Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers, and the Hannah Orenstein for an advanced copy of Maine Characters (May 13, 2025). This book follows Vivian and Lucy long lost sisters who come together at their fathers lake house following his death. Lucy knows about her dads other family while Vivian has her suspicions. These dynamics are thrown together when Vivian tries to sell the lake house and Lucy wants to honor her fathers death. This story was good, not great. I didn’t personally feel connected to either FMCs, and overall felt them both to be immature. Although the story has a happy ending where everyone ends up happy, the book took far too long to get to that point. The book was told in dual POVs (both Vivian and Lucy) and while I liked having two perspectives, I didn’t like that the author jumped from character to character in each chapter. Overall, a nice summer read but not something to recommend to all my friends.

I'm tempted to give this book an extra star for the cover, I love the cover.
“Parent Trap for adults” sounded a lot more fun, in reality it’s pretty dark. Everyone is kind of an asshole, but it's understandable based on the circumstances of the story.
For you if you like: family drama, (lots of) love triangles

The Parent Trap premise immediately drew me in! I really enjoyed the setting and overall storyline—it had a lot of charm and potential. While I wished for a bit more depth from the characters, I’m still grateful for the opportunity to read this book early. Thank you so much for the chance to dive into this story!

A big thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Books Dutton for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

As a "lake kid" growing up i'm always here for a new lake centric book and this absolutely delivered. Perfect location, perfect story, perfect book! 10/10 can't wait to rec this to everyone this summer!

A Parent Trap premise was what hooked me! Unfortunately, I didn't feel as though this premise really hit. The setting and story was great but I felt that the characters could be giving more. I'm glad that I was able to read this book early, just wish it had a little bit more.

Thank you for allowing me to read this book early!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for granting me an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book is set to be published May 13, 2025.

4 stars! I really enjoyed this one. A compulsively readable book with complicated characters and a beautiful setting.

Vivian and Lucy are half-sisters who meet each other for the first time after their father dies and they have to clean out his lake house in Maine. Lucy had known that she had a sister that her father wouldn't talk about with her but Vivian had no idea her father had another child. Instead of bonding and working through their grief together, they immediately butt heads and are unable to agree on aspect of what to do with the lake house that they both spent time at with their father.

This was so good! It is my first time reading anything by Hannah Orenstein and it definitely won't be my last. Vivian and Lucy are both such flawed and complex characters. I could understand certain folks not vibing with them but I love when characters are complicated and messy in ways that feel really realistic. I thought they both had great character growth that wasn't always linear but by the end, was very satisfying. The setting was also amazing. It was very clear to me that Orenstein had a personal connection to a town just like this and her writing really shone when describing the town and the lake house. The cover is also to die for and I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy.

I would recommend this one if you like emotional and complicated family stories and messy characters who have a lot of personal stuff to work through before they can get their happy ending.

The cover of this book is absolutely stunning and the description seemed to hold a lot of promise. Upon reading this book, however, something about it just didn’t work for me. It took me a while to get into it and I was a bit confused for the first few chapters. I also really did not like or connect with any of the characters, especially the two main sisters. It fell really flat for me. The last 1/3 of the book did have promise and show character growth but not enough for me to redeem the first 2/3. Overall not necessarily for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This book had all the ingredients for a story I’d love — long-lost sisters, a lakeside setting, family secrets, and emotional healing. The writing is solid and the pacing kept me engaged, but I struggled with the characters. Their decisions often felt frustrating, and the multiple love triangles made things feel overly messy. Still, it’s a heartfelt look at grief and complicated family ties. Not my favorite, but I can see why others might connect more deeply with it.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin group for the arc!

Parent Trap Vibes you say👀

I was sold!

Two half sisters meeting for the first time after the unexpected death of their father at his lake house, resulting in them having to deal with the emotional consequences of being keep apart their entire lives.

Vivian was raised in NYC with both her father and her famous author mother, she is bratty, ambitious and self centered.

