What a precious story about starting over on Nantucket. From beginning to end I was reading a relaxing novel about William and his two daughters with their move to Nantucket after 2 life changing events. Pick up this book and learn about them starting over and the beautiful descriptions of Nantucket.

I loved this book! It was a book about friendship, family, and love. The Summer We Started Over was a feel good book and I looked forward to reading more every time I picked it up. It was nice to read a book for a change where everyone cared about each other and looked out for one another. Give this book a try. I promise you'll enjoy it.

One of my favorite Nancy Thayer books, The Summer We Started Over is a beautiful story about a family living and dealing with life’s challenges. Eddie’s been working the past two years in New York as a personal assistant to romance novelist Dinah Lavender. She loves her job and working for Dinah, but she really wants to take some time off to return to Nantucket to help her sister, Barrett, open her dream business, Nantucket Blue.

Going back to Nantucket and her father’s small farm means dealing with difficult memories and challenges. Their best friend, Dove, fell on to hard times after a family scandal and disappeared, and their brother Stearns is now gone, too. Eddie and Barrett’s mother left years ago. Their father, William, became reclusive and has been in his study working for years on a book about romance authors. The house is overrun with books that have been collected over the years. Also, Jess is still on Nantucket. Eddie loved him, and still does, but doesn’t feel that she should ever have children, that she could ever be a good mother.

Overwhelmed at times, Eddie is determined to do what she can to help her family. I felt Nantucket’s embrace for Eddie and her family, as they navigated this emotionally challenging Summer.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read and review this great book!

I have read and enjoyed many of Nancy Thayer's novels and appreciate her no-frills, straightforward storytelling style and multifaceted family-oriented plots.

In The Summer We Started Over, Eddie (nee Edna) takes a break from her job as assistant to a popular romance author to return to her family home on Nantucket. Her sister, Barrett, is about to fulfill her dream of opening a gift shop, but she is still feeling the effects of their brother's death a few years back and their parents' subsequent divorce. Their father is perhaps the most affected by past tragedies, buying and hoarding an inordinate amount of books as research for a nonfiction book he has been struggling to write. And Eddie has abandoned a promising romantic relationship but finds that her attraction to her former lover is still as strong as ever.

I found it refreshing that there are fewer roadblocks for the main characters to overcome than I often find in books in the same genre, with the exception of one particularly fraught and sensitively written plot involving a childhood friend. I particularly enjoyed the depiction of Barrett's store that features all things blue--clothing, art, and more. I warmed to the characters of their father, Eddie's flamboyant author employer, and one of Barrett's two suitors, a humble carpenter who turns out to be so much more. And Eddie herself develops into someone who learns to communicate more effectively and identify what she really wants out of life.

My thanks to Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

Perfect summer read! Tugs at the heartstrings but not enough to make you cry. Light hearted Nantucket story. Romance and slight family drama. Quick read!

This book is just lovely. Beautifully developed characters and a description of Nantucket that could only come from someone who lives there.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of this book.

Nancy Thayer knows how to write about family bonds and relationships. Set this on the beautiful island of Nantucket and you have a winner of a book.

The characters are multidimensional. They have faced grief and loss as their brother died in a motorcycle accident and the mother left after half-committing to raising the children to adults in this family.

All in the family are damaged by grief and loss. But, they are not too damaged to venture out and take a chance on new relationships or re-igniting old relationships.

This is a very satisfactory read. The way it is written leaves it open for expansion into perhaps a series as we could look forward to where father, William, and his two daughters; Eddie and Barrett go in their choices of partners and careers.

The Summer We Started Over is a very well written book. I enjoyed the plot and character dynamics. Loved the Nantucket setting. I recommend this book. My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance ebook. This is my unbiased.review.

Another good one by Nancy Thayer that makes you want to move to Nantucket, hit the beaches, shops, historical sites and of course the Chicken Box to dance and drink. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this novel before publication. The story moves rapidly as the 2 sisters begin new ventures in Nantucket. If you like a feel good book you will enjoy this one.

I loved this story of two siblings struggling with grief and new beginnings on the atmospheric setting of Nantucket. I recommend this book for anyone who likes messy family dramas, reads that take place on a beach but aren't beachy, and books about sisters.

The Summer We Started Over is a delightful story about sisters and family. I love the Nantucket beach setting. Barrett's dream of opening her gift shop is finally coming true so her sister Eddie decides to leave New York and return to Nantucket for a month to help her. There is family drama and romance galore. With the emotional ending, you will need plenty of tissues handy. This book is a page-turner, add it to your reading list. Thanks to author Nancy Thayer, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley. I received a complimentary copy of this ebook. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I have found that when ever I want to read a book that is refreshing, relaxing, and just a feel-good book, I always look to Nancy Thayer. Her books have heart and this is one of my new favorites. Everyone needs a second chance at love and happiness and that's just what this book does. Set in Nantucket (a dreamy place), Barrett and Eddie, along with heir dad find new life one summer after so much loss and heartache. Each are trying to discover what lies ahead in their future and could they reach their dreams. I love the richness of the characters and especially Dinah who blows in like a fresh breeze, so full of life and happiness, like the good fairy in a fairy tale. Add to this, we have the sad dad who discovers that life is not over and what a cute matchup he has. A bit of sadness though reminiscent of the movie Beaches or Fried Green tomatoes, but this only adds to the sweetness of the characters finding what is important in life and the importance of family and love. I would love to have these characters' stories continue. This is a sweet summer romance story that you may enjoy. I did. Many thanks to #netgalley #nancythayer #thesummerwestartedover for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was such a sweet book! I loved the characters, and their love story. The dialogue was realistic and enjoyable.

