Nancy Thayer has a way of bringing Nantucket into your room with her books, but I feel like this book fell short on the characters. I personally did not love any of them. They did come across as people that you might actually meet in real life with all their grit and faults laid out to see, but also that made them unlikeable. As always you can imagine the sea and sand in the words written and the book had a happy ending, that is so unrealistic but leaves you with a good feeling.

Aww not quite summer but ready for a Nantucket summer read.
Yes! This story is about the annual family reunion on magical Nantucket.
Eleanor Sunderland is about to celebrate her 70th birthday on June 3 and looking forward to her children and grandchildren arriving to celebrate.

There is no doubt this story is a family drama and yep they are flying in all different direction!

One of the stories is Ari, Eleanor’s granddaughter.

Ari has just graduated college from Bucknell with a degree in Early Childhood Education additionally is about to marry Peter also a Bucknell grad. In the fall they will live in the Boston area ~ she will attend a graduate program at BU and Peter will be a student in Harvard’s Law School.
However, as the date gets closer, Ari has to admit to herself that she really doesn’t want the life of a corporate lawyer’s wife, cocktail parties and social climbing and decides to break off her engagement.
Ouch! (Actually Peter said more than that!)
Ari has always been close to her grandmother and believes this is the perfect time to save some money and also spend time with her grandmother. She will find a job working with children and then have her own money for graduate school.
Hmmm Nantucket has other plans.
(Personal Note: I also love to read Elin Hildebrand’s Nantucket stories. One of her trademarks is to tell the story in different POV ~ one of which is the POV of the Island.)

Yep there is a lot of family drama
BTW: Loved the relationship between Ari and her Grand Mother as it was a total trip down memory lane for me.
I had a fun relationship with my grandmother when I was young... Vacationed with her every summer. ..Learned to crochet ~ I am so so sad that it didn’t continue into my teens.

Okay onto the next drama …..
Eleanor’s daughter, Alicia and son, Cliff know the house is in need of repairs. Eleanor admits that Mortimer was never a DYI kind of guy. They believe the Cliffside home is too much to deal with and she should sell it and move to a retirement community. (They are aware that a developed in interested in the land and is willing to pay 15 million.)
Hmm but that isn’t what Eleanor wants. The home was her grandparents: she loves it and certainly doesn’t want to sell her home.
Don’t want to give too much away but for me this was totally a ‘feel good’ story


Want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for this early release granted to me for a honest professional review. Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 4, 2021

Family Reunion by Nancy Thayer was a wonderful heartwarming standalone novel taking place in Nantucket, with two wonderful heroines and their family. Eleanor Sunderland, our heroine, loves her life living in Nantucket, and though she is widowed and alone in this big house by the ocean, she is happy and content.

When the family comes to visit to celebrate her 70th birthday, they try to pressure her to sell. Her daughter, Alicia and son, Cliff want her to sell it so that can make millions, claiming she can go to a nice retirement home. Eleanor has no intention to allow her children to take what she still loves. Ari the granddaughter (the other heroine) is awesome, and loves spending time with her grandmother in Nantucket. Especially in the busy summer.

Ari has just broken her engagement with her boyfriend, whom she now knows she does not love him, even if they been friends since school. She decides to spend the summer at Nantucket with her grandmother, and starts a job working as a counselor at a camp for children, especially those that have no money. Ari meets new friends that work at the camp, as well as others that are from the wealthy side. I really loved everything about Ari, and how much she loved her grandmother, both watching tv mysteries, cooking and just listening to her grandmother telling stories of the past. Personally, I did not like Alicia, since she was totally money hungry, even though her husband made good money as a surgeon, but Alicia always wanted more and more.

As Eleanor and Ari enjoy the wonderful summer in Nantucket, there are a number of issues that pop up along the way. Ari meets the brother of a friend, whom she will begin to have feelings for, but than an unexpected issue could destroy their budding relationship. Eleanor begins to spend time with a widowed male neighbor, and the two-start spending free time enjoying the wonderful local fun and friends. Ari will also discover that her father might be cheating on her mother, which will add to the drama, which is part of their summer. This is a true family drama, filled with romance, greedy family members, infidelity, which affects them all.
Family Reunion was a delightful enjoyable read from start to finish. This story centers around two great heroines in Eleanor and Ari. Nancy Thayer wrote a beautiful, heartwarming story, in wonderful Nantucket atmosphere, which was such a wonderful book that you should be reading.

Family Reunion by Nancy Thayer is a feel good story of generations of women who deal with love and other life issues. All of this in a beautiful ocean setting.

