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Beachcombers

3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 · rating details · 5,455 ratings · 452 reviews

Beautifully written, powerfully felt, full of both abundant joy and heart-wrenching sorrow, Beachcombers is an extraordinary novel that centers on the bittersweet reunion of three captivating, very different sisters on Nantucket over one gorgeous, exhilarating summer.

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Published June 22nd 2010 by Tantor Media, Inc. (first published 2010)

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Jul 22, 2010 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

From My Blog...[return][return][return]Beachcombers by Nancy Thayer is a funny, sad, warm, and uplifting story of one special summer on Nantucket. Jim Fox is struggling to make ends meet and his youngest daughter Lily does not know how to handle things when Emma moves back home after her investment firm downsized and her fiancé dumped her for another broker in the firm. Lily frantically reaches out to her oldest sister Abbie to take care of everything just as she has since the death of their mot...more

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Mar 18, 2013 Cara rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fun-or-frivolity

I disliked the main characters (all of them!) enough to put this in the "returning unfinished" pile for over a month, but then I ended up running out of fluff to read and finishing it after all. How's that for a recommendation?

This is the story of four women in Nantucket for a summer: Lily, who is the baby of the family and has never struck out on her own; Emma, the middle sister, who has returned home in defeat after losing her career, life savings, and boyfriend in the big stock market crash;...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Karin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was okay....I found the 3 sisters to be completely contradictory from chapter to chapter. In one chapter, a sister is depressed to the point of not getting out of bed for days, then suddenly, to advance the story, she is up and out and about and socializing and working. Another sister is completely levelheaded, the voice of reason of the family, and within one day of meeting her new boss's husband, she is sleeping with him and madly in love with him. The last sister changed from chapte...more

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Mar 21, 2011 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Just a fun light reading -- perfect vacation reading. Three grown sisters end up back at their dad's house. The mother had died when they were younger and Abbie the oldest raised the two younger. She never when to college and is a nanny overseas. Emma is the next oldest and went to college and was engaged (?) and making lots of money as something like an analyst when the bottom fell out of the financial world and she was fired then she was dumped by her boyfriend. She is now back home on Nantuck...more

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Nov 15, 2011 Kathleen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've decided that reading novels set in New England satisfies my dismay about winter's approach. Nancy Thayer's novels, set in Nantucket, are meeting that need quite nicely. Descriptions about the beauty of this small island off my coast as the seasons change is quite peaceful.
Set against this background is the story of three sisters, living together in their father's home for the first time in several years, and a woman who is renting a small cottage on their property. Each is bright and capabl...more

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Jul 07, 2010 Janie Hickok Siess rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: all women

Recommended to Janie Hickok by: Pump Up Your Book

Four women. Each at a crossroads in her life. Each unsure what her future will be like, aside from the fact that it will bear no resemblance to her recent past. One beautiful summer on Nantucket island leads to personal discoveries, revelations, growth . . . transformations.

Sound like the theme of a perfect summer novel? Indeed it is, courtesy once again of Nancy Thayer, author of Summer House, Moon Shell Beach, The Hot Flash Club, and Between Husbands and Friends.

Synopsis:

The three Fox girls'...more

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Jan 07, 2013 Christi rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks, 2013-reads

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I liked parts of this book and parts of the cast. Maybe I would have liked it better in the summer than in the cold of January? I doubt it. I liked Mirena and Emma who came to back to Nantucket to rediscover and reinvent themselves. Both characters took their time healing and both found other interests to distract themselves - instead of just jumping into the next relationship. I also liked learning about Nantucket Lightship baskets.

Now for what I didn't like: the men in this book. Seriously? A...more I liked parts of this book and parts of the cast. Maybe I would have liked it better in the summer than in the cold of January? I doubt it. I liked Mirena and Emma who came to back to Nantucket to rediscover and reinvent themselves. Both characters took their time healing and both found other interests to distract themselves - instead of just jumping into the next relationship. I also liked learning about Nantucket Lightship baskets.

Now for what I didn't like: the men in this book. Seriously? All of them declare I love you - and propose!!! - within in a month of meeting the Fox daughters. Right. So far fetched. Even Marina's ex comes crawling back.

Lily was an obnoxious, self-centered, immature brat who thinks she is so grown up at 22. She works for the local magazine covering events and parties. However, since she's 22, she thinks she's actually INVITED to these parties as a guest. She complains that her wardrobe isn't glamorous enough and that all the party goers don't kiss up to her because she's pretty. She complains about her old junky car - that her father bought and pays the insurance on. She doesn't want to date the local guy who is a contractor and bartends in the summer for extra cash because "he'll never be rich enough to be her husband." Ugh. Never mind what she does to Emma.

