I have read all of Nancy Thayer's books and enjoy them. This one, not as much as the others. Unfortunately I wasn't able to connect with the characters. Honestly didn't like a few of them and just couldn't relate. Grandma Eleanor, was the most relatable, but her children were petty, angry and rude during much of the book. Just not enough emotional buy in for me. The ending of the story seemed contrived, but happy endings are always my favorite and I am glad if the family was able to find joy!.

Eleanor Sunderland has a home on the beach that has belonged in her family for generations. She loves when her family come to stay in the summer . Now her son and daughter want her to sell so they can get thousands. But her granddaughter Ari comes to spend the summer and Eleanor loves the company.
I really enjoyed this novel.

After breaking up with her fiancé, Ari decides to live with her grandmother Eleanor in Nantucket before starting graduate school. Eleanor is thrilled since her friend is going on a cruise for the summer and Eleanor does not want to be alone. Throughout the summer while Eleanor reflects on the past and how she raised her now adult children, they each try to mend fragile relationships between family members while forming new friendships. Life in Nantucket takes an interesting turn when a secret is discovered along with a life-changing surprise. How will the family be able to repair broken relationships when they were all hanging by a thread to begin with?

I love the descriptions of Nantucket life with the houses and scenery. I didn't really care for Eleanor's adult children, since all they saw in her was how much money they can get from her. I didn't feel the love or connection between mother and children. They were selfish and unlikeable. Ari seems like she may come out of the family level-headed, even if she has her own problems to deal with. The ending isn't what I hoped for and I'm slightly annoyed with Eleanor's decision. Overall the writing flowed and the book was okay despite not relating to some of the characters.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the opportunity to read this book.

A lovely story which just radiates happiness. Three generations of women in one family, each with their own stories while intermingling with each other. Both the haughty and the earthy come together, each now fitting nicely with each other. I recommend this chick-lit book.

Nancy Thayer engages and entertains her readers. She is masterful at creating settings, in this instance the island of Nantucket, its museums, shops and more. Ms. Thayer also brings the home of protagonist Eleanor into lovely focus. I wanted to spend time in this house that was a haven to generations, and also to be on the island. So, I think that those looking for virtual escape will enjoy this title.

Protagonist, Eleanor, is turning seventy years old. Over the course of the novel, she lives her life in the present and also looks back at her marriage, parenting, relationship with her granddaughter and more. Other characters also live and look at their lives and relationships including Ari, a recent and idealistic college graduate whose life goals do not always match her family’s expectations. Ari’s mother enters the story as a woman who cares deeply about status and social standing. Her brother, whom she believes Eleanor loved more, has a wealthy lifestyle and seems more carefree.

A sticking point within the family is that Eleanor’s children would like her to sell her house for a lot (!) of money. Eleanor thinks that she knows her decision. Will this change? What will Eleanor, Ari and others learn over the course of the summer? How will the plot resolve? Read this one to find out.

I enjoyed this title and recommend it. I plan to go back into my TBR pile and to read other novels by Ms. Thayer.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

Nancy Thayer evokes family drama in her latest release Family Reunion. Eleanor, a widow, lives in a beautiful family home on Nantucket. She's visited by her granddaughter Ari for the summer. Ari's parents, Phillip and Alicia, are going through their own problems. Eleanor acts as the glue that holds the family together. She has her own "coming of age" realizations throughout the story. I admired her patience and her ability to give everyone sage advice. I did not like the character of Alicia though. What a stuck up, entitled snob! Family Reunion is a great beach read for this summer!

Having read many Nancy Thayer books I knew this would be an enjoyable read involving family drama. So loved the premise of so many family members at a pivotal crossroad in their lives. The family matriarch, Eleanor, was so endearing. Loved the way Silas was able to help her find her way to change so successfully. Ari grew up and became a woman before the reader’s eyes. Lucky to have met Beck! Unfortunately, the rest of the characters, Alicia and Phillip, Cliff, and Peter seemed so shallow and self absorbed that I found myself getting very frustrated with them. My favorite character was the beautiful house and the beautiful island of Nantucket - both described so lovingly. Many thanks to Nancy Thayer, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this just published book.

This was my first book by Nancy Thayer and I can guarantee it won’t be my last. I’ve been wanting to read her books for a while and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to read this one. I really loved her writing. This is a great summer read and I expect the same from her others. This book felt so real. The characters were wonderfully developed, and I felt like I could have just walked into their lives. I didn’t care for all of them and I didn’t love some of the choices and topics that the author chose to include, but those choices layered on the family dynamics that made this book feel real. We watch a multigenerational family struggle with life changing actions and decisions in this book, all while feeling transported to the beautiful island of Nantucket. This was a great read!

A wonderful story of 3 generations coming to terms with changes as they all grow up and milestones occur. It's set on the idyllic island of Nantucket. Growing up on the Cape the author's description was spot on and I was able to visualize the setting.

Aging parents, marriage facing challenges, and coming of age are just a few topics touched upon. And they were presented with grace and dignity. A wonderful story of resilience and adapting to changing familial relationships that I highly recommend reading.

I received a free ARC eBook from Net Galley and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinions.

I look forward to Nancy Thayer’s new releases because I love how she brings her readers’ imaginations to Nantucket and lets us experience island life from the point of view of someone who lives there. I find though, that Nancy Thayer’s books can be hit or miss for me and Family Reunion had a number of misses that I found disappointing.

First, for the hits. The descriptions of Nantucket as already mentioned. The main characters of Eleanor and Ari are well drawn characters each facing major life decisions. Their relationship with each other (grandmother and granddaughter) is also the healthiest relationship in the book and I enjoyed reading about their closeness and the strength they drew from one another.

