Winter stroll A novel

On Winter Stroll weekend, Nantucket comes alive. The Quinns are trying their best to get in the spirit. But youngest son Bart is MIA in Afghanistan, oldest son Patrick is in jail for securities fraud, and patriarch Kelley's second wife, Mitzi, is regretting running off with Santa (or a guy playing Santa). Daughter Ava is glad to have the support of her boyfriend, Scott, until he favors an injured colleague over family commitments. Her ex, Nathan, is there to pick up the pieces, if she will let him. Despite all of this (with a pill addiction and a marriage proposal thrown in), the family comes together to celebrate the christening of baby Genevieve. A slice of holiday life (if your life is the genteel poverty of hardworking Nantucket family innkeepers with extraordinarily wealthy relatives) from a master of domestic fiction, in which nothing feels tawdry, and the pages fly. Readers who missed the first Quinn outing, Winter Street (2014), might feel left out in the beginning, but this short, addictively readable novel is the perfect size to squeeze in during the holiday rush.--Maguire, Susan Copyright 2015 Booklist

The Quinn family returns in this sequel to the best-selling Winter Street. Their inn on the lovely island of Nantucket, MA, is flourishing again, and the family has mostly recovered from the drama of last Christmas. However, the holiday season seems to be a magnet for former spouses and lovers, whose reappearances cause all kinds of strife and uncertainty among the Quinn clan. As the family gathers to celebrate the baptism of Kevin and Isabelle's baby, Kelly's ex-wife Mitzi (who ran off with Santa last year) pays a return visit. Also threatening to ruin the holidays are Kevin's former wife and Ava's ex-boyfriend. VERDICT Fans of the first book will clamor to read this follow-up and will also be pleased that the conclusion indicates another installment. [See Prepub Alert, 4/6/15.] © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In a sequel to last year's holiday novel Winter Street, Hilderbrand improves on the first by delving deeper into the emotional lives of the Quinn clan. A year has elapsed and the events that closed the first novel have developed: thanks to the generous $1 million loan from his first wife, world-renowned newscaster Margaret Quinn, Kelley can keep his Winter Street Inn open, although it's lonelier now that his wife, Mitzi, has left him for George, their one-time holiday Santa. Kelley and Mitzi's son, Bart, is still MIA in Afghanistan, and Mitzi is falling apart; unhappy with George, she spends most days drunk. The lives of Kelley and Margaret's three children are also in crisis. Patrick is now in prison for insider trading, while his wife, Jennifer, tries to hold their family together with the help of illicit prescription pills. Ava seems to have found "the one" with vice principal Scott, if only she could stop thinking about wild Nathaniel. And middle son Kevin has made good with girlfriend Isabelle and their infant, Genevieve. Hopefully he can avoid his first wife, the troubled Norah, who has returned to the island. This year's Winter Stroll, a Nantucket Christmas tradition, coincides with Genevieve's baptism, bringing together all the Quinns and their issues. Also on island for the festivities is Margaret's beau, Drake, a pediatric neurosurgeon and about as perfect as can be, if only Margaret and he could bow out of their schedules and enjoy each other's company. In the ensuing few days, everyone has life-altering decisions to makeeven Ava, now that Nathaniel has returned to the island to propose. Only Nantucket itself is left unscathed by the juicy drama. Described in all its magic (after all these years, one hopes Hilderbrand is on the tourist board's payroll), it seems impossible for such turmoil to exist on the charmed island. Although some of the Quinns' problems are resolved, many are not, happily promising a third installment next year. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.