Abby, somehow just up and quits her job because of Lily's begging. She doesn't just take a week's vacation and head back to London. She just quits. Then she finds another nanny gig and falls for the husband. So cliche. I really thought the author could have done a better job with this. Let the husband string her along when they move back home to NY. Let her realize that just because SHE thinks Sydney is a witch doesn't give her the right to take her place. She sure hopped right up and slept with the father the first chance she got - with the kid sleeping in the next room!!!! Wish he caught them so they'd have to explain why they were playing horsey to the horse-loving preschooler.

If you like fairy tales that end up happy no matter what, this is the book for you. I found it really unrealistic. (less)

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Sep 01, 2010 Ruth rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lily anxiously emails her older sister asking her to come home to Nantucket. Their middle sister Emma has returned home and is deeply depressed never leaving her room. She has lost her job and her fiance. Abbie returns home but life is not what Lily imagined it would be. Although Abbie brought Lily up when their mom died she doesn't take that role when she returns home and Lily is disappointed. The girls face the summer and search for ways to earn money which introduces them to a group of new pe...more

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Aug 10, 2010 Colleen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: library-book

There is something about summer that compels me to read books centered around beach communities in the Northeast. So it should come as no surprise that I picked up Nancy Thayer’s latest, Beachcombers, a story about three sisters who find themselves all living in their childhood home in Nantucket.

Abbie, the oldest, has been away from the family for two years living in Europe and working as a nanny. She’s enjoying her independence after giving up her dreams for so many years to take care of her si...more There is something about summer that compels me to read books centered around beach communities in the Northeast. So it should come as no surprise that I picked up Nancy Thayer’s latest, Beachcombers, a story about three sisters who find themselves all living in their childhood home in Nantucket.

Abbie, the oldest, has been away from the family for two years living in Europe and working as a nanny. She’s enjoying her independence after giving up her dreams for so many years to take care of her sisters after her mother died. Emma, the middle child, was a successful investment banker. When the economy stumbled, she found herself broke, without a job and or a fiance. (He was kind enough to dump her and take up with another banker in their office.) Lily, the baby, lives at home and works for a local newspaper covering the social events on the island.

The book begins when Emma’s job loss forces her to move home and her depression worries Lily so much that she summons Abbie to return home. When Abbie arrives at home she finds that the economy has also placed a strain on her father. He has rented out “the playhouse” to a 40 year old recent divorce from the Midwest. Marina, hurting from her ex-husband’s betrayal, has fled to Nantucket to escape and heal in a place that brought her much joy when she was younger.

Beachcombers is a wonderful story about unexpected relationships and the process of healing. Each of the women becomes involved in a relationship which on the surface may appear complicated or not to work but is exactly what they need. Thayer does an excellent job painting the characters especially Howell, Harry and Mrs. Bracebridge.

My one complaint about this book centered around the character of Lily. At times, I found her behavior too childish for a woman in her early 20s. I also found myself frustrated at times with her sister’s reaction or over-reaction to minor incidents like Lily forgetting to buy milk for the house. I understood what Thayer was trying to do but it just felt a little much.

That being said I highly enjoyed this book. I found myself losing myself in the story and the characters. I would recommend this book and give it a 4.5/5. Now to to check out more books by Thayer….(less)

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Jul 14, 2010 Patty rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Here is my recipe for the perfect summer book.

Ingredients…
At least one husband having an affair with his wife’s best friend
A wife running off to a guest cottage in Nantucket because of her husband’s infidelity
A dysfunctional trio of sisters who all have their own issues…including falling in love with a married man, getting dumped by a fiancée and losing a job and being the youngest in the family with no concern at all for other family members
An island widower still trying to recover from his ow...more

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Aug 22, 2011 Karen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A light, fluffy readable book set on the beautiful island of Nantucket. It was well written enough to finish, but really unmemorable. It is the story of three women and their dad struggling to overcome their past and find love(which became predictable and seemed to fall flat in their laps). What I found unusual about this book was just when it hinted that something terrible might happen through foreshadowing the expected never did happened and all ended happily! Sort of funny to have so many hap...more

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Jul 09, 2010 Julia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I would really give it 3.5 if I could. Thayer rather successfully takes us once again to a summer on Nantucket Island, this time embroiled in the lives of the three Fox sisters. Youngest sister Lily emails oldest sister Abbie to come home to help navigate the trials of middle sister Emma, who has lost her job and fiance in one swoop. The three girls fall somewhat predictably into their old family roles once they are together under one roof. The baby of the family, Lily, seems especially stymied...more

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Feb 15, 2012 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Beachcombers by Nancy Thayer is the story of three sisters: Abbie, the oldest who has never been in love, Emma who has lost everything she worked for, and Lily, the young beauty of the family. They are staying with their father on Nantucket, their home. Emma has come home from Boston, after losing her boyfriend, investments, and job. Abbie has been staying in London taking care of a family's two boys. And Lily has been working as a journalist on the island, trying to take care of the house....more

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May 10, 2010 Rosie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

Beachcombers is the story of 4 women living on the island of Nantucket. The story covers one summer of their lives. Three of the women are sisters -- Abbie, Emma and Lily. The fourth is Marina, a women who has rented the small cottage on their property. The novel is written from all of their perspectives, chapter by chapter. The sisters lost their mother in what may or may not have been an accident 15 years prior to the start of the novel.

