Top Ten Tuesday – Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2017
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Welcome to the first Top Ten Tuesday of 2018, everyone! Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2017. This was an easy topic for me because I read so many amazing authors for the first time this year. I’m probably the last person on the planet to have read a few of these, but late to the party or not, I thoroughly enjoyed their works in 2017 and look forward to reading more from them in the coming year.
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Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2017
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Question: Who are some of your favorite new-to-you authors from 2017?
Book Review: Winter Solstice by Elin Hilderbrand
Winter Solstice by Elin Hilderbrand 
Series: Winter #4
on October 3rd 2017
Genres: Fiction, Holiday
Pages: 262
Source: Netgalley
Amazon
Goodreads
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
MY REVIEW:
Set primarily on the charming island of Nantucket, Elin Hilderbrand’s Winter series follows the ups and downs of the Quinn family over the course of about four years. At the heart of this series is a strong focus on the importance of love, family, friendship, and loyalty, but there is also a healthy dose of drama so as to keep things from getting too saccharin-sweet. I binge-read this series this year as part of a holiday readathon and fell in love with the Quinn family right away. Everyone in the family is just so endearing and I became invested in all of them from the very first book in the series.
Winter Solstice is the fourth and final installment of the series, so much of this book is about saying goodbye to this family that readers have grown to love over the course of the previous books. The Winter series was actually originally intended to be trilogy. I thought the third book left too many things unresolved, however, so I was thrilled to find out a fourth book had been added to the series. I can’t say that I was ready to say goodbye to the Quinns yet, but I think Winter Solstice gives them the sendoff they deserve and gives fans proper closure.
What makes this series such a good read for me is how realistic it is when it comes to the Quinn family and the trials and tribulations that they go through. I don’t want to go into too much detail since it would spoil the earlier books to do so, but what they go through is the same kind of drama that most families go through — the family drama, complicated relationships, cheating, addiction, financial difficulties, the emotional turmoil when a child in the military is deployed and sent thousands of miles from home, and so much more. Of course some of the Quinn’s drama is ratcheted up Desperate Housewives-style for the added entertainment value, but overall, those ups and downs are very relatable for many readers and so it’s easy to become invested in what they’re going through and to feel tremendous sympathy for them.
In addition to the realistic domestic drama that we get throughout the series, I also loved the characters Hilderbrand created. Even when they are at their worst and doing things that I want to scream at them for doing, I still couldn’t help but love the Quinns. I’m a sucker for a well-drawn, flawed, utterly human character and that description fits all of the Quinns to a T. I especially loved Kelley, the family patriarch. He’s such a good man and his love for his family just shines through in every book of the series. That’s not to say he doesn’t make his fair share of mistakes along the way, but I still just adored him. I found it harder to say goodbye to him than to any of the other characters so, in that sense, Winter Solstice was somewhat bittersweet for me.
Another highlight of the series, and especially of Winter Solstice, was watching the journeys of the four Quinn siblings as they navigate their way through the messy world of adulthood. Many mistakes are made along the way, but if there is an overriding theme in Winter Solstice, I’d say it’s about second chances (or even third and fourth chances) – the idea that no matter how many times you mess up or how badly, you can still recover and move forward.
The setting of the novel is, of course, a huge highlight and also what gives the series its holiday charm. It’s set in Nantucket and the charming Winter Street Inn during the Christmas holiday season. It immediately made me think of snow and snuggling up in front of the fireplace. It doesn’t get much more atmospheric than that!
Even though I really enjoyed Winter Solstice overall, I still had a couple of issues with it. One was that sometimes it just seemed like too much was going on. Since the book was primarily about saying goodbye to the Quinns, I would have liked the book to focus solely on the Quinns and knowing that each of them was going to live happily ever after, so to speak. There seemed to be a few random subplots running through this novel that distracted a bit from that.
The addition of new character ‘Fast Eddie’ was the biggest distraction. While Eddie served somewhat of a purpose in Winter Solstice, I didn’t feel like he was important enough to the overall plot to have entire chapters devoted to his messy love life and his real estate endeavors. In my mind, he was a secondary character and I didn’t care about him aside from what he could do to help the Quinns when they needed his real estate knowledge. I think the series would have closed much stronger with Eddie’s presence minimized. Eddie’s huge presence in Winter Solstice was especially frustrating because we actually didn’t have much of a storyline for Kevin Quinn and his wife, Isabelle. Yes, of all of the Quinn siblings, they were probably the closest to having their act together by the fourth book, but I still would have liked more of them.
