The Island House: A Novel
Written by Nancy Thayer
Narrated by Emily Sutton-Smith
4/5
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About this audiobook
The charms of Nantucket tempt a woman to leave her established life in Kansas City—but with a piece of her heart, and a love interest, in each world, she discovers she must look within to choose the right path.
Every summer since college, twenty-nine-year-old Jenny has traded the familiarity of the Midwest for the allure of Nantucket. Now an established university professor in Kansas City, she finds herself caught between two lifestyles and two very different men. She chooses Nantucket and the glamorous life she associates with it, unaware that the summer will take an unexpected turn, and she will have to let her heart decide what it truly wants.
Nancy Thayer
Nancy Thayer is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including Girls of Summer, Let It Snow, Surfside Sisters, A Nantucket Wedding, Secrets in Summer, The Island House, The Guest Cottage, An Island Christmas, Nantucket Sisters, and Island Girls. Born in Kansas, Thayer has been a resident of Nantucket for thirty-five years, where she currently lives with her husband, Charley, and a precocious rescue cat named Callie.
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Reviews for The Island House
96 ratings8 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What made the book so great was the great ending
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When a book’s storyline and characters are so engaging that you can’t put the book down, and you read the whole thing, cover to cover, in 24 hours, you have to recommend it to others. The Island House by Nancy Thayer is one such book. Her story is so vivid and her characters are so real, I wanted to pack my bags and fly to Nantucket to meet them and be a part of their crazy life. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and can’t wait to read something else by her.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I've enjoyed Nancy Thayer's novels in the past, but this one was hard to swallow. It was silly, sappy and sloppy. There were too many peripheral characters that didn't add much to the story. The characters were not developed well, and I felt no empathy for any of them. I was almost hoping that something bad would happen just to add some spice to the story. Did this book have editors? How can they not catch that on one page the author says one of the characters teaches science at the high school, and 20 pages later the same person is teaching history at the high school? The romances were totally undeveloped - how does one go from an 11-year crush that has not been articulated to a commitment of marriage in like 10 seconds? And don't get me started on the whole "visiting whales" story line. Really ridiculous.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5There can't be a more enjoyable book to read during the hot summer months then a Nancy Thayer revolving on and around the beautiful Island of Nantucket. I've only visited this island to the south of us once but it was incredible. She is an author that makes your mind read and see just what she is writing about and her plots and stories never get old for me, and I don't always know where her story will end. These books are once a year treasures, enjoy a good read!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I read this book because in the past I really have enjoyed this author's writing style. This story did again prove that this author knows how to write. The author also mentioned in the story two current authors; Alice Munro and Joanna Trollope; I have not read much written by these two so I will be giving these authors a try also. The story had some great intrigue at the beginning so I was hooked to read until the end to get the questions answered. I did enjoy the positive ending. I will be reading more books written by this author.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Well, this was my first "summer read" and it was disappointing. I used to love Nancy Thayer's books, couldn't wait to read them. I don't know if I've outgrown them or they just aren't as good as they used to be. Anyway, if you're looking for a beach read with hard to believe romance, you might like this book. I really didn't.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A special thank you to Random House and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Nancy Thayer returns to the island of Nantucket with THE ISLAND HOUSE, with her summer beach installment-- the story of two best friends, Courtney and Robin. From children, loves, secrets, friends, and family and lots of summer drama. (a lot of players; not a lot of depth). Meet the Vickerey Family, the Summer Children, the Family Friends, and the Cowboy.• Vickerey Family: Alastair- father, Susanna- mother, Henry-oldest child, Robin-youngest daughter, James-second son, Iris-second daughter. • Vickereys’ Summer Children: Valerie-Henry’s friend/love, Jacob-Henry’s best male friend, Courtney-Robin’s best friend, Callum Findlay-James best friend, Pearl-Iris’s best friend.• The Family Friends: Quinn Eliot, Christabel-Quinn’s daughter• The Cowboy: Monty BlackhorseThe summer children -what Susanna (now 60) called her four children’s best friends who spend every summer in the Vickery home, even though those children were adults and had been for years. Courtney is returning to Nantucket for Suzanna’s sixtieth birthday. She had come to the island eleven years ago and every summer since. Nantucket was like her second home. James Vickerey was the real reason for returning. She had been in love with him since she first met him. After what happened to them, she knew she had to return to the island for one more summer. However, Monty Blackhorse adds to her confusion. From the Midwest, now an accomplished university professor, at twenty-nine, she is caught between two men and two different lifestyles. She is here in Nantucket to figure it all out.From family, secrets, lovers, friends, mental illness, passions, romance, and relationships. A light fluff summer beach read. Sorry guys you are reading this once again. As I have mentioned previously, I really enjoyed Nancy’s older books (have read them all)—was a huge fan; however, over the last several years, the author has steered away from her earlier absorbing, engaging, and suspenseful style. The same with Elin Hilderbrand. I keep reading and waiting, and it is not happening. Guess I need to move on. Please go back and find your earlier groove. It worked! Your fans miss your earlier work. I have read other similar feedback from fans. I keep hoping and waiting.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I have read all of Nancy Thayer’s books, and, while this is not among the best, it is fairly close to the top of the list. Courtney and Robin were college roommates, with a deep, enduring friendship that continued after they finished college. Courtney spends her summers at Robin Vickerey’s house on Nantucket, along with other “guests” of Robin’s siblings. In this book, Robin and her sibs as well as their “guests”, the Summer Children, a term coined by the Vickerey matriarch Susanna, are at Nantucket to celebrate Susanna’s sixtieth birthday. As the story unfolds, several intertwining and related stories involving the many young people, the Vickereys or their friends, emerge. In and among these stories are lots of interesting and revealing secrets about the clan celebrating Susanna’s birthday at the house. In fact, just about everyone at the house has some secret they do not always wish to be revealed to and shared by all. Makes for an interesting time.The story is not too deep or involved, but it did catch my attention and entertain me. I did not find the cast of characters initially presented or their back stories confusing, as some reviewers claimed. However, having so many different stories about so many different people did not allow much time or depth for each one to be covered extensively, which might have been avoided had there been less stories involved. Still, the stories did give the reader a feel for each person in the book. It is often difficult to fully develop so many characters in one stand-alone novel such as this, but the author did a fairly good job of this—mostly by inserting typical characters, who may not have needed as much definition or development. The story provided a quick and somewhat uncomplicated overview of their lives and how they intertwined and impacted on each other, while continuing their stories at the Vickerey house to celebrate the matriarch’s birthday. This is not a particularly deep or profound book, but, rather, a good summer read, which I think was the author’s intention. The book reads smoothly and quickly. There are definite elements of chick lit (e.g. the girls being chased and pursued by the boys), but it is not too heavy into that genre. This book, like the author’s other books, gives the reader a good feel/idea about Nantucket permanent and summer/tourist residents and their lives on the island--and sometimes off island. If you enjoy Nancy Thayer’s other books, you will probably enjoy this one. As I said, it reads quickly and makes a good summer or beach read. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.