In The Summer We Started Over, Nancy Thayer brings us to Nantucket, where sisters Eddie and Barrett reconnect after some time apart. Both women are going through big changes and are searching for happiness, making for a heartfelt journey.

While their sisterly bond is touching, some parts of the story felt a bit flat.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballentine Books for the opportunity to read The Summer We Started Over.

Thank you @penguinrandomhouse for my gifted ebook!

The Summer We Started Over features two sisters, Eddie and Barrett. Barrett is the younger sister opening a shop in Nantucket that is her dream. She asks Eddie to come home for a few weeks to help her get the shop up and running. Eddie has been working as writer’s assistant in NYC and she’s looking forward to the break.

When she returns home, she runs into her former love, Jeff. They broke up when things got serious because Jeff wants kids and Eddie doesn’t. Their mother left them when things got tough and Eddie is concerned that she won’t be a good mother. But the chemistry is still there and they pick up where they left off. Barrett meets a rich banker from Boston at the same time she meets a local carpenter and she dates them both. Their dad is also becoming a book hoarder and they open a small second hand book shop.

I liked the take on the book that Barrett and Eddie weren’t Nantucket natives, but made the island their home. I would love to shop at Barrett’s store!

Family is family. But how well do you really know them? Do they know you?

This back-to-home-together story tugs at the heartstrings. What does it mean to have someone's back? To explore the past of someone who cannot defend themselves or their "stuff?"

If you like women's fiction, generational connections, and stories of living and dying well, you'll find this one has heart. If you want family beginnings, middles, and endings, you'll love this one.

As always, the author did not disappoint! Heart felt and entertaining at the same time! I really enjoyed the development of the characters throughout the story.

This is another Nantucket summer beach read. When Elin Hilderbrand or Mary Kay Andrews writes those, I tend to like them a lot. This one fell pretty flat for me though. The writing itself here was good. I finished the book and I didn't loathe opening it up. I was mildly entertained reading about a life that I know I'll never live (I'm NOT a beach girlie lol). However, the prose was repetitive to the point that I had to make sure I wasn't rereading the same sentences a few times... but it turns out I wasn't--the sentences were just exactly the same a few pages apart..? I also felt like nothing actually happened in this book. There was a little bit of drama toward the end with Dove, but no real tension or climactic scenes. Everything kept working out a suspiciously well and I never felt like any of the characters had any kind of real responsibilities or challenges so there was very little development. I found this book to be very forgettable, but I think that, as reviews are indicating, there is an audience for this... it's just not me.

This is a good book. This is a story about a family of a father and his two adult daughters. They move to Nantucket Island after the death of their brother or son and their wife or mother ask for a divorce. The oldest daughter goes to to New York City to work as an assistant. The youngest daughter works three jobs to save to open a shop. The father is trying to write a novel. They all learn that there nothing like having a family. They always have your back they each find their true love.

Wasn’t my favorite one of hers. I felt like nothing happened until the end and I was left wanting more.

The Summer We Started Over is a sweet romance, perfect for the beach or pool. A relaxing, and reassuring novel where two sisters, Eddie and Barrett, use a summer in Nantucket with their aging father to re-evaluate their life and love choices.

Overall I enjoyed reading this novel, though I do have one issue. I found the characters to be very one-dimensional. Each sister is stunted in her own way; always playing their assigned roles and both looking for the same silent validation. There was emotional growth with the women through the novel, but it partially felt like the author was pulling teeth.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read this novel.

For me if Nancy Thayer’s name is on it I’m going to read it. And this one was definitely not a disappointment. Being an average reader I loved all the talk about the book barn.

This family has really been through a lot. They lost their son/brother and then the mother left them. After a while Eddie couldn’t take it anymore so she left the farm to work for a very famous romance author in New York. This was her dream for quite some time. But when her sister Barrett needed her home to help with her dad. She immediately took a small leave of absence and went home. Barrett was opening a gift shop. And she really needed Eddie take care of their dad.
I really enjoyed this book. It had a lot going on. It was an easy read a quick read.

Thank you for this ARC .

