Winter Books In Order

Publication Order of Winter Books

Winter is a series of melodramatic Christmas novels written by Elin Hilderbrand. The books follow the exploits of a dysfunctional family that keeps struggling to get through the Christmas holidays in the wake of the drama and controversy that continuously assaults their gatherings.

+The Story
Winter tells the story of the Quinn family. Kelley Quinn always thought he was a fortunate and blessed man. Living on Nantucket and running the Winter Street Inn, Kelley had a big family.

His first marriage to Margaret, a mildly successful news anchor, produced three children. And with his marriage to Mitzi, his second wife, Kelley was able to introduce another son to the family.

When readers meet the father and husband in ‘Winter Street’, the first novel in the Winter series, Kelley is looking forward to the family gathering on Christmas. The event will hopefully culminate with every member of the Quinn family celebrating under the same roof.

However, as the holidays approach, things start going wrong, both within Kelley’s home and in the lives of his children. Patrick is the oldest and seemingly most successful of the Quinn children.

However, it quickly becomes clear that the hedge fund manager might have bitten off more than he can chew with his work because his guilty conscious is taking a negative toll on his family.

Then there is Kevin, the bartender who is carrying on a secret affair with Isabelle, a French housekeeper. Things are not quite as negative with Ava. The school teacher is in a relationship with what everyone considers to be the perfect guy. She should be happy.

But the fact that the man of her dreams simply refuses to commit to their relationship is making Ava very miserable. Then there is Bart, Kelley and Mitzi’s son whose decision to join the Marines and deploy to Afghanistan has immersed the entire family in a pool of worry and anxiety.

It is because his children’s personal lives are so complicated that Kelley sets his mind to the task of organizing a successful family gathering. He wants to believe that his children can get their acts together if he can just get them under the same roof.

However, the man’s enthusiastic attitude takes a severe beating when he finds Mitzi, his second wife, making out with the man they hired to play Santa Clause at the annual Winter Street Inn party.

The Winter series is an exploration of the lives, actions, and reactions of the Quinn family as they attempt to move past the events of ‘Winter Street’. Each new installment in the Winter series takes place within the vicinity of the Christmas holidays.

The books have been criticized for having very abrupt endings, the kind that leaves many plot threads open and questions unanswered. The author uses these cliffhangers to keep her readers on the hook until the sequels are released, novels that jump a year ahead and, thus, find that Kelley Quinn and his family have experienced several drastic changes in their lives.

The books are told from multiple perspectives. While the Quinn family isn’t exactly miserable, they are not particularly happy. Their lives keep taking drastic turns for the worse; by the time Christmas comes around, things have reached a boiling point and the family must either find a way to push forward and overcome impossible odds or risk losing everything they hold dear.

Elin Hilderbrand’s fans have categorized her books as women’s fiction. While there is some romance at play, the books are more interested in exploring the family dynamics of the protagonists.

Some readers have complained that it is impossible for so many things to go so wrong so quickly every Christmas. Hilderbrand’s fans appreciate the effort she injects into balancing the various stories playing out in the Quinn family.

Before she wrote the winter series, Elin Hilderbrand was called the Queen of the summer novel. Her foray into Christmas novels was not only surprising to her fans but it wasn’t even planned to begin with.

In 2013, her publisher asked her to write a Christmas book. They had an empty slot on their winter list and they gave her a chance to pen a winter story to fill it. But with only four weeks to plan and write the story, Hilderbrand declined the offer.

But the opportunity got her thinking about Christmas novels and it wasn’t long after that she created the Quinn family and Winter Street and then sold the concept to her publisher. She chose to set the story on Nantucket because she thought it was such a charming and beautiful place on Christmas.

She takes pleasure in using her Winter novels to explore the most interest elements of Nantucket’s holidays.

+The Author
Elin Hilderbrand is a wife and mother to three children who lives on Nantucket, the setting for her Winter series. A native of Collegeville (Pennsylvania) and a former student of Johns Hopkins University, Elin knew she was destined to succeed in the publishing field when she attended and graduated from the University of Iowa writing workshop.

+Winter Street
With Christmas fast approaching, Kelley Quinn couldn’t wait to bring his family together to celebrate the holidays under the same roof. He knew that things were not particularly rosy for his kids.

Patrick the hedge fund manager had dipped his toes into some unsavory business and, as a result, his guilty conscience would not let him rest. Kevin the bartender was having an affair with a maid called Isabella that he was working very hard to keep a secret.

Ava had landed the man of her dreams but he had refused to commit to her, and Bart, the youngest, had joined the army.

Kelley was confident in his ability to keep his family under control and within the same vicinity on Christmas even in light of their personal problems. But then he found his wife kissing another man and it changed everything.

+Winter Stroll
Christmas has come around again. Things are looking dour for Kelley Quinn and his family. Kelley’s own wife left him for another man. Now his first ex-wife has moved in and is helping him snag new customers for the inn.

Kevin has a new baby. He wants to move forward with his life but the mistakes of his past won’t let him. Ava finally found a man she can trust and rely on. But her ex-boyfriend has suddenly decided to declare his undying love for her.

Then there is Mitzi, Kelley’s second wife, who’s suddenly decided to leave the man with whom she was having an affair. The holiday season in the Quinn household does not portend great tidings.