Eddie Grant loves her life as a personal assistant to famous author Dinah Lavender. She loves the hustle and bustle of New York City and as someone who eventually wants to write her own novel, Eddie finds working for Dinah affords her great opportunities. There are times, however, she misses the sweet air of home, her ex-boyfriend, and her family. When Nantucket and her family call her home for the summer, she decides to go. This choice will forever change her life.

The sweet simplicity of this book is what I truly loved about this book. It reminds us all about the importance of friendship, family, and finding happiness. The Summer We Started Over is the perfect summer beach read. Thank you NetGalley for an arc of Nancy Thayer's newest novel.

Years ago, when I was fumbling my way through a divorce, a new marriage, family (siblings) issues, and moving to a new place, I stumbled onto a book by Nancy Thayer and found it somehow soothing. It had a happy ending, and it just felt like everyone in the story had found their footing and was going to be fine. I guess the genre was romance, although I wasn’t a fan of the “bodice-ripper” romance novels that seemed to be everywhere back then. So I have periodically picked up a Nancy Thayer book when things seemed bleak…and generally enjoyed them.

Ms. Thayer’s latest Nantucket-based story is “The Summer We Started Over,” and it is categorized “General Fiction/Romance/Women’s Fiction.” Frankly, I have no idea what differentiates women’s fiction from the other two categories, but I have been sinking into darkness lately after ingesting way too much news and true crime, so I was happy to dive in to the book when Random House/Ballantine and NetGalley provided a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Like me, Ms. Thayer lives in a resort town on the ocean, and it sounds much like my home town, which is filled with a mixture of locals/longtime residents as well as summertime vacationers from Silicon Valley as well as tons of people who have made a fortune in tech and can afford to pay millions for a house. “The old money people never wore designer clothing or flashy jewelry, unlike the new money people who wore their wealth like blinking neon signs.”

The family at the center of this new book is the Grants: father is a former professor of literature who has moved his two young adult daughters to Nantucket following the death of the son/brother who has recently been tragically killed, leaving behind a baby and the mom, who had been a childhood friend of the two Grant daughters, Eddie and Barrett. Barrett stayed on the island with their father while Eddie went to New York, living with and working for one of the “most famous and renowned romance authors in the business.” Their mother left the three of them before the whole family drowned in grief. After two years without a day of vacation, Eddie goes back to Nantucket to help her sister launch a new tourist-focused gift shop business and care for their father (who is very able but clearly depressed and lonely, having become a book hoarder.

When she gets back, Eddie finds her sister resentful because Eddie escaped and their father becoming increasingly eccentric. Eddie picks up her old romance with a man she truly loved, Barrett’s gift shop is a huge success, and their father…well, when Eddie invites the famous and glamorous author to come stay with them for the summer, I thought “really? The dad will fall in love with the author, Barrett will find a new love, and Eddie will decide to settle down and they will all become one big happy family.”

I don’t do spoilers, but I’ll just say reading this was like a soothing massage for my brain. When a book is well written, it can be very enjoyable even when the reader knows exactly where it is probably going. Being pretty sure there will be a happy ending for most if not all of the characters doesn’t diminish the enjoyment one bit.

For fans of Nancy Thayer, “beach reads,” family stories without violence , and what I guess must be “women’s fiction,” this one is a solid four stars. For fans of “romance,” I imagine it will be five. Whatever, it was nice to escape for a day or two with a reassuringly pleasant book.

An easy summer read about the love of family and the many looks it takes on. Seemed at times too breezy with disconnected thoughts between the characters. I smiled through out the book and cried at the end. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC

The Summer We Started Ov er
by Nancy Thayer
Pub Date: April 23, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Two sisters reconnect and pursue their dreams on the beautiful island of Nantucket, overcoming life’s challenges and finding new love, in this heartwarming and hopeful novel by New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer.
Thayer has become one of my favorite writers.
Rating: 5 stars
Brief Summary: Follows a family living on Nantucket over the course of a life-changing summer
What I Enjoyed: The characters were very well developed. The story was similar to an Elin Hildebrand novel or a Debbie Macomber novel. I felt like I was in the story.
What I Disliked: Some of the chapters were a little long

I thoroughly enjoyed this heartwarming story about two sisters, Eddie and Barrett Grant, spending a summer together at their home on Nantucket. Eddie works for famous romance author Dinah Lavender in New York City but returns to the home she only lived in for a year to help care for their father while Barrett opens her dream gift shop. She only plans to stay for a month. Their father, William, has been hoarding books and remaining somewhat of a recluse since his divorce from the girls’ mother years before. Their brother died and left behind Dove and their young son.

A lot takes place during the summer. Barrett is thrilled her new shop is a success and finds herself dating two men, trying to figure out if one is right for her. Eddie gets her father to agree to let her open a used bookshop in their barn to get rid of as many of the books crowding the house as possible and reconnects with her former boyfriend, Jeff. Dinah comes to spend the summer with them after she fears she’s being stalked. Dove and her young son return to Nantucket and Dove shares a secret she’s been keeping. Big changes are in store for the entire family.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Excellent beach read set in, of course, Nantucket. Two sisters are spending the summer with their father while one is opening a shop. The other sister is assiduously avoiding her old boyfriend b/c, of course, she still loves him.

If anyone can take us to Nantucket, it’s Nancy Thayer. Every time I read one of her books, I want to visit Nantucket since I’ve never been. Sounds like a magical place and a place I would love to visit. I could totally work in Barrett’s gift shop or even Eddie and her dad’s barn selling used books. I loved this story. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review. To be published April 2024.