Book Title: The Summer We Started Over
Author: Nancy Thayer
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine Ballantine Books
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Pub Date: April 23, 2024
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pages: 320

Story starts when twenty-nine year old Eddie Grant, her sister younger Barrett and their dad William who resigned his position as Professor of Poetry at prestigious Williams College and move from Western Massachusetts to Nantucket. Dad has been despondent since his wife left and son Stearns died a year ago in a motorcycle accident. He states he is going to write a book.
BTW: Stearns was named after Thomas-Sterns Elliot Eddie was named for Edna St. Vincent Millay and her sister Barrett for Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

Eddie got a job at Mitchell’s bookstore where she meets Jeremiah Jefferson “Jeff’ also twenty-nine an avid reader. Things work out for then and not long after dating he asked her to marry him. She knows he would make a wonderful father but she doesn’t want children. Since she cannot give him what he wants she decides it best to leave and move to Manhattan. She gets a job as a personal assistant to romance writer Dinah Lavender. Dinah stipulates Eddie live at her place as writers often work night and day. Eddie has a beautiful room and life it good.

Barret wants to launch her dream shop “Nantucket Blue” on Memorial Day to be ready for the tourist season. She asks if Eddie could please come and help with their father as he has become weaker with sorrow. Eddie hasn’t taken a vacation so knows Dinah would be willing to give her time to help both her sister as well as her dad.

And thus it begins!
I love this story and the characters including Duke the dog and Duchess the horse. . True there were a couple villains but they were actually needed to balance this fairytale story – we know nasty people do invade our lives.

When this ended I said
I just LOVE Nancy Thayer!!
Her writing totally took me to Nantucket.
I felt like a fly on the wall observing their lives.

This is my sixteenth novel by Nancy Thayer and she has written over 35 so I have got more great reading ahead of me!
I have never been to Nantucket but between Nancy and Elin Hilderbrand it is on my bucket list!!
Nancy has lived on Nantucket Island year-round for 38 years with her husband Charley Walters. They have two children and five grandchildren.

Want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine Books for granting me this uncorrected early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for April 23, 2024.

Well written story set in Nantucket.. A family recovering from loss of loved ones and rebuilding their lives as a family and as individuals. Characters were well developed and Nantucket was described so well I could picture it. Sisters-Eddie and Barret rekindle their sister bond and both begin the path to reaching their goals. Barret opens her dream store-“Nantucket Blues” and Eddie begins to realize she can write a book as she’s always wanted.

It's always weird for me to read a book that I know has great reviews and be disappointed. Unfortunately, this happened with this book.

I love the idea of the book and the potential for he characters. However, nothing came of it. I just kept waiting for something to happen, or be resolved, or to continue in a natural way. The story didn't seem to flow at all, and there were so many jumps that made me question what I'd just read.

Bummer to say that I would not recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Once I started this book, I couldn’t stop reading! I received an advance copy of this book to read and review, and I am SO glad I did!

This book follows a family through their lives in western MA and Nantucket, following a series of tragedies and events. The characters are real and lovable, and honestly made me wish I was a member of the family, too.

This is a perfect read for during the summer while on vacation, or during the dreary days of winter when you need to be reminded of the summer to come. The author does a fantastic job of not making this story predictable— there are lots of happy twists and turns to keep you excited while you read.

Definitely one of my top books of 2024!

This one was fantastic! A book I expect will be in the hands of everyone at the pool this summer, Nancy Thayer knocked it out of the park.

Eddie Grant has the perfect job. Working as the personal assistant for eccentric romance writer Dinah Lavender, she's treated to the best. Dinah gives me mad Danielle Steel vibes. After nearly two years with no vacation Eddie heads home to Nantucket to help her sister Barrett open her store, and to help her father clean out and clean up his life.

Life takes a turn and a blast from the past shows up, Dinah moves in, and both girls experience a summer romance, how the group manages to pull together to create a newfound family makes my heart melt. Each character had something I loved; how they treated each other in times of crisis, how they found themselves again, and how new memories were made was heartwarming. What a great read!

Wow! Another great read by Nancy Thayer. This book is all about returning home and all of life’s problems and drama. The characters are all people that you will love and be rooting for. The book is so good and you will not want to put it down until the end and then you will be sad that it ended.

Another lovely summer story of family and beautiful Nantucket. Once again Nancy Thayer transports you with the scents and sounds of island living. You’ll meet the Grants who work hard and love hard. Thank you for the ARC Net Galley!

This book emphasizes the fact that while you may start over in certain ways, you never start over what truly belongs to you. That is the case with Eddie and Jeff whose love never faded despite extenuating circumstances. Yes, Dinah provided Eddie a world full of excitement with wonderful dinners and trips. But the best memories made are often the most simple such as her and Jeff visiting the beach and drinking lemonade near the barn. Nantucket may be filled with wealth as evidenced by the large homes but that truly doesn't matter if love cannot be found within the walls. That is why Bennett and Paul work as they find beauty in what they see around them which comes out in his wooden sculptures and the way she selected her wares at Nantucket Blues. It is unfortunate how Bobby came to the island with Dove but it serves a reminder of how fragile life and not to shut yourself out of it such as William did with his books. This novel ended on a wonderful note as each character found true love and what they deserved to have. Love is always worth fighting for.

