Family Reunion by Nancy Thayer – a Review

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Description:
Eleanor Sunderland loves living on the Nantucket cliffside, in a charming home that has been in her family for decades. Now widowed, she looks forward to the arrival of her children and grandchildren for an annual family reunion, eager for the life and laughter that will soon fill the air.

But Eleanor’s island idyll is shattered when her money-driven children suggest she sell the house and move to a retirement community. She finds a lone ally in her twenty-two-year-old granddaughter, Ari, who moves in with her for the summer. Ari longs for a change of scenery, to stray from the path her parents have set for her. What she does not expect is an electric romantic spark with a Nantucket local, Cal, whose kind heart and charisma have her absolutely smitten.

With plenty of her signature Nantucket magic, Nancy Thayer brings both Eleanor and Ari on a summer beyond their wildest imaginations, filled with exciting connections, old and new.

Review:

Family Reunion by Nancy Thayer was a wonderful heartwarming standalone novel taking place in Nantucket, with two wonderful heroines and their family. Eleanor Sunderland, our heroine, loves her life living in Nantucket, and though she is widowed and alone in this big house by the ocean, she is happy and content.   When the family comes to visit to celebrate her 70^th birthday, they try to pressure her to sell.  Her daughter, Alicia and son, Cliff want her to sell it so that can make millions, claiming she can go to a nice retirement home. Eleanor has no intention to allow her children to take what she still loves. Ari the granddaughter (the other heroine)  is awesome, and loves spending time with her grandmother in Nantucket.  Especially in the busy summer. 

Ari has just broken her engagement with her boyfriend, whom she now knows she does not love him, even if they been friends since school.  She decides to spend the summer at Nantucket with her grandmother, and starts a job working as a counselor at a camp for children, especially those that have no money.  Ari meets new friends that work at the camp, as well as others that are from the wealthy side.  I really loved everything about Ari, and how much she loved her grandmother, both watching tv mysteries, cooking and just listening to her grandmother telling stories of the past. Personally, I did not like Alicia, since she was totally money hungry, even though her husband made good money as a surgeon, but Alicia always wanted more and more. 

As Eleanor and Ari enjoy the wonderful summer in Nantucket, there are a number of issues that pop up along the way. Ari meets the brother of a friend, whom she will begin to have feelings for, but than an unexpected issue could destroy their budding relationship.   Eleanor begins to spend time with a widowed male neighbor, and the two-start spending free time enjoying the wonderful local fun and friends.   Ari will also discover that her father might be cheating on her mother, which will add to the drama, which is part of their summer. This is a true family drama, filled with romance, greedy family members, infidelity, which affects them all. 

Family Reunion was a delightful enjoyable read from start to finish. This story centers around two great heroines in Eleanor and Ari.  Nancy Thayer wrote a beautiful, heartwarming story, in wonderful Nantucket atmosphere, which was such a wonderful book that you should be reading.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher