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.

Eddie Grant works as a personal assistant in NYC for a famous author. She takes a vacation to return to Nantucket to help out with her father when her sister opens her own shop. The sisters reconnect and assist their father after past tragedies in their lives. This book was funny and had great characters. You get to watch Eddie reconnect with an old boyfriend and see her realize what she really wants to do with her life.

I requested this book because:
1. I like the author
2. I love beach reads
3. The cover was eye catching.
I started the story on a plane on the way to visit my step son for my birthday. It kept me interested and I liked the story line. I read every night and during the free times for the 5 days I was visiting him,
I then returned home and I had several books from my Libby that I had on hold ready for me to read, so of course I put this one aside.
With work, and parenting, I didn’t get to finish this book until today. I could read right where I left off, and it still kept my interest. I always love a happy ending and this book provided that. I will recommend to others, I may even use this book with my high school students that are female. I don’t feel the male students would enjoy this.
I like how there is a touch of romance, but not overbearing.
This was an enjoyable book.

In "The Summer We Started Over," a wounded and dysfunctional family finds their way back to each other as they each pursue their dreams.

When Eddie and Barrett's mother left their family, their father William moved them all to Nantucket, mostly to start over. But instead it became a bit of a way to hide and not face any of the problems they had.

Eventually, Eddie went off island to pursue her dreams of working in the publishing industry, only to land a job with an eccentric author as her assistant.

When Barrett calls to say she needs help with William, Eddie must choose between her work and her family, never dreaming that her two worlds would soon collide.

As each member of the family reconnects, healing starts o take place and what initially seemed like a complicated situation turns into the family they always wished they were.

If you enjoy stories about Nantucket, chasing dreams, and healing relationships. this is a good one to read.

Thank you to Nancy Thayer, Random House, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

Many of the characters have a rich backstory creating depth, while their development throughout the story was a bit slower than what kept my attention. A light summer read with quirky, family farm setting.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

Nancy Thayer is a favorite author of mine. She does not disappoint with her books. The Summer We Started Over is the perfect beach read. Eddie Grant has been living her perfect life working in New York City as an assistant to a famous romance author. Eddie’s sister, Barrett, is opening a boutique on Nantucket and asks Eddie to come home and help her with the opening and in caring for their father. Their mother had left all of them several years ago. Their brother died in a motorcycle crash around the same time. As Eddie steps off the ferry, she runs into her old boyfriend. Obviously she still cares for him. There is plenty of romance and sadness as the family finds a way to start over. Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Loved this summer beach read. Perfect for a warm day at the start of the season. Really enjoyed and I would recommend.

I loved this escape to Nantucket with a heartwarming tale of sisterhood and second chances. The atmospheric writing captures the island’s beauty. It was a per beach read.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Nothing like starting over in a beautiful location. But starting over is not always easy.

Starting over is a great opportunity, but it is hard to forget what is hurting us from our past. This book is about a family that needs a new location to try and start over, they need an escape from their past. Nantucket is a beautiful place to start over. A farmhouse with a dog and a horse that have strong personalities are there to help.

This is a great story about individual dreams and how to fulfill those dreams while keeping the family together. This book teaches us that just because someone in our family has an issue does not mean that we will have the same issue. We can miss great things in life while trying to avoid a potential flaw that we might never even have. I really enjoyed this book and watching each character work to recover from their past.

The Summer We Started Over by Nancy Thayer takes us to Nantucket, Massachusetts. The author’s vivid descriptions made me feel like I was on the island. Unfortunately, that was the best part of the book. I thought the story was lackluster and superficial. The tale plods along with naught happening until the last quarter. We follow the characters as they go about their daily lives during the summer months on Nantucket. There is no action, no tension, and no chemistry. I did not want the characters to be hopping into the sack together, but I did want feel chemistry (have an inkling that they liked each other). The dialogue was shallow (teenagers have had more scintillating conversations). Nothing of importance was discussed. The characters lacked development. I did not find myself interested in the bland characters. Dinah Lavender was not bland, but she was annoying. The characters did not talk or act as they should for their age (dialogue seemed suited to older characters). The story was disjointed and lacked a flow. There was too much repetition (the same details do not need to be repeated ad nauseum). The Summer We Started Over was not an enjoyable story to read (I just wanted to reach the end). While The Summer We Started Over was not for me, I suggest you download a sample to judge it for yourself.

I usually enjoy Nancy Thayer’s books, but this one just falls short for me. The beautiful cover drew me in, but I found the characters and dialogue annoying and unrealistic. On the positive side, I can say I definitely wish I could shop at Nantucket Blues and browse at Book Barn on my next trip to Nantucket. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. And what a great book for summer! Set in Nantucket, this is a story and grief and hope for two sisters. Their mom left, their brother was killed, and their dad can't get over his grief. But this summer is going to be different and life changing for them.