The Identicals: A Novel Hardcover – June 13, 2017

Thoroughly enjoyable novel that you'll not want to put down. Elin Hilderbrand excels at steeping you fully in the charm of her locales and her characters. I was pretty let down by her last two books and waited for the reviews on this one before buying. If you, like me, were unsure about this one, go ahead and buy it.

4.5 starsIdentical twins Harper and Tabitha haven't been close since their parents divorce when Harper went to live with their father on Martha's Vineyard and Tabitha their mother on Nantucket. Now their father has died and the twins reunite amid Harper's cheating scandal and Tabitha's daughter's emotional melt down. After their mother breaks her hip, Tabitha heads to Martha's Vineyard to help sell their father's home and Harper stays on Nantucket with her niece, hoping to save the family store.Elin Hilderbrand has gotten her groove back. Once a perennial favorite of mine, Hilderbrand's last few books have left me underwhelmed. She's back to telling stories with compelling, complex characters and interesting plots that made me care THE IDENTICALS ranks among my favorite of her books. I thoroughly enjoyed the reading experience and felt engaged in the characters and plot. I'd love to see Harper, Tabitha and Ainsley in a sequel.

I have been spoiled by super great writing (think Pat Conroy) and it is now hard to hold my attention with a fiction book. I have read all of Elin Hilderband's books and love most of them (not a fan of the Christmas time series). I really enjoyed this book and this story. It was the perfect summer read. I have recommended it to my sister and friends.It wasn't predictable and it was fun reading what was happening on both islands at the same time.I highly recommend this book.

In the mood for light summer reading, I chose THE IDENTICALS, despite the premise. I was not a fan of THE PARENT TRAP when I was a ten-year-old, but I thought the adult version of the twin switcheroo might be entertaining. After all, the book received glowing reviews from many readers, many of whom gave it five stars. After slogging through more than 400 pages, I thought, "It must be me; not you."Tabitha and Harper, 39-year-old women, are identical twins. Due to circumstances surrounding their parents' divorce, Tabitha lives with her mother on Nantucket; Harper, with her father on Martha's Vineyard. Harper, like her dad, Billy Frost, is the fun twin. She partied her way through Tulane and does not stop when living on the Vineyard. Tabitha, on the other hand, is a buttoned-up version of her mother, a clothing designer and boutique owner. Her daughter, Ainsley, is an entitled teen who breaks all the rules. Tabitha's son, born prematurely, died shortly after birth, and this sad event has caused an inexplicable rift between the two branches of the family.When Billy Frost dies, a reunion of sorts takes place at his funeral. For reasons not entirely logical, Harper and Tabitha agree to switch islands. Harper, together with Ainsley, move to Nantucket while Tabitha remains on the Vineyard. Why Harper, the party girl and rule breaker, is supposed to get Ainsley, the party girl and rule breaker, on the straight and narrow makes little sense to me but little in THE IDENTICALS does.The story, filled with minutiae, meanders along for over 400 pages and reaches a predictable conclusion. Every meal, for example, is described in excruciating detail; only the recipes are missing. Because the main characters eat countless meals, I could have been reading a book on regional cooking. At some point, however, I became more interested in the food and drink than I did in the story.The inability of the respective islanders to realize that the twins had switched places also defies credulity. Young children, before their characters are fully developed, can pull off a switch, but Harper and Tabitha are nearing middle age and had not seen one another for 14 years. Can anyone believe, for example, that prim and proper Tabitha morphs overnight into a woman who wears cut-offs?I quickly tired of the cutsie names for everything from shops and restaurants to paint colors. Having spent time on both islands, I do not remember every business named with a not-so-clever play on words. At least, the famous Black Dog is left intact.Having just finished a grueling psychological thriller, I looked forward to some light reading. THE IDENTICALS was too light for my taste. It's not you; it's me!

Every summer, I look forward to a book from Elin Hilderbrand. She is my go-to author for summer beach reads. While she always delivers in the sense that you feel like you are in Nantucket, this book made me feel like I was reading an advertisement for Nantucket. I could be wrong, but it felt like she was doing a commercial for almost every retail outlet on the island, although if you frequent Nantucket, you might like that. The story about two identical twin sisters also seemed a bit contrived. I think the reader could easily see where the story was going for every character early on in the story, so it wasn't the page turner I like to pack and take to the beach with me. I actually think if you took out most of the sex scenes, this would be a good book for young adults, as the character of Tabitha's daughter has the most growth and insight into events. All the adults seem like they are drifting along with the current, bumping into each other every now and then. The exception to that was their parents, they seemed like awesome characters, although they disappear from most of the story. I also was taken out of the story by the occasional appearance of an anonymous narrator. Huh?

She's done it again!! As usual, with ALL of her books, I couldn't put it down. I tried to pace myself so I could savor it longer, but I just can do that with her books. I loved how the novel took place on Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. I live in Massachusetts and if you ever get the chance you must visit our Islands. Although Elin has a way of really bringing them to life for you. GREAT read! Enjoy!

Dragged. Repetitive. Ending is predictable. Only finished it because I started it. It took me over a week. When I read a book a like I don't put it down. Never lasts more than 2 days.

