📖: Maine Characters
✍🏼: Hannah Orenstein
⭐: 4/5

Quick thoughts: Two half-sisters meet after their father's death. Together, they untangle his web of lies to better understand their past, how it shaped who they are today, and where they'll go from here. A captivating page-turner with strong character growth, though some subplot points make it difficult to fully cheer for either sister.

Loved:
➝ Beautiful setting in Maine
➝ Complex, but honest family dynamic
➝ Strong character development

Perfect for: Anyone who loves a complicated family drama, especially stories about siblings uncovering family secrets and navigating complex moral choices.

⚠️: Cheating, Death

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for a copy of this eArc!

Vivian and Lucy each spend time with their father at his lake house every year, but do so separate from one another. Vivian was raised in New York City and is a sommelier with a deep secret, while Lucy grew up in Maine, is a teacher and has a marriage falling apart. The two have never met, and Vivian has been kept out of the loop about Lucy, who has only ever looked on from afar. When their father dies, Vivian goes to his cabin to sell it and spread his ashes. It is then that she meets Lucy. The two spend a summer together to untangle the mistakes of their parents and figure out their emotions with one another.

Both Vivian and Lucy had a lot of flaws, which made them unlikable but also human. They actually balanced each other out and had an interesting relationship. Most notably, the setting was a wonderful character to this book; it really set the tone and vibe for everything the sisters needed to unpack, with each other and on their own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is about sisters who don't meet until they are adults. I love a story about sisters and the dynamic is interesting. Their father is dead and they have a lot of unpacking to do about the childhood he gave each of them and where they go from here, now that they finally know one another. I enjoyed it, kept me interested. Quick read.

what a lovely read! this is my first read by this author and im excited to dive into more books by them. likeable characters, interesting plot and well thought out message. i would rate this 4/5 only for the fact that it didnt capture my attention as quickly as i wouldve liked

I really enjoyed this read!

While it was a bit of a slower one for me I did like the characters development and the back and forth. I have never been to Maine and have an obsession with the area and think the author captured the magic of it all perfectly.

The story itself was interesting and intriguing and kept me hooked! Long lost sisters, a lot of healing and learning, and a lot of how’s to work though. I would definitely recommend this book.


Huge thank you to Dutton and Net Galley for the ARC <3

I was thrilled to receive an advanced reader of this book. Anything set in Maine always draws me in. Not so much with this book. I found it hard to like either of the main characters nor did I care for the plot line. I struggled to finish the book, but I did. I will not be recommending it.

Though the cover was the first thing to grab me about this book, I really enjoyed the read!! This is my first read from Hannah Orenstein and I will absolutely be exploring her work after this!

I enjoyed the switching perspectives of Vivian and Lucy as they work through mourning their father, as they learn to connect with each other as sisters for the first time. I actually appreciated the growth and character development that they both experienced moving through that as well. I felt it was an overall easy read that kept me engaged all the way through! I can't wait to recommend it once it comes out in May 2025!

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Dutton, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGally and Penguin Group Dutton for allowing me to read this ARC of Maine Characters.

I fell in love with the cover and name as I recently went on a family vacation in Maine and absolutely loved the area. This is the first book I have read by Hannah Orenstein. I found this book easy to read and just a sweet story of two moms and their daughters and how their lives ended up being intertwined.

If you want an easy read, descriptions of a beautiful "town" in Maine with a story of messy relationships I would recommend this book.

This book was SO good. I loved the dual POVs, setting, character development and writing. The cover is beautiful and originally was the reason I was intrigued with this book. However, once I got started, I could not put this book down. 10/10 would recommend!

Maine Characters is a slow moving predictable story. Neither main characters are likable, which is a shame because it that would have carried me through the whole book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

Overall, good read with likeable characters. The setting and premise were both interesting. The only thing that felt off was the descriptors- I think it was too much for my personal taste.
I appreciate the opportunity and was glad to have read it !

Being from Maine myself, and familiar with the area Fox Hill is based on, I appreciated the details that made the lake town feel authentic. I typically love it when characters have enough flaws to feel three dimensional but I had a tough time rooting for any of the main characters here, and the way one man’s poor choices dictated their lives left me feeling frustrated.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for the ARC. I really enjoyed this book — it hooked me quickly and the plot setup felt fresh. The development of Lucy and Vivian’s relationship was well written, and I loved Caleb/his friendship with both sisters. I’ll be looking forward to future books by this author.

