mitzi enters the picture and we find out just why she is often known to be rather ditzy. She and Kelley have a son together, Bart, who just isn’t much of an academic but rather a party boy. Bart winds up enlisting in the Marines after high school, and is deployed to Afghanistan.

Patrick is the eldest of the Quinn offspring and is married with three boys. He is the golden child and someone it is hard to live up to if you are a younger siblings. However, Patrick shows he also isn’t perfect and arrives for Christmas minus his family thanks to the trouble he finds himself in. Siblings Kevin and Ava both still live at the inn but have their jobs and own lives. Once divorced, Kevin swears off women but finds new love that he falls hard for and is trying to keep this secret from the rest of the family. As the youngest, Ava seems to be the most balanced and is a schoolteacher who is trying to keep her own relationship of two years alive.

As Christmas nears, the annual Christmas Eve party at the Inn is almost here and the whole island looks forward to it. Everyone who is supposed to help with this yearly event, however, seems to be coming apart at the wrong time! Just as quickly as a wobbly Christmas tree can fall over and ruin a holiday, so does the Quinn family start to fall apart. Each one of them plays off the other and as one problem seems solved, another one arises. This is where the family really must pull together or each of their lives will never be the same.

I have to say that I loved all the characters including the ones I disliked, if you know what I mean. If Erin Hilderbrand could grant me a holiday wish, it would be to make the Quinn family return each Christmas so we can have their delightful story continue. A fast read because I personally didn’t want to stop listening and hope those of you lucky enough to get your hands on a copy will enjoy this holiday treat as much as I did.

3 of 5 people found this review helpful

Interesting family drowns in drinking

Elin Hilderbrand chose Christmas to tell the story of one family and almost managed to include most of society's current issues: infidelity, illegal immigrant pregnant out of wedlock, insider trading, lying, cheating, greed, same sex partners, AIDS, Afghanistan war, drugs, infidelity again. ALL family members and friends turn to good ole' alcohol to drown their sorrows, lift their spirits, share their joy- anything calls for drinking until most pass out in a stupor. But they pray. It is as hypocritical as a story can be, trash and maybe they can all go to AA together in the next book. Do people live this way? Really.

5 of 9 people found this review helpful