Identical twins, Tabitha and Harper, have had a complex and difficult relationship since being split up when their parents divorced. Harper got to live with dad Billy, the “fun” parent, while Tabitha was raised by mum Eleanor, a famous fashion designer with impossibly high standards of behavior and etiquette.Tabitha has always resented Harper’s freer life, away from the controlling demands of their mother, while Harper, the younger of the twins, struggles with feelings of inferiority and “always being in the wrong.”Now approaching their fortieth birthday, the twins have been fully estranged since the death of Tabitha’s baby son Julian, 14 years previously, for which Tabitha holds Harper responsible. Also in the mix is Tabitha’s rebellious 15 year-old daughter Ainsley: “You think that because Grammie ruined your life that now it’s your job to ruin mine.”When Billy dies, bringing the family together for his memorial, the four women finally have to confront their differences and rediscover the love they have for each other.What I enjoyed most about this book was the way it explored the different female relationships: between sisters, between mothers and daughters and between girlfriends.The male characters, while adding interest to the story, are mainly there to act as catalysts for the women’s journeys of discovery, self-acceptance and healing.Hilderbrand’s style of writing is light and absorbing, her characterization insightful, and of course everybody loves a happy ending.My only critique is the amount of detail used to describe Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. For readers who know the islands, I’m sure this added extra interest. For the majority who don’t, I found it slightly over the top and distracting. That said, this is my first Hilderbrand novel, and it won’t be my last.Thanks for reading my review. I hope you found it helpful. You can find more candid book reviews on my Amazon profile page.

I dud quite enjoy this book even though it felt hard to understand how a pair of identical twin sisters could have survived a fourteen year estrangement when living so close to each other. I found Tabitha largely unlikeable for most of the book and found it hard to believe that those around them could have allowed the status quo to carry on for that long. As the sister of identical twins who live 9 hours apart(by plane) but speak daily I found their relationship hard to believe. The stupidity of the parents even more. What I enjoyed the most was the opportunity to dip into the lives of those who live on Nantucket and Marth’s Vineyard and to learn more about them. I had no idea that the two islands were as estranged from each other as the twins are in this story. Obviously, the islands aren’t estranged, it’s the islanders perpetuating custom and tradition. Their traditions and determination to maintain their ways of doing and saying things differently can irk at times like the way they say “up island” or “down island”. It can feel very contrived. Has anyone ever noticed that Elin Hilderbarand takes product placement to a new level in her books though in her case it’s “venue placement”. It made me wonder whether she is paid to celebrate all the venues repeatedly mentioned in her books as I know they all exist.The story of Ainsley and her high school gang was well drawn and felt very real and believable, unfortunately. I enjoyed her redemption though.Despite my criticism of the book, my first thought on finishing was that I wanted to know what happens next so that probably says it all!

Elin Hildebrand books are my guilty pleasure. They tend to the unrealistic, sensational, a little naughty, BUT they are well written page-turners, and I love the settings of Martha’s Vineyard which I visited one magical day, and Nantucket, which I hope to visit before i’m too old to travel from the UK. The Identicals gave wonderful descriptions of both islands and their communities, which I hope are accurate. Neither twin came across as particularly likeable in this particular book but when you hear that their parents made them decide which parent each of them should live with when they divorced, it’s hardly surprising. There’s always a more or less happy ending, and mostly predictable, but as a holiday read, or any time you want some absorbing escapism, this book and others by Hildebrand are hard to beat.

Found this heavy going and had to give up halfway through. Too many characters to keep track of and none I could really like. Also as I am in the UK the references to the New England locations did not mean anything. Not that that should matter but it seemed to in this case.

Another great Elin Hilderbrand book. I am a bit biased as I have read them all and Nantucket Island is my favourite place to stay. This book also features the Vineyard which I enjoyed. I can't make it this year to the Cape and Islands so the book was especially welcome and arrived very promptly after publication to me in the UK.

I am a great fan of Elin Hildebrand's novels. Her writing flows. Her descriptions are perfect. You are there with her. I also like that the novels have a beginning, middle and end. Lovely reading.

I love books by Elin Hildebrand, and so pleased she writes 2 a year. I love hearing about Nantucket, but it was also interesting to learn about Martha's Vineyard. My only complaint - it could have been longer!!

This is another totally engaging story of relationships. Elin's characters are so likeable you're routing for the happy ending right from the beginning. Loved it!

Eagerly anticipated the release of this book and was so disappointed!! Story didn't get good until about 70% of the book. Ending was very lame, not the usual standard from Elin

Love all Elin Hilderbrands books, this one did not disappoint

As always Elin Hilderbrand delivers. Brilliant book

Love all Elin Hilderbrand novels and this one is up to usual high standard

a good read

I loved this book, like all the books by Elin Hilderbrand, didnt want it to end!

I chose this book while away on a beach vacation. I devoured Elin Hilderbrand's winter in paradise in two days. I was hooked and couldn't stop thinking about the characters. So I downloaded the identicals, and again I was drawn into to characters. It's a very cute story with loads of drama and twists in the story. If you like Emily Giffin, you will love Elin Hiderbrand!