This was a cute story about two sisters who are reunited on Nantucket. One is opening a store and the other is helping to take care of their fathers. This was a sweet book, with some teary moments, but it was a bit too predictable for me and I found myself skimming it more than I usually do with a Thayer novel. This would be a nice beach read. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

I love every Nancy Thayer book I read but this one was particularly enjoyable. I loved all the characters (even Dinah, minus Drew) and I cried at the end which doesn’t happen often. I will be thinking about the book barn and Dove for a long time.

Family drama, love, loss, going home to a beautiful setting. It had the potential to be a great read and though was enjoyable, it was hard to connect with the characters who given some of the things they were going through were, in my opinion mostly flat and there was zero chemistry between anyone. So a nice read, but not my favorite and seemingly a departure from her previous works, which I’ve loved. That said, still glad I read and am looking forward to what comes next.

Eddie, an assistant to a popular author, goes home to help her father who is dealing with the grief of losing a son after his wife left. Eddie's sister Barrett lives in Nantucket full time helping him, but is opening a boutique that requires her full time.

I'll start with the positives - Nancy Thayer painted a beautiful picture of Nantucket. I felt like I was there. I loved the descriptors of the farmhouse as well.

What didn't land for me was the dialogue. I am around the age of the main character Eddie, and I'd never speak the way that her and her younger sister Barrett do. They read as much older characters. It was hard to get past. Additionally, a lot of Thayer's descriptions were repetitive. She used "treacherous taconic trail" like three times. I wondered if I was rereading a page. Additionally, the book was so slow. It felt like nothing was happening for forever.

Thayer always begins my summer beach read kickoff every year.
The cover is absolutely exquisite with the soft colors and the walkway to the beach.
It’s a family drama but Thayer style, situated on Nantucket Island.
It has a ton of books, a flamboyant author, two hunky carpenters, and a shop that Carries everything blue.
The ending was very nice and I sighed with contentment until the next Thayer Nantucket offering.
I wish the Nantucket Blue shop was real!

Such a delightful story of a family in transition. Although there is a dark side to the story , both sisters and their Dad find love in the most unexpected of places. The family is reunited with their brother's girlfriend and son, discovering what truly is important in this time we spend called life.

There's love, death, and angst among the dunes of Nantucket. A Perfect beach read to start your summer.

Although I received a free ARC ebook from Net Galley and the publisher all opinions expressed are my own honest thoughts.

What a perfect book for the summer. This book follows Eddie and Barrett, sisters who are dealing with trauma from their past as they come together to try and be a family for the summer at Nantucket. I loved that Eddie and Barrett had followed very different paths after the death of their brother and their mom leaving after the divorce. Now the sisters merge together when they are concerned about their father. This book follows both of their lives and touches upon romance without the need for in-your-face romance. A great book to read when sitting on the beach.

As usual, the author brings out all emotions! This book had it all! There’s nothing better than a starting over journey and many characters experienced this! The perfect setting, a little mystery and romance to boot!

Nancy Thayer is an author that is tops on my summer reading lists. Her latest was a story of family and the challenges they face navigating loss, new ventures and finding love old and new. I could relate to William, Barrett and Eddie’s father. His love of books and the accumulation over the years was relatable. Set on the beautiful island of Nantucket you can bet NT will give you vivid descriptions in which you feel like you are right there. I loved how resourceful the sisters were in figuring out what to do with their father’s books. In addition each sister following their own paths but still supporting each other. There is a bit of every emotion on the written pages and I think you will fall in love with the Grant family as I did. Add in Dove and cue the Kleenex. The cover is appealing and depicts the sisters relationship. I’m ready to move to Nantucket.All opinions are my own. #NetGalley for the ARC

Perfect summertime story. Very heartwarming story of family, friends, careers and love. The story followed a family's growth and how they went their separate ways to find out that they found their way back to eachother. Loved the Nantucket vibe and the view of authors, bookstores, carpentry and shop owners. Recommend!

I like the actual story and characters, but the writing was awful. Things were said multiple times on the same page, and characters meeting each other for the first time even though they met prior. Thanks netgalley.