I really enjoyed this book and the summer lake setting. It really didn’t remind me of the parent trap with the long lost sister trope. A little long, but very good.

Vivian and Lucy are two half-sisters who couldn't be more different. Vivian was raised in New York City, went to NYU, and is a sommelier, while Lucy grew up in a small town in Maine and teaches high school English after marrying her high school sweetheart. When their father dies and Vivian has to go to the Maine lake house she spent her Augusts at, she finds Lucy, the not-so-secret daughter she always suspected her father had been hiding. As they grapple with their father's passing and their vastly different upbringings, can two polar opposites find common ground amongst all the secrets and lies their father had spun over the years?

This was my first read by this author and I enjoyed it! I love Maine so I was excited to read a book set there and this one describes the setting so well. Lucy and Vivian were very real, in that they were both bratty and unlikeable while also being charming and relatable. I enjoyed the second half of the book a lot, and how everything wrapped up. I did find the writing itself a bit stunted but not enough to stop reading what was a great premise in a stunning locale.

TW: Death of a parent, mentions of cheating, mention of cancer

I was intrigued by this one at first, but it started to get really boring. I felt like there was a lot of telling, rather than showing.

There is a reader out there that will enjoy this one, but it wasn't for me.

I was so delighted to see a new release from Hannah Orenstein! This may not be my absolute favorite of her novels, but I truly enjoyed it and I think this is a perfect summer and/or vacation read, especially with such a wonderful setting. Orenstein does a lovely job of creating a beautiful backdrop and atmosphere for these characters and it truly felt like an escape.

I’ll give this book credit for being interesting. I was definitely engaged with the plot. The characters, however, were not my favorite. I can honestly say I didn’t connect with or really like a single one. They each had a redemptive moment and I think part of the point of the book is to show that we’re all humans and all make mistakes but I honestly don’t think some of the characters deserve forgiveness for their actions. At least, as a reader, I was not ready to forgive them.

I loved the setting. The author does a great job describing Maine, especially Portland.

This is not really a romance. Any romances are subplots to the family drama plot. And, it’s definitely a plot. We get secret second families and lying and lots and lots of cheating (that’s a TW for those who don’t like to read about cheating).

It was an interesting read but not my favorite. I would read more from this author, though, as I liked her writing and think she can craft a great plot.

DNF at 16%

I couldn't get invested in this one. The story felt to soap-opera to me. I was also expecting more of a romance vibe (based off the author's previous work) and it seemed pretty clear that wasn't where the narrative was going. Perhaps some romance is weaved in later, but it's clearly not the main focus of the book. I just couldn't see myself caring about the sisters, and there was no plot momentum.

This is probably one of the prettiest covers I’ve seen in a while and it’s honestly what made me pick up the book. After reading the synopsis I decided to give it a try and I wish it grabbed me more than it did. I really wanted to love it but it was just okay to me. I wasn’t a big fan of Vivian or Lucy- they had their moments but I just didn’t connect to them.

I did really love the setting and wish I would have been reading this out on a picturesque lake somewhere.


Thank you publishers and netgalley for the is eARC in exchange for my honest feedback

A dreamy Maine lake setting, all of the drama, and two very different main characters made this an entertaining read. While the characters personalities were very different, I did not find them super likeable. Overall, I liked the story, but was not invested.

(DNF Review, put the book down at roughly the 40% mark)

I could not continue reading this book because of how blatantly insufferable the two main characters were, individually and together. The novel is written in dual perspective, and I think having the most information possible about the respective characters, their backstories, and their motives made it so hard to like them. They understandably both had difficult upbringings and think the other had it better, but it is this knowledge as a reader of their respective difficulties while reading page after page of them having zero empathy for each other that made the book impossible to read. I like complicated characters, I like unlikable characters, but the severity of unlikability of the two main characters in this genre just didn't sit with me.

If the story were written for a single perspective and we, alongside the narrator, could over time peel back the layers and understand the complexities of the other main character, this would've been a book I'd have liked to read.

When Vivian travels from NYC to Maine to set up the sale of her father’s house, she meets her half sister Lucy. Unbeknownst to Lucy, their dad has recently died. Though they shared a dad, the women have had very different life experiences. Spending the summer together in the cottage, they get to know each other and discover new things about themselves. Orenstein has created a great story centered around well-developed characters. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

The simplest way to explain this book is indeed that's it's Parent Trap for adults. But it's more than that because there's so much depth as two half sisters meet at their father's cabin for the first time after his death. It's the story of how they figure out how to co-exist, and more than that, it's the story of each of them figuring out the complexities of their own lives. It also explores some stories and experiences in the past, and it's messy, and it's wonderful, and it's just a really, really fantastic story about two women. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the look at this May 2025 release.

This was my first summer book of the year and it had all the best lakeside vibes with a perfect splash of The Parent Trap!

I have never been to Maine, but honestly, I'm in when there's a plot by a lake. I did enjoy this book- I thought it was a great summer read and the descriptions were so vivid that even someone who hasn't been there could picture it and I think that made the book. The idea of the premise was appealing, and overall it was a good read but I was not a big fan of either main character. There was a lot of endless bickering that I felt was immature for their age, and just felt so back and forth.
I did love that the main relationship was between the sisters, and not the typical romance storyline. I think the writing was solid- its not my fav book of hers but I did enjoy it and will read more from Hannah in the future. Thank you to Penguin Group and NetGalley for the eARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If The Parent Trap grew up and moved to a lakeside cabin in Maine, it would probably look a lot like Maine Characters. Hannah Orenstein’s latest is a heartfelt, sometimes messy, and deeply satisfying story about two half-sisters who meet for the first time after their father's sudden death—at the lake house where he hosted them both every summer... separately.

