Nothing like a good Nantucket read to celebrate warmer weather! Each time I read one of Thayer's novels, I want to book a ticket immediately. I adored this coming-of-age story of friends through the years sprinkled with love, loss, and secrets. Four teenagers come to Nantucket to work and live for the summer and little did they know that it would be a summer that impacted their lives forever. Now they are back together as adults with their own families years later to relive the Nantucket magic. I loved the details that allowed me to really envision what they were thinking and experiencing.

SUMMER LOVE is a friendship novel based on Nantucket. Through a series of flashbacks we follows the story of Ariel, Nick, Sheila, and Wyatt - four young college graduates enjoying one last summer on the cusp of adulthood. All four have big plans and it's interesting to see what comes of them when we meet the friends again more that 25 years as they gather to reminisce and bring their own post grad children.

There was a touch of romance, of mystery and drama and I although I think Nancy could have taken a bit farther I enjoyed it immensely. If you like a good beach read, enjoys summer friends story and of course long for a bit of romance, then Summer Love is for you! #SummerLove #RandomHouse #Ballantine

I absolutely loved this book! I fell in love with the characters and the storyline was compelling! I couldn’t put it down!

I really enjoyed this story. I don’t always like when stories jump back and forth, but this story just continued to flow. It was interesting to have the same folks when they were young and strangers and then when they were older but were still tied together by life. It was fun to see the similarities in the next generation. Do you like what you see in your next generation? I have never been to Nantucket, but after reading this book I sure would like to go. This was a great story with wonderful characters. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.

Reading this book was like taking a vacation of my own, I got so immersed in it. An enjoyable beach read (or any other read), this book follows 4 people through this summer and that summer, a past and present. The past was 25 years ago, 2 young men and 2 young women who stayed in Nantucket for a summer of work and play. This summer pairs them up again on a revisit to Nantucket his time with their children. I enjoyed seeing the web and twining of lives, then and now, in this wonderful book of friendships and life.

I really enjoyed this book. Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the chance to read this ARC. Can’t wait for more by author!

Summer Love, set in Nantucket follows both a past and present timeline. In the past, you follow Nick, Ariel, Wyatt and Sheila as they have a summer to remember. In the present, the same 4 reunite with the families to reminisce and celebrate each other’s successes.

This was definitely a delightful read. With the author’s descriptive writing style I felt myself immersed onto the island for the many adventures across both timelines.

This is my first Nancy Thayer read, and I am already looking for my next! Definitely add this to your TBR list.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for my ARC in exchange for my review!

Thank you NetGalley, Nancy Thayer and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC of the book Summer Love. This is my personal review.

Ariel, Sheila, Wyatt and Nick were the main characters in the story – they met one summer and soon became friends. The four were meant to be close and connect forming a bond that would keep them close in life.
I am a huge fan of Nancy Thayer books but for me this one just did not click for me. I never connected to any of the characters in the story. I did not feel like they were true lifelong friends. I had a hard time wanting to keep reading to find out what happens with any of the characters in the book. The end of the book was just an end but not an ending that connected the dots between the friends.

This is the story of four young adults who meet when they rent out rooms in the basement of a decrepit hotel on Nantucket. They are each working on the island for the summer. They develop friendships and relationships that will set the stage for the rest of their lives. Now, they are all grown with adult children of their own and they are reunited on the island for a week's vacation.

I've been reading Nancy Thayer's books for years and this is honestly one of my favorites. My biggest complaint with some of her previous books is that everything can be very quaint and perfect (and I still like them) but this book was different.

What I liked - dual timelines, engaging characters, Nantucket setting
What I disliked - nothing comes to mind.

I appreciated the then and now aspects of the story, the parallels between the story of the past and the present day. I felt that the characters were well developed and I was highly invested in their stories.

*I was provided a free galley of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Such a perfect beach read! When 4 strangers rent cheap rooms in a basement of the "Sand Palace" hotel in Nantucket...they will have the summer of their lives! 25 years later, they will reunite at the very same place for another week of Summer fun. I loved how this book went back and forth between them as young adults & as parents themselves...with some fun narrations from their own children. It really was a cute book, thank you Netgalley and Nancy Thayer!

Here’s a good beach read to look forward to. This book flips flops between a summer of the past and the summer of the present. Four college age kids meet on Nantucket Island as they are the four occupants in the basement apartments of a hotel under construction. Each is there for a summer job but also in hopes of a summer adventure before they enter the adult world and face adult responsibilities. Together they make up The Sand Palace Four: Nick, an ambitious young man hoping to one day own a hotel, Wyatt, struggling in the shadow of his brilliant scientist father, Sheila, settling down to be a housewife and mother, and Ariel an aspiring novel writer. They all had dreams. Twenty-six years later, we meet them again and their offspring as they gather for a reunion on Nantucket Island at the same hotel now owned by Nick. But life twenty-six years later is different than their dreams.

