Thank you, NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton, for this ARC!

Maine Characters has all the charm of a quintessential summer read, with a setting that feels as cozy and inviting as a small-town bookstore. Hannah Orenstein crafts characters that feel strikingly real—complex, flawed, and fully realized. The tension between Vivian and Lucy was one of the book’s strongest elements, feeling authentic rather than overdramatized. Their dynamic kept me engaged, and I appreciated how naturally their conflicts played out.

However, the pacing didn’t fully work for me. The first half of the novel felt somewhat meandering, and I found myself waiting for a clearer direction to emerge. Once the plot settled in, I was more invested, but I wish the earlier chapters had been tighter. Additionally, I would have loved an epilogue to tie up some loose ends—I turned the last page wanting just a little more closure.

Overall, Maine Characters is a solid read with great character work, but its pacing kept it from fully landing for me. If you love character-driven stories and don’t mind a slower build, this one might be worth picking up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for providing this ARC! Overall, I enjoyed the book. The pacing was decent, and the character development was strong. While it’s hard to say if I truly connected with the two main characters, I thought the author did a great job realistically depicting how two half-sisters might navigate the situation they find themselves in.

This is a great summer read! Vivian and Lucy’s story is complex and emotional. They are both deeply flawed characters, but you can’t help but root for them. I love when romance takes a subplot to the main characters’ development. Maine Characters did not disappoint!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin for this ARC!

I LOVED this book. As a Mainer, I am kind of a snob about books set in Maine. I often find them to be a little superficial about life here, only excited to drop names of restaurants and local landmarks, but missing the mark on what life is actually like in our state. Hannah Orenstein did an amazing job of representing both rural and “city” Maine, as well as the dynamics between those from here and our vacationers. On the surface, I loved the story of the two sisters and how their worlds collided. I enjoyed their growth within themselves and together, as well as their complicated feelings around their father, mothers, and the mysterious love triangle between their parents. I loved the imagery of life on the lake (as a photographer, I was especially taken by her descriptions of the beautiful lake sunsets), and enjoyed learning about wine along the way! Deeper than the surface level story, I really appreciated the underlying theme of class differences, ego, and internal conflict. I felt the entire book flowed well and it held my interest throughout. I fully enjoyed reading this book, and I’m so grateful for this opportunity and for the introduction to Hannah’s work. I can’t wait to read more of her stories!

Thank you to Penguin and Negalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I'm struggling with how many stars to give this because it was ok.

First, the marketing for the book says this is "The Parent Trap" for adults. I don't see that or it represents the most shallow interpretation of The Parent Trap story. Lucy and Vivian are half-sisters who have never met. Vivian lived with her mom and dad in NYC in privilege. Lucy grew up with a struggling single mother in a small Maine town. Lucy would spend one month every summer with her dad in his summer home in Maine. Upon his death, the sisters meet as Vivian arrives to spread her father's ashes and sell the family home and Lucy arrives to spend her summer with her dad who she doesn't know is dead. They don't get along. And them not getting along is a good portion of the book.

The sisters are left to manage the mistakes of their father amid the ups and downs of their personal lives. And, frankly, Vivian's personal life made me want to scream because she was a raging hypocrite. And Lucy also makes some questionable decisions. The middle 1/3 of the book can be summed up with "they don't like each other," because not a lot else happened. And I spent most of the book wondering, "WHY DIDN'T THIS WEALTHY MAN HAVE A WILL?" The book does explore the complexities of grief and parental relationships, but not with as much depth as I was expecting.

The beautiful cover sets the tone for this story of two half sisters grappling with the death of their father. Vivian arrives at her father’s Maine cabin to ready it for sale after his death only to find his other daughter, the one she suspected him of having but never knew for sure, enjoying “her month” of time at the lake. Drama ensues, of course, but there’s so much heart in the twists and turns. The juxtapositions of city mouse/country mouse paired with their famous romance novelist/waitress mothers isn’t the same old Hallmark tripe. Vivian and Lucy are real and flawed, just as their father was. There are many love stories contained in this, but I think the sister love story outweighs them all.

Ya know, this was really cute. I enjoyed the story and the growth of the characters! I’ve never been to Maine, but I imagine this is what it feels like.

