Jamie Brenner is one of my favorite authors and this book did not disappoint! This book is the perfect summer read even though I read it during a snow storm. I will definitely recommend this book to all my friends.

I really enjoyed this wonderful current novel, taking place in Sag Harbor, Long Island. Stunned with an unexpected gift, a mother and daughter's life is turned upside down. Beautifully woven and well developed characters, as well as an excellent depiction of challenges of motherhood, teen age years, and old age. This book is a heartfelt demonstration of the power of love, forgiveness, friendship, and family. Thank you NetGalley for the advance reader copy of this book for my review. All opinions are my own.

Jamie Brenner does it again with an inventive summer read. When 14 year old Penny inherits the house of an eccentric artist millionaire, her and her mother's lives are turned upside down. However, they are not the only ones who can make a case for having a claim to the house and priceless artwork inside.

This novel has new twists and turns cropping up constantly, but they worked perfectly together. By the end of the book, I was attached to all of the characters and didn't want it to end! Even though there is not a cliffhanger ending, I could absolutely read another book that is a continuation of this story!

Emma Mapson worked at the front desk at the American hotel in Sag Harbor. She got to know many of the guests as did her daughter, Penny. Penny became especially close to a local artist named Henry who one day died while having a drink at the bar at the hotel. It was devastating for Penny because he was mentoring her as an artist and they had become very close.
This is the story of some people trying to use you for your money and others just wanting to help you. It is a book that talks of people’s problems and how they work through them. It’s a book that will make you feel very good at the end

"There's no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one."
-Jill Churchill, "Grime and Punishment"

Do you have an author you reach for when you're needing a certain kind of fix? I read a large number of dark novels and I find it important to space those out with some lighter reads. I stumbled upon Jamie Brenner 3 years ago when I won a giveaway featuring her novel The Wedding Sisters and instantly knew I'd found my go-to author for all things uplifting and feel good. I found myself picking up Drawing Home on a whim this past weekend while needing a pick me up, and it was just the ticket to send my mood soaring.

"My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage."
-Aunt Frances, "Practical Magic" (1998)

In typical Brenner fashion, we find ourselves whisked away to a world full of glorious beaches, tense family bonds, and a light mystery that keeps a slight vein of suspense accessible to the reader. I find this compilation to be highly engaging in a compulsively readable way, ensuring these "beach reads" to be a fantastic slump buster and escape from reality, even if just for a few hours. I don't want to spoil anything, and the synopsis gives you everything you need going into this book, but I was highly satisfied with the emotional arc of the family dynamics and relationships in the story, and also pleased with how everything wraps up in the end. Another fabulous read from the New England Queen!

After reading Brenner's The Husband Hour, I knew I had to read Drawing Home. I was not disappointed and devoured it in less than 24 hours. In the tourist town of Sag Harbor, Emma works the front desk of a bustling hotel. A Harbor native, she has watched characters come and go, but none with the lasting effects of Henry Wyatt. When Wyatt, upon his sudden death, leaves Emma's teenage daughter his million dollar home, Brennan leads the reader into a tale of love, loss, and the affirmation that family may not be determined by blood, but by life's circumstances that bind us together.

I would definitely mark this as a must-read! Thank you NetGalley for the arc of this fantastic book.

“The past is never over. The past informs the present and therefore shapes the future.”

3.5 Stars for this quick read. Nice to have a read set in the summer while celebrating Christmas. I really enjoyed the author’s ‘The Husband Hour’ so was looking forward to this book. I was a little disappointed in the predictability of the story. At times I needed to put down the book because I wanted to smack some the characters! Although, I did/do enjoy Ms. Brenner’s writing and look forward to her next book, this one left me wanting more....backbone, anger, drama before the ending. I enjoyed the snippets of history about Sag Harbor.

Emma is raising Penny as a single Mom living in Sag Harbor. Penny befriends a transplanted famous artist, Henry Wyatt. When Henry suddenly passes, he leaves his vaste fortune to Penny. Enter Bea, his friend and person responsible for his fame, who is outraged that this windfall wasn’t left to her. She moves into house that should rightfully be hers, but isn’t. Enter a greedy ex husband, hunky assistant and an exclusive fundraiser.

That’s to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Imagine you are a single mom barely making ends meat when suddenly your daughter has inherited a mansion from a man you only know from the hotel you managed. Emma 's life is turned upside down when this happens. This was such a fun and heart warming story. Jamie Brenner has a true gift for bringing fascinating and relatable characters come to life. Very enjoyable!

"The people and places you discover along the way in life can be as significant- sometimes more significant- than the family you're born into."

This is a wonderful book about love and forgiveness and family - not just the family you are born into but the family that you create with the people you love. The characters are well written - flaws and all and feel like people I know in my life.

Emma and her daughter Penny live in Sag Harbor. Emma works long hours at a hotel and struggles financially to take care of her daughter. Penny struggles with OCD and her self-esteem. She has befriended a world renowned artist who lives in town and helps her take her drawing talent to a higher level. When he dies unexpectedly, he leaves his home and art work to Penny. No one is more shocked that Bea, an art dealer and good friend from his younger years and she moves into the house and decides to contest the will. As the battle wages over the ownership of the house and art work, there are lessons to be learned about love and family and forgiveness.

This is a wonderful heart warming novel and has a terrific ending.

