I had a very hard time with this story line. I did not like the characters and how greedy they were. All they wanted was the grandmother’s money. The grandmother was only 69 but they acted like she was too senile to handle her own money.

Eleanor Sunderland loves her home on Nantucket that has been in her family for years. Her daughter, granddaughter and son rarely visit any longer. Eleanor decides that her 70th birthday is a perfect time for a family reunion. Her family decides that it is time for her to sell the family home and move into a retirement facility. It is not out of concern as much as they want the money from the sale. Her granddaughter Ari who just graduated and broke off her engagement decides she wants to spent the summer with her grandmother before she starts graduate school. The two are enjoying the time together when complications come up within the family and Eleanor is thinking maybe she is ready to make a change in her life. A great read!

Thanks to Nancy Thayer and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for the book

It is not the summer seventy year old Eleanor neither expected nor wanted for her family. Everything seems a mess as she calmly tries to evaluate it all and give sound advice. Her children want her to sell her family home on Nantucket, pleading her advancing age and the age of the home. Happily, her college graduate granddaughter comes to live with her but brings her own mess.
As the summer progresses, this wonderful novel takes you through the ups and downs of Eleanor life and the conclusions she draws about life as it is.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This wasn’t my favorite book of Thayer’s but it still kept me turning the pages! The last few chapters and epilogue were my favorite part of the whole book. Great spring/summer read and has me longing for the beach!

As usual, Nancy Thayer does not disappoint with this one - Family Reunion is the kind of summer read I have grown to expect from a summer beach read from her. This book takes place on Nantucket - a place I have never actually been, but it feels familiar because of the number of books I have read based on Nantucket. One day I will see it in person...

Eleanor lives on the island alone, and her family lives in/around Boston. Her children come up with a plan to try to get her to sell the property, so that they will all benefit (which, I think is a little presumptuous to assume that the proceeds will be split). Eleanor’s granddaughter has recently broken up with her fiancé, and is determined to blaze a path for her future that is quite different than her parents’ expectations.

The story was nice, but a little predictable. I also thought having the story told about the whole family diluted the individual characters a bit for me. I liked the characters and the setting. A solid 4-star summer read!

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A story of life and 3 generations of a family and how they find their way through changes of love, loss, and growing older. Set on Nantucket it has all the hallmarks of a summer read.

Nancy Thayer’s books are like a hug from an old friend. They allow you to escape reality for a while and become absorbed in someone else’s life. Plus, as always, Nantucket is a character in Family Reunion and I love her ability to really make the reader feel like they’re living on the island.
In Family Reunion, Eleanor has lived in her Nantucket home full time since her husband’s death three years ago. The house has been in her family for five generations and is filled (literally and figuratively) with memories and memorabilia. As she turns 70, she feels content with her life, except for the challenge of dealing with her two scheming adult children, Alicia and Cliff.
Early on, Eleanor’s only grandchild, Ali, graduates from college, breaks up with her fiancée and decides she wants to live with her grandmother for the summer. Ali quickly gets a job as a camp counselor at the Beach Camp, a full day summer program that’s free for kids of Nantucket working parents who can’t afford one of the fancy camps you can imagine are all over the island.
And the drama begins! I’ll read anything Nancy Thayer writes and look forward to her new novel every year. That being said, the one challenge for me with Family Reunion was its focus on wealth and materialism (both with Eleanor and her family and Beck and his family). Perhaps this could have been balanced a bit with more about the Beach Camp kids. Eleanor’s actions at the end were nice, but I think the author missed an opportunity to say more about an important subject and add some depth to the book.
Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read Family Reunion in exchange for an honest review!

Light, bright, sunny novel about beautiful Nantucket. Eleanor lives in a huge house on ‘Sconset and enjoys her family very much. Her family wants her to think about selling the property and downsizing all while summer brings lots of drama and life changes. Lots of Nantucket details, will be a lovely beach read!

Another wonderful family drama by Nancy Thayer set on picturesque Nantucket. Eleanor has been widowed for three years and is starting the summer by celebrating her 70th birthday. Her children Alicia and Cliff want her to sell the waterfront house and Eleanor wants to keep it in the family. Her granddaughter Ari has just graduated from college and asks to spend the summer there while she works somewhere to earn money before going to grad school in the fall. By the end of the summer life has changed so much for the entire family.

I received a copy of this book to review from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through NetGalley and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Family Reunion was exactly the type of book I enjoy: a family drama in a beautiful setting, written with details and descriptions that transported me to the middle of it all. The story centers around Ari and her grandmother, Eleanor. Ari comes to live with Eleanor the summer in Eleanor's beautiful home on Nantucket after Ari's college graduation, finding herself adrift after suddenly calling off her engagement. And this is only the beginning of the family drama that unfolds throughout the summer. There is romance, infidelity, greed, challenging family members, and changing family dynamics--giving every reader something to relate to. I enjoy how the author writes about family drama--it's relatable and moving without being melodramatic. Thayer writes with a lightness that allows the reader to easily engage in the struggles of the characters and does an excellent job of creating characters that you love to hate. (One word: Alicia.) And her descriptions of life on Nantucket, living near the ocean, gave me the experience I always want while reading: being transported to a place I long to visit. Elin Hilderbrand's book made me fall in love with Nantucket. Nancy Thayer's books make that love run deep. Family Reunion should be read by everyone looking for an easy, engaging summer read full of drama that will take you to a beautiful setting no matter where you're reading from.

