This is a book to relax and escape into and now I must go to Nantucket as soon as it is safe to do so. I am grateful to have received an ARC of this book from NetGalley since it has been a while since I've read Nancy Thayer. The original virtual reality is books and Nancy Thayer takes us on such a pleasant vacation to this New England get away. The island of Nantucket was a minor character in this book that was a rock that united all the family after living life with its natural chaos put everyone on separate paths for a time.

This is a family generational story that is so easy to read and so dreamily written. We meet Eleanor is a widow who reunites and mentors her granddaughter who is at an exciting crossroads in her life. But little does Eleanor know that she is at a crossroads, too. And choices made by all of the characters change their lives for the better.

We meet Eleanor's adult children, Cliff and Alicia and Ari, Alicia's daughter who stays with Eleanor during the summer after her college graduation. We meet Ari's friend from college and her dreamy brother Beck, who becomes important in Ari's life. We meet all of Beck's family, we meet all of Ari's co-workers and all of Eleanor's island social network. In the week it took to read this book, I feel I've been on vacation and met some lovely people during my stay.

The beautiful ocean vistas, the sailing trips Ari takes with Beck and all of the amazing food - I plan to go back through the book before actually traveling to Nantucket to make a list of food I would want to sample - set the scene for treasured moments in the book. At one point Ari looks to the ocean and says families are like ripples on the ocean. The first ring is mom and dad, brother and sister, second ring are aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and the third ring are friends you make. Ari is saying this as she is contemplating her future and if she has a future with Beck and how she is an only child. It's such a sweet moment in the book.

Food and beverage are gentle symbols throughout the book: Hot chocolate and tea for troubled times, stew to think, wine to ease tension, sandwiches because life has speeded up for Eleanor with her new beau Silas, junk food when Eleanor was too tense about making decisions, and the happy ending for all the subplots celebrated with Veuve Clicquot. Many detailed descriptions of the food were used artfully throughout the book to mark turning points in the plot.

I like the idea that Ari stayed true to her goal and worked with the Beach Camp, a charitable summer day camp for children of parents who could not afford daycare while they worked servicing the summer vacationers. How Eleanor supports this charity in small and large ways proves to her family that she is not ready for the nursing home and is forging an active life in her elder years.

I recommend Family Reunion as a fresh ocean breeze of a read to escape for a while.

Nancy Thayer is the queen of the summer read and her latest does not disappoint. This book had me longing for warmer temps and beach days. I loved reading about this family and their complicated dynamic. And I’m always a fan of books that close with a happy ending. 4 stars!

Nancy Thayer books are like a warm blanket on a cold day. A tub of ice cream for dinner after a long day. Staying in your pajamas all weekend just because. Basically her books are pure comfort! This one is no exception.

Summer books that revolve around Nantucket are my favorite. She does such a wonderful job of describing the sights and places these characters experience. You could use her books as a travel guide.to the area I'm sure.

This story is a multi generational romance and honestly that is 100% my jam lately. The characters are so well written you easily fall in love with them and are rooting for them to find their happily ever after. At the same time, you find yourself despising the awful characters. To me that's a testament of just how good of an author she is. She makes these people come alive and that makes the story that much better. You'll follow Eleanor, Alicia, and Ari through the summer as they all have love, life, and family issues. Yes, everything is tied up nicely at the end but honestly isn't that why you pick up this genre in the first place? 😉

Seriously this book is an easy five stars. Perfect for a day by the water or a Sunday in bed. You'll be pulled into the story and not want to stop until its.over.

Thank you to Nancy Thayer, NetGalley, and Random House - Ballantine Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. ❤

The book revolves around Eleanor and her family on Nantucket. This is a story about a family that sometimes doesn’t get along. Eleanors children want her to sell her Nantucket home, they expect to receive part of the proceeds from the sale. The daughter is not a likable character, her values are all about money and status. The son is not a lot better. Eleanors Granddaughter is a character that is likable but is stuck in the middle between her Grandmother and her parents. I liked the story but the 3* rating is because there were some characters that I didn’t like. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
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A longtime Nantucket resident is trying to make the best of a lonely summer. Her spirited granddaughter is learning what she wants out of life. Unforgettable surprises await them both in this magical, multigenerational novel from New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer.

