"The Matchmaker" by Elin Hilderbrand~A Summer Hit!

SUMMARY :

A touching new novel from bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand in which a woman sets out to find love for those closest to her - before it's too late.

48-year-old Nantuckter Dabney Kimball Beech has always had a gift for matchmaking. Some call her ability mystical, while others - like her husband, celebrated economist John Boxmiller Beech, and her daughter, Agnes, who is clearly engaged to the wrong man - call it meddlesome, but there's no arguing with her results: With 42 happy couples to her credit and all of them still together, Dabney has never been wrong about romance.

Never, that is, except in the case of herself and Clendenin Hughes, the green-eyed boy who took her heart with him long ago when he left the island to pursue his dream of becoming a journalist. Now, after spending 27 years on the other side of the world, Clen is back on Nantucket, and Dabney has never felt so confused, or so alive.

But when tragedy threatens her own second chance, Dabney must face the choices she's made and share painful secrets with her family. Determined to make use of her gift before it's too late, she sets out to find perfect matches for those she loves most. The Matchmaker is a heartbreaking new novel from Elin Hilderbrand about losing and finding love, even as you're running out of time.

PARTICULARS OF THE BOOK :

Published by:  Little, Brown & Co.
Pages:  357
Genre:  Fiction
Author:  Elin Hilderbrand
Website:  http://www.elinhilderbrand.net


ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

Elin Hilderbrand does her best writing on the beaches of Nantucket, as well as on the charming streets of Beacon Hill in Boston. She has three magical children who beg her not to sing along to the radio or dance in public. The Matchmaker is her 13th novel.

THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :

I know, I know....beach reading, right?  My daughter said to me tonight, "Mom, don't give in to the girly and the light!!  Go back to your dark and drafty reading material, quick!"  I know.  But, honestly, Elin Hilderbrand just can't be resisted.  Her stories that take place on Nantucket are like cherries dipped in chocolate glimmering on a cold, silver plate to me.  I can't help myself...I'm just hooked every summer!

This is a particularly gripping story of Elin's.  It starts out light and fluffy, I'll give you that.  But, before you know it, you're a huge fan of the main character, Dabney.  You're feeling like her best friend.  And, you kind of remember well that boyfriend you had that you were madly in love with in  high school that you haven't seen in years.  And before you know it, you're drawn in and can't stop reading.

Elin Hildebrand's characters are simply charming.  They are the friends you never had but wish you did.  They are real and vulnerable, wholesome and lovable.  The family members she writes about are your family, too.  I just couldn't get enough of the people that populate this novel.

As Dabney is reunited with her first love, my heart was laid out right there with hers.  As she negotiated around all the obstacles in their path, I held my breath for them.  And when tragedy began its viney way towards them, I was shell shocked along with them.

This is the first book in a long time that's lifted my heart; made me laugh and cry in the same sittings.
In fact, I cried a bucket at the end.

It's a summer read, of course.  But, it's a great one!

5 stars                           Deborah/TheBookishDame