Book Review: Beautiful Day

Author: Elin Hilderbrand

Publication Date: June 15, 2013
Publisher: Reagan Arthur Books

A summer wedding stirs up trouble on both sides of the family in this new novel from bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand.

The Carmichaels and Grahams have gathered on Nantucket for a wedding. Plans are being made according to the wishes of the bride's late mother, who left behind The Notebook: 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.

While the couple-to-be are quite happy, their loved ones find their own lives crumbling. In the days leading up to the wedding, love will be questioned, scandals will arise, and hearts will be broken and healed. Elin Hilderbrand takes readers on a touching journey in BEAUTIFUL DAY--into the heart of marriage, what it means to be faithful, and how we choose to honor our commitments.

I wish for you a beautiful day, Jenna, my darling. You alone will make it so.

 

The wedding was taking on a life of its own. It was the damnedest thing. A person could plan for months down to the tiniest detail, a person could hire someone like Roger and have a set of written blueprints such as their mother had left – and still things would go wrong. Still the unexpected would happen.

 

Jenna accepted the Notebook graciously, then hugged it to her chest.

 

It was only as Margot got out of the car and took in the staging for the wedding that she appreciated what a very special day tomorrow would be. She and Jenna had been talking about the backyard wedding for over a year, but that didn’t prepare Margot for the excitement she felt now.

Elin Hilderbrand seems to be everyone’s go to summer read, including me! I know I was thrilled to death when I realized that she had a new book coming out this summer. It seems that I have been finding a lot of wedding reads here lately, and this is awesome because I am actually planning my own wedding right now. This book tells the story of Jennifer Carmichael and her entire wedding party/family as they prepare for her Nantucket wedding to Stuart Graham. Jenna’s mother, Beth, passed away seven years prior to the wedding and in her absence left behind a notebook for Jenna that details each of every part of her wedding. Jenna carries the notebook and follows almost every piece of advice that her mother gives for her big day. Most importantly, Beth wished for Jenna to have a beautiful day!

 

I am a sucker for any book about a wedding, and it doesn’t just have to do with the fact that I am planning my own. Hearing the wedding details and seeing all play out before my eyes is always a nice treat! This wedding takes place in Nantucket and everything comes together so nicely off the pages, just like a dream. The story is told from many different perspectives, except Jenna’s which I would have like to see, including her sister Margot and her father, Doug. Margot was my favorite voice. She really did love and care for her sister, but her own life was unraveling before her eyes, so it was hard for her to focus on the wedding. However, she came through as an exquisite maid of honor for Jenna.

 

My favorite part was, of course, reading the snippets from the notebook left behind by Jenna’s mother, Beth. I have read a few reviews where people say that they can’t believe that Jenna followed everything her mother wanted for the wedding, but I believe if you had lost your mother before your wedding you might want to honor her in this way. I thought the detail from the notebook was a nice touch, and it just set this book apart from so many other typical wedding stories. Beth was a fun and loveable person. I wish she had been alive to share in Jenna’s day!

 

Like I mentioned before, the only sad thing for me was not really hearing a lot from Jenna. However, that is not enough reason for me to knock it down a cupcake. This book was touching and completely inspiring as I look towards my own wedding!

 

***An ARC copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Reagan Arthur Books in exchange for my honest review***