Historical fiction with multiple timelines set in Maine. I loved the setting but I just couldn’t get into the characters for this one. I do think if you like marriage stories, specifically about how families handle infidelity, you would like this one. Just not for me! I did want to travel to Maine immediately after reading it.

I was really intrigued by this story, but it unfortunately fell flat for me. I know others loved this book, so don’t let me review turn you away from it. I just didn’t feel like the family drama worked in this book. I felt like it was too all over the place.

Triple time line.. loved it!
Great audio!

Description
A sweeping debut novel about the generations of a family that spends summers in a seaside enclave on Maine's rocky coastline, for fans of Elin Hilderbrand, Beatriz Williams, and Sarah Blake.

1944: Maren Larsen is a blonde beauty from a small Minnesota farming town, determined to do her part to help the war effort––and to see the world beyond her family’s cornfields. As a cadet nurse at Walter Reed Medical Center, she’s swept off her feet by Dr. Oliver Demarest, a handsome Boston Brahmin whose family spends summers in an insular community on the rocky coast of Maine.

1970: As the nation grapples with the ongoing conflict in Vietnam, Oliver and Maren are grappling with their fiercely independent seventeen-year-old daughter, Annie, who has fallen for a young man they don’t approve of. Before the summer is over a terrible tragedy will strike the Demarests––and in the aftermath, Annie vows never to return to Haven Point.

2008: Annie’s daughter, Skye, has arrived in Maine to help scatter her mother’s ashes. Maren knows that her granddaughter inherited Annie’s view of Haven Point: despite the wild beauty and quaint customs, the regattas and clambakes and sing-alongs, she finds the place––and the people––snobbish and petty. But Maren also knows that Annie never told Skye the whole truth about what happened during that fateful summer.

Over seven decades of a changing America, through wars and storms, betrayals and reconciliations, Virginia Hume's Haven Point explores what it means to belong to a place, and to a family, which holds as tightly to its traditions as it does its secrets.

A wonderful multi-generational family saga revolving around three women whose lives are full of secrets and tragedies. Through seven decades we are given a glimpse into the community of Haven Point, Maine and experience the happiness, heartbreak, joy and grief that these women endure.
Families have visited Haven Point for generations but these families tend to stick together and are not always welcoming to new faces in their community. When Maren first visits as a new wife to Dr. Oliver Demarest whose family is a well established part of the community she immediately feels like an outsider. Maren tries her best to fit in finally after many years and three children she is a true part of the community and has caring friends. Her children enjoy being a part of this tight knit community but her daughter, Annie, tends to be rebellious which eventually causes a terrible tragedy. After this tragedy Annie declares she will never return to Haven Point. Annie becomes a loving mother to Skye but has many problems dealing with everyday life. Eventhough Annie never goes back Skye has many opportunities to spend summers at Haven Point with her grandmother but she never feels like she belongs there.
This is a very well-conceived storyline with characters that have so much depth and are easy to care about their wellbeing. I was truly disappointed when this book ended, it left me wanting to spend more time with the families of this interesting community.
The audiobook, narrated by Cassandra Campbell, was wonderfully done and a complete pleasure to listen to throughout this superb book.
I am extremely grateful to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to listen to an ARC audiobook in exchange for a honest review.

I tried several times to get through this audiobook, but it's just kind of dull. The narrator is fine, but doesn't give much life to an already lifeless story.

I absolutely loved this book and the characters - they just really got to me and I felt a connection with them. This was a great read and I definitely would recommend it!

This book had a large scope since it is a family saga. Sometimes these work for me, sometimes I find that the broad scope makes it hard for me to get hooked in the plot. That was the case for me with this book: it was interesting but never quite got into it. The audio narration was good.

I received an audioARC in exchange for an honest review.

Haven't Point is a charming and welcoming novel about grief and how it's effects are long-reaching and sometimes too much to endure.

We follow three generations of one family through time. There are similarities between the three stories and a convergence I wasn't expecting.

There was drama, family secrets, and revisiting summers long past. I think this book will appeal to readers who enjoy a good, light mystery with a breathtaking setting and historical context.

This reminded of an adult version of WE WERE LIARS, minus the paranormal stuff. And I think readers of Elin Hilderbrand and Diane Chamberlain will enjoy this one!

I sure did!

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this advanced copy!

Multi-Generational Chick Lit

Audiobook Review:
I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook that looks at the lives of a grandmother, mother, and grandchild. We see it through the eyes of the grandmother—starting from her time as a nurse at Walter Reed during World War II where she met her husband—and the granddaughter. We only get a sense of the mother from these two other women's perspectives. Not only does this book revolve around these three women—including a lot of secrets and tragedy—but also the island of Haven Point off the coast of Maine. The book follows the women from the 1940s until the early 2000s. The author did an excellent job making Haven Point real, including its social difficulties between old-school WASPs and “other." People forget how in the past WASPish people had a real prejudice against the Irish and New Money. Some plot-point circumstances seemed a bit too stereotypical, like the husband with a wandering eye and the flower child mother. But I thought the author did an excellent job showing the relationships between the women on the island as well as the pivotal one between grandmother and grandchild… and how the mother affected them both even if she had little “screen time.” The book had revelations for the granddaughter at the end that helped her make sense of her life and were a bit surprising; I thought it was well done. The narrator did a good job bringing the different characters to life. I found this to be an engrossing, well-done listen. If you like multi-generational “chick lit” as I do, you may enjoy this audiobook as much as I did.

