Nantucket Sisters


Book Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more. Friendship takes center stage in New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer’s captivating, emotionally charged novel featuring all the tenderness and wit, drama and romance that readers have come to expect from this insightful, much-loved writer. When they meet as girls on a beach in Nantucket, Maggie McIntyre and Emily Porter become fast friends—though Emily’s well-heeled mother would prefer that she associate with the upscale daughters of bankers and statesmen rather than the child of a local seamstress. But the two lively, imaginative girls nevertheless spend many golden summers together building castles in the sand, creating magical worlds of their own, and forging grand plans for their future. Even as Emily falls for Maggie’s brother, Ben, and the young women’s paths diverge, the duo remain close friends. Then the unthinkable happens: Handsome, charismatic, charming, and incredibly sexy Wall Street trader Cameron Chadwick upends both their lives and disrupts their friendship. Struggling with the tough choices they must make and the secrets they must keep, the two young women discover that the road to love and fulfillment is full of bumps and twists. And while true love may be rare, Maggie and Emily find that friendship is even rarer—and more valuable still. Praise for Nantucket Sisters “Thayer obviously knows her Nantucket, and the strong sense of place makes this the perfect escapist book for the summer, particularly for fans of Elin Hilderbrand.”—Booklist “Thayer keeps readers on the edge of their seats with her dramatic story spanning the girls’ childhood to adulthood. This wonderful beach read packs a punch.”—Library Journal Praise for Nancy Thayer Beachcombers “Thayer’s sense of place is powerful, and her words are hung together the way my grandmother used to tat lace.”—Dorothea Benton Frank “A charming and fun summer read . . . Readers will love this story of family and love.”—The Plain Dealer Summer Breeze “Nancy Thayer is the queen of beach books. . . . All [these characters] are involved in life-changing choices, with all the heart-wrenching decisions such moments demand.”—The Star-Ledger “An entertaining and lively read that is perfect for summer reading indulgence.”—Wichita Falls Times Record News Island Girls “A book to be savored and passed on to the good women in your life.”—Susan Wiggs “Full of emotion and just plain fun, this novel is delightful.”—Romance Reviews Today




Surfside Sisters


Book Description

Returning to her Nantucket childhood home in the wake of personal and professional setbacks, novelist Keely Green is forced to face her estranged best friend, Isabelle, and when she begins to fall for Isabelle's brother, things become complicated.




Family Reunion


Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A longtime Nantucket resident is trying to make the best of a lonely summer. Her spirited granddaughter is learning what she wants out of life. Unforgettable surprises await them both in this magical, multigenerational novel from Nancy Thayer. “Readers come to Nancy Thayer novels for the idyllic Nantucket beaches and lifestyle, but they stay for the characters.”—Mary Alice Monroe Eleanor Sunderland loves living on Nantucket in a gorgeous cliffside home that has been in her family for decades. Yet this year she can’t help but feel a bit isolated, even as the island comes alive with summer travelers. Her best friend has skipped town, leaving Eleanor lonely and feeling nostalgic about her family’s weekend trips to the island, made less frequently in the years since her husband’s passing. Now her money-driven children complain and beg her to sell her beloved home for a steep payout. Hoping to kick the season off on a good note, Eleanor decides her seventieth birthday may be the perfect occasion for a much-needed reunion. Fresh from her college graduation, Eleanor’s granddaughter, Ari, has just ended an engagement. She longs for a change of scenery and to escape from her parents’ snobbish expectations. Taking advantage of her newfound freedom, she heads to Nantucket to clear her head before graduate school, moving in with her grandmother and taking a job at the local beach camp. As she watches Eleanor begin to form a bond with an old acquaintance, Ari herself becomes smitten with a friend’s charming older brother. But just as grandmother and granddaughter fall into a carefree routine, a few shocking discoveries throw them off course. Eleanor and Ari learn to lean on each other through every new challenge they face in life and love, in this tale filled with Nancy Thayer’s signature Nantucket magic. “Nancy Thayer’s Family Reunion is a wonderful slice of life.”—New York Times bestselling author Brenda Novak




The Identicals


Book Description

The instant New York Times bestseller is "a fun, delightful, un-putdownable novel" about two identical twin sisters who couldn't look more alike . . . or live more differently (PopSugar). Nantucket is only eleven miles away from Martha's Vineyard. But they may as well be worlds apart for estranged twin sisters Harper and Tabitha Frost. After not speaking for more than a decade, Harper and Tabitha switch islands-and lives-to save what's left of their splintered family. But the twins quickly discover that the secrets, lies, and gossip they thought they'd outrun can travel between islands just as easily as they can. Will Harper and Tabitha be able to bury the hatchet and end their sibling rivalry once and for all? Before the last beach picnic of the season, there will be enough old resentments, new loves, and cases of mistaken identity to make this the most talked-about summer that Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket have experienced in ages. "Parent Trap vibes with an adult twist...One of Hilderbrand's most binge-worthy confections." —Elisabeth Egan, New York Times




