I loved this book more than I even expected to! Once I saw this was an adult version of The Parent Trap - I was immediately sold. This book made me feel like I need to pick up more women’s fiction because I was fully invested in this story from start to finish. Hannah’s writing is beautiful and I will definitely be reading more of her books. Lucy and Vivian were so different, yet both were relatable characters. The more of Vivian’s story that we heard, the more I connected with her character. Lucy was immediately likable for me. Reading about their sister relationship bloom was so emotional and definitely the best part of the story. But I also really enjoyed their individual stories. I was rooting for them both to find happiness, whether that be with a guy or even alone. I was living for the family secrets and relationship drama. And the small town lake vibes were spot on. I could perfectly envision the town and views. Highly suggest this one!

Thank you to Penguin Random House, Net Galley, and Hannah Orenstein for letting me read the ARC of this book. The cover pulled me into this story and the beautiful atmosphere. She did a wonderful job of setting up costal setting. The writing in this book was well done, it was easy to follow and easy to read. I felt the pacing of the book was slow, and felt there was not a huge climax. It was a heartwarming book but I felt detached from the characters and the overall story. I wish there was more focus on their relationships growing instead of focusing on the dad’s drama repeatedly. I wanted more from the romance, but maybe that wasn’t the point of the book. It was a cute read for a nice lake day.

This would make for a great summer read focused on family relationships rather than romance. It’s billed as “Parent Trap” for adults, which is partially true. The main characters are two sisters who had never met before finding each other following their father’s death. We follow the development of their relationship and their bringing together of their mothers. So it’s more a story of finding sisterhood, uncovering family secrets, and finding one’s place in the world. The writing is rich and descriptive, and I felt like I was there at the lake! Overall I really liked this book, and the author’s note at the end made me like it even more to learn of her personal connection to the story.

👯‍♀️ Maine Characters - Hannah Orenstein

3.75 ⭐️ - This was cute! I loved the Parent Trap (unknown sister) vibe and the setting! I haven’t seen many reviews for this one but I think it’s perfect to add to your upcoming summer reads!

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️.✨ // The gorgeous cover is quite deceiving for a “summer read” — this is in fact a serious drama about family, sisterhood and infidelity. I think because it was marketed as a “parent trap for adults” I went in with different expectations— I also wanted more of that atmosphere of Maine brought to life. I love messy and dynamic stories about families and I was engrossed in this plot but at moments it fell a little flat.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!!

This is a first time author for me, but I will definitely be picking up more of her books bc her writing style was SO good. The way she crafted this town, family, and drama was so well done and captivating.
Throughout this story, I was frustrated, I wanted to scream at the characters, I wanted to shake them until they realized how selfish/rude/annoying they were… that is what made this book so great.

This is not a romance, but does has some romance throughout…. But this is a story of a father who dies and leaves behind secrets and leaves his daughters to uncover them in the midst of their grief. This wasn’t light hearted, but as someone who is triggered by dead dads (hi hello), I didn’t catch myself breaking down because of how the author was able to weave in heavy and light together.

Such a fan of this!

In this Parent Trap retelling we see Vivian head up to her late father’s cabin Maine to get it ready to sell following his passing. I wanted to like Vivian and Lucy way more than I did but I found them to be too annoying and childish. I understand they were both working through some tough things (Vivian with her boyfriend being married, Lucy in the process of getting a divorce, both of them grieving their father) but they were both 30 years old. Grow up. It makes sense for them to not get along and spend most of the book arguing but I feel I would have enjoyed the story more if they had gotten along a little bit better. I found myself liking some of the side characters way more and found them far more interesting.

This was my first Hannah Orenstein read and unfortunately I wasn’t a huge fan of her writing. The cover is super beautiful and I love the premise & the story. Orenstein’s writing style is just different from what I typically read. I do think it is something I could get used to though so I am willing to give more of her work a chance. There were quite a few flashback scenes but it was hard to tell sometimes whether it was present tense or past tense as the book is written in a 3rd person POV.


Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for an arc of this book

I really need to get to Maine soon! This book made me long for a long weekend at the lake. I appreciated how the focus of this was more on family than romance as I needed to change up my reading after many rom coms and thrillers. There was strong character growth for both Vivian and Lucy. While there were some plot points I didn’t entirely love (don’t get me started on Hank’s will) overall this was a well written story with a beautiful setting.

The cover for this book is what initially caught my attention. It's beautiful. Also, learning about a potential Parent Trap theme had me curious as well. I wanted to like this book but I just couldn't. The Parent Trap theme doesn't work when it involves a a bunch of 30 year old people. I kept forgetting that I wasn't reading about teenagers. I found every character to be unlikable which made my reading experience lacking. Everyone in this book is annoying and immature until the last page. The character growth left much to be desired. I found myself bored and waiting for something to happen. I also found the timeline confusing as well and wished it was flushed out better. Overall, I wasn't impressed with this one but I do want to visit Maine even more now. Thank you to Netgalley for the arc.

Firstly, the cover is gorgeous! The little loon family makes it. Second, being a Maine girl the setting was great. The story takes place over a summer and moved quickly. Romance is the primary genre listed but it was more background plot and I wanted a bit more. I did enjoy the found friendship with small town in the summer vibes!

ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕚𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖:
☼︎ summer vibes
☼︎ lake setting
☼︎ Parent Trap (for adults)
☼︎ characters to hate
☼︎ family drama
☼︎ character growth
☼︎ wine

Thank you Penguin Books Dutton and NetGalley for the eARC!

Maine Characters by Hannah Orenstein

I fell hard for the cover first, but it was the story that sealed the deal. Maine Characters is a heartfelt, breezy read that absolutely belongs on every summer TBR or beach bag packing list. Think: coastal air, buried secrets, unexpected sisterhood, and a little sweet summer love to tie it all together.