Haven’s Point by Virginia Hume
Narrator - Cassandra Campbell
Genre - Women’s Fiction
Format - Audiobook
Rating - 5 out of 5 stars
Narration - 5 out of 5 stars

This book was a bit confusing to me at the first because it kept going back and forth between three different people at different times in history. Although I tend not to read up much on a book I am reviewing I did look up what this book was about and then the different people and timelines fit.

This was a very good book about three different women living in three different eras and how different women were looked at during those times. The one of the ladies was a nurse in World War 2 where she meets her husband. The other two had different struggles in their lives as well. This is about a grandmother the WW2 nurse, her daughter an alcoholic, and the granddaughter that is caught between her grandmothers world and living with an alcoholic mom.

The narrator was great. Keeping things rolling in the book and trying to make the characters unique in their own ways.

Once I got into the grove of the book I just couldn’t stop listening it was just that good. The end is a bit of a shocker but I sort of saw it coming. All in all this is a good book to listen to while doing household chores, a bath, or other things that need your hands free when you really want to be reading.

This is a multi generational story. It starts with Maren and Oliver's story during the 1940's then to their daughters during 1970's and, lastly, to their granddaughter 2008. It was mostly a pretty ordinary family saga. The characters were somewhat two dimensional for me - I could not feel a connection with any of them. The story of Maren and Oliver's romance showed no feeling - no spark. I found that I had no interest in their story. If you like to follow people through their family stories, this novel might be one that you enjoy. It just did not grab my interest.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my copy of Haven Point by Virginia Hume Narrated by Cassandra Campbell in exchange for an honest review. It published June 8, 2021.
Wow! Get ready for a sweeping saga that you won't want to put down! I loved this one so much, I can think of multiple people who would enjoy this. I loved the back and forth between timelines, and the skillful writing. I am definitely going to miss these character now that I'm finished.
I enjoyed the character development and the various time frame settings. I also enjoyed the historical fiction meets contemporary fiction aspect.

I really enjoyed this book. Very well written, very detailed and real. I love a multi generational story.

Pass the tissue box…this book was heart wrenching. It takes place in an insular and homogeneous community called Haven Point, where wealthy families spend their summers. Some families have been a part of the community for generations while others are new and have never fully been accepted. Skye’s grandmother Maren lives in Haven Point and Skye has stayed with her on and off over the years when her mother Annie’s drinking gets out of control. The story alternates between Maren from 1940 to 1970’s and Skye in modern day. The reader is given a glimpse into single parent Annie’s dysfunctional life and the impact it has on Skye. As we hear Maren’s story, though, we realize how each generation plays a role in the aftermath and that pain and guilt can be passed along to each generation. At the heart of the story is Maren, Annie and Skye’s individual relationships with Haven Point and how each has been affected by a family tragedy.

If you’re looking for a sweeping emotional saga that pulls at the heartstrings, this is it. There’s a little bit of everything in this women’s fiction that will transport the reader to the coast of Maine in the 20 and 21 centuries. A terrific audio performance that was engaging and heartfelt.

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for an advanced audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Emotional and a smooth read.
Recommend.
I love this author and this is one of her best books!
I highly recommend.
If you haven't read anything by her before, this is one you don't want to miss.
After you finish you will be looking for more by this author!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an ARC audiobook of Haven Point. I enjoyed listening to this family saga. I felt like I was on Haven Point and knew the characters personally. I love how interwoven the storylines were and how richly developed they were. I recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martins Press for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!
Something that drew me to this story was the setting! This Historical Fiction story takes place on the coast of Maine and sounds so beautiful. I have always wanted to visit Maine, and while I have never been, I felt the author did a great job at describing the setting and getting me totally immersed in the details.
I found the idea of this book to be super intriguing. The synopsis hooked me right into putting this at the top of my TBR. However, this story is told over a few different timelines and I do admit that at times it was confusing and hard for me to follow. It is a multi-generational story with lots of family drama. Reading the different perspectives was beneficial to understanding a lot, although it took me quite a bit to recognize who was who. I do want to note that I listened to the audio book which may have influenced my ability to understand the changing timelines – sometimes I find a physical book makes it easier to pick up on these details which may have helped.
Overall, I thought this book was good. I enjoyed the writing style and I think the author shows a lot of promise.

Haven Point was a pleasant, engaging audiobook to listen to.
I thought the narrator did a great job bringing the story to life.
The story itself is multigenerational, taking place mostly on the coast of Maine (beautifully described, and now a visit to Maine has become a bucket list item for me), but also with a secondary timeline set in World War 2.
The characters are well fleshed out and the storyline is easy to follow, despite the different timelines.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed this audiobook. The narrator was great and easy to listen to. The story carried on through several decades, which is a device I live in storytelling. It was fun to be a fly on the wall in the very WASP-y Haven Point, Maine. Especially because it showed me how glad I am not to live in a place like that! The lack of acceptance of the Donnelly family really got to me. While I enjoyed this book, especially the hurricane sequence, I feel like I spent a lot of time waiting for the climax. There really wasn’t a big, exciting drama, in my opinion. It was just kind of a slow family drama. Overall I gave it four stars.

This book was a sweeping saga of a complicated family spanning six decades. Maren, her daughter Annie, and her granddaughter Skye are rich and nuanced characters who spend every summer in Haven Point, Maine. I loved this on audio.

I received an ALC from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for my honest review.