As for the misses, I struggled with all the secondary characters for their behaviors and decisions. For example, I kept waiting for Eleanor’s children to experience some growth in the story, which would, in turn, reflect the growth of Eleanor’s character. Eleanor’s adult daughter, in particular, was a spoiled, self- centered whiner and while she did face some challenges, she never got the comeuppance I wanted her to have, or the black moment that made her reassess a lifetime of bad behavior. Instead, Eleanor continued to feed this horrible behavior, and I was disappointed that Eleanor had not asserted herself in a different way. It was as if Eleanor had been a passive observer of her children’s lives, letting them abuse and take advantage of her, and I found that indulgence frustrating for such an independent, kind, and savvy person. The fact that the book was called Family Reunion made me want to see the family relationships improve by the end as a result. Instead they continued on as the same, though perhaps in a different form, and I was disappointed for the missed opportunity to amend these dysfunctional relationships.



Thank you NetGalley for this advanced reader’s copy.

This book started off slow for me but I did get into it and found it an enjoyable read. Over one summer all the lives for the Sunderland family change. The book goes back and forth between Eleanor and Ari. We read about how both of them develop and find themselves again and where they are supposed to be over the summer. Things happen over the summer in Nantucket, some of it good, some of it bad but overall what everyone needs to move forward with their lives.

Loved this story of family and the complex personalities they all have. Any Nantucket story is a plus for me too. Only one character I wanted to strangle…so self centered I couldn’t understand her and disliked her from the beginning but over all I loved this story. 5/5

Summer, Nantucket, Nancy Thayer... say no more! A little family drama (involving a grandmother) on the beach is right in my wheelhouse! I hope you love Eleanor and Ari as much as I do! A family reunion bringing young and old to the old home on the beach is a guaranteed winner. I only wish I had been able to read it on a Nantucket beach!

Nancy Thayer has won a place in the hearts of a certain generation of women who look forward. To her stories. Relate to the heroines and pass these gems along to each other to transport them, inform them, delight these. If hound the multi generational story full of women grappling with self doubt. Looking to reflect on lives bound by tradition and compromise. A matriarch must come to grips with life a bit lonely but for the annual invasion of her family during the summer months. Living on the island full time was an adjustment but one she happily made to be her own person and keep safe the house that has stood for close to one hundred years. It appears she is the only one in the family still tied to this house. As the summer continues each woman in the family faces a crisis that will determine her way forward. A perfect summer read.

I loved this book! The family relationships in this book were so relatable and realistic. It was a quick and fun read!

This is one of the best books ever! It so perfectly describes the workings of families. All the different dramas that can happen and all the interconnecting circles. Nancy has made the emotions of the characters so realistic that you know that at any moment you can just reach out and take their pulses. I love your book Nancy! Thank you for writing such a wonderful book!

Sometimes you just need a feel good book to make you forget about the world and life’s problems. That’s exactly what #nancythayer has done for me with #familyreunion #netgalley #randomhousepublishing #ballantinebooks in this sweet story of family we have a mother whose children are grown. Her husband who has passed. We have Gram and her granddaughter. The #nantucketsummer and #familydrama a family who while coming apart finds its way back together. #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagrammer #netgalleyreads #readacrossinstagram #netgalleyreviewer

Family Reunion by Nancy Thayer is a contemporary novel with a touch of romance falling firmly in the woman’s fiction genre. This is a multigenerational tale encompassing the family of Eleanor Sunderland, the seventy year old matriarch along with her children and granddaughter.

Eleanor has a beautiful family home on Nantucket and even as she has her seventieth birthday approaching she has no plans of leaving her home or Nantucket. Eleanor’s children has other plans in mind for her though and jump at the opportunity for a visit to try to talk Eleanor into selling when an offer for millions of dollars is on the table.

Eleanor’s granddaughter Ari on the other hand decides that she would love nothing other than spending the next few months on the island with Eleanor. Air’s life is rather up in the air after a break up with her long time fiance so a summer working at a local children’s camp and spending time with her grandmother is just what Air finds that she needs.

When I see a book such as this one with such a beautiful cover I am immediately drawn in and sometimes that doesn’t always work out for me. However, having read a few books by Nancy Thayer previously I had high hopes that this would be as nice on the inside as it was on the outside. This one was definitely full of family drama that pulled me in making the pages fly by as I read although I would warn that some of this family was not so likeable but I did enjoy Eleanor and Ari as they figured out their lives. Not sure I agree on how things wrapped up but that was alright as I still enjoyed reading enough to merit the four stars.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This is my first book by this author. We have a story of 3 generations of women who are finding their way through life. Her descriptions of Nantucket were stunning. This is a light beach read with your family drama and I felt it might have been missing some of the warmth I love from a family story.

I am a huge fan of Nancy Thayer and after my mom and I met her at an author book signing, I was an even bigger fan. It’s one thing to be a great and talented author, but it is even better in my opinion when you have an endearing and down to earth personality to go along with it - just like this author does! The acknowledgments in this book really showed even more personal side of her and makes me love her even more.

One of Thayer’s strengths is creating gravitational characters and relatable family relationships and intricacies, and she demonstrates that yet again in Family Reunion. My heart went out to Eleanor and I felt such tenderness and love towards her. I love the relationship she has with her grandchildren (though I did not necessarily agree with some of her choices she made). My mom is especially close to all of her grandchildren, too, and I think that helped me really understand the bond and emotion involved with Eleanor and her relationships. Her grandchildren make her happy and keep her feeling lively, it helps her forget about the confusing technology and scary life changes around her.

This book is so cozy and comfortable, it is like reading about real people living in a real life with real problems. Everything is believable, relatable, and personable.

Another fabulous book written by one of my favorite authors!