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Love, Secrets, and Second Chances—February’s Must-Read Books Await!

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A Stray Pup, A Second Chance, and a Killer on the Loose�Wagtail�s About to Get Wild!


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As London's high society watches their every move, can these two brilliant minds find the formula for true love?


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The Summer We Started Over

The Summer We Started Over, May 2024
by Nancy Thayer

Ballantine Books
320 pages
ISBN: 0593724003
EAN: 9780593724002
Kindle: B0CF1816XG
Hardcover / e-Book / audiobook
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"Lovely spirited tale of second chances"

Fresh Fiction Review

The Summer We Started Over
Nancy Thayer

Reviewed by Sandra Wurman
Posted April 26, 2024

Women's Fiction Contemporary

Eddie Grant just may be the biggest enabler ever. Her relationship with her employer, an author, is at a junction where her own life and desires will be in jeopardy. Maybe meant to be comical but is rather frightening. Eddie’s family, her father and sister, need her.
 
Sister Barrett is opening a Nantucket shop filled with blue items. Barrett is content staying on the island. And after holding down lots of odd jobs she has saved enough to go after her dream of owning the shop. Always risky in a small town that depends on seasonal visitors.
 
Dad William has been ruminating over the loss of his son and his divorce. Barrett and her dad have made a good life for themselves. Comfortable in their living arrangements in the family house. The island life and pace seem to fit them pretty well. Eddie has been successful off the island but returns to support the opening of Nantucket Blue. These three, a remarkably close bunch, seemed to coalesce after the separation and loss.
 
None of them have moved ahead with their personal lives. Keeping busy with stuff. But now that they are all together for Eddie’s extended stay at home it is obvious that there is a small part of them that would love to have someone.
 
The Grant family also has a new project that is growing exponentially daily. With the help of Dinah the very accomplished author and Eddie’s boss the idea of a used bookstore gains speed. All hands are on deck for this task. What is so entertaining and heartwarming is the care and love these characters have for each other. Their shared respect and devotion. In THE SUMMER WE STARTED OVER it is obvious that so many of the folks are seeing themselves through new eyes. Nancy Thayer created some lovely characters and through their interaction, we are all part of the growth and discovery of their potential. One quote I will insert from this lovely book is all books are self-help books. Reading is more than just fundamental it’s a rewarding tool. Voracious readers like me have great reverence for the written tomb. Nancy Thayer includes her homage to books and authors and the memories of gracious moments reading their works of literary art.
 
Through her dialog and characters, Nancy Thayer reminds us why we love to read. We are all romantics in our souls and there is no better way to spend a day than with a romantic novel, based in ancient times or the present day. Hard to choose a favorite character in THE SUMMER WE STARTED OVER as there are so many to choose from. But I think most will agree that flamboyant Dinah and reclusive William, Eddie and Barrett’s father, will carve out a place in your heart. Nancy Thayer designed this book to include several restarts. It will definitely win her even more fans.
 
 

Learn more about The Summer We Started Over

SUMMARY

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.

Eddie Grant is happy with her life and her work as a personal assistant to Dinah Lavender, one of the most famous and renowned romance authors in the business. But being a spectator to notoriety and glamour isn’t as fulfilling as she once thought. Thankfully, Eddie has the perfect excuse for a vacation: Her hardworking younger sister, Barrett, is opening her gift shop on Memorial Day weekend, and could use all the help she can get. 

But going home to the beautiful island of Nantucket means facing the family’s difficult past. Shortly after the death of Eddie and Barrett’s brother, their mother left them and their father made the spontaneous decision to buy a small farm. Eddie stayed there for only a year before her family’s grief threatened to consume her as well, and had been living in Manhattan ever since. Now that she is back, Eddie must face all she left behind: her father’s increased eccentricities, which has led to a house bursting at the seams with books; her sister’s resentment over Eddie’s escape; and a past love connection, one that is still undeniable and complicated, all these years later. But the Grant sisters are nothing if not resilient and capable, opening a used bookstore in their father’s abandoned barn to manage his hoarding, and navigating the discovery of a long-buried family secret that will change all of them forever. 

In The Summer We Started Over, beloved storyteller Nancy Thayer transports readers with a moving story about family, courage, and the resiliency of young women.


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