Liam lost everything when he was just a seven-year-old boy. His uncle Cooper was there for him together with Sally. There is a lot of Sally’s Catholic upbringing and guilt that makes the storyline flow the way it does and at times the reader will find it absolutely heartbreaking! SUMMER DANCE is the perfect way to spend the afternoon! Grab your favorite blanket and get on the couch with this beautiful story!


I will certainly be checking out other books by Nan Rossiter. I love Nantucket and SUMMER DANCE is about family and friends coming together to celebrate the release of Aunt Sally’s book . Love how they celebrate the summer on the Cape and the surprises that await them all around. The book shifts back and forth between Sally’s present day life and the book she is writing. Oh, and be forewarned, Don’t read this book while hungry. There are plenty of detailed references to delicious food in this book!

SUMMER DANCE is not my first time reading Nan Rossiter. I was instantly hooked on this beautiful story and finished it with a huge lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. At the end, there is a touching scene where Liam finally realizes what he has right in front of him, which was the perfect ending. Once I started reading this very emotional love story, I could not put it down. Be prepared to ignore everything else until you are done. All I wanted to do when I finished reading was to reach out and give Sally a big hug.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Kensington Publishing through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to Net Galley and Kensington Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Nan Rossiter writes well layered family dramas set amongst the beautiful backdrop of the beach. This book takes some of the favorite characters from her other book, Nantucket, to tell a heartwarming love story between two people who love each other throughout the years even with obstacles that keep them apart from truly committing to one another. As we weave between the past and present, we follow the love story of Coop and Sally after she moves to Nantucket. She has decided to write a book about their story, revealing long held secrets and showing everyone involved about overcoming tragedy and heartache and loving your chosen family at all costs.

This is my first book by the author, Nan Rossiter. And I haven't read the previous books in this story.
Going by this story, this book depicts the romance between Cooper and Sally. I liked the way the author has described the two main characters, their unusual relationship and the genuine love between them. Both Sally and Cooper are extremely likeable characters. And I cried and laughed along with them. The credit fir wrenching these emotions out of me goes totally to Nan.
Also, Nan's description of Nantucket is breathtaking and she makes the entire scene come alive with her words.
Beautiful setting+great romance +genuine love = this is the recipe of a great book. I could finish the book at one go. And now I have to go hunting for the previous books by Nan Rossiter.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review. I enjoyed this book which gives us the story of two characters who appeared in the author's book Nantucket. It was nice to return to Nantucket and find out where the characters in that book are at now as well as learn more about two characters who weren't featured as much.
This is book is also a Christian fiction book mainly Catholicism. While I enjoy reading this genre, I felt the author was a little too heavy handed in this aspect especially since the book isn't described as being in this genre.

A beautiful addition to the authors book Nantucket as it brings back our favorite characters.
Its a wonderful story of loss and redemption, family ties and love. I found it very moving and a sweet easy to read story for a summer afternoon.

Sally lives in Nantucket having fled from an abusive husband and is writing a book about her life. She was brought up by her father after her mother died and although he did his best she missed the mother's influence. A strict catholic she believes that marriage is for life and so when she leaves her husband she doesn't think she can dissolve the marriage even though he was abusive.

When she meets Coop a Vietnam war vet he turns her life upside down here is someone that she could really love but can she overcome the old Catholic guilt and move on?

A lovely story which apparently is part of a series but I found it was fine to read as a standalone book - I visited Nantucket years ago and so felt like I was revisiting!

Nan Rossiter has kicked my butt again. Even though I can barely keep my eyes open - tears running down my cheeks, I have to say - I loved Summer Dance.

Summer Dance by Nan Rossiter is the second book in the series Nantucket. The author brings us back to characters we met in the book Nantucket and has given us a different story with which to fall in love. There are two stories intertwined back and forth in time with Sally sharing the story about Coop and her and what a story! We learn more about Liam’s life now with Nantucket and the seasons of hope and faith. Sally’s story about Lizzy and Coop and now Liam bring us to a new place in understanding with them. The passage of time and the knowledge that the path we follow brings us places we cannot expect and teach us lessons in love and life.

Summer Dance by Nan Rossiter is a great read.

A wonderful story that is a look back on a woman's life and how the choices she made when she was young affected her throughout her life. It's a story of friendship, faith, convictions, and a love so strong it lasts through decades. While reading this one I laughed, I cried, I yelled. In the end I was happy I took the time to read it. It's the perfect beach read. I highly recommend it.