“Readers come to Nancy Thayer novels for the idyllic Nantucket beaches and lifestyle, but they stay for the characters.”—New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe

Eleanor Sunderland loves living on Nantucket, in a gorgeous cliffside home that has been in her family for decades. Yet this year she can’t help but feel a bit isolated, even as the island begins to come alive with summer tourists and travelers. Her best friend has skipped town on a last-minute cruise, leaving Eleanor feeling lonely and nostalgic about her family’s weekend trips to the island, made less frequently in the years since her husband’s passing. Now, her money-driven children contact her mostly to complain and to beg her to sell her beloved home for a steep payout. Hoping to kick the season off on a good note, Eleanor decides her seventieth birthday may be the perfect occasion for a much-needed reunion.

Fresh off the heels of her college graduation, Eleanor’s dear granddaughter, Ari, has just ended an engagement that felt less like true love and more like a chore. She longs for a change of scenery and to venture far from her parents’ snobbish expectations. Taking advantage of her newfound freedom, she heads to Nantucket to clear her head before graduate school, moving in with her grandmother and taking a job at the local beach camp. As she watches Eleanor begin to form a bond with an old acquaintance, Ari herself becomes completely smitten with a friend’s charming older brother. But just as grandmother and granddaughter fall into a carefree routine, a few shocking discoveries throw them off course, and their ideas of the future seem suddenly uncertain.

Eleanor and Ari make exciting connections, old and new, over the course of an unpredictable, life-changing few months, and learn to lean on each other through every new challenge they face in life and love, in this tale filled with Nancy Thayer’s signature Nantucket magic.
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First of all, I love any book that takes me to Nantucket. I have never been there in person, but I read several authors who take me there every year in my imagination, and I always look forward to traveling there with the incomparable Nancy Thayer. From 'Sconset to Jetties Beach to the Yacht Club, I delight in living vicariously through her words.

This book is no exception. The main story here is the sweet relationship between new college graduate Ari and her beloved grandmother, and it is explored in such great detail that it made me miss my own dear grandmother, who I lost several years ago. While our relationship was not quite like that of Ari and her Gram, I could hear echoes of it in their interactions, and it made me homesick for my younger days. Beyond that relationship, Thayer explores mother/daughter, mother/son, husband/wife, and sister/brother relationships in this book, among others, all against the dazzling backdrop of a Nantucket summer, and she does it so well. A definite must-read!

I enjoyed the storyline, and felt connected enough to Eleanor and Ari (especially Eleanor!) that I wanted to keep reading and am glad I finished. I thought all of the characters were well developed and believable and relatable except for Philip and Alicia (especially Alicia). The authors descriptions are beautifully rendered, but I didn’t feel there was a whole lot of substance to the story.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I admit it. The phrase “women’s fiction” generally makes me shudder. I don’t quite equate it with the phrase “bodice ripper,” but almost. Maybe it’s because I took over as manager of a nice suburban branch library from a woman who had done everything she could to run it into the ground (like getting rid of all Spanish language books — in a California county. With a huge Spanish-speaking population, which seemed to bother her.) She read only “women’s fiction,” mostly paperbacks with Fabio on the cover, and I disliked her so much I came to dislike the genre. Unfair? OK, I’ll admit it. But still. In my effort to read in the genre to broaden my awareness of popular fiction, years ago I did read Nancy Thayer’s Three Women At The Water’s Edge, and I found it to be like cotton candy: soft, fluffy, designed to satisfy without offending and to make the reader feel comfortable. When I recently had the chance to read Thayer’s 2021 offering, Family Reunion (thanks to Random House/Ballantine and NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review, I jumped at it, thinking it might be perfect to brush off pandemic fatigue?

The protagonist, Eleanor Sunderland, lives on Nantucket Island year-round (as does Ms. Thayer).She is rattling around alone in her huge old cliffside home three years after the death of her husband. The home has been in her family forever, and she has loved it — it is now her permanent home, and it is where her family has gathered summers and holidays for generations. As the book opens, her best friend has skipped town, leaving Eleanor lonely and nostalgic . Her children contact her sporadically, mostly to complain and to beg her to sell the house so they can begin to enjoy their inheritance. She’s only 70, but they treat her like she is senile and incapable of living alone. Eleanor knows they want to persuade her that selling her home is a good idea, and she decides her seventieth birthday is the perfect occasion for a family reunion and discussion of her options.