I really liked how the story of the first summer unfolded as the book went along, gaining tidbits and learning secrets. Somewhat predictable to the reader, it still made for a feel-good read that is perfect for a beach read. Who doesn’t want to think of summer as a time to let go and enjoy life? I thought it was a good effect to travel the story between the past and the present showing how alike the children were to their parents, to the dismay of the parents. However, a horrible tragedy happened that first summer that came to light twenty-six years later which was easily dismissed. That bothered me somewhat. I also didn’t like that this parallel story of friendship and family ended so abruptly and seemed to leave some stories hanging.

Many thanks to #netgalley #summerlove #nancythayer for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I liked the back story of this book, but when it ended it felt so unfinished and a lot left me wondering.

This was what I call the perfect beach read. . I loved all the characters and how Thayer bounced back and and forth from the past to the present. It was so entertaining to see how they developed and grew to become the adults that they were in present time. It was also entertaining to see how they reacted to their kids and their kids making some of the same choices that they did at that age. I recommend it to anyone looking for that perfect book to make you want to be on the beach, your boat or deck soaking up the sun and relaxing with a glass of wine in the summer.

This was a slow read for me. Switching between this summer and that summer we meet up on Nantucket.

Years ago 4 college students lived together in a run down hotel while they worked on the island for the summer. Now, they are called back to Nantucket by one of the original 4. Nick now owns a hotel on the island and he basically wants bragging rights. They all return with children in tow. And their children develop a love for the island just as they did.

I didn’t get it. They did not appear to be that close of friends. Like they almost found each other annoying. I didn’t see much of a plot and it just didn’t hold my attention.

Name of Book: Summer Love
Author: Nancy Thayer
Genre: Chick Lit
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group ~ Ballantine
Pub Date: May 3, 2022
My Rating: 4 Stars


I am a big psychological thriller fan and not big on romance/chick lit. However, every once in a while I need a nice sweet Beach Read with likeable characters. One on Nantucket is always enjoyable for me!
This is #14 Nancy Thayer for me. Nancy Thayer is a great storyteller who explores dreams and friendships.

Twenty-six years ago four strangers who are all twenty-two years old ~ two gals and two guys rent rooms in the basement of “The Sand Palace” an old hotel near the beach that is about to be demolished.
Each believed that this is going to be a summer of dreams.

Story is told via two timelines~ ‘That Summer’ and ‘This Summer’
That Summer: 1995~ The Sand Palace Four
Ariel Spencer wants to be a writer
Sheila Murphy is looking for adventure.
Wyatt Smith is immediately attracted to Ariel
Nick Volkov wants to make a name for himself but in the meantime is going to have fun.

This Summer: 2020 ~The Sand Palace Four now forty-seven years old return to Nantucket with their grown children.
Ariel and Wyatt with son Jason
Sheila Murphy O’Connell is married to Hank and they have four children, however Hank and the three boys couldn’t make it so just Sheila and with daughter Penny. Sheila still hasn’t been able to shake the secret of that summer.
Nick Volkov and his wife Francine now own the hotel and changed the name to “The Lighthouse” Their daughter Jade-Marie is the hotel receptionist.

Don’t want to give too much away as this is delightful read ~ loved it!!!

Want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group ~ Ballantine for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 3, 2022.

This was the perfect book to read in the dreary days of March I was immediately transported to Nantucket Island. This book is about a group of four friends who meet in their young twenties while spending a summer on Nantucket. The story is told in alternating past and present. I enjoyed it! Great beach read.

Summer Love follows 4 young adults who form a friendship by chance. They are all working on Nantucket for the summer and happen to luck out and get a room at a hotel that is being renovated. Deemed The Sand Palace, this group of 4 otherwise unique individuals form a friendship over their shared living quarters. After the summer they all move on, staying in touch only sporadically. That is until Nick, one of the 4, fulfills his dream and purchases The Sand Palace. Nick brings the 4 back together for a long weekend to reminisce about their summer together, where it all began.

If you are a fan of Nancy Thayer books, you will enjoy this book. It is a light, easy (maybe a little predictable) summer read. While I enjoyed some characters more than others, all were enjoyable.

Thanks, Netgalley for this ARC!

This was a story that I really enjoyed. Four strangers that became something close to family. All very different upbringing but all ended up ok. It was a good touch to put the children into the story. The going back a forth is sometimes hard to keep up with but this author made it work.

I loved this dual timeline story! I hope we will get to see these characters again in a future book. Drama, romance, mystery, intrigue and more situated right on one of my bucket list locations!

The book starts with 4 young people, strangers, who come to Nantucket for the summer. Years later they are back with their families for a reunion. The book alternates between the present and the past. This is a light read that would be perfect for a day on the beach. It is a story of friendship and families. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.