Title: The Tailgate
Author: Elin Hilderbrand
Published: May 2014, Little, Brown & Company
Format: E-book, 38 pages
Source: Personal copy
A digital edition short
story about young lovers at separate colleges, exploring the early
years of the central relationship in Elin Hilderbrand’s forthcoming
novel, The Matchmaker.Clendenin Hughes first kissed Dabney
Kimball during a Nantucket snowstorm freshman year of high school. Ever
since that moment – God, the rush, the chemistry! – Dabney has known
that she and Clen are an unsplittable unit – essentially the same person
in two different bodies.Of course, with Dabney now at Harvard
and Clen at Yale, those bodies are 140 miles apart. And traveling is a
serious challenge for Dabney, for reasons she’d prefer not to discuss,
reasons having to do with her mother (or lack thereof). But with the big
Harvard-Yale game coming up, Dabney is determined to make the trek to
New Haven to see Clen. She’s even borrowed a sexy black outfit from a
classmate down the hall.But when she arrives at the tailgate to
see sparks flying between Clen and Jocelyn, a girl with dark blue eyes
and luscious black hair, Dabney fears the collapse of a bond she has
never questioned before, a bond so important that she’ll be lost without
it. A stirring portrait of young love at a crossroads,THE
TAILGATE introduces two irresistible characters and invites us into a
world we don’t want to leave. To learn the fates of Dabney and Clen,
read Elin Hilderbrand’s forthcoming novel, The Matchmaker.
My thoughts: I have so been excited for the release of Elin Hilderbrand’s upcoming summer book, The Matchmaker, due out later this week, that when I found out she wrote a prequel to the book, I knew I had to read it. This short story introduces us to Dabney and Clen, giving us a look at their relationship from the beginning. It also dangles some information in front of us that hopefully will be resolved in the novel… What happened Dabney’s mother? What is really wrong with Dabney that she needs to talk to a therapist every week? What ends up happening with Dabney and Clen after that game?
What I love about these short story prequels is that they give us background information and insight into the characters of the upcoming novels. It gives you just enough, leaving you all pumped up for the release of the full story. Having received an early copy of The Matchmaker, I was able to read this and then go right into the novel, but even if you can’t do that, it still sets the scene for what’s to come.
This is the second time that Elin Hilderbrand has written a short-story e-book for her full-length novel and both times I found them to be great appetizers for the main story. What about you? Do you read these prequels or do you just read the full-length novel?
I generally read prequels though sometimes I go back and read them after I read the book itself. Both the prequel and the story itself sound interesting. I've yet to read any Hilderbrand but this sounds like a good place to start!
Her books are so good! Perfect summer reading – all set in Nantucket. You end up wanting to go there with each book! Let me know when you read one – I'd love to know your thoughts.
I don't read prequels (on a whole) but I think they are great idea for those that like to wet their appetite! 🙂
I've just started reading them this past year and have to say, while they are usually quite short, they do get me excited for the upcoming book.
This prequel sounds very engaging. On the whole, I like the idea of prequels.
Same here, Suko!
I can see why this made you anxious to read The Matchmaker! I've read a few prequels but I've also found that the author will usually catch the reader up with the characters to make it ok if you didn't get a chance. Regardless, The Matchmaker is on my wish list!
Having now read The Matchmaker, I can say EH does gloss over some of what's in this book, but not in as much detail. I think that's why I love reading prequels – it gives a more thorough back story.