A big thank you to Ballantine Books, the author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book with an early gifted copy.

I have always enjoyed Ms. Thayers books and I must say this was one of her best, The Nantucket setting makes you wish you were there. The multigenerational story gives better understanding that no matter where we are in life there are always challenges to overcome. The love and resilience of family shines through and makes this book definite for your beach reads for this summer reading.

Luckily I was given the chance to read this book. We have been snowed in so I got out the book sipped chai tea and read. This book was as good if not better than any other Nancy Thayer book. I am so over reading books with sex scenes that seem over the top. You won’t find that in this book it is just a story of a family who get a little off track but in the end come together better than ever. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to enjoy a wonderful story

A family with many trials to get thru. Nancy Thayer does a wonderful job of getting into and out of all things family must face

I really appreciate the opportunity to read this book, but I just can not finish it. The dialogue is so stiff and formal and not believable at all. I've read a number of Nancy Thayer books in the past, but the recent ones are not my cup of tea at all. Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the digital ARC.

I was given this book from NetGalley to review. It was an unedited copy so I did find some discrepancies in the actual writing but have contacted the author so although I am sure she has already addressed them she can in the future.
This book tells that story of a family that has had a home in Nantucket for generations and have spend some wonderful times there. Now though Eleanor who is the current owner is being pressured by Cliff and his sister to sell the house for a large amount of money. They expect their mother to divide the money between certain people but Eleanor has other ideas. She really doesn't want to sell the house.
Her granddaughter Ari whom she sort of raised in her youth has just graduated from college and feels that although she has agreed to marry her longtime beau Peter she really does not love him. So in the beginning of the book she calls off the engagement. Her mother is really upset not because she called it off but that this boy could give her so much money and material things in life. We come to find out that the mother is mainly interested in buying, status and money. Because of her change of plans Ari would like to come and stay with her grandmother and find a job working with children. She has a degree in Early Education and wants to continue getting her masters and doctorate. Her grandmother is thrilled to have her..
So for the next 20+ chapters we follow the family as they spend some time together but have several crises that they need to deal with. Ari and Eleanor go on with their lives all the while dealing with everything that is going on around them.
What I love about this book is that Nancy shows us that no matter what happens in life there are choices that are made and those help us define what we really want in life. She brings the whole story together with a happy ending even though I could not see how she was going to do it for awhile. That is how talented she is as a writer.
I want to personally thank Nancy for all the time she takes to write her different stories. I have her whole collection and will be adding more as she writes them. I want to thank her publishers for allowing me to get an advanced copy and give my views.
This is a must read folks. You will cry, laugh and be totally surprised at what can happen over one summer.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC copy of Family Reunion. I love any book about Nantucket and have always looked forward to a new Nancy Thayer book. This family story about patriarch Eleanor, her two grown children and her granddaughter Ari show the dynamics of the family and you get invested in the intricacies of their relationships. You will want to keep turning the page to see what happened next. It’s a good beach

I enjoy reading Nancy Thayer books. I feel this one fell a little short. Her description of Nantucket wants you to take a vacation there. Eleanor Suderland lives on Nantucket in a cliff side huge house. She is turning seventy and invites her daughter Alicia, Alicia’s husband Philip, and their daughter Ari. Also her son Cliff. Her two children want her to sell the house, they can get millions for the house. Eleanor doesn’t want to sell because its been in the family for years. The story focuses on that summer and what is going on with the family. There is pregnancy, infidelity and romance. Thank you to Random House Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the E-ARC.

I enjoy reading Nancy Thayer books. I feel this one fell a little short. Her description of Nantucket wants you to take a vacation there. Eleanor Suderland lives on Nantucket in a cliff side huge house. She is turning seventy and invites her daughter Alicia, Alicia’s husband Philip, and their daughter Ari. Also her son Cliff. Her two children want her to sell the house, they can get millions for the house. Eleanor doesn’t want to sell because its been in the family for years. The story focuses on that summer and what is going on with the family. There is pregnancy, infidelity and romance. Thank you to Random House Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the E-ARC. This is my own opinion.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. I LOVED this book! I’m a huge fan of Nancy Thayer and have read many of her novels. Family Reunion is my favorite of the past few years. First of all, the gorgeous imagery that Thayer uses to describe Nantucket makes me want to summer vacation there next year! The characters have depth, are enduring extenuating circumstances but are bonded together through the happy and sad times of life. It reminded me a lot of my relationship with my own grandmother which made me happy. This is a true novel about family, and I enjoyed the blossoming love story between Beck and Ari. I actually wish that we could have seen more about their relationship because it was a sweet part of the story. This novel is definitely worth reading and will be terrific for a summer read.

Family Reunion by Nancy Thayer has me waffling back and forth.  While many may enjoy this book as a beach read, I felt I had read something similar before.  The main character was treated as if she was in her last years by her son and daughter while she was in fact 70.  I totally dislike the concept that what is yours is mine.  I don't understand how this happens. Children thinking parents owe them. While on the surface the book was okay, the more you get to know the main characters the less you like them. I remain torn. Thanks to Net Galley and Ballentine Books for the chance to read this early printing.