Eleanor’s family members include her son Cliff, an unmarried uber-successful Boston realtor, her daughter Alicia and her husband (generally referred to as “Ari’s father”), and Eleanor’s beloved granddaughter Ari. Ari has just ended her engagement with Peter, shocking her mother Alicia, who is a truly unlikeable woman for whom money and appearances are paramount. Ari and Alicia aren’t exactly close, as Ari “… reminded herself to thank her, if she ever found a moment in her life when she wasn’t mad at her.” Ari is well aware that she isn’t the daughter Alicia wanted: “You wanted Janis Joplin and you got Jane Austen.”

Ari moves in with her grandmother for the summer before grad school, taking a job at the local beach camp (which horrifies Alicia). “Summer was always a difficult time on the small island,” when 30,000+ summer visitors arrive. Both grandmother and granddaughter fall into a carefree routine, each immediately finding a potential new romance. You can guess where this all goes. It’s fluffy, nice, and incredibly full of first world, white people issues. Like whether or not Eleanor should sell the house (for the offered FIFTEEN MILLION DOLLARS) and allow her children to get on with spending their inheritance. Cliff makes a fortune, and Alicia’s husband is a highly successful physician, so no one in this family is hurting for money. They are just greedy. It isn’t until Ari’s interactions with the less fortunate children at the charitable beach camp where she is a counselor that why even become aware that not everyone on the island is a rich white person.

So reading It really was like a warm blanket and a cup of tea. Comforting. So that was the good. On the other side, didn’t really relate to any of the characters, in fact I pretty much couldn’t stand anyone! Or at the very least I was annoyed by them. Nancy Thayer’s fans will love it. The woman who worked in that library before me will love it. Tons of people will find it a comforting escape from their daily challenges in this extremely challenging year of the pandemic. I can only go three stars, but that’s just me.

I adore this author's writing! Her books are always delightful and so easy to read! This book is strongly about family dynamics. The main character, Eleanor, loves her house and doesn’t want to leave it. Her terrible children want her to sell it so that they make money off of it. The story continues with ups and downs that leave you hooked!

Family Reunion centers around Eleanor, her family, and her Nantucket home. The book was ok, but at times I struggled to continue reading it. Some of the characters were not very likeable. I usually enjoy Nancy Thayer's books but this book failed to pull me in. Thanks to the author, publisher Ballantine Books and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for a honest review.

Family Reunion is a heart-warming tale of growing up, growing old, growing apart, and growing together. Eleanor has reached the prime of her life just as granddaughter Ari is just beginning her journey into adulthood. Nancy Thayer has written a wonderful story about family that won't disappoint.

Nancy Thayer writes another wonderful novel about family based on Nantucket. Summer is coming and it will turn out to be a summer of change for everyone. Eleanor has been a widow for three years. She is celebrating her 70th birthday at her family home on Nantucket where she moved permanently after her husband’s death. It has been in her family for generations. Her children want her to sell it so they can reap the rewards of 15 million. Her granddaughter has graduated from college and called off her autumn wedding. Ari comes to spend the summer with her grandmother. Everyone in the family makes decisions that affect all during the summer.
I loved the way Nancy Thayer weaves families together in an honest way. Great summer read!

Nancy Thayer always puts me in the mood for summer and the beach! This was a wonderful book and I absolutely loved the cover- beyond beautiful. Thankful to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this title.

Nancy Thayer crafts another perfect mix of family complications, humor, and love. This is combined with the perfect Oceanside escape, an especially needed escape in the time of our ongoing pandemic. The relationships within the story are heartwarming and a reminder that we need to except each other‘s flaws, while being appreciative of their unique character. A reminder that there is always beauty in the world to be grasped.
-Will be posted to Amazon and Goodreads on 05/03/21.

A fun, quick read that made me wish for summer and Nantucket. I enjoyed the different character viewpoints ranging from a young woman just out of college to her grandmother in her 70s. At times, the language felt a bit out dated, using words like "frock", but overall an enjoyable read.

This was my 11th book by Nancy Thayer and I really enjoyed this light hearted book. Family Reunion is a family drama that was a fun story about a 70 year old grandma and her family. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review. Can’t wait for her next book!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House – Ballantine Books for providing me with an ARC ebook version of Family Reunion, by Nancy Thayer, in exchange for my honest review. Thayer's Family Reunion is a quick, easy read set on her beloved Nantucket. The characters and their relationships are easy to love and hate, but both keep the reader engaged in finding out if love/family trumps all. The setting is welcoming and well described. This book has all the components of a favorite beach read.

