The Nantucket Beachfront by Ainsley Keaton

Published: March 1, 2022
Ainsley Keaton
Pages: 273
Genre: Women’s Sagas
KKECReads Rating: 3/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Ainsley Keaton lives by a beach with the love of her life and her two fur babies, Annie and Bella. She writes heartwarming fiction that focuses on universal concepts like forgiveness, loyalty, redemption, love, reconciliation, and family value, both biological and chosen. Her themes are realistic - getting older, starting over, mother-daughter relationships, adult children issues, schisms between family members, sibling rivalry, overcoming adversity, and dealing with insecurities. If you like your beach fiction with a lot of humor, spice, and a touch of magic, you'll love Ainsley's books!

"Live and learn."

Ava was recently fired from the job she’s had for 23 years. Her husband stole all her savings and abandoned her. She’s estranged from one of her daughters and has a difficult relationship with her powerful mother. When a surprise presents itself, Ava finds a new opportunity in her lap. Maybe her life is about to begin truly.

This was not my typical read. On the one hand, I found how this book was written was truly clever, as it served as an introduction for the remainder of the series. On the other hand, it felt like things were rushed, and a lot happened that didn’t necessarily make sense.

There were elements of this novel that I found truly beautiful. I love that there were older women (in their 50’s) navigating their lives. But I also felt as though these women were described as old, and 50 isn’t old by today's standards.

Several characters, and I didn’t feel they were fully developed. There are six other books on this series, so I am thinking this book was simply to introduce the players and insert some drama.

There were elements of this story that I think weakened the plot, which makes me sad because this could have been a beautiful story of redemption, forgiveness, family, and friendship.

I don’t think I will be continuing the series; I didn’t feel engaged with the plot. I wanted to like this story, but it wasn’t for me.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced Ereader. I loved The Nantucket Beachfront Inn by Ainsley Keaton. I didn't know until the end of the book that this was going to be the first of a series of 7 books. I am hooked and can't wait to read book 2! The characters are all believable and likable. I also love the magic mixed into the story. This is a fast, fun and uplifting read. I will be recommending it to my friends and bookclub. I'm anxiously awaiting book 2.

The description of this book intrigued me and I really liked the beginning with Ava's story and being middle-aged and losing her job -- so off to a really interesting story. As I continued reading some of the twists and turns and layering in of other people's stories made me lose interest quickly. I think the challenge was trying to fit too many strange sub-plots into one book and it felt like a soap opera (and coming from me that is not a compliment). At the end, the author notes this will be part of a series -- I think it would be more interesting to center the story around one of the characters and have the other characters interact with the main character from their perspective as opposed to introducing too much in the story.
Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy.

I love that the main character is on their 50s who are going through life stuff. There’s love, grief, laughter and a bit of tears. The story was predictable but I still enjoyed it. It’s a quick read and a good choice for your beach read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Characters are well defined and feel like friends by the end of the book. A few surprise twists added to my enjoyment. Despite the fact that there is mention of April 31st (loc 2511) which obviously does not exist, I would still highly recommend this book.

Whenever I read a book like this one, I tend to get a bit envious of the lifestyles that some people live and wish that I could be so lucky to inherit a mansion on Nantucket Island like Ava did. Yet I am not a lawyer and haven’t been practicing as a criminal tax attorney for billionaires for the past 24 years. Maybe that’s what I need to do…

I loved when we first met Ava and saw how brutally honest and confident she was, especially because she was telling a client she didn’t want to be his lawyer because she didn’t agree with what he does! I love it. She has so much going on in her life and being left a beachfront mansion by a client was exactly what she needed. It ends up being a full house with lots of drama, a soap opera as she refers to it as. There is love, grief, friendships, romance, laughter, and tears. It was a bit predictable but still a great novel.

I wanted to like this book way more than I actually did. I was pleased to find that the main characters are women in their 50's, who are all going through some life stuff. It's hard to find books for us old gals! Doubling up on the high expectation meter is the Nantucket setting. Both the allure of character development and scenes from Nantucket were just ok, not great. It's a simple enjoyable read, though.

I really enjoyed this story about Ava, a 54 year old woman who has had her savings cleaned out by her exhusband, and her friends, who all up and move to Nantucket to run a bed and breakfast. Although the premise is a bit improbable, I had no problem going along for the ride and learning about the women and their problems, friendships, and dreams. I also had no problems with the little bit of witchcraft/woowoo or whatever one might want to call it as it fit in with the story and was not too far out in left field. My only disappointment was the abrupt ending. I know that is to make us want to dive into the next book immediately, but I do find it a bit annoying. Overall, an enjoyable beach read.