Thank you netgalley for this early release. Unfortunately I dnf’d this one at about 20%. The characters were so shallow I couldn’t relate to their drama. Both of the women were obnoxious and whiney. I’m sorry I could not give this one a more well rounded review but I could not keep going.

The beautiful cover and comparison to The Parent Trap had me very excited to pick this one up, however I think I was a little disappointed. I loved the premise. Anything that has to do with messy family drama always entertains me. I just couldn't connect with the characters and there were a few things (like the cheating) that I typically steer clear of in books, so there were some parts I didn't enjoy.

Overall I liked this. The pacing was good and the character building was there. I wish we got a litttttle more, like my main questions have to do with paige and Oscar and overall just a little bit of missing finality to the story.

My biggest issue:
Not a fan of the frequent and in chapter POV switching, either stick to one the whole book or ONLY change when a new chapter starts

Review can also be found on goodreads.

This book made me long for warm summer days spending with family on the lake. they both make mistakes and they don't always know the answers. they felt like tangible characters. really enjoyed this!

I really wanted to enjoy Maine Characters by Hannah Orenstein, but unfortunately, it fell flat for me. The storyline had potential, but these sisters were incredibly frustrating. They came off as immature and self-centered. Instead of growing throughout the book, it felt like all the characters were underdeveloped, making it hard to care about anyone in the story. The pacing was slow, and I found myself struggling to stay engaged. Overall, the book lacked the depth and maturity I was hoping for, leaving me disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Dutton for the early ARC.
I really enjoyed this spin on an “adult parent trap.” The setting of Maine on a lake was so tranquil that I really enjoyed my time in their little neck of the woods. Lucy and Vivian might not be characters that I will remember forever but I did think the author realistically portrayed how two half sisters may navigate a situation like they are.
I definitely recommend this book for a poolside or beachside reach this summer! I also want one of Celeste’s book, perhaps the Naked in New York one! 😎👙☀️

This book had all the makings of a great book in my opinion. A adult version of The Parent Trap and a bright and colorful cover. Well that is about all this book had going for it.

Every summer,Vivian Levy and Lucy Webster each spent a month with their dad at his lake house. Neither girl knew about the other until their father dropped dead of a heart attack and the women showed up at the lake house and discovered each other.

Vivan and Lucy were not likable in any way. They were petty and vicious women who needed to grow up and learn to treat other humans better.

The other issue I had with this story was that every single character was involved in a love triangle. It was hard to keep track of what people were in which triangle which seems ridiculous.

This was a hard no for me. Sorry.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Trigger warnings: parental death and sudden loss.

An emotional journey exploring different types of relationships. I especially loved the sisterly bond as both characters grow individually and together while navigating life's events.

The cover for this book is absolutely gorgeous. I love it and I was so excited to read this!

This was the first book I’ve read in over a year that was in third person. It threw me at first but overall this book was pretty good! I loved Lucy a lot more that Vivian.

this one was ok. The story was a little slow paced for me. I really enjoyed Lucy, but found Vivian to be insufferable. I did enjoy watching the two slowly start to get along better. There was just something missing from keeping me super hooked.

What initially drew me into this book was the cover, so so beautiful and I think captures the vibe of the book well.

I didn’t really love the main character, she just fell a little flat for me. However, I adored the setting in which this was written and I think it really added a lot to the novel as a whole.

Get ready to be transported to beautiful Maine in this fun parent-trap inspired book :)

4 stars!

Maine Characters is filled with deeply flawed characters set in a beautiful small town with a touch of “the city” :) The story details frustrating yet compelling storylines for each character and is quite a breath of fresh air in terms of overall plot!

The themes of sisterhood, grief, and dysfunction across different relationships were all explored in this book and left me angry, happy, frustrated, and relieved all at once! The pacing of the book was a bit challenging at times but overall a wonderful read!

I was stoked to read this because of the advertising being an adult version of the parent trap. Plus the cover is to DIE for gorgeous. But unfortunately I never got hooked like I was hoping. I did like the concept, and wanted to keep reading.

Not sure if it was the ARC or if this is how the final book is, but there were very long chapters but had breakdowns of different chapters alternating between the two sisters. I wish the POVs were not in third person, but being in third person made it easier to keep up with whose POV we were in so that’s good.

Anyways, I was hoping for a bit more but ultimately fell a bit flat for me.

Thanks for the early copy from Netgalley and Dutton!