I wish to thank NetGalley and for allowing Random House – Ballantine Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This story is beautifully set on Nantucket and as you read you experience island life all around you. You can hear the waves crashing on the shore. You can taste the seafood. From the very beginning you are hooked. I loved meeting all of the characters and really got involved in their individual activities. It has lots of family, lots of deep emotions and decisions that each person must make. Ari comes to live with her Grandmother for the summer and works for an island day care. Grandma Eleanor has been offered a large sum of money to sell her beachfront property that has been in the family for years. Her children are pushing her to sell and divide the money among them. Alicia and Phillip are at a crossroad in their marriage. Clint is hiding a secret. Where do Bret and Silas fit in? You will just have to read to find out. This is a great beach read but is also a warm and fuzzy book for anyone who loves a romance. You will be so glad you chose to read this one. I know I am glad I did.

Thank you Nancy Thayer for not disappointing me.

4.5 Stars

Nantucket has a special place in my heart and reading a Nancy Thayer book is like taking a mini-vacation back to the island. Having lived in this unique environment for 35 years, the author not only highlights the physical beauty, but also the spirit of the land, the ocean and the people. Nantucket becomes a character in its own right within the storyline.

Eleanor Sunderland, a widow of three years, is approaching her seventieth birthday. She resides in a rambling old house that has been passed down in her family for five generations and is in need of major renovations. The property is in a prime location on a bluff with vast ocean views…and becomes a key issue when a development company makes a generous, multi-million dollar offer. Eleanor’s two grown children, Alicia and Cliff, are eager to sell and receive their portion of the sale from their mother. Alicia is obnoxious in her sense of entitlement and greed, couching her interest as looking out for her “aging” mother who needs to be in an assisted living facility. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Against this backdrop of competing interests, Arianna (Ari), has just graduated from college and comes to spend the summer with her grandmother. Multiple subplots unfold with an unplanned pregnancy, several romances and an affair that shakes the foundation of the family.

The characters are realistic and relatable. I particularly liked Eleanor’s strength, patience and wisdom as the matriarch during this chaotic period of family life. The storyline was engaging and the pace held my interest throughout. The ending is both satisfying and believable.

I recommend this book as an easy, enjoyable book for your summer reading list.

My thanks to the author, Random House – Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing a digital ARC in exchange for an independent, honest review.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

Nancy Thayer is a wonderful storyteller and like so many other books of hers that I’ve read, I enjoyed this one very much. I think my favorite part really is the stories location. It centers around the Nantucket area and I’ve always wanted to visit there but have never had the opportunity. By reading her books, I get to, if only in my imagination. Family Reunion is just like it says, it’s a book about family. All the ups and downs that one goes through throughout ones life. This story is about Eleanor who has been widowed for about 3 years, and her 2 children, Alicia and Cliff and Alicia’s husband Phillip and their daughter Ari. I’ve read many books but I don’t think I’ve ever disliked a character as much as I do Alicia! For being 46 years old, she is the most spoiled, selfish woman I think I’ve ever run across. I found it hard to believe that Eleanor being the kind, sweet woman that she is could of had a daughter so self-absorbed. I enjoyed that the story mainly centered around Eleanor and talked about all the things you need to consider as one ages. And that in the end, as a senior, she lived how and where she wanted to, she made all her own decisions pertaining to her home and wealth and lived very happily. I’d like to thank Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for accepting my request and NetGalley for the arc to read, review and enjoy. This is a story I highly recommend and I’m looking forward to reading more by author Nancy Thayer. This is a 5 star read for me.

I love Nancy Thayer's Nantucket books! Every year I look forward to her book every summer. I loved the relationship between Eleanor and Ari. I never had that sort of relationship with my grandparents but it shows me exactly what I hope my son has. Alicia did make me mad and I would not tolerate that entitled behavior like Eleanor did. Nancy did a wonderful job of showing different aspects of so many characters. I did think it was rather dumb that Ari's dad was conducting an affair on a small island in which she was living. He had to know he was going to be caught! Another great and easy summer read.