Lucy was raised in a small town in Maine, spending 1 month a year with her father by the lake and being jealous of Vivian her entire life. Meanwhile Vivian was left in the dark about Lucy’s existence.

The premise was so interesting to me, although I didn’t get the parent trap vibes much. As someone who loves deeply flawed characters I was completely roped in but I had a hard time emotional connecting with the sisters. Which I really wanted to and it could be due to the story being in 3rd person. But nonetheless a good summer read, perfect to read by the lake.
3.5 ⭐️
Special thanks to net galley & Penguin Books Dutton for the arc!

I’ve enjoyed Hannah Orenstein’s previous books, but Maine Characters didn’t quite land for me. The Parent Trap-inspired premise was fun and had potential, but the execution felt off—especially with the 30-year-old sisters, who came across as oddly immature for their age. While I appreciated the coastal Maine setting (and always love a book set there), the story was weighed down by too many surface-level facts about the state that made it feel more like a travel brochure than a lived-in place. It read like Maine through the eyes of a visitor rather than someone who understands its quieter nuances. Still, the book had a breezy pace and summery tone, which made it easy to get through, even if it didn’t leave a deeper impression.

I liked this. It was fun and the vibes were amazing, I would recommend to read this during the summer. As someone who lives in New England, I loved the scenery and the portrayal of Maine. I am also a huge fan of "The Parent Trap" movie and I grew up being obsessed with it. I loved the whole premise behind this story and I enjoyed reading about Lucy and Vivian's dynamic, specially since they didn't grew up together.

At first, it took me a bit of time to get into it but the ending touched me a little bit. Even though I didn't agree with some of the choices both sisters made through the story, I can understand why they did it. However, I feel like I would've enjoyed this more if I could've relate to either of the sisters but it was hard to do. The romance perse wasn't my favorite but I'd didn't really matter that much because I was more invested in the family drama and dynamics.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Maine Characters
Author: Hannah Orenstein
Source: NetGalley
Publication Date: May 13, 2025

Maine Characters is a heartfelt story featuring a captivating host of people. It’s not about romance as much as it is about romance gone awry. Lucy, a public school teacher in a small town, is eagerly awaiting her NYC father’s annual July arrival to vacation with her at his Maine lake house. Vivian, his other daughter and a successful sommelier in NYC, arrives unannounced at the lake house to prepare it for sale after her 50-ish-year-old father’s heart attack. When Vivian shows up at the lake house unannounced, Lucy is hopeful it’s to meet her long-suspected half-sister. Instead, this is the defining moment when both girls realize their father’s legacy is a life built on lies. Two daughters, two different mothers, two cities, two different lifestyles, two different upbringings, one poor, the other very rich. Now, when the truth about their wealthy father is revealed, they’re ill-prepared to navigate this “secret” and find a way forward. Ms. Orenstein beautifully weaves this story together, making it a well-written read, especially when the central character is deceased. I’ve only scratched the surface of the subplots, but I genuinely enjoyed this book and found it well-crafted. Please read it.

#Daddyissues #cheating #relationships #funeral #Maine #lakehouse #love #divorce #adultury #richfamily #poorfamily #jealousy #memories #lies #bookwithinabook #future #acceptance #sisters @netgalley @HannnahOrenstein @duttonbooks #fiction #contemporary #summereads #hannahorenstein #literaryfiction #humor #family #grief #beautifulcover

I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the opportunity to read this novel.

I didn't love this book, unfortunately. I found it very slow to get into and I almost decided to stop, but I kept going. While I'm glad I did finish it, I still think it just wasnt for me. I did love the scenery and the setting of Maine, especially as someone who has been many times and loves it there. I did also like the sisters characters, but a downside was that I just couldn't relate to Lucy or Vivian which led me to feel a bit uninterested throughout the book. Overall, I enjoyed the book, but it was just an okay read for me. The cover is absolutely stunning though!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This book was warm, emotional story of two half-sisters meeting for the first time. Set at a lakeside home in Maine, it’s a moving look at family, secrets, and healing. I especially enjoyed watching the sisters overcome their grief and grow closer through it. This was my first book by this author that I would read another one.