Another great Summer Read by Nancy Thayer! She is always on the top of my list of must read summer books! I read this book in the middle of winter and it gave me all of those happy summer feelings! I loved all of the characters in this book, the story had mostly happy moments, but it definitely had a few tearful parts. . Thayer's books always make me want to visit Nantucket, maybe it will happen someday! Can you imagine reading a book by Nancy Thayer on the beach in Nantucket? #TheSummerWeStartedOver #NetGalley

Beautiful book, 4.5 stars! I absolutely loved all of the various love stories happening at the same time, and Dinah was such a fun character! I don’t know why I felt like William (Dad) came across as unlikeable, even though there was no reason to not like him. Years were shed, smiles were smiled, overall a really great book.

Great summer read! I enjoy any book that has a Nantucket Island story line. I thought this book had great characters and the reader was able to get to know them and find they were all likeable. Whereas the plot was a tad predictable, this was a quick read and one that readers will enjoy.

What a refreshing, pleasant, summer read!! The characters were spot on, quirky and good hearted. The two sisters got along beautifully (I loved their interactions with each other) and their dad had a major transformation. The partners each one chose were storybook perfect. The ending was happy and exactly what you could've hoped for. Everyone got their new fresh start. I will keep reading anything Nancy Thayer writes and recommend this book to my bookclub and friends. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC of The Summer We Started Over by Nancy Thayer.

*I am incredibly grateful to have received this book ahead of schedule from NetGalley and the publisher in return for my unbiased review.*

I have looked at other reviews and I am honestly surprised by the number of 5 star reviews this book got. I am clearly in the minority but I do feel that when receiving these ARC books, that it is my duty to give an honest review based on my experience with the book.*

I loved the cover of this book. It was beautiful and transported me straight to the beach. I also loved the Nantucket beach setting. I have never been to Nantucket and the descriptions make me want to visit. But…my love for this book ends there. I've read other books by Thayer and I liked them. They have that beachy, romantic feel that always puts me in a good mood. I was very disappointed with this one because it felt like it was written by an amateur instead of a veteran.

The plot is shallow. I feel like absolutely nothing happened in this book until about 75% of the way through and even then it was nothing to excite you. I kept thinking, where's the climax, the plot twist, anything exciting? It's just the hum-drum daily life of people on Nantucket in the summer. There's no tension, no anticipation, no angst. I don't need smut or spice to draw me to a romance but I do need chemistry. I felt no chemistry between the characters. ZERO! This book was almost G rated, it was so bland. The dialogue felt superficial. They spoke words but nothing that mattered. Barrett is caught between Paul and Drew but other than the fact that you have three people in a relationship there was nothing to indicate this was a love triangle. There was so much repetition…words to add to a word count but not words that added to the value of the story. It took way too long to connect characters you are told about in the beginning. I kept asking what the point of Dove’s story was. Eventually, you get a connection but by the time you get it, it feels too late.

I felt no connection to these characters. They were bland. They lacked depth. They felt older than their years. They are supposed to be in their late 20's but felt more like late 50's or 60's. Their dialogue, interactions, and even the descriptions of their behavior did not feel like that of a 20-something young woman. It felt unrealistic, juvenile and immature. I feel like the story could have been better if it would have focused on characters later in life. I felt a disconnect between the characters age and the author's age. Twenty-something year olds in 2024 do not talk, behaver or interact like these ones did.

I feel bad saying this because Nancy Thayer has been a very successful novelist for most of her life and I am nothing more than a reader. But…I could not connect with this story or the characters. Maybe it's time to put the cover on the typewriter and just enjoy some retirement days.

cute and fun gorgeous romance that's super well done. tyssm for the arc, and the two sisters were really fun!

This was such a wonderful read. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and all of its characters. My only regret is that I didn't read it in the summer. I will say it is a wonderful weekend book to read in front of a fire with a glass of wine. The characters are endearing and the plot just rolls along as you become engaged with all of the characters. Definitely worth reading!!

Another solid summer read from Nancy Thayer- three and a half stars!

*I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

When I pick up a new Nancy Thayer book, I know exactly what I am going to get - a book set on Nantucket that I am not going to want to put down, and one that I don’t want to end. This one doesn’t disappoint, and I know it is going to stay as one of my favorites of 2024. The Summer We Started Over is such an appropriate title. Eddie and Barrett (and their father, William) have all been “existing” since their mother left the family, and their brother died in a tragic accident. Eddie is working as an assistant to a romance author when her sister asks for her to come home, for the opening of her store, and to help with their eccentric father. They are all forced to deal with people and things from their past, and figure out how to move forward.

I loved the characters, their relationships and interactions - the characters seemed like people I would want to be friends with, and I didn’t want to say goodbye at the end. A definite 5 stars from me!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley; all opinions are my own.

This was so darn good! My favorite from this author who has such a gift of beautiful descriptions of people and places. Eddie is my favorite kind of character - strong but a bit broken. Lovely sister and father relationships. Book clubs across the world are going to love this sweet story! Well done!

I absolutely ADORED this book! The characters were well developed and I found myself not wanting to put it down. This book centered around family, courage, and resiliency. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this amazing book! I will definitely be sharing it with all of my fellow book lovers!

What a great summer read! Family tragedy strikes and the family moves to Nantucket to start over without their mother who took off, or their brother who was killed in a motorcycle accident. Eddie and Barrett are sisters bound in this sadness. Their father left his professorship to write a novel. He keeps himself in his study. After the first summer, Eddie moves to Manhattan working in the literary world. Most recently as assistant to Dinah Lavender, a very successful romance writer. While Eddie has been traveling the world, Barrett has been working and saving to be able to fulfill her dream and open a shop. It’s been two summers since Eddie came back, but the shop is set to open, and she wants to be there for her sister. The summer brings love, heartache, and friends from the past. But this is the summer that everyone heals. Truly enjoyed this book. Great summer read!