First Chapter ~ First Paragraph and Tuesday Teaser

It's Tuesday . . . time for . . . 

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros now hosted by Yvonne at Socrates' Book Reviews, where bloggers share excerpts from a book they have read, are currently reading, or are planning to read.

Teaser Tuesday hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker, where bloggers post one or two teaser sentences (no spoilers allowed) from a random page of their current read. 

Today I'm featuring 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand, a book I finished reading this week.  The excerpts shared are from an eBook I received from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book Beginning:  Prologue

Fifties

Summer #28: 2020

What are we talking about in 2020? Kobe Bryant, the coronavirus, and...The presidential election. A country divided. Opinions on both sides. It's everywhere: on the news, on the late-night shows, in the papers, online, online, online, in cocktail-party conversations, on college campuses, in airports, in line at Starbucks, around the bar at Margaritaville, at the gym (the guy who uses the treadmill at six a.m. sets TV number four to Fox News; the woman who comes in at seven a.m. immediately switches it to MSNBC). Kids stop speaking to parents over it; couples divorce; neighbors feud; consumers boycott; employees quit. Some feel fortunate to be alive at such an exciting time; they turn up the volume, become junkies. Others are sick of it; they press the mute button, they disengage. If one more person asks if they're registered to vote...

What do you think? Would you continue reading?

In 28 Summers, bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand tells the story of Mallory Blessing and Jake McCloud, who meet in Nantucket in 1993, when they are in their twenties. Over the course of twenty-eight consecutive Labor Day weekends, the lovers reunite every year at Mallory's oceanfront cottage ala the film, Same Time, Next Year. 

Despite their individual circumstances and personal commitments, Jake and Mallory spend three glorious days together each year, escaping their everyday reality and deepening their bond. They share an idyllic existence at summer's end, albeit one fraught with moral ramifications.  

28 Summers is an engaging story of friendship and love, with a bittersweet ending that left me in tears.  Each chapter recounts developments in Mallory and Jake's respective lives, opening with a paragraph of headlining events related to each consecutive summer from 1993 to 2020--a nostalgic contextual cultural trip down a collective memory lane.  This novel provides the perfect summer "getaway," particularly for those who have cancelled their own vacation plans and are staying close to home.

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Teaser:  The end of summer was the saddest time of year.

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This First Chapter First Paragraph and Tuesday Teaser was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution.