Giving this book three stars based solely on the fact that I’ve enjoyed previous works by this author. This book, these characters, just didn’t work for me. The first 50% was great and I flew through it. After that, I didn’t like any of them. Keely is a push over, her mother is selfish, Isabelle is a brat, her mother is pretentious, and the back and forth, the “I like you, but I’m not going to talk to you much” over several years was annoying. I’ll read more by this author for sure, as her past writing is very strong. This one just wasn’t for me.

It's been quite a while since I have read Nancy Thayer. I really enjoyed this coming of age story set on the island of Nantucket. Having grown up in Chatham, the statement about how they loved abd hated Nantucket for the same reasons: it was a small island where everybody knows you resonates with me.

You find yourself cheering for the characters to resolve their issues, especially Isabelle, who I found hard to like. I found her selfish, condescending, and rude but I guess that's what makes the friendship work. It would be a 5 star rating if her character was a bit more likeable.

I received a free ARC eBook from Net Galley and the publisher for my honest review.

Nancy Thayer never disappoints! I love reading about these two sisters and their lives. This is a perfect summer beach read. I will be recommending it to anyone looking for a summer read!

Surfside Sisters by Nancy Thayer
Starts with listing of author's other works which I've read many.
Dedication table of contents and acknowledgements are listed.
Starts with Keely and Isabelle and we hear all about the antics she and others when they were younger did on the island: Nantucket.
All the girls want to be Isabelle's frined because they are in love with her brother.
As the years go by the girls have gone their different ways but still talking to one another-through fights and getting back together.
Keely's father dies and they go to Isabelle's dad for the will reading. This is a sad time for me and I had to stop reading for a bit as my father died also-same circumstances and I almost lost my own spouse...
Keely is there for her mother...the finances left behind are dismal..... She wants to move back to the island and get a job, quit school and refinance to get a lower payment....
Really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more.
Twists and turns and unpredictable. About the author and her other works are included at the end. Amazing how it all comes out in the end.
Received this review copy from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.
#SurfsideSisters #NetGalley

Surfside sisters was the perfect vacation read. It had the drama of two best friends, almost sisters, that included a betrayal, shaky dreams, and the overpowering commitment for love and family. I couldn't put it down because Nancy Thayer never disappoints!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this novel.

Keely Green is a published author living in New York. New York couldn't be more different from the Nantucket Shores she has grown up on.
Growing up, Keely and her best friend Isabelle, dreamed of becoming writers. They were fascinated with words and how to arrange them into something beautiful. Keely and Isabelle were as close as sisters. Keely has always had a childhood crush on Isabelle's older brother Sebastian. She swore she would never confess her love for him to Isabelle. While Isabelle's family took vacations all over the world, Keely was at home writing and working. Her family was not as privileged as the Maxwell's and Keely always felt envious of the life Isabelle lived. Soon, after the two went off to college they began to drift apart from each other. After a terrible even, Keely returns home to help her mother but she also finds Tommy, the man that her best friend has been in love with and obsessed with since high school, has also returned. Isabelle has moved on to another man and Keely finds herself getting closer to Tommy. After a bitter betrayal, Keely flee's to New York to escape Isabelle and Tommy to write her second novel. Finally moving on and dating a handsome doctor, Keely finds herself attending glamorous parties and benefits. Struggling to write her third novel, she gets a call from back home about her mother's downward spiral. She knows that she must return to help her mother. Returning to her roots may be the answer to her writing problems. Returning to Nantucket, she runs into Sebastian, her childhood love and Isabelle's older brother. A long time ago he showed interest in her and then went off to college and lost connection. Could things actually work out now that they are both in the same place for once?
Surfside Sisters explores friendship, love, and what it means to forgive.
I honestly could not put this book down! Nancy takes you through the childhood of Keely to her adult life. I felt all the emotions of Keely's frustrations, sadness, loss, and love. I was rooting for her the whole time and Thayer painted such a beautiful picture of what it's like having a childhood on the Nantucket shores! This is a perfect summer beach read!! I seriously loved every moment of this book! Thank you so much NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for giving me an advanced copy to complete devour!

I really enjoyed The Surfside Sisters by Nancy Thayer. It was a pleasant, easy-to-read, cozy story with a richly vibrant, descriptive setting that truly came to life on the page. I also really liked the main character, Keeley Green, a Nantucket native and aspiring author. I admired her positive outlook, her can-do attitude, her determination and also compassion and generosity for others. I also loved that she was a book lover and author and we got a sneak peak into a writer’s life.

However, as much as I enjoyed this novel, I also had some major issues with it. The main theme of this story seemed to be envy. It was repeated throughout and not as a cautionary tale, along with a hearty dose of whining and proclamations of winning. A few of the key characters were absolutely reprehensible, selfish, and self-serving people, who were not portrayed in an adverse manner. The friendship between the two girls, Keeley and Isabelle, was fraught with trouble and tension. It wasn’t a healthy relationship, by any means, but again, this issue was glossed over. The romances were a bit abrupt and could have benefited from more development to make them credible. In so many of the relationships and interactions, I couldn’t help thinking that people in real life just don’t behave that way or treat others like that.
While the conclusion was nice, it also wrapped up a little too tidily. I love a good happy ending as much as the next reader, but sometimes a story can can come across a bit too perfect, especially when so many issues have been laid bare up until that point and not altogether resolved.

So, I did have some significant issues with this story, but despite that, I still really enjoyed the setting of Nantucket Island and NYC, the authorship aspects, the family and friendship focus and the tempo and general feel of the story. It was an entertaining story and pleasurable read, despite my reservations.

3.75 stars

Lara and Isabelle are best friends living in different worlds but both dream of being famous authors. Lara achieves her goal of living in New York as a successful author but then returns to Nantucket where she is forced to confront the broken relationship with her once best friend.
This is a good summer read, well-written.

Friendships change as children grow up. For Keely and Isabelle, they are determined that they will always remain friends. In Nancy Thayer’s newest summer novel, friendship is put to the test. Two friends, determined to leave Nantucket and become writers, face the challenges of growing up, college, and adulthood. What will happen when they share the same dream? Will it bring them closer together or send them further apart? Will love get in the way of friendship? And is it truly possible to keep childhood friends when grown up?

I love Nancy Thayer’s books for years and eagerly look forward to her new titles each summer. While this novel started out slow, it grew on me and ultimately, I enjoyed it thoroughly. The characters were interesting, distinct, and well developed. Beach reading at it’s finest! 4.5/5 stars!

I've always enjoyed Nancy Thayer's novels and Surfside Sisters hasn't disappointed me. Likable characters, A plot driven storyline, great dialogue. A sur win in the beach reads list.

A great beach read filled with friendship and romance. It portrays how life's hardships can detain our dreams but by staying the course we can attain what we dream. My only disappointment was I felt the last chapter was abrupt. Wished there more story to share the outcomes of all.

I've read plenty of Nancy Thayer books, and I've enjoyed them. I thought this one would be another enjoyable summer read, but this one was a tough one for me.

I liked the premise or rich girl/poor girl finding their way through early adulthood. The problem was that one of the girls is completely unlikable, so I was never hoping for their friendship to survive. In fact, I felt like the main character Keely took so many hits and was treated so poorly by Isabelle that I was embarrassed by her lack of dignity. I think the book ends so quickly because if we actually followed them fore than a week after they become friends again I'm sure that Isabelle would treat Keely horribly again.

Same with her romantic interest. Do we want her to get together with her childhood crush, Sebastian? Um, no. Now when he's strung her along and moved to another country with someone else. He was just as selfish and cruel to her that I wanted her to save herself the heartache and just run away.

So now we know I wasn't a fan of the characters. Still, it was an easy read, kept me engaged, but then the throw away ending made this a bad read for me. It was such a drawn out story of Keely's roller coaster life, so many years of loving the unattainable guy and being lonely without her best friend, then in the last 20 pages everything is fixed and works out. Not a good read.

I really enjoyed reading Surfside Sisters by Nancy Thayer. The setting for this novel is Nantucket and New York City. The characters are well developed and the plot revolves around sisterhood, betray, loss of identity by one of the main character’s mother, sickness and becoming an author . Yikes! Who would not want to read that type of a novel ! It is a great summer read . I now want to go to Nantucket again .I received this novel for free in exchange for a fair and honest review .