This book was entertaining and sufficient for a beach read. If you’re looking for something deeper, search elsewhere. The characters were cliche, the language was trite, and the situations were ridiculous. The idea of privilege was pervasive, and not in an enlightening way.

I've loved Nancy Thayer's books for the past 10 years, and I've come to expect a fun book set in Nantucket that brings joy to my summers. Her latest novel, "Family Reunion" hits all the right points of why I love this author and her beautiful writing style. This story is full of family dynamics, and I instantly loved Eleanor, wishing we could be friends in real life. Make sure you grab a copy on May 4th, and add this to your summer reading!

I loved this book. Quick read, story flowed so easily from one moment to the next.
Eleanor's family has decided that she is too old (70) to live by herself. But of course the real reason for their concern is the millions of dollars someone is willing to spend to purchase her home. Eleanor loves her house, and is content to live out her life there. That summer, Ari, her granddaughter, comes to stay with Eleanor. During the summer, many secrets from their family are revealed, connections are formed and broken, and dreams take a different path. But after a summer of family drama, can everyone find their own way to live happily ever after?
I love the dynamics of the characters, although I could have done without the mom, Alicia. Overall a great story.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I always kick off my summer beach reads with Nancy Thayer’s newest. I’ve never been to Nantucket but each year I travel there. Thayer’s descriptions are so vivid and lovely, especially of the ocean. I really loved Eleanor. She’s plucky and loyal. She makes a lot of changes in her life after one summer, but it does make her life simpler. Ari is a sweet character, if not a little air-headed, who takes charge of her life, in a haphazard way. Eleanor’s children are grasping and self absorbed for most of the book. I couldn’t stand Alicia. She pressured her mother constantly to sell her house so she could give her money. I was outraged. It’s Eleanor’s house to do want she pleased, and to bestow on whomever she wants. Alicia really grated on my nerves. The characters are interesting and the setting is fabulous for Family Reunion.

Typical Nancy Thayer book about a summer on Nantucket. Ari, recently graduated from Bucknell and just after breaking up with her fiance, finds refuge in her grandmother's home. Unfortunately, her uncle and mom want her grand mother to sell the house.

Eleanor lives in her family home by the beach in Nantucket. The house has been in the family for generations. She’s in her 70’s now and widowed but she’s pretty happy with her life. She’s especially happy that her granddaughter Ari is coming to spend the summer with her. There’s no doubt that Eleanor is closer to Ari than anyone else in the family. She loves her children Cliff and Alicia and feels that she always did right by them but she’s not that close to them.

I need to say that I definitely would have enjoyed this book more if Alicia wasn’t so awful. It’s hard for me to enjoy any time spent on a character who is just one sided and bad. If there’s a redeeming quality in Alicia, it is minor.
Alicia seems to care more about money than her mother. Cliff finds out that Eleanor could sell her beloved home for $15 million dollars. When Alicia learns this, her new mission in life is to get her mom to sell the house. She, of course, expects her mom to split the money between her and Cliff.
I just could not stand Alicia. She isn’t in dire straights, she’s not barely hanging on, she’s just greedy. She wants her mom to sell the house just so she can have more in life herself.
Alicia is also having some troubles with her husband. But that seems like less of a concern to her than the house.

I really liked Ari, Eleanor’s granddaughter. She has just graduated college and left her fiancée. She wants to spend the summer with her grandmother before she starts graduate school. She also devotes her working hours to a summer camp for children.

I loved the setting. Nantucket is always a wonderful place to set a story, especially a summery book.

I really liked Eleanor too. She’s always trying to help her family and she also knows it’s important that she’s happy too.

This would be a good book to throw in your bag to take to the beach or to enjoy in your yard this summer.

I got to read an early ebook edition from NetGalley, thank you! I was beyond thrilled to get approved for a Nancy Thayer novel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Family Reunion by Nancy Thayer follows Eleanor Sunderland and her family. Eleanor lives in an old Nantucket house that has been passed down for generations. Her husband passed a few years ago and she enjoys the opportunities of an untethered life. She looks forward to summer when her adult children come visit but this year, they have an ulterior motive. The money-hungry children want Eleanor to sell her beloved house so they can share the money.

Ari, Eleanor's only granddaughter, is having a young adult crisis as she finishes college, cancels her wedding and finds herself pregnant. The story takes place in the context of one wild summer from May to Labor Day.
Both Ari and Eleanor discover new beginnings while coming to terms with unexpected changes in their lives.

I loved the grandmother-granddaughter relationship between Ari and Eleanor. Ari's parents deal with their own drama which impacts the growth of the main characters. Look for this book 5.4.21!