Summer Love


Book Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Old secrets come to light when four friends gather on Nantucket for a life-changing reunion in this heartwarming novel of love and self-discovery by New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer. “The next generation discovers the magic of the island in this big-hearted book so vivid you’ll almost be able to smell the ocean air as you turn each page.”—E! News When four strangers rent bargain-basement rooms in an old hotel near the beach, they embark on the summer of their lives. First there’s Ariel Spencer, who has big dreams of becoming a writer and is looking for inspiration in Nantucket’s high society. Her new friend Sheila Murphy is a good Catholic girl from Ohio whose desire for adventure is often shadowed by her apprehension. Then there’s small-town Missourian Wyatt Smith, who’s immediately taken with Ariel. The last of the four, Nick Volkov, is looking to make a name for himself and have a blast along the way. Despite their differences, the four bond over trips to the beach, Wednesday-night dinners, and everything that Nantucket has to offer. But venturing out on their own for the first time, with all its adventure and risks, could change the course of their lives. Twenty-six years after that amazing summer, Ariel, Sheila, Wyatt, and Nick reunite at the hotel where they first met. Now it’s called The Lighthouse and Nick owns the entire operation with his wife and daughter. Ariel and Wyatt, married for decades, arrive with their son, and Sheila’s back too, with her daughter by her side. Life hasn’t exactly worked out the way they had all hoped. Ariel’s dreams have since faded and been pushed aside, but she’s determined to rediscover the passion she once had. Nick has the money and reputation of a successful businessman, but is it everything he had hoped for? And Sheila has never been able to shake the secret she’s kept since that summer. Being back together again will mean confronting the past and finding themselves. Meanwhile, the next generation discovers Nantucket: Their children explore the island together, experiencing love and heartbreak and forging lifelong bonds, just as their parents did all those years ago. It’s sure to be one unforgettable reunion. This delightful novel from beloved storyteller Nancy Thayer explores the potential of dreams and the beauty of friendship.




Island Girls


Book Description

New York Times bestseller Nancy Thayer returns to her beloved Nantucket in this moving, entertaining tale of three sisters reunited. Perfect for readers of Santa Montefiore and Barbara Delinsky. When charming ladies' man Rory Randall dies, he leaves one last trick behind. If his three daughters - from three marriages - hope to inherit their Nantucket family home, they must spend a summer living in it...together. But can the sisters put years of tension and misunderstanding behind them? TV presenter Arden hasn't returned to the Island since she was a teenager; college professor Meg just wants to get on with her writing; and secretive Jenny is grappling with questions about her identity. As the three women discover newfound sisterhood, there are challenges still to come. And when a visitor drops by to deliver shocking news, the past comes back with a vengeance. Can the Randall sisters finally learn to forgive, and move on once and for all?




The Restaurant


Book Description

Three sisters. An inherited Nantucket restaurant. One year before they can sell. Jill lives a glamorous life in Manhattan as a co-owner of a successful executive search firm. Never married, she is in her mid-thirties and lives in a stunning, corner condo with breathtaking views of the city and Hudson river. Everyone thinks there's something going on with her partner, Billy, because as a workaholic, she spends more time with him than anyone else. There never has been, but Jill is starting to wonder if there could be. Emma lives in Arizona and is an elementary school teacher and an aspiring photographer. She met her college professor husband, Peter, in grad school and they've been married for fifteen years. In recent years, she's noticed that Peter has grown distant. But when he shares a surprising secret, she doesn't see it coming and her world is turned upside down. Mandy has two children and is married to her college sweetheart, Cory, who runs a wildly successful hedge fund from Nantucket. Now that the children are older, Mandy has more free time and is eager to do more than just volunteer with local charity events. But Cory doesn't want her to work. He thinks it doesn't reflect well on him and appearances are everything to Cory. Though when Mandy finds something unusual in his gym bag, she begins to question what is really going on. The girls are stunned when they learn about the restaurant, Mimi's Place and the condition their grandmother added to the will, leaving the restaurant equally to Mandy, Emma, and Jill--and also to Paul, the chef for the past twelve years, and Emma’s first love.