Even though I had some issues with it, Winter Solstice still provides a satisfying ending to the Winter series. Even though I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the Quinns, I’m quite content with the path Hilderbrand has set them on. If you’re looking for a heart-warming holiday-themed series that focuses on love and family, but that also has plenty of dramatic flair, the Winter series is a good bet.
Thanks so much to Netgalley, Elin HIlderbrand, and Little, Brown and Company for providing me with a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shapes my opinion of the book.
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:
Raise one last glass with the Quinn Family at the Winter Street Inn.
It’s been too long since the entire Quinn family has been able to celebrate the holidays under the same roof, but that’s about to change. With Bart back safe and sound from Afghanistan, the Quinns are preparing for a holiday more joyous than any they’ve experienced in years. And Bart’s safe return isn’t the family’s only good news: Kevin is enjoying married life with Isabelle; Patrick is getting back on his feet after paying his debt to society; Ava thinks she’s finally found the love of her life; and Kelly is thrilled to see his family reunited at last. But it just wouldn’t be a Quinn family gathering if things went smoothly. A celebration of everything we love–and some of the things we endure–about the holidays, WINTER SOLSTICE is Elin Hilderbrand at her festive best.
About Elin Hilderbrand
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.
A Look Ahead to My 2018 Reading Challenges
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It’s that time of year again! Time to start thinking about what reading/blogging challenges I want to participate in during 2018. I love taking part in challenges, but I like to pick challenges that I think won’t overwhelm me and make reading suddenly feel like a chore. There are so many great challenges out there for the upcoming year though, that it’s easy to find a few that I think will be perfect for me. So, please consider this my as my sign-up post for the following challenges:
1. GOODREADS READING CHALLENGE
It’s not even time to sign up for the 2018 Goodreads Challenge yet, but I already know that I’ll be doing this one. My reading goal for last year was only 60 books, so this year I’m pretty sure I’ll be increasing that, possibly as high as 90. I love this challenge because aside from marking the books you’ve read, Goodreads keeps track of everything else. All I have to do is read. The only stress is self-imposed and that’s if I set my goal too high.
2. 2018 BEAT THE BACKLIST CHALLENGE
I did do a separate sign-up post with all of the rules, etc., for the 2018 Beat the Backlist Challenge here so that I could post my intended TBR. I participated in this one last year and loved it because it helped me to knock 24 backlisted titles off my TBR. Since I was able to make it through 24 backlisted titles by September last year, I’ve decided to increase my goal to 30 for 2018. Wish me luck!
3. 2018 NEW RELEASE CHALLENGE
The rules for the 2018 New Release Challenge are simple:
- Books have to be released and reviewed in 2018.
- Other challenges can be used as well, if you are participating in the Netgalley / Edelweiss challenge or in the COYER challenge, books can count towards more than one challenge, as long as the ones you use for the 2018 New Release Reading Challenge qualify to the other rules.
- The minimum length for a book to qualify is 100 pages, it can be in any format though, physical, e-book, ARC or audiobook.
- The New Book Release Challenge is open from January 1st through December 31st 2018, and sign-ups are open until September 1st 2018.
- You don’t have to be a blogger to participate, you can link to your review on Goodreads or Booklikes instead – so don’t be shy!
There are five levels in the 2018 New Release Challenge:
- 1-30 books per year – New Release Newbie
- 31-60 books per year – New Release Pro
- 61-100 books per year – New Release Veteran
- 101-200 books per year – New Release Enthusiast
- 200+ books per year – New Release Obsessed
Since I will also be trying to focus on finally reading backlisted titles this year, I will be aiming to read 20 new releases, which would put me firmly in the New Release Newbie level.
4. 2018 DEBUT AUTHOR CHALLENGE
I love to read debut authors so I thought this challenge was a great fit for me, and at a goal of 12, I think it’s going to be quite manageable even with all of the other challenges I’m taking part in .
Challenge Objectives:
- To introduce readers to this year’s wonderful group of debut authors.
- To challenge readers to read 12 or more (or less! It’s up to you!) middle grade, young adult, and new adult debuts this year.
Challenge Rules:
- You must post your thoughts on each debut book you read in order for it to count towards the challenge. You can post anywhere: your blog, Goodreads, Amazon, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr, etc. If you can link it up, it counts!
