I love reading Nancy Thayer’s books and I think a lot of it has to do with the location. The Summer We Started Over takes place in Nantucket which sounds like the most beautiful and mesmerizing place to me. I’ve never been there but it’s always been on my bucket list along with Martha’s Vineyard. This is the story of 2 sisters, Eddie and Barrett, who have experienced a troubled past. Their mother has abandoned them and their father and later their brother dies in an accident. Their dad moves them to Nantucket to a little farmhouse in hopes of putting their past behind them and to make a fresh start. There are parts to this story that I found a little comical but yet there are parts that are extremely sad. The fact that the father is a book hoarder and has the farmhouse completely crammed with books in every nook and cranny imaginable was a little funny to me. I can definitely see this happening to someone who is a book lover like myself. There is also a part to the storyline that is very sad where the girls had to anticipate the death of their childhood friend. She was suffering from liver failure due to excessive drinking and the girls try to prepare her young son for a life without his mother. This was an emotional part for me as I too lost a close friend because of this. I found myself crying so I recommend having tissues handy! Overall it’s a really beautiful story about a family’s strength, about being there for each other and about finding love and moving on with your life. I’d like to thank Emma Thomasch, Assoc. Marketing Manager at Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for accepting my request to read and NetGalley for the arc. I thoroughly enjoyed this, I give it a 5 star rating and highly recommend it to other readers!

The Summer We Started Over is an engaging story set in Nantucket. It is a story of family reconnections, romance, courage to make changes, and gift shops and BOOKS! I enjoyed the story and readers who enjoy contemporary women's fiction will not want to miss this new offering from Nancy Thayer. I was given a complimentary copy of the book through NetGalley and was not required to write a positive review. The opinions are my own.

Get your beach chair and umbrellla ready for another great beach book. Nancy Thayer’s new book joins a lot of great authors for a bog list of summer books! Thanks for advance copy.

A wonderful family drama set on Nantucket. Eddie and Barrett’s father moved them to Nantucket after their mother left and then their brother died in a motorcycle crash. Eddie had left her job in New York City in the aftermath and after a year on the island went back to New York City for a new job working as an assistant for a romance author. Now, two years later, Barrett is asking for Eddie to come back to the island for a little while, while she launches the store that she has been saving up to start. The well written characters and details make this a great summer read.

very light summer story
recommended for an easy beach read
enjoyable, but lacked character development

This is the first book by Nancy Thayer that I’ve read and I really enjoyed it! I love the story of the sisters reuniting at the beach and taking a chance on love again. I would love to read a sequel to find out more of what happens to these characters!

I read a different book by this author last year and was excited to get this advance copy from @netgalley.
This book seems like it was written by a completely different author. The dialogue was primitive, the tropes were so obvious a mile away.
I gave it two stars because of the setting on Nantucket. I will not read another book by this author, but I see she has written plenty, so I will not be a loss.

This is another sweet Nantucket story beach read by Nancy Thayer. In this book Eddie is traveling home to Nantucket for a month to help her little sister watch their father and family home while her sister realizes her dream of opening a shop. There were so many great ideas and themes in this book, grief, coping after loss, finding your dreams, moving on and recovering from childhood trauma, a stalker, and a love triangle. Yet, while this book had the potential to be great, I struggled to connect to the two main character sisters Eddie and Barrett, and their relationships and lives. I wanted more character development, and conflict in this story. I did love Dinah Lavender, she was the real star of this book for me. It’s a good easy book to bring along as a beach read, and maybe others will connect more easily to the main characters. I received an ARC, and this is my honest review.

First, thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. Nancy Thayer again visits Nantucket and this time involves the reader in the lives of two sisters who are looking for happiness. Their lives turned upside down when their mother divorced their professor father and their brother was killed in an accident. The sisters moved with their father to the island. One sister leaves the island to become a personal assistant to a romance author while the other stay to start small store. However, each sister struggles with the way to find happiness in life and family. A good, relaxing read.

Who wouldn’t like some time in Nantucket during the summer season? Nancy Thayer will take you there. After a somewhat fraught beginning, I enjoyed relaxing into the rhythm of Eddie’s and Barrett’s lives as they rebuilt their family, found love and followed their dreams. Highlights included the titles of the books discovered in the house and the discussions between romance author Dinah and Romantic poets expert William. Pop this into your vacation bag - or give yourself a mini-vacation read. This is sure to be in demand. Recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

A character driven summer read full of heartbreak and hope. I enjoyed this family saga centering around two sisters and their father as the face new directions in life and find happiness again.

