Oh boy, I was really liking the story, even the most unrealistic aspects of it....the billionaire gift of a mansion on Nantucket.
Then Willow came into the picture and that threw me off. It just seemed too contrived, too over the top.

Another problem that I had with this book was the characters grew EXPONENTIALLY! Ava, Jackson, Matthew, Charolette, Hallie, Sebastian, Willow, it goes on and on and on!

All of these characters are NEVER fully developed and some of them have huge amounts of space and for what?

The story line seemed to change every other page....Ava and her mom didn't get along....now mom is supporting Ava's dreams of an Inn.

Witches, Marijuana, crushes, love, patriarchy, burn out, cancer, medical, babies almost dying....there is WAY TOO MUCH STUFF GOING ON FOR SUCH A SMALL BOOK!

Overall I wish that the author had stuck with the 3 best girlfriends that were what this book was SUPPOSED to be about and developed those characters and the inn, before introducing EVERYONE and their cousins (literally THEIR COUSINS) into the mix.

I have heard that this will be a 7 part series.... I will NOT go on with the series...too chaotic for me. I do not see it getting better.

The Nantucket Beachfront Inn is first in a new series by Ainsley Keaton. Ava Flynn is 54 and fed up with her life. Her rotten husband left her after cleaning out their savings. She's sick and tired of her work with a law firm that defends the obscenely wealthy businessmen who refuse to pay taxes. When she tells off the worst of them, Ava loses her job and rallies her best friends, Hallie and Quinn to help figure out what she does next. Coincidentally a bequest from a kind and grateful former client leaves Ava a mansion on Nantucket. She can't sell or rent it for five years, but the property does have a business license. Ava and Quinn, a fabulous interior decorator, move out to live in the mansion and set it up as an air bnb. Ava's aspiring actor son signs on to help and Hallie offers to assist as much as she can while commuting from New York. Ava looks forward to repairing her relationship with her eldest daughter, Charlotte, and precious grandbaby who also live on the island. This happens quickly as Charlotte's husband realizes he didn't sign on for fatherhood and decides he needs a break from Charlotte, who flees to her mother's new home. Ava's flighty youngest daughter soon joins them. The mansion is in dire need of repairs so Ava hires local contractor Deacon Cromwell. He's almost 20 years younger than Ava who wasn't even considering a relationship but there's no denying the growing attraction. This is a great start to what looks to be a fun, excellent dramatic series. Fans of Debbie Macomber and the Chesapeake Bay series, as well as Elin Hildebrand will love this book and most-likely eagerly await the next one as will I. I'm grateful to Net Galley for the chance to read an ARC.

First in an intended series of a high-powered attorney that finds a more suitable second career as a B&B owner in a seaside town alongside her formerly estranged mother, daughter, assorted friends and customers. Everything falls into place fairly quickly for our heroine but the story is nonetheless appealing and charming. While there are no great surprises, the characters are winning and hold enough interest for a series. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

I really liked this book despite so many characters and stories going on. It was a real upper, even if it partially dealt with a witch, who is not at all what you'd expect in literature. Three friends, each going through a crisis of her own, end up finding happiness by taking their lives in a new direction. Read fast, a great summer reading story OR perfect during the Christmas season. Writing was excellent and except for one typo, which may have only been in the ARC edition I had wherein one of the main characters, Hallie, was referred to as VIlli (?) I found no other grammatical errors or things that really bothered me. I just sat down and read it cover to cover in one sitting, which is not usual for me!! I received this free ARC copy and am writing this review of my own unbiased opinions.

You need to be able to suspend disbelief when you pick up a novel or you repeatedly grind to a halt in the story. Inanities, like people being mindreading witches, couples reincarnated for hundreds of years, massive reconstruction projects taking only a week, people having unlimited funds, adoptions by people now dead being ‘set aside’ if biological parents now choose to parent, etc., etc., just tumble from the author’s pen as if they are objective facts. They are not even remotely possible as fact and the charm of the writer’s prose is repeatedly undermined by these absurdities not being addressed with humor. I am torn. I enjoyed the breezy writing style but curing cancer by treating the sufferer’s chakras is just too much. And how long is a 2 week visit in her world? And did a NYU bachelor’s degree cost $350k or $400k. Really? At this point I don’t visualize following on the planned 7 book series.

Ava has raised her triplets on her own. Sadly, their father was killed in a drunk driving accident before they were even born. So Ava takes her law degree and becomes a standout defense lawyer for a firm that specializes in white collar crime, notable tax evasion. But Ava loathes most of her wealthy clients who prefer to pay exorbitant lawyer’s fees rather than pay taxes.

One day with a particular client, Ava has simply had enough. Once she starts speaking the truth, she can’t seem to talk. When called before the partners of the firm a few days later, her fate has been sealed - after 23 years of excelling, they are letting her go. With a ridiculous mortgage on a New York City apartment, and no savings due to her second husband’s gambling problem, Ava has no idea what comes next.