Thanks to netgalley for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.

This was a fun and quick read. I love stories that take place on Long Island and this story did not disappoint. The characters in this book were very realistic and quirky. Great plot and the dialogue was just right.

A special thank you to NetGalley and for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely devoured The Husband Hour and was thrilled to review Brenner's latest work. Set in Sag Harbor, Drawing Home is a story about an unexpected inheritance, broken promises, and how family can made up of those we choose.

Emma Mapson is a single mother who works at The American Hotel. Emma's teenage daughter, Penny, inherits the town's biggest and most beautiful waterfront home from famed artist Henry Wyatt. The property is incredible an is an extension of Henry's art.

Back in Manhattan, legendary art patron Bea Winstead is grieving the loss of her lifelong friend and former business partner. Her sadness soon turns to outrage when she learns that she was not the recipient of Henry's estate and artworks. Bea, along with her devoted assistant Kyle, descend on Sag Harbor determined to reclaim what's hers and preserve Henry's legacy.

Bea discovers that Henry left a collection of sketches that are scattered around the town. With Penny's reluctant help, Bea begins to piece together their meaning and discovers and unexpected twist that will change all of their lives.

In a battle over the house, Emma and Bea are forced to confront the past while they are challenged in matters of the heart.

One of Brenner's favourite themes is of the families we choose, and although this is a mother-daughter story, it is also about those we pick to be our family. I found this work a bit vanilla and by that I mean that everybody likes vanilla, but it is just...fine. Drawing Home was a nice light read but I knew where it was headed pretty quickly after starting it.

Jamie Brenner does it again with a beautifully written tale of family and friendship set in Sag Harbor. Great for book clubs and lovers of smart, women's fiction, Drawing Home tells the story of famous artist, Henry Wyatt who bequeaths his home to young, budding artist, Penny Mapson. Penny and her single mom, Emma, live a quiet life in Sag Harbor until news of the extravagant gift lures Penny's estranged father to town as well as Bea Winstead, Henry's lifelong friend and business associate. Loyalties are tried and tested while these characters, along with the thoughtful Angus and Kyle, intersect at a scenic beach town. Bittersweet with a satisfying conclusion, we come to understand the true meaning of family--and it isn't always the one we're born into.

Single mom, Emma, and daughter, Penny, have their struggles when famous artist Henry Wyatt dies. Drawing with Henry has helped Penny get past her OCD struggles, so this is a setback. They discover that Henry left his mansion on the coast to Penny in his will. Enter Bea. Bea is an old friend of Henry’s who just can’t understand why Henry would have changed an earlier will which left the house to creat a museum of his work. Emma, Bea, and Penny spend the novel working out what is happening, and why, and incur various challenges along the way. I really enjoyed this book and watching these characters discover the truth, and themselves along the way.

When a famous artist dies, he leaves his expensive, waterfront house to a young girl, Penny, a budding artist. Penny and her Mom, Emma, live in a small rental, and cannot absorb the change in circumstance which leads to meeting Bea, a woman believing the House was going to be hers to exhibit Henry’s Art. As Bea attempts to throw a wrench into the inheritance, events become complicated by Emma’s ex husband. Set in Sag Harbor, this book was entertaining, and I would recommend it.

Thanks to the publisher-Little, Brown and Company- for providing an e-ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved Drawing Home. The characters were so vibrant and relatable.

Emma and her daughter are having problems. Emma works all the time and Penny is battling OCD. Things definitely get worse when Penny’s friend, Henry, suddenly dies. To Emma and Penny’s shock, Henry leaves Penny his beautiful home.

Henry’s longtime friend, Bea, is furious his home wasn’t left to her so she begins a court case to save what she thinks should be hers. What happens next is life changing.

This is a beautiful story about coming into your own, special friendships, and creating new relationships that will change your life. I really loved this book and simply adored the ending.

Sort of typical chick lit romance... I enjoyed the book but I am not sure I would suggest. I have read a few of her other books and the writing is consistent and the stories are predictable.

Drawing Home is the engaging novel of a mother and daughter and the magical inheritance that is left to teenaged Penny. Emma is a struggling single parent, raising troubled daughter Penny who has acute anxiety and OCD. Penny is left a multi-million dollar mansion and art collection by a famous artist she had become close to. Their relationship revealed a budding talent on her part and his desire to nurture her.

Rather than the inheritance being a the moment of positive change, it becomes the catalyst for several new characters to enter their lives. Much of their appearance in the novel is coupled with malevolent intentions. The elderly Bea challenges the inheritance, while Penny's ever-absent father reappears and tries to gain control of Penny and the estate.

This engrossing novel takes place in Sag Harbor (the other Hampton) during a summer when the town is recovering from a large fire which decimated much of the main street and destroyed the beloved movie theater and some shops. Brenner skillfully blends the history of the town, the current upheaval with the strange inheritance left to young Penny.

Emma is coping with life changes, surrounded by interlopers and sudden fortune, but manages to remain level headed and deal with all the commotion around her. Wealth and turmoil are coped with, and inevitable changes present the reader with fine closure. Each character is well-developed and none painted without nuance.

I enjoyed the novel and am sure my reading groups will have rich discussions about the issues. Since I am on a faculty of a Long Island school, I am certain that many of my readers will be familiar with the area and enjoy touring Sag Harbor with the skillful author.