Reviewed by Comfy Chair Books/Lisa Reigel (March 19, 2024)
ARC provided by publisher via Netgalley

Review will be posted on 4/23/24 https://comfychairbooks.com/

I love Nancy Thayer books and in the last few years the books that she has published, I feel this has a much better storyline and is very interesting to read. Less repetitions. Fun and likeable characters, I really enjoyed reading it. This was definitely a 5 star read for me.

Lovely story. Eddie is an assistant to a romance writer who is quite dependent on her. Eddies sister calls her and asks doe help with their father and the opening of her new store in the small town they live in. She comes home for a month and is shocked by the state of the house. It is literally filled with books. Their father keeps buying them and they are everywhere. She gets help from her old boyfriend to build shelves in the barn to try and sell them. Then she gets a frantic call from her author and invites her to come visit. There is romance, friendships being made and a new direction of several of their lives

A very good story

I got this book from netgalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

THE SUMMER WE STARTED OVER was a delight to read. The story drew me right away and put a smile on my face. Every year I can count on a good story from Nancy Thayer and that's why she will always be one of my favorite authors. This is a perfect book for the summer that I can highly recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for my gifted ARC>

Life hasn’t been easy for the Grant family. Sisters, Eddie and Barrett have moved with their father, a former Professor, to Nantucket CT. After college, Eddie can’t wait to leave Nantucket and moves to NY as an assistant to a romance writer. Barrett, on the other hand, loves living on Nantucket and dreams of opening her own shop. This is a heartwarming, feel good story of two sisters. Barrett who knows exactly what she wants and the other, Eddie, who thinks she has everything she could ever want. That is, until she comes back to Nantucket to help Barrett open her shop.
I loved this heartwarming book and all the characters, even the horse! Taking a chance on success and love is not always easy, but the author made it an enjoyable read.
Thank you Netgalley and Random House Ballantine Books for an early copy. This review is my honest opinion.

The Summer We Started Over by Nancy Thayer is an amazing read about two sisters, Eddie and Barrett, who reconnect when Eddie returns home to Nantucket for the summer months! I loved reading about the island settings, such as Barrett's shop, Nantucket Blues, and the bookshop established in their father's barn. Also the characters, especially Eddie's boss, Dinah Lavender, the best selling author of romance fiction. When the two sisters meet up with their childhood friend, Dove and her son, life really gets complicated, but sure does built into a beautifully, heartfelt saga well worth a readers time!

The Summer We Started Over is summer vacation in book form. It’s languid, meandering, and undemanding. The Nantucket setting is woven into the story and Nancy Thayer transports the reader there with her descriptions of its landmarks and lifestyle.

This is a slow moving, character driven family saga full of heartbreak and hope. It centers on sisters, Eddie and Barrett, their father, and their life on Nantucket after a family tragedy. There are elements of romance and pursuing one’s dreams. It’s about putting the pieces of a broken heart back together and learning to welcome happiness.

The things that make this book a terrific addition to a beach bag are the same things that made it easy to put it down. I never connected with either of the main characters and found my mind wandering as I pushed myself to finish the book. My timing in picking up this book may have contributed to my lukewarm reaction to it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love books set on Nantucket and this one did not disappoint! Eddie decides to return to Nantucket to help her sister Barrett while she opens her store. Their father William is a book horder and Eddie attempts to remedy this by opening a bookstore in their old barn. Eccentric Dinah who is Eddie’s employer joins them and makes things very interesting. Add in a few hunky guys and some long lost relatives and the book has a bit of everything from romance to a mystery to sadness. Can’t forget to mention Duke the dog and Duchess the horse !! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a heartwarming tale of love and loss amidst a backdrop of sun-drenched beaches and summery evenings. The author's vivid descriptions allowed my senses to experience this beautiful beach town from the comfort of my own home. You can feel the chemistry between characters, and I was immersed from page 1. Keep them coming, Ms. Thayer!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

The perfect book for summer. Spring is almost over and if you need that book to read on the beach or lake, this one is it. You won’t regret it. I loved this writers style of putting words on to paper.