Vivian Levy is a driven, big-city sommelier with a carefully curated life and a secret she’s trying hard to outrun. Lucy Webster is a high school English teacher in small-town Maine, where she’s watching her marriage slowly fall apart. They’ve lived parallel lives without ever crossing paths—until now. When Vivian arrives at the lake house to spread their father’s ashes and list the cabin for sale, she finds Lucy already there, waiting. And not just waiting, but expecting their father to walk through the door any day.

What unfolds over the summer is a slow burn of suspicion, resentment, grief—and eventually, something more tender. The story moves between both sisters' perspectives, which really works here. You come to understand not just how different their lives are, but how much they both quietly longed for each other without even knowing it.

One of the strongest elements of the novel is the setting itself. The lake house in Maine feels alive—breezy afternoons, stormy nights, old photo albums, the smell of pine and coffee. It holds both sisters’ memories and none of their shared history. Orenstein uses this space beautifully to mirror the emotional tension between Lucy and Vivian: full of unspoken things, a bit broken, but still capable of being something new.

There are some pacing lulls in the middle, and at times, the external plotlines (like Vivian’s work drama and Lucy’s crumbling marriage) feel more like distractions than drivers. But the emotional core of the story—the complicated, late-blooming sisterhood—is what sticks. Especially once they start discovering the layers of their father’s secrets, and the letters he left behind.

By the end, I found myself genuinely moved. Maine Characters doesn’t offer tidy resolutions. Instead, it gives us something more honest: two women who start the summer as strangers and end it as... well, still a little awkward, but beginning to choose each other.

If you're into character-driven stories with emotional depth, complicated family dynamics, and a strong sense of place, this one’s worth packing in your beach bag. It’s about grief, resentment, forgiveness—and how sometimes, the family you’ve never known might be the one you need most.

"Every summer, Vivian Levy and Lucy Webster spend a month with their father at his lake house — separately. Raised in New York City, Vivian is an ambitious sommelier with a secret that could derail her future. Lucy grew up in a tiny Maine town, where she now teaches high school English while watching her marriage unravel. They’ve never met. While Lucy envied her half-sister from afar, their father kept Vivian in the dark.
When Vivian arrives at the lake to spread his ashes and sell his cabin, she's shocked to find Lucy there, awaiting his return. In an ideal world, they’d help each other through their grief. Instead, forced to spend the summer together, they fight through a storm of suspicion and hostility to untangle the messy truth about their parents’ pasts. While Lucy is desperate to hold onto the house, Vivian is scrambling after a betrayal. After thirty years apart, is it too late for them to be a family?" -Goodreads

This book was quite heavier than I expected it to be. I found that Vivian and Lucy were so well written and deep. It was a great book, just heavy and emotional. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Parent trap for adults?! 
 
Summary  
The story of two half-sisters, Vivian Levy and Lucy Webster, who meet for the first time after their father's death. Vivian, a New York City sommelier, and Lucy, a small-town Maine teacher, are brought together at their father's lake house to scatter his ashes and confront a web of family secrets.  
 
The novel explores themes of grief, family, and forgiveness as the sisters navigate their newfound relationship and the complexities of their father's past. 
 
I'm not sure why the Goodreads rating is 3.57 because I thought this one was great. Light but not fluffy, realistic characters with real life problems (well, not Vivian 😆 but she's got a good arc). This is not a romance so maybe people are going into it thinking it is? There are romantic elements but this is a story about two half sisters first and foremost. As someone with a "half sister" and a toxic af shared father, I really appreciated this aspect of the book.  
 
So, do I recommend you take this to the beach or pool? Yes, but just be prepared for less romance and more sister drama. And the Maine backdrop was fun as well (I have been to many of the places mentioned)!  
 
Thank you @netgalley for this advanced reading copy. I also listened to the audio, thanks to @prhaudio and both formats were great. 
 
Have you been to Portland, Maine? Is this one on your list?

This is Hannah Orenstein’s best to date. Her writing is Elin Hilderbrand in Maine. As a lifelong Mainer (ocean, not lake) I adored this novel. I cried at the ending, read while on my beach in Maine.

Maine Characters might be one of my favorite reads of the year . Following the death of their father, half sisters Vivian and Lucy find themselves together at his Maine Cabin. HIghlighting the nuance of family dynamics, Hannah Orenstein's work is a fantastic summer read! Thank you PENGUIN GROUP Dutton and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was at its core a fun summer read BUT there was SO MUCH DRAMA that it almost took me away from the story. I understood the complexity of Vivian and Lucy, but then also didn’t understand and almost kind of hated them.

The last 80% is what solidified that this was a 3 star versus a 2.5/75 for me. I REALLY enjoyed the last bit, just wish we got more of that earlier on.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

While set in the beautiful state of Maine, that was the only good thing about this book. The 2 fmc were so dislikable. There was also cheating in one form or another (both main and side characters). The only likeable characters got very little "page" time. I also felt there was some lose ends that don't get fully resolved.

2 stars