Authors Like Elin Hilderbrand

If you’ve read your way through Elin Hilderbrand’s whole catalog and you’re craving more beachy, character-driven stories, you’re in good company. “Who writes like Elin Hilderbrand?” is one of the questions we hear most, so we pulled together our favorite authors who capture pieces of what we love about her books, whether that’s the Nantucket setting, the ensemble casts, or the light mystery running underneath.

If You Love the Nantucket Setting

If it’s the setting of Elin’s books that draws you in, you’ll want to pick up some books by Nancy Thayer and Pamela Kelley.

Nancy Thayer has lived on Nantucket year-round for nearly 40 years, and she has a large catalog of Nantucket-set books. Like Elin, she has books set on the island during both the summer months and the Christmas season. We included one of her highest-rated titles, Family Reunion, on our list of Books That Take Place on an Island. You might also consider her most recent release, Summer Light on Nantucket.

Pamela Kelley lives in a historic seaside town south of Boston. She’s the author of two book series set on the island of Nantucket: Nantucket Beach Plum Cove (9 books), and The Nantucket Restaurant (2 books). In 2021, she also published a standalone novel set in Nantucket, called The Hotel.

If You Love the Beach Read Mix of Romance, Family, and Friendship

Viola Shipman (the pen name of Wade Rouse) has become one of the Book Girls’ favorite authors. Just like Elin roots her stories in Nantucket, Shipman’s novels are each set in a different Michigan resort town, including real places like Saugatuck and Petoskey. Those settings help shape the whole story. The books also lean more on relationships than plot, following friends and family members who reconnect and heal old wounds together, with romance woven in as a sweet subplot rather than the main event. If it’s Elin’s mix of friendship, family, and a little romance that keeps you coming back, Viola’s novels will feel like home.

If You Love Beach Reads With a Touch of Mystery

Many of Elin Hilderbrand’s books include an element of mystery. If you’re looking for more page-turning beachy mysteries, look no further than Mary Kay Andrews, and Jennifer Weiner.

Mary Kay Andrews is the best-selling author of nearly 40 novels set primarily in coastal Florida and Georgia. We’ve enjoyed all of her recent books, but one of our favorites is The Homewreckers, which we included on our list of Summer Cozy Mysteries.

Jennifer Weiner’s novels span a variety of literary styles, but we especially enjoy her recent summery novels set in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. We particularly enjoyed the mystery element of Big Summer, in which plus-size influencer Daphne suddenly finds herself a murder suspect after attending a fancy society wedding on the Cape.

No matter which of these authors you pick up next, we hope you find the same warmth and escapism that keeps us coming back to Elin’s books summer after summer. And if one of them becomes a new favorite, we’d love to hear about it in the comments below.