A romantic cozy read has it all - a mature woman recovering from a broken marriage, an unexpected inheritance, an estranged daughter, a hunky guy and viola, you have a summer weekend read.

Good world building and interesting characters pull you in quickly. Well paced plot - I'd like to read more by this author.

Ava Flynn get's willed a house in Sconset Beach of Nantucket just when she finds herself jobless and broken hearted. She takes a leap of faith and decided to start a B&B with her best friends who also decided to move to Nantucket as well as they are tired of the city life and want something new.

I enjoyed reading this book about starting over and learning to opening up to your friends. I could picture myself setting at the beach house enjoy the view of the beach and the delicious food they would create. There is romance in this book. A great summer read by the beach.

I loved this book and it was a great start to a new series. It was an awesome beach read. The characters and plot are great.
Many thanks to Debra Moore and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Nantucket Beachfront Inn is a book about starting over, reinventing yourself and getting a second lease at life no matter your age. At 53, Ava has lost her job which has been her identity for so many years. Luckily for her, an old client has willed her a beach house in Nantucket. This is her chance to become the woman she wants. Armed with her best friends, Ana begins to piece herself back together. Wonderful read! Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC.

I was ecstatic when I read the blurb about this book and it did not disappoint. An adult woman who has had the rug yanked out from under her. Every single part of her life is in flux except for the amazing friends she has, even if they’re withholding their own secrets. This is a wonderful read. Reinventing yourself, finally making peace with the path you’ve chosen, accepting and giving love and a lot of great people along the way figuring out the same thing for themselves. I really adored this well written redemptive book and can’t wait for the next in the series.

Right when Ava loses her job as a high-powered attorney, she also learns one of her former clients has bequeathed her a house on Nantucket, where her daughter lives, with a stipulation that she must live there herself and can't sell it for a year. With no other immediate plans, Ava heads out to Sconset to attempt to turn the house into a bed and breakfast, bringing her two best friends with her. I liked this novel, but didn't love it - the characters and plotlines weren't quite as well-developed or engrossing as in Elin Hilderbrand's novels, but the Nantucket setting forced me to make that comparison. It felt like there were too many storylines to follow (ranging from witches, to medical issues, to romance), and I would have preferred a focus on just a few characters and stories. This is supposed to be the first book in a series anyway, so it seemed like a lot more content could have been saved and explored in later books.

The Nantucket Beachfront Inn is a story of second chances. If you have to start over what better place to do that than at the beach?!! Ava loses her job as a high powered attorney and after being gifted a beach house decides to change it into a bed and breakfast. This is a story of female friendships, mother/daughter relationships and finding happiness. This is the first book in a series and I'm excited to see what happens next!

I was looking forward to a fun fluffy beach vacation book, and thought this would fit the bill. Started off that way- middle aged women friends, one trying to reinvent herself after hard luck on life, and twists and turns take her to island life. Then it got frustrating.

First, the book started OK and I flew through the first half. I was enjoying Ava's story and her anticipated growth through life. But then it got ridiculous, spread into too many characters and got too frivolous. There were topics that read like the author was just trying to say "I did my research, and here's what I found out!" So certain chapters went into way too much unnecessary detail, which some was not even necessary for the plot. 1) Cannabis cooking 2) Witchcraft 3) Meningitis. Lots of characters thrown in, each with their own problems that suddenly came to resolutions. It did not read like a relatable real-life story.

The last page and the whirlwind of changes is completely ridiculous. Within 5 minutes we find out about a pregnancy, an adopted child and a reunited marriage. Had me rolling my eyes. I realize the author is trying to set up the rest of her series, but come on- save it for the intro of the next book. One book, one character's problem.

The beginning I enjoyed. I was into Ava's story. But about the time Hallie's cancer treatment started the wheels started coming off the bus and it got worse and worse. If a student would have turned this in for a high school paper, I would have asked them to proofread and clean it up a bit.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked all of the characters, even with their flaws. I loved the three best friends and I'd really like to join them for a glass of wine! It seemed very relatable that these three friends each had secrets and family struggles. I could appreciate the complexities of their relationships and the history they each carried with them. I especially enjoyed the inclusion of magik and the promise of more to come.
Reading this book was like spending time with a close friend. It was interesting, fun and comfortable. I look forward to more!

I loved this book. It was just the feel-good story I needed. Easy reading, kept your interest, characters you could cheer for. What's not to love?

What a delightful, quick read.... I need to just grab my girlfriends and make this happen in my own life once I retire.

This was my first book by this author, and I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed all of the characters and their stories. I'm excited to add a new author to my go to list and hope to see more books in this series.

This book was recieved as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.