With the support of her two best friends, Quinn and Hallie, and a surprise inheritance of a large home on Nantucket, Ava starts her next chapter.

Love the concept and story of this novel. Because the story was pretty engaging, it kept me reading and will likely have me reading the following sequels (as promised by the author.) What I didn’t enjoy was some stilted dialogue and forced scenarios between some of the characters. Though as I said, I did enjoy this and want to continue to read the rest of the stories of these people on Nantucket Island.

I really wanted to love this book but it was not what I expected at all. I expected a late in the year beach read and it was part of that but I do not think it also described Nantucket well. Has the author even been to Nantucket? There were also too many characters for me to really care about the main character.

Cannot recommend this.

Thanks to Netgalley, Aisling Delaney and Sourcebooks Fire for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 11/19/21

Title: The Nantucket Beachfront Inn
Author: Ainsley Keaton
Publisher: Independently published
Series: Sconset Beach Book One
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
The Nantucket Beachfront Inn" by Ainsley Keaton

My Opinion:

'The Nantucket Beachfront Inn' was quite a story of how 54-year-old Ava Flynn had been a Manhatten Lawyer. It seems as though Ava's life was going badly for her... as her first husband dies, leaving her with three children, her second husband leave-taking money from her, then losing her job. However, Ava gets a life-changing gift when a former client bequeathed her a large mansion in Nantucket. That did give her a fresh start where she would pick up her life and start a new endeavor as a Nantucket inn owner. Ava's two best friends, Quinn and Hallie, come with her and help her move in as she decides to make this mansion into bed and breakfast. There will be many issues along this journey.

As the story continues, Ava's three children will appear, which will bring some havoc with them in one form or another. One of the daughters is not getting along with her husband and has come with her daughter...[the granddaughter] to stay at the mansion. Ava's sons me from the L.A. area to help her move. Ava's mom [Sairse] I in the picture too. Oh, and by the end o the story, the second child Sam comes into the picture. Just one powerful family dynamic will come into play and have one shake their heads.

Along with all of that, there will be a healing witch that will come into the story. So now I will stop here, and you will have to pick up the good read and see how well the author brings it all out to the reader.

There will be many characters that will come in the story to fit this all together. So be ready for a read that will have a lot going on that you will have to keep up. Some you will like more than some others!

Be ready for a story that isn't only about Ava, her inheritance, her friends, family, and healing witch, but will leave us wanting more as the story end in a cliffhanger where we will be left wanting more. From whom will this be?... Deacon, Samantha, Quinn, Jackson all lay at the feet of Ava.

Thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a strange book for me. It started off well. Three women in their 50's are living in NYC and at the top of their game, but feeling disconnected with life outside work. When an inheritance for Ava comes out of the blue, all three are happy to go help Ava fulfill a dream to make this inherited house on beautiful Nantucket an upscale Bed & Breakfast. This is where it got kinda strange. The drama with Charlotte and her husband felt thrown in there, without enough story to make me feel one way or another about either of them. Then there's the contractor that mother and daughter both find attractive? That was strange. Then a daughter just all the sudden is there (when did that happen?). Then there's witches, anti-god sentiment, heavy feminism, anti-patriarchy, pro marijuana, and all sorts of just strange (some of this has a place, but this book didn't do it right). The last 25% of the story I skimmed- the author completely lost me. It felt rushed and the story was so incredibly incomplete. I recognize this is a 7-book series, so there's need for a cliff-hanger, but I have no desire to continue with it. I was left more confused than wanting more. Again- I was mostly okay until the 75% mark.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I had a hard time finishing this, nearly giving up several times. I didn't love or hate it, but I found nothing compelling with the story either.
There was absolutely no sense of place whatsoever, something I find vital in a good book. The Inn is in Nantucket...it could have been my backyard. And yet description after description is given of interiors, food, things that do nothing to set a backdrop to these women's lives.
There was far too much telling with no showing. For a character driven novel, with very little plot, the characters were remarkably bland and I felt like I had very little idea why they behaved as they did. Ava and Charlotte, I barely knew you. I barely knew ANY of the characters, to be honest.

Spoiler: And "throwing a baby under the bus" to save a marriage just didn't cut it for me.

I loved this story for many reasons. First the main characters are in their mid 50s and have been friends forever. Second, no one has a perfect life, they all struggle with something.

When Ava gets fired from her job as an attorney in a high priced law firm, she knows finding a new job will be difficult at her age and with her salary requirements. She didn't know it would be impossible. When she finds out she has inherited a large beach house, she decides to turn it in to an upscale B&B. She tells her friends, Hallie and Quinn, and they decide to join her and her son Jackson on Sconset Beach in Nantucket. Shortly thereafter she is joined by her daughter who is very recently separated from her husband.

There is so much going on that I had a hard time setting the book aside. From Ava's battles with her mother and her adult triplets to Hallie's health issues and estrangement from her two adult children and Quinn deciding to move her business to the island these women are tough and ready to take on their new normal.