- You can join the challenge whenever you want.
- The debuts must have a publishing date in 2018 and must have been read between January 1, 2018 and January 31, 2019 (this extra month allows readers adequate time to read December debuts) in order to count.
- Each review gives you an entry into the bi-annual (two times a year) debut book giveaways (you will get to choose the book you win). Make sure you post the links to my bi-annual link-ups. I will post these link-ups on the first day of January and July.
- This challenge is open internationally, as are the bi-annual debut book giveaways (provided Book Depository ships to you).
- I don’t care what language you write your reviews in, I just need to know which book you have reviewed so I can verify your entry. When you post your link in the Linky, please include the book title in English.
- Use the hashtag #DebutAuthorChallenge so we can all see what everyone’s up to!
Which Books Count:
- The book must be classified as middle grade, young adult, new adult fiction.
- The book must be a full-length novel and not a novella.
- The book must be the author’s MG/YA/NA 2018 debut. (If the author has published adult fiction before, but this is their first MG/YA/NA book EVER it still counts. If the author has published a YA book before and this is their first MG or NA book, it does not count. We are reading the author’s first book for young people, excluding picture books.)
- Self-published books do not count, so if the author has self-published a MG/YA/NA book before and this is their first book published by a traditional publisher it counts toward the challenge.
- ARCs are fine, but only if you read them the year they are published. (If you read a 2018 debut in 2017, it does not count. If you read a 2019 debut in 2018, it does not count. This way, participants who do not have access to ARCs are not at a disadvantage.)
- Since this challenge is international, some books will be debuts in some countries and not in others. This can be tricky and put some books into a gray area, so here’s what we will do. If the book came out this year in your country for the first time, even though it was available elsewhere, then you can count it. I’m going to trust you, so please be honest.
- Please feel free to tweet, email, etc. me if you do not know if a book counts or not. I am happy to help you.
5. 2018 BOOK BLOGGER DISCUSSION CHALLENGE
Writing discussion posts continues to be a fear/weakness of mine, so I’m hoping this challenge will push me to write more of them this year. So as not to stress myself completely out, I’ll be aiming for one post a month, for a total of 12 discussion posts, which would put me firmly in the Creative Conversationalist level.
Here’s All You Have to Do:
- The 2018 Book Blog Discussion Challenge runs from January 1st until December 31st, 2018.
- Sign-ups will remain open until December 31st, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. Central. (So, you can sign up all year long! Come join us!)
- Create a sign-up post announcing your intention to participate and link up below. There is no need to say what your discussion posts will be about – just tell us that you’re joining and let us know what your goal is. (Please note, you may do this in an update post, or a post of other challenges—you’re not required to make a completely separate post—but you can if you’d like!)
- Please link back to both challenge hosts and include the challenge button in your sign-up posts.
- There will be a kick-off post on January 1, 2018 on both Feed Your Fiction Addiction and It Starts at Midnight where you’ll be able to leave your links for any January discussions. At the beginning of every month, a new post will go up on both blogs for that month’s links. Every month, we’ll update this 2018 Book Blog Challenge Page with the links to that month’s Challenge linky—so you’ll always know where to find the latest link-up!
- Share it! The more people we get to participate in this, the more awesome discussions we can all be a part of and the more fun it will be! So, invite your friends to join us!
- This challenge is to help get us discussing books and book blogging, so talk about whatever you want as long as it’s relevant to book blogging. Discussions can be book related or book blogging related (or generally blogging related—no discussions about things that are completely off-topic like travel or fashion, etc). Discussions can also be about you personally if it’s a get-to-know-you type post.
- If you forgot to leave your discussion link in the challenge month in which you posted the discussion or the linky list closed before you had a chance to leave it, you can leave it in a future month. (No duplicates, though.)
- There will also be monthly giveaways, so make sure you check in each month!
- Every month, we’ll feature our favorite posts from one randomly chosen participant. There will be extra options in the Rafflecopter for commenting on posts by our featured blogger.
- Use the hashtag #LetsDiscuss2018 to share your progress and connect with other participants on Twitter.
- Have questions? Feel free to ask in the comments!
The Levels:
1-10 – Discussion Dabbler
11-20 – Creative Conversationalist
21-30 – Chatty Kathy
31-40 – Terrifically Talkative
41+ – Gift of the Gab