4.5⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for this arc! This book was so freaking good! Towards the beginning I really didn’t know if I was going to enjoy this, but it pulled me in and I was hooked! Such a beautiful story centered around two sisters meeting after a tragic event and how it pulled them together. This is my first book by Hannah Orenstein and certainly not my last! Might be too early to say, but I think this is gonna be one of the biggest books next summer!

I really enjoyed this one! Super cute novel that begins with two sisters who, while mourning their fathers death, are also meeting for the first time ever. While Lucy & Vivian are from essentially two different worlds, the two spend the summer together in the father’s Maine lake house. Dealing with their own traumas, relationship and family issues, the two are able to cohabitate together and face A LOT. This story is about forgiveness and shows that there’s always so much more than what’s at the surface. After all, ‘we are all just human ‘🫶
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed the back and forth in this book and character development. They were all a bit flawed but I felt like that made it a much more interesting read. I would definitely recommend this to friends and followers, especially if you’re looking for a summer Maine read.

As a seasonal Mainer, i loved this book. The lake life environment was captured. Loved the story and the characters and really appreciated how it all tied together in the end. Would love a sequel!

Thank you Dutton for a free ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Out 5/13/25, I’m sure this will be one of the bigger summer reads of next year’!

Every summer since they can remember, Sisters Vivian and Lucy spend a month with their dad at his cabin in Maine. The catch? Lucy is there all of July and Vivian is there all of August, because the sisters have never met. Lucy has always dreamed of meeting her sister - the one that grew up with an intact nuclear family and all the privileges she was denied - but Vivian grew up with nothing but suspicions. When their father died unexpectedly, the sisters are united for the first time at the cabin, and they could not be more different. Vivian is a master Sommelier, entitled, and set on selling the cabin so she can open her own wine bar with the profits. Lucy grew up in the small town town in Maine, recently separated from her husband, and cherishes both the cabin and her father. Over the course of the summer, the sisters cope with their grief, anger, relationships woes, and their complicated relationship between themselves and their father.

Loved this one. Both characters are unlikable at times but have you simultaneously rooting for them both to figure it out. The setting in Maine is perfection (and makes me want to visit asap) and I loved the family drama. Yet again - this is another book that makes me happy I do not have a sister (or a secret sibling, at that).

Maine Characters is a book centered around family secrets, navigating grief, and understanding the importance of forgiveness.  

When Hank suddenly dies, his daughter Vivian chooses to fix up and prepare his lakeside Maine cabin for sale.  The cabin wasn't a huge part of her life, but the funds secured after the sale would help her advance her life and career in the direction she'd been working toward.  But when she arrives at the cabin, she discovers it's already occupied by another woman, who she learns is Lucy - her hidden half-sister.

Vivian insists that the cabin be sold while Lucy refuses to accept its fate.  The cabin was the biggest piece of her dad she was ever able to have and losing it felt like another heartbreak she wasn't ready to face.  The two struggle to find common ground, Vivian, the big-city sommelier, and Lucy, the small-town English teacher.  The choices their dad made created bitterness between them; Vivian had received financial security and closer proximity, while Lucy experienced a month each summer at the cabin with a more emotional version of Hank.

Through the course of the summer, the sisters struggle to work through their own relationships, employment situations, and personal lives while also navigating everything that was hidden from them and the loss of what could have been.  The characters experience a roller coaster of emotions as they navigate the lies, half-truths, and how to find their way to common ground.

Set in my home state, Maine was a beautiful setting for this moving story.  It was interesting to read about places that were familiar to me, though I'm not sure why the author chose to create a fictional small town when there are so many she could have chosen from.

Overall, I really enjoyed the way the characters developed and were able to make peace with the past and create a new future with a greater understanding of each other and more confidence in themselves to make their own way.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this advanced copy.

This is such a good read, especially if you have a sister. I love the setting of this book- I’m always a fan of a small lake town. You follow two sisters and their complicated family dynamics. I would say the romance is a subplot, which I enjoyed because the character growth taking place with the sisters was much more important for this story. I think this will make for a fantastic Summer read!