The Island House


Book Description

New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer evokes the shimmering seascape of Nantucket in a delightful novel that resonates with the heartache and hope of growing up, growing wise, and the bittersweet choices we must be brave enough to make. Courtney Hendricks will never forget the magical summers she spent on Nantucket with her college roommate, Robin Vickerey, and Robin’s charismatic, turbulent, larger-than-life family, in their gorgeous island house. Now a college English professor in Kansas City, Courtney is determined to experience one more summer in this sun-swept paradise. Her reason for going is personal: Courtney needs to know whether Robin’s brother James shares the feelings she’s secretly had for him. Time with the Vickerey family always involves love and laughter, and this season is no different. Vivacious matriarch Susanna Vickerey is celebrating her sixtieth birthday, but beneath the merriment, trouble is brewing. The family patriarch, Dr. Alastair Vickerey, is quiet and detached, while unspoken tension looms over oldest son Henry, a respected young surgeon. Warm and witty Robin, the most grounded of the siblings, is keeping a secret from her parents. Iris, the colorful baby of the brood, remains rudderless and in need of guidance. And the sexy, stunningly handsome, untouchable James—to Courtney’s dismay—may be in love with a beautiful and vibrant local artist. As the summer unfolds, a crisis escalates, surprising truths are revealed, and Courtney will at last find out where her heart and her future lie. Weaving the trials and uncertainty of real life into a tapestry of passion, hope, and courage, The Island House is a beautifully told story about the ties that bind us—and how the blessings of love and family heal us in ways we never dream possible. Praise for The Island House “Thayer’s latest should be filed under a Best Beach Reads of 2016 list. . . . The characters are complex and their struggles and concerns feel real. . . . Thayer has a really wonderful ability to showcase the meaning of family.”—RT Reviews “A perfect book to read while sticking your toes in the sand this summer!”—Bookish Devices “A touching story about friendship, family, and the uncertainty of love.”—Bustle Praise for Nancy Thayer The Guest Cottage “A sweet book with romance, laughter, and love after loss . . . Thayer knows her Nantucket history, and it shines in this book.”—RT Book Reviews “It’s a pleasant escape to a state of mind in which rebuilding a life is as simple as pitching an umbrella and spreading out a towel.”—Kirkus Reviews Nantucket Sisters “Thayer obviously knows her Nantucket, and the strong sense of place makes this the perfect escapist book for the summer, particularly for fans of Elin Hilderbrand.”—Booklist “Thayer keeps readers on the edge of their seats with her dramatic story spanning the girls’ childhood to adulthood. This wonderful beach read packs a punch.”—Library Journal Island Girls “A book to be savored and passed on to the good women in your life.”—Susan Wiggs “Full of emotion and just plain fun, this novel is delightful.”—Romance Reviews Today




Barefoot


Book Description

From marriage, infidelity, and the mayhem of motherhood to scandal, tragedy, and illness—three women seek peace and comfort in Nantucket as they cope with life's challenges. Three women—burdened with small children, unwieldy straw hats, and some obvious emotional issues—tumble onto the Nantucket airport tarmac one hot June day. Vicki is trying to sort through the news that she has a serious illness. Her sister, Brenda, has just left her job after being caught in an affair with a student. And their friend Melanie, after seven failed in vitro attempts, is pregnant at last—but only after learning that her husband is having an affair. They have come to escape, enjoy the sun, and relax in Nantucket's calming air. But into the house, into their world, steps twenty-two-year-old Josh Flynn. ​ Barefoot weaves these four lives together in a story with enthralling sweep and scope—a novel that is as fun and memorable and bittersweet as that one perfect day of summer.




Girls of Summer


Book Description

One life-changing summer on Nantucket brings about exhilarating revelations for a single mother and her two grown children in this sensational novel from New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer. “Wholesome and hopelessly romantic.”—Kirkus Reviews Lisa Hawley is perfectly satisfied living on her own. Having fully recovered from a brutal divorce nearly two decades earlier, she has successfully raised her kids, Juliet and Theo, seeing them off to college and beyond. As the owner of a popular boutique on Nantucket, she’s built a fulfilling life for herself on the island where she grew up. With her beloved house in desperate need of repair, Lisa calls on Mack Whitney, a friendly—and very handsome—local contractor and fellow single parent, to do the work. The two begin to grow close, and Lisa is stunned to realize that she might be willing to open up again after all . . . despite the fact that Mack is ten years her junior. Juliet and Theo worry that Mack will only break their mother’s heart—and they can’t bear to see her hurt again. Both stuck in ruts of their own, they each hope that a summer on Nantucket will provide them with the clarity they’ve been searching for. When handsome entrepreneur Ryder Hastings moves to the island to expand his environmental nonprofit, Juliet, an MIT-educated web designer, feels an immediate attraction, one her rocky love life history pushes her to deny at first. Meanwhile, free spirit Theo finds his California bliss comes to a brutal halt when a surfing injury forces him back to the East Coast. Upon his return, he has eyes only for Mack’s daughter, Beth, to whom he is bound by an unspeakable tragedy from high school. Can they overcome their past? As the season unfolds, a storm threatens to shatter the peace of the golden island, forcing Lisa, Juliet, and Theo to decide whether their summer romances are destined for something more profound. Nancy Thayer dazzles again in this delightful tale of family, a reminder that sometimes, finding our way back home can bring us unexpected gifts.