Another wonderful Nancy Thayer novel.A book about friendship a book that you pick up enter its world and don’t want to leave.Perfect summer read.#netgalley #randomhouse.

Keely and Isabella were best friends growing up, but as time goes by their relationship takes many twists and turns. This characters resonate with most women who have had a best friend growing up who shared all of your personal dreams and wishes, but then struggled with that relationship as you both grew into adulthood. I loved the way the book went full circle. A great summer beach read!

This is the perfect Summer beach read. It takes place in Nantucket (SWOON!) and it involves two childhood best friends named Isabelle and Keely. They have these dreams to become writers and life takes them on different paths (don’t want to give any spoilers). The story follows them from tween to teen to adults. I didn’t love Isabelle as a person but we needed her for the story. I was also rooting for Sebastian and Keely the whole time! This will definitely not be my last Nancy Thayer’s book.

I always get excited to read Thayer’s new book every summer. I always love being transported to Nantucket and get excited for summer. The story follows two friends who both want to be writers and the struggles they encounter throughout their journey to become published. I really enjoyed what felt like the behind the scenes process of getting a book published and the pressure writers have. I found the story to be predictable and overall I found the friendship between the two girls toxic and frustrating. This is not my favorite Nancy Thayer book but I still enjoyed the magical island of Nantucket and the happy feeling you get when you finish her books.

Keely and Isabelle were like sisters. Their time together as kids was sacred to them both. They both dreamed of being writers. They were close but there was drama as they grew up. I think most long term friends have dealt with growing pains in their relationship. Keely and Isabelle’s dramas were real whoppers though.

Let’s begin with the fact that Keely was kind of jealous of Isabelle. Keeley’s mom was a nurse and her dad a mechanic, there was absolutely no extra money and her parents worked a lot. Keeley was an only child.
Isabelle’s father was an attorney. Her mother seemed to be a stay at home parent. There was a lot of extra money spent on extravagant vacations.
The vacations also took the girls away from each other. Keeley was at home and Isabelle was in New York or Paris or a beach.
In addition, Isabelle has a brother. Sebastian caused a lot of conflicting feelings for Keeley. When she was very young, she was just jealous that she was an only child in an empty house while Isabelle had her parents and brother. But as she got older she developed a huge crush on Sebastian that never went away.

As the years passed, their friendship was additionally strained when Keeley’s father passed away and also by a guy that both girls had feelings for.

Over the years, each of them betrayed the other in different ways. Keeley left the island for New York. But her mother’s health brings Keeley back to town where all the drama awaits her.

I enjoyed this book. I thought the characters were really thoroughly fleshed out. Keeley felt like a real person and I felt bad for the situations she got stuck in sometimes. Her parents’ problems became her own, she had to rescue her mom on more than one occasion.
But I also felt like her and Isabelle’s relationship was always a bit in jeopardy. After all, she was jealous of much of Isabelle’s life. And then when Keeley’s father passed away, Isabelle really wasn’t supportive. She was the same free spirit Keeley had always seen as a sister but it came off as majorly selfish during this time.

I had conflicting feelings about Sebastian and also Isabelle’s parents. They seemed to turn on a dime with no real explanation as to why.

Overall, a good story. I believed these two as friends and their drama was definitely enough to challenge their relationship. I’m not sure I liked any of the parents in the book but they were pretty minor characters.

Also, the book is set on Nantucket and I always enjoy that.
I got to read an early e book edition from NetGalley. Thanks!

This is my first Nancy Thayer novel but it certainly won’t be my last. While it started a bit slow for me the buildup was absolutely worth it . I loved following Keely and Isabelle through the decades as their lives developed. A perfect summer read . This book was graciously provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book but I struggled to always like the main character. Keely and Isabelle are childhood best friends who share dreams and aspirations for the future. They grow up together on Nantucket Island, one in a wealthy family and one in a family that struggles. Keely's story is a good one, as she follows her dreams and overcomes some tough times, while searching for love. Some of the relationship choices that are made do bother me but overall this was a good summer read. I will continue look forward to more books by Nancy Thayer! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.