The Island House

The Island House: A Novel by Nancy Thayer
Published by Ballantine Books on May 31st 2016
Pages: 304
Format: eBook, Kindle Book
Source: NetGalley & Ballantine Books

The charms of Nantucket tempt a woman to leave her established life in Kansas City—but with a piece of her heart, and a love interest, in each world, she discovers she must look within to choose the right path.
Every summer since college, twenty-nine-year-old Jenny has traded the familiarity of the Midwest for the allure of Nantucket. Now an established university professor in Kansas City, she finds herself caught between two lifestyles and two very different men. She chooses Nantucket and the glamorous life she associates with it, unaware that the summer will take an unexpected turn, and she will have to let her heart decide what it truly wants.

**Special thanks to NetGalley & Ballantine Books for supplying my copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

I picked The Island House as my first summer read to welcome the lovely summer. I was prepared to immerse myself in the beautiful lines and enjoy.

The Island House starts with Courtney, a 29 years old young woman, taking the ferry to Nantucket to spend the summer months at her friend’s house. As she reflects back, we know that she’s been doing that every year since she first met her best friend Robin in college. Robin’s mother, Susanna Vickerey, has always welcomed her children’s friends at her home calling them her summer children. That house has always fascinated Courtney with its lifestyle that is different from hers. She was always welcomed as part of the family. There, she used to work for the summer. Though the pay was very rewarding, that was not the only reason for her to go there. She has always felt something special for Robin’s younger brother, James.

Now, Courtney is no more a student. She has a career but still she feels the urge to stay at her friend’s summer house. Courtney reflects on her past and through those reflections and the present time the story unfolds. Everyone have their own little secrets, but at some point each needs to make his own decision when secrets are no more secrets.

Well, I am sorry to say that The Island House didn’t live up to my expectations. I kept reading hoping for the story to unfold. However, Courtney kept reflecting on her past. I almost reached half the book empty handed with nothing actually happening. The story wasn’t moving on as if we were locked in the past. It wasn’t even like those novels when some chapters are in previous time. No, it was just scattered here and there. I had to go back to Amazon and Goodreads to check if this book was a part of a series or something because that’s how it felt to me. I felt like the author had to fill me up on some old events in previous books in the series. Because, if that is not the case, why not have those old events as the main story in the first place?! I was distracted and frustrated.

To add up to my frustration, some of the “big” secrets were not that big. To be honest, they were so trivial. They were no secrets at all unless you can call loving to watch wales in the sea in the middle of the night a “Big Secret” that you have to think a zillion times before telling anyone about it!!

Finally, I really tried to love this book. I usually think a lot before giving a low rating for a book. I don’t even quit any book unread. That said, I have endured the book till the end. I believe that the author has a good writing style but something went wrong in this book. I think I can try some of her other books later before deciding on that.