I enjoyed this book. Easy read about family and the ups and downs trials and tribulations. It’s main characters are and elderly grandma, Eleanor and her college graduate granddaughter, Ari. It takes place in Nantucket and it sounds like a delightful place. Eleanor just turned 70 and she lives in her family home that her daughter and son want her to sell because they want the money it will bring. Ari is just happy to live with her grandma until she goes back for her Masters in the fall. But plans may not work the way she figured. Eleanor keeps busy and is even developing a friendship with a widower a friend for many years. She lost her husband and he lost his wife. But she doesn’t like change and she refuses to sell her family home, which causes a strained relationship with her daughter and son. The whole story covers just the summer on Nantucket but a lot is packed in to those few months that will change everything for both of them. Thank you NetGalley, Nancy Thayer, and Random House Publishers for this eARC this is my honest opinion. Nice beach read. The workings of family life and change.

Eleanor and her house are aging together. She can't do as much as she used to - but still manages quite well, her granddaughter comes to spend the summer with her as she is interested in forging a path that is unlike the one her parents want her to follow. Eleanor's children feel she should sell the house and move somewhere "safer, more convenient". Children always seem to know best, but in this case it is not to be. The two women have a summer filled with adventures and turn their backs on one and all naysayers. As always a fun book from Nancy Thayer.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC from one of my favorite authors.

I always LOVE Nancy Thayers characters. She does an AMAZING job with them. I typically love most of them but Eleanor & Ari are really the only ones that won my heart this time. She did a great job with making me dislike some other characters. Every time I read her books I want to be in Nantucket and it's on my bucket list of places to visit. Pick up her books if you want to escape to a beautiful place .

Looking forward to the next reading journey to Nantucket.

#Netgalley #FamilyReunion #BallantineBooks #RandomHouse #NancyThayer

Fun on Nantucket. Ocean, sailing, family. The good the bad, and the not so good, and the not so bad. Another terrific beach read from Nancy Thayer. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

A delightful read! Nancy Thayer has a way of drawing you into another world with her wonderful character development and storylines. Thoroughly enjoyed this!

First let me say I LOVE happy endings!!!
This was a fantastic book and I couldn't put it down.
The book was "real", real problems...marital issues..surprise pregnancies and real life issues.
Definitely a story that anyone can relate to and Nancy Thayer wrote it exceptionally well!!!
Thank you for allowing me to read this. I truly enjoyed it.

If you're a Nancy Thayer fan, you will enjoy this trip back to Nantucket. This time the narrative alternates between the perspectives of Eleanor, a 70-year old widow living full-time in her Nantucket home that's been in her family for generations, and Ari, her 22-year old great granddaughter who has recently graduated college and broken off an engagement. The two of them have a really beautiful relationship, which we get to witness as Ari decides to spend the summer at Eleanor's house. Less strong and healthy are each of their relationships with Eleanor's children Cliff and Alicia, and Alicia's husband Philip. Over the course one summer this family will deal with broken hearts, new love, and new friends, among other things. Because it is a Thayer book, it is no surprise that there will be a happy ending, but I do feel like some plot points were resolved a little too quickly and easily. Still, for fans of Thayer or similar authors, this is a good choice and a page-turner you'll get through in a few days.

NOTE: Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so entertaining. I was drawn into the story from the beginning and was involved until the end. The characters were complex and interesting. I found the story to be well paced and engrossing throughout the whole book. I was invested in the couple throughout the book and felt all the emotions through both the highs and lows of the story. If you want an entertaining and well written book this is it for you.

Every year, I look forward to Spring and Summer and escaping to an island and the beach, in my mind. Family Reunion, the latest book by Nancy Thayer, definitely takes me there.
Eleanor Sunderland lives on the Island of Nantucket, she is recently widowed, and resides alone in her large island home. Eleanor’s family is hoping to make a lot of money, by trying to convince Eleanor to sell her beloved home and move to an assisted living facility. Eleanor may be approaching 70, but she is far from needing to move to an assisted living facility. I hope I am as full of life as Eleanor when I am 70!
Eleanor’s Granddaughter Ari has recently graduated college and has ended her engagement. Hoping for a change, Ari moves in with her Grandmother. The two team up for a summer of surprises, love, heartbreak, and happiness. The relationship between Ari and her Grandmother is amazing. Reading their story made me smile while remembering the happy memories and the special bond, my Grandmother and I shared.
If you have never read, or are a long-time fan of Nancy Thayer, this book is a must-read, you will not be disappointed! Nancy Thayer really brings the characters to life and makes you want to move to Nantucket.
Family Reunion takes you away to a place of happiness and new beginnings. We all could use that, especially over the last year.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy.
My review is published on GoodReads and will be posted on Amazon and Barnes and Noble on the book's release date.
#FamilyReunion #NetGalley