When Lucy and Vivien discover they're sisters—surprise!—after their father's passing, they’re left to sort through more than just grief. This is a story about identity, second chances, and learning to navigate new relationships (romantic and otherwise) when life doesn’t go to plan. Add in a bit of tangled family drama and a slow, heartwarming romance, and you've got yourself a perfect summer page-turner.

☀️Themes:
Found family (literally!)
Sweet summer romance
Small-town coastal vibes
Sisterly bonding after a rocky start
Family secrets coming to light
Healing after loss

Would I recommend it?
Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. If you love stories that mix emotional depth with lighthearted moments and a sprinkle of romance, this one delivers. Take it on vacation, to the beach, or just to the backyard hammock—it’s the perfect summer escape.

Thank you so much to Dutton|Penguin Random House and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review.

I want to start by saying, the cover is gorgeous, it is what pulled me into this book! On another note, the parent trap is one of my all-time favorite movies & this book was giving major PT vibes.
This book was good, touched me emotionally, but overall was a little slow and choppy for me.
We are presented with two half-sisters, Vivian and Lucy, who finally meet at their father's lake house after his death. The whole book seemed very slow, until the end, when all of a sudden, the two girls get along. The first half was definitely slower than the second for me. I feel like there were a lot of petty "arguments" among the sisters and not enough character growth. I also loved the scenes where we could finally see the two women coming around to each other's interests or thoughts. For example, when Vivian starts getting close to Caleb, I loved it, ate that up. While I know it didn't have much for the main storyline, I loved reading it. Or how Vivian truly started to enjoy being at the lake house and rethinking her choice to sell.
I think this book would be a good summer read, but at the end of the day, I think what didn't make this a higher rating for me was the characters. They seemed to be too surface-level or immature for their age. I felt like more could've been done for them. My favorite thing was the dual-pov and the memories they have of times spent with their bad, the good, and the bad.
Maine Characters is out 5.13.25!
———————————————————————
Thank you, NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First off- this is an absolutely gorgeous cover. I enjoyed this story because it felt fresh- the romantic plot lines (while great) took a back seat to that of the long lost sister dynamic, and even that of their careers. Vivian and Lucy are two very different sisters, raised in two different worlds, but share a dad. After his sudden death, they find each other at his lake house in Maine where they learn they have very different memories of their late father. I liked that all of the characters had their own faults, but they felt very real and you wanted to root for them all, including the two moms. The characters were very flushed out. Overall an enjoyable, heartwarming summer read that makes me want to visit Maine ASAP!

Vivian Levy and Lucy Webster have each spent a month every summer at their father's lake house, but have never met each other. Vivian grew up in the hustle of New York, while Lucy grew up in a small town in Maine. While Lucy knew of Vivian's existence, Vivian does not truly know about Lucy until her father dies and she finds Lucy waiting to spend her month at the lake, unaware that he has passed away. Vivian wants to sell the lake house and Lucy begins the process to convince her to keep it. After 30 years apart, Lucy and Vivian start to learn about each other and what they have missed being kept separate in their own worlds.

Not going to lie, the first thing that interested me in this book was the cover. But this book was also a heartwarming read. I enjoyed the shift in relationships and what the two women brought to each other and their development. This book dives into grief and forgiveness, as well as how those that seem so different can build us into the people we are really meant to be.

Thank you to Dutton Books, NetGalley, and Hannah Orenstein for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5stars!
This is one of those books that I legitimately consider a feel good, no stress and go with the flow story. Story of second chances, forgiveness and comfort with each other in times of grief. The plot is a little slow burn but no complains here because I enjoyed every minute of it!

As someone who escapes to Maine for a week every summer, I couldn’t wait to read this one! This book explores grief and the complexities of family. Set at a beautiful Maine lake house, the story follows two half-sisters who couldn’t be more different. I felt the pacing was perfect and loved the small town vibes and emotional journey as the characters tried forming a relationship. Heavy on character development and personal growth, I loved the story telling and added romance. I also loved that Vivian was a sommelier and enjoyed hearing about different wine varietals. A full-hearted read with humor and depth!

4/5 ⭐

I enjoyed this! It hooked me from the beginning. This unique storyline touched on grief, distrust, sibling bonding, rivalry and family secrets! I could picture Maine, the Lake house and even the little town of Fox Hill. I felt for both main characters and wanted to rewind time for them!

Tropes:
↟dual pov / 3rd person
↟ found family
↟ family trauma
↟ death of a parent
↟ deep family secrets

Thank you #netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the arc!

This was cute! It took me a little while to get invested in the characters, but once I did I flew through this. Orenstein did a good job of writing flawed characters, but still making you root for them. This was overall very heartwarming and I recommend!

3.5/5

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton for a review copy of this book. All opinions my own!

Perfect summer setting. Struggled with both of the main characters at times. But enjoyed seeing their character growth.

Maine Characters is a heartfelt exploration of family relationships, identity, and the consequences of discovering the truth about something. I loved the setting at the lakeside cabin in Maine. Having been to Maine, it made me feel somewhat nostalgic.
The sensory-rich descriptions and the slow pace of lake life left me yearning for another trip to Maine!

Emotionally, the book attempts to navigate complex family dynamics with care. The author presents a realistic portrait of grief, sisterhood, and second chances. There were several moments that led to some self-reflection and I can always appreciate that in a book,

I did find the character development somewhat uneven between Vivian and Lucy. As a character driven plot, I expected a more emotional connection and thought the plot was fairly predictable.

Overall, Maine Characters is a ]contemplative novel that will appeal most to those who enjoy character-driven stories about relationships, reconciliation, and the slow work of healing.