Every time I read one of Nancy Thayer's books set in
Nantucket, I want to pack
my bags, and head to the place she writes so beautifully
about.
THE
GUEST COTTAGE introduces you to Sophie Anderson who's
world has
just been turned upside down by her husband, Zack. He
tells her he is in
love with a younger woman and wants a divorce. Sophie is
shocked and
thinks a two month vacation on Nantucket would be the
perfect thing to fix
all of the family problems. Sophie's friend has offered
up their family beach
house for her to rent.
Well, of course Zack doesn't want to go. He wants
to move in with his girlfriend. So Sophie packs up the
kids and heads over
to Nantucket. The beach house is perfect, plenty of room,
and just what
she and the kids need.
Recently widowed Trevor and his young son, Leo
also decide to rent the same house from the other owner.
Well, isn't this
going to be interesting?
After a trial run of one week, Sophie and Trevor decide
they can all stay in
the house together. The kids all get along and Sophie and
Trevor hit it off
quickly. Yes, they are attracted to each other, but
Sophie is older than
Trevor and she has a problem with that. The two adults
work out basic
rules and spend a somewhat uneventful summer living in the
same house,
as friends and relatives come and go visiting them. As the
summer passes,
both families grow closer and learn to accept and enjoy
each other in the
house.
THE GUEST COTTAGE is full of interesting and fascinating
twists and
turns as the days pass. It paints a fascinating picture of
a life that moves in
totally unexpected ways across the summer. As they get to
know one
another, some interesting things are revealed. These
revealations will keep you
turning the pages rather quickly. Everyone wants to know
what is
happening after the book ends and there is an epilogue to
hopefully, give
you the answers you are looking for. I really appreciate
it when the author
adds on to the story, and THE GUEST COTTAGE does not
disappoint.
In addition to the beautiful and magical setting in THE
GUEST COTTAGE,
Nancy Thayer has a way of creating characters that readers
can relate to.
It is the characters and their personal journeys that keep
us coming back to
the books of the wonderful and talented author. I
instantly fell in love with
the characters and wanted to be on the beach with them
playing in the
sand.
THE GUEST COTTAGE is about family, and discovering what
makes a family. It's about two people finally forced to
honestly face their
own past. It's a romance between two broken souls,
discovering there is
life after the first love of your life has been taken away
or moved on.
New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer whisks readers back to the beloved island of Nantucket in this delightful novel about two single parents who accidentally rent the same summer house—and must soon decide where their hearts truly lie.
Sensible thirty-six-year-old Sophie Anderson has always known what to do. She knows her role in life: the supportive wife of a successful architect and calm, capable mother of two. But on a warm summer night, as the house grows quiet around her and her children fall asleep, she wonders what’s missing from her life. When her husband echoes that lonely question, announcing that he’s leaving her for another woman, Sophie realizes she has no idea what’s next. Impulsively renting a guest cottage on Nantucket from her friend Susie Swenson, Sophie rounds up her kids, Jonah and Lacey, and leaves Boston for a quiet family vacation, minus one.
Also minus one is single parent Trevor Black, a software entrepreneur who has recently lost his wife. Trevor is the last person he would think could raise a little boy like Leo by himself at any age, much less at thirty. Leo’s a sweet, smart boy, but he grapples constantly with his mother’s death, growing more and more closed off. Hoping a quiet summer on the Nantucket coast will help him reconnect with Leo, Trevor rents a guest house on the beautiful island from his friend Ivan Swenson.
But best-laid plans run awry when Sophie and Trevor realize they’ve accidentally rented the same house. Determined to make this a summer their kids will always remember, the two agree to share the Swensons’ Nantucket house. But as the summer unfolds and the families grow close, Sophie and Trevor must ask themselves if the guest cottage is all they want to share.
Inspiring and true to life, The Guest Cottage is Nancy Thayer at her finest, inscribing matters of the heart and the meaning of family in graceful, knowing prose.
Excerpt
Sophie had always been a cautious person, a good girl. The idea of spending her inheritance to rent a house, sight unseen, on Nantucket, a resort island she had only visited on day trips, was downright epic for her. The house looked British, like something out of an old black-and-white mystery involving butlers and Bentleys, except shingled with gray wood instead of built with brick or stone. An ancient, thick wisteria vine drooped its violet blooms over the front door. Trellises covered with climbing pink roses framed the doors of the two wings. What a perfect summer house! It wouldn’t matter if Sophie never dusted, if the kids tracked sand in, if it rained for days in a row. Sophie rose, turning to see her son and daughter standing in the doorway of the music room, both her children staring at her as if she’d turned into green cheese. A man stood there, too, holding the hand of a little boy. What? For one frightening moment, Sophie thought she was hallucinating. “Hello?” the man greeted her, tentatively, carefully, as if she might start foaming at the mouth. “Sorry,” Sophie said, wiping the tears away. “Sorry. Got carried away. How can I help you?” The man smiled quizzically. “Um, well, not to be rude, but, uh, you can tell me what you’re doing in my house.” He was tall and incredibly good-looking, with thick black hair and green eyes with such dark lashes it looked as if he’d used eyeliner. “Your house? This is our house.” The man was young, younger than Sophie, and his clothes gave him an adolescent air, especially his rumpled T- shirt printed with the slogan Geeks Do It with More Ram. Politely, he inquired, “This house is the old Swenson guest cottage, right?” “It is. I’m renting it from Susie Swenson.” “Ah. Now we’re getting somewhere. I’m renting it from Ivan Swenson. Susie and Ivan are cousins. And not particularly communicative with each other, it seems.” Sophie stared speechlessly. Her unexpected piano tsunami had flushed away her usual, Capable Mommy persona. It didn’t help that the young man was jaw-droppingly handsome. She had to turn her eyes away from him in order to think. Her children frowned at her. She rose from the bench. “Maybe I’d better join you in the living room. We need to sort this out.” “Good idea.” The man approached Sophie with his hand held out, his small son clinging to his leg and gawking wide- eyed at Sophie as if she might explode at any moment. “I’m Trevor Black. From Boston. This is my son, Leo.” Trevor Black was relaxed, easy in his body, present but not pressing. Zack always came on strong—the blazing smile, the hearty greeting. Trevor’s hand was a bridge, not a rope to jerk her into Zack’s realm. She lightly touched his palm, and her heart leapt in her chest. Oh, good. She was physically attracted to some random young guy right in front of her children. Nice. She knew her cheeks were scarlet. She withdrew her hand and summoned up any dignity she could find. “Sophie Anderson, also from Boston. This is Jonah and Lacey. Come on, kids. Let’s all sit down and talk.” She gestured toward the living room like Vanna White, feeling silly. They sat on facing sofas. Lacey was almost on top of Sophie while Jonah, obviously embarrassed by his mother, sat at the end. Across from them, Trevor sat with his son squeezed next to him, leg to leg. “Where should we start?” Sophie asked.
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