I have read every book Hannah Orenstein has written, and I was delighted to spend some time in Maine with secret half-sisters Vivian Levy and Lucy Webster. This is definitely a great summer read for lovers of family dramas and books that focus on interpersonal connections.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

“Vivian notices that the sun is lower in the sky than it used to be at this hour. The season slips away a little more with each nightfall.”

When Vivian arrives in Maine to make plans to sell her father’s lakeside cabin following his unexpected death, she’s greeted by an equally unexpected surprise: Lucy, the sister she didn’t know she had. Lucy’s relationship with patriarch Hank was relegated to Julys spent in the lake house, while Hank spent the other 11 months in New York with Vivian and his wife. Vivian is hard-set on selling the cabin: She needs the money to start her own business and finally make a real start of life with her (married) boss and partner.

Lucy has her own reasons to keep the cabin: the dissolution of her marriage, a link to soothe the cracking-open grief for the dad she barely had and who is now officially gone, and the hope of getting to know her half-sister. Lucy may have been a secret but Vivian was a known, pined-for hope while Lucy grew up, watching the life of her sister from afar.

The cabin and charming Maine town become the setting for a well-paced story about sisters and secrets. “Maine Characters” is tender without veering to cozy, nostalgic without being maudlin. And while the characters slot neatly into tropes (big city girl meets small town sis), they are fully realized and three-dimensional.

This will be a great read for fans of family stories tinged with hope and heavy with atmosphere. Thank you to Dutton for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5⭐️ As a Mainer, I can honestly say this book felt like a love letter to summers in Maine🫶🏼🌲

This was a family drama, and booooyyyy was the drama high and messy. I waffled between feeling bad for the two main characters, and wishing they’d grow up a bit. For women who are 30, their behavior felt kind of childish at times, and it made me want to shake some sense into them both. That said, I did enjoy seeing the development of this *very* complicated relationship, and thought it felt real. I loved how the side characters added more to the story (a little romance, a little mystery), and how we got to see different sides to the two MCs because of them.

I think the setting for this book is what I loved the most. Orenstein manages to capture what Maine summers are all about, and I thought her attention to detail with actual businesses & towns name-dropped throughout the book was really fun. Reading this felt both cozy and entertaining.

This will be a great read for the summer!

I love The Parent Trap so was excited to see this book explained to be great for that. And while it was good, it wasn’t great. Vivian and Lucy both annoyed me which made the book hard to get through, even though it was easy to connect with the “bigger issues”

Maine Characters has a delightful premise—an aspiring novelist finds inspiration and turmoil in a coastal town filled with colorful locals and family secrets. Hannah Orenstein delivers her signature wit and warmth, and the setting is beautifully atmospheric, evoking the salty charm of Maine summer life.

However, while the setup is promising, the story sometimes feels predictable and the emotional depth uneven. The protagonist’s journey of self-discovery is relatable, but key relationships and conflicts could have used more complexity. There are moments of real insight and cleverness, but they’re sometimes lost in overly tidy resolutions.

Fans of Orenstein’s previous work will find her familiar voice here, but readers looking for a more layered or surprising narrative may find Maine Characters just good—not great.

DNF at 16% - this was really not enjoyable. I was sold on this book by the blurb and was awaiting a really challenging, but heartfelt story about two people discovering they are sisters - it said it was like The Parent Trap. But no. It was just two characters who are miserable and whiny, nothing heartfelt. Lucy acts like a literal child and Vivian is honestly the worst and has zero empathy.

On top of that I felt like I was getting POV whiplash- within each of the two chapters I managed to get through; it volleys back and forth between Lucy and Vivian what feels like at least 20 times.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.