Adult relationships, mother/child relationships, couples dealing with differing objectives, plus remodeling, a witch/healer, and several new jobs were so interesting that when I read this is part of a series I knew I would be looking for book two.

#NetGalley #TheNanucketBeachfrontInn #AinsleyKeaton #SconsetBeach #WomensFiction

I’m hoping this is the beginning of a new series! 3.5 stars

This is my first time reading this author, but won’t be the last. I enjoyed the level of character development, we get to learn about Ava, Charlotte, her daughter and Jackson, her son. We meet Hallie and Quinn, her best friends, and meet new friends like Willow and Deacon. The story is definitely constructed as the beginning to a series, but is also a great stand alone.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC, but my opinions are my own.

Ava inherits a house on Nantucket after losing her job, and not knowing what she is going to do. She, and her two best friends, decide to move to Nantucket, and turn the house into a bed and breakfast. Ava's estranged daughter, lives there, and Ava isn't sure what will happen between her and her daughter, when she moves there.
Sometimes in life, one event can change and align things so differently, and that seems to be happening in this story. There are reconnections with others, learning about themselves, and taking chances. This story will make you wonder if it really is magick or is it a way of life. Each person in the story learns things about themselves, that changes them, and with change, comes, looking at life in a whole different way.
I received an ARC from Debra Moore through NetGalley.

How can we believe these 3 women are best friends going back a million years when they don't confide such major issues happening in their lives? We can't. A friend is someone you can share the pain with, not someone to hide it from when you are hurting.
Why were issues repeatedly mentioned? I felt the narrator was losing her memory when she'd repeat things we already knew. Or...was it a case of being paid per word?
Nantucket seems to be the in place to write about, but the plots are so far out, yet many have the "I think I will open a B&B" aspect that it is a big yawn now.
Everything was over the top, too far out. Example: if Ava was some hotshot attorney dealing with the richest of the rich to protect their money from being used on paying taxes, why did she have her million dollars in a joint account with hubby who had a gambling problem and left her with nothing?
Mindless, unlikeable characters who all need therapy. If that is what you are looking for, by all means read this. Otherwise, anything else would be more satisfying.Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

This is the first book I've read by Ainsley Keaton. The character development is good and the basic story line is quite intriguing.

Ava Flynn, a high powered attorney who worked at the same firm for 24 years was finally fed up and spoke exactly how she felt to their best client, a billionaire who took pride in not paying any taxes. The result of speaking the truth resulted in her being fired. Many of the partners seemed to agree with everything she said, however, since he was their best client, the money they earned from him spoke much louder than the words of truth spoken by Ava.

At age 53 and single, and nearly penniless after her husband had cleaned out their bank account a few years earlier and left, she was quite certain she wouldn't find a job making the salary she' been making. Living in New York was expensive so some changes were in her future. Her three adult children, two daughters and one son, were triplets and lived their own lives elsewhere. Their father and her then husband, had died in a car accident before they were born. She has raised them alone in one of the most expensive cities in America.

While contemplating what she should do next, a call from an attorney's office changes the course of her life A former client of her, who had become somewhat of a friend over the years left her a $7,000 house on Nantucket Island,

Ava's two best friends, Hallie and Quinn go with her to Nantucket and Quinn ends up moving there. They are in for quite the adventure as Ava decides to turn the huge house into an upscale Inn right on the beach. There are many aspects of this story that pulled me along, anxious to see what happened next, however, there were some situations that didn't seem relevant to the story, such as Hallie's boyfriend Lucas, or the vivid description of witchcraft practiced by the new friend, and Nantucket resident, Willow,

The basic story about Ava and how she rose above her challenging situation and reinvented herself was good. She had supportive friends, her relationship with several family members improved, however, there were more "side stories" that popped up that I thought didn't necessarily enhance the main story line of the book..

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an advanced copy of this book. All comments and opinions are my own.

Heartwarming story of a woman who starts over by renovating and opening an inn on Nantucket. Her friends and family help however they can.

I thoroughly enjoyed this touching story and was pleasantly surprised to find out it's the first of a new series for this author. I think many will enjoy it as much as I did and I'm very excited for the next one to come out.

Man, I wanted to love this but there were so many weird parts included that it was just off for me. Willow, Quinn’s daughter and more just took away from the main story which I really did like and want more of.

This book was sent to me electronically for review by Netgalley. This is a book about three friends who relocate to Nantucket...there are so many themes running through this novel that, at times, it is easy to forget what the main story is about...the B and B keeper. The women are close and have their own careers and romantic encounters. There are some ideas in the book that I do not like and totally have no place in the main story. That being said, this is a fun and heartwarming book that is worth the time...it will be interesting to read more books by this author. Try it. Enjoy it.

Eh … typical story of women, friendship and family dynamics. I couldn’t get all the way through, very predictable. Maybe next time.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.