Nan Rossiter always moves me to right where her stories are taking place. I live and breathe a few days with her characters in her settings and am always sad when it's time to move back into real life. This was yet another lovely instance of her excellence of craft.

What an absolutely wonderful multi generational story that centers around 2 men. Sally is writing a book about her life on Nantucket but the center of the story is her love for Coop and why she could never marry him. The book shifts back and forth between her present day life and the book she is writing. I wasn't sure I would like this book since it is a sequel to Nantucket but I had no difficulty reading and loving it. I've already got the first book for my TBR pile and it's on top. I really enjoyed Sally and her life. She is my age and the beach community setting is always a favorite of mine. A great beach read for the summer.

I found it a little difficult to follow at times, but overall, this was a good read. Sometimes we find it so hard to let go of the past, and the mistakes we have made. We find it difficult to forgive ourselves and those who have wronged us. Yet this is exactly what we need to do, to live a healthy and satisfying life. Along with the love story of Sally & Coop, is the friendship between Sally & Lizzie. Both relationships deal with various issues: PTSD, alcoholism, faith, secrets from the past.

I have read a couple by this author and really enjoyed them, but sadly struggled a bit with this one. I found it hard to stay invested in the characters and had to nudge myself at times to finish it. I did though, and glad I did, but would most likely not read again. Sorry.

While I enjoyed the story told in Summer Dance, I felt that the book tried to do too much. From the book within a book format to tackling issues of war, religion, alcoholism, drug addiction, cancer, mortality, and morality, I felt that the book spent a little bit too much time trying to make a point and not quite enough time on the love story between Cooper and Sally. I felt that if Rossiter focused this novel on just one or two larger issues, the impact would have been much greater.

This is a story of love and loss, of those people who help us get through the difficult times, bring the sunshine into our darkest days, and who know us better than we know ourselves.

Summer Dance revisits some of the characters from Rossiter's "Nantucket," and also introduces some new ones. The big surprise to me was that this book is so much more than the enduring love story between Coop and Sally that starts with a dance one Nantucket summer night.

Sally and Coop meet and fall in love, though circumstances prevent them from being able to have their relationship develop along a more traditional path (marriage, children, etc.), though they manage to be there for each other through the toughest times. Coop is a Vietnam vet who is battling some demons after returning home. Sally is struggling with issues from her past, as well as her faith.

My favorite part of the story is the relationship that is interwoven from the beginning to the end - that of Sally and her friend Lizzy. The very best friends from the age of 5, they are there for each other when others have let them down. Each of the women find their lives moving in very different directions, and even though they may have kept their own secrets from time to time, they still are very much a part of each other.

Summer Dance
Nan Rossiter
Available: May 30, 2017

Thank you to NetGalley.com and the Publisher for providing me with an advanced-reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
What a sweet book. It is not the typical summer Nantucket book; instead it is a beautiful story providing much needed background information on home pivotal characters from another story and it just happens to be based on Nantucket. With just a smidge of present day, Sally’s history provides a much needed insight into who she is as a person as well as the love affair between her and Cooper for so many years. I also sense that we’re not done with these character’s lives yet since there is so much more between Liam and Tracy.
What I loved: I think her friendship with Cooper over the years was the best. White hot passion fading to true friendship, to love – who could not love it?
What I didn’t love: What annoyed me more - Sally’s husband or the teachings of the Catholic Church of the 1950’s and 60’s? Tough call…although Sally as an author’s excessive use of exclamation points in her narrative may take the cake!
What I learned: History shapes how we act today.

Overall Grade: B

It’s 1969 and Winston Cooper III is trying to get Vietnam and its horrors out of his head. He finds a run down little beach cottage and plans to check out of the human race, at least temporarily. But he hasn’t counted on Sally, the girl he meets at a dance and the two soon find themselves involved in an epic love affair. Nearly fifty years later, Liam Tate has returned to his Uncle Cooper’s beach house, hoping to get acquainted with the son he’s just learned he has. Hoping for a happy family ending, Liam wants to tie up the loose ends he’s heard about his uncle’s relationship with Sally, and Sally surprises everyone with the book she’s publishing. the book about that long ago summer with Cooper. This is an evocative story about a more innocent time and about a love that will not be denied