Beautiful Day, by Elin Hilderbrand

I remember the first time I discovered Elin Hilderbrand, an author whose books take place in the popular vacation spot of Nantucket Island.  Appropriately enough, I was on my own beach vacation at the time, searching for a relaxing read, when I stumbled across the book Barefoot.  The cover, which featured the rolled-up denim-clad legs of three young women snuggling under a beach blanket, just yelled ‘BEACH READ,’ so I caved and bought it.  Although I admittedly don’t remember too many details of the story, I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads.com, so I’m guessing it was a keeper.  I’ve been scooping up all of her books since then, and typically enjoy them, with a few rare exceptions.  Her latest effort, Beautiful Day, falls somewhere in between. 

As the title and book cover imply, the story takes place over the course of a wedding weekend, the focal point of which is, of course, that ‘beautiful day.’  The stars of the show are the Carmichael family, consisting of father, Doug, and adult children Margot, Kevin, Nick, and bride-to-be, Jenna.  Perhaps you noticed a conspicuous absence there, and you would be correct.  The matriarch of the family, Beth Carmichael, had passed away some years before, a victim of cancer.  It’s ironic, then, that Beth is the first person we meet.

Knowing that she was facing a terminal illness, Beth spent the latter weeks of her life crafting ‘The Notebook,’ a  guide for her unmarried daughter, Jenna, to use while planning her future nuptials with her Prince Charming (who goes by the name of Stuart, by the way).  She goes into fine detail, covering every topic imaginable, from invitation etiquette to table linens, and we’re treated to missives from the book throughout the story. 

Sadly, this central element is the one that bothered me the most.  The priceless ‘notebook,’ which contains sage words of advice for the young bride facing the biggest day of her life without her mother, became tiring after awhile.  In the beginning of the book, I admit I had a few misty moments, remembering my wedding day, and what an important role my mom played in it.  As the pages turned, however, I found Beth’s advice becoming rather preachy and bossy, and very UN-advice-like.  (Yes, I realize that’s not really a word.  Hush)  Seriously, though, can the bride be free to make ANY decisions of her own?  This woman pretty much dictated every detail of Jenna’s day, right down to who ‘needed’ to be included on the guest list.  Sad to say, she became highly Annoying, very quickly.  (And, yes, the capital ‘A’ was intentional, just so you know!)     

Elsewhere in the Carmichael clan, there’s lots of angst and drama, as one would expect.  The strange thing, however, is that the other commotion really revolves around only two of the players – dad, Doug, and sister, Margot, both frequent narrators.  What happened to Kevin and Nick?  It’s obvious to me that they were thrown in as an afterthought, to tie-in other minor sub-plots.  In fact, there were so many of those sub-plots that I sometimes found myself losing track of people.  Who’s Pauline again?  Is she married to Doug or Edge?  Or is it Jim?  And, then we have Stuart’s mom, Ann, who also takes a turn at narration.  Unfortunately, though, her son, Stuart, is barely mentioned, which somehow seems wrong, him being the groom and all.

The book wasn’t bad, certainly.  Sadly, though, it wasn’t really great, either.  It did manage to keep me entertained, though, which is what it’s all about, isn’t it?  I also found it to be better than the last few Hilderbrand books I’ve read, though I couldn’t tell you offhand what they were.  (Again, hush).  Perhaps Barefoot just set the bar too high.  I’m not sure, but I don’t think I’ll be in as big a rush to grab her next book.  With so many other choices out there, why settle for mediocre?

3 Stars