All of the women are going through of change in their li...more Beachcombers is the story of 4 women living on the island of Nantucket. The story covers one summer of their lives. Three of the women are sisters -- Abbie, Emma and Lily. The fourth is Marina, a women who has rented the small cottage on their property. The novel is written from all of their perspectives, chapter by chapter. The sisters lost their mother in what may or may not have been an accident 15 years prior to the start of the novel.

All of the women are going through of change in their life that brings them to Nantucket. Marina is the outsider. She moved to Nantucket after divorcing her husband and losing her best friend in the process. Lily, the youngest, is distraught that Marina has moved in and thinks she's after her father. Emma, the middle sister, moved back home after breaking up with her fiance and losing her job as a investment banker/trader in the wake of the stock market fallout. Abbie, the oldest sister, has moved away from the island but is called back by Lily's pleas to come home and help Emma and get rid of Marina.

The sisters start a small company called Nantucket Mermaids that offers services for odd jobs. They babysit, read to the elderly, landscape, do data entry, etc. Before moving to the island, Marina was a high-powered ad executive. In the divorce she sold her share of the business and condo she owned. She is hoping to learn how to live a more simple life.

Beachcombers is all about relationships -- how the sisters relate to one another, how Marina fits in the the dysfunctional family, how they form new bonds and loves on the island.

Thayer does a great job of portraying the emotions of the sisters and the dynamics of very complicated relationships. I would recommend this anyone with a sister or going through a breakup.

I gave this novel three stars because I liked it, but I didn't love it. I typically give three stars to "beach reads." It might be a little more heavy than fluffy, but Thayer does a wonderful job of describing island life.(less)

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Aug 04, 2010 Laurel-Rain rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Abbie, Emma, and Lily Fox are grown women, but their ties to their father and their Nantucket Island home are strong. Even though the two older sisters have moved out to establish their own homes, and despite the fact that the motherless sisters have been apart for awhile, all it takes is an e-mail message from one of them to bring the troops home.

Home is where their father Jim lives, along with twenty-two year old Lily.

Recently, Emma has burrowed into the nest, after a shocking betrayal by her...more Abbie, Emma, and Lily Fox are grown women, but their ties to their father and their Nantucket Island home are strong. Even though the two older sisters have moved out to establish their own homes, and despite the fact that the motherless sisters have been apart for awhile, all it takes is an e-mail message from one of them to bring the troops home.

Home is where their father Jim lives, along with twenty-two year old Lily.

Recently, Emma has burrowed into the nest, after a shocking betrayal by her fiancé. She has lost her love, her business, and her condo. Since her return home, though, she has curled up under the covers to mourn.

Abbie, as the oldest sister, is the one who mothered the other two when their mother died...Even though Abbie was only fifteen when it happened. But Lily's e-mail message to Abbie, begging her help, is not just about Emma. Their father has rented out the "playhouse" to a woman, and he seems entirely too interested in her.

Marina, the woman renting the cottage, has her own pain and loss to overcome. Her husband fell in love and impregnated her best friend, which is especially painful, since Marina has been trying to get pregnant for years. So she, too, is licking her own wounds on the island that summer.

We meet each of the women in turn, during one unique summer; the chapters reveal bits and pieces of their lives, their attitudes, and their feelings. By the time the story has moved into gear, we've gone a long way toward really understanding each of these characters.

Abbie may be just a bit overly protective of the others, but that is starting to change. She is especially less permissive with Lily, the "baby," which irritates this youngest sister.

Emma's depression is worrisome to the others, primarily because it evokes old and painful memories of their mother, Danielle, who spiraled downward into a dangerous depression just before her death.

Each of the women begins to discover herself and to form new attachments...to people they've met through their jobs and through their renewed connections in the island community. Will Abbie finally let go of her extreme sense of responsibility for the others and form her own attachments? Will she fall in love? And what about Emma? Will she get past the pain of her lost love and begin again? And what will it take to make that happen? Lily seems so totally self-involved, that one could almost believe that she is the most free from constraints. But the past begins to intrude and remind her, as well as her sisters, that sometimes pain and loss accompany family attachments.

I thoroughly enjoyed "Beachcombers" and how the author portrayed the personal choices and transformations that each woman must make, conveying that life moves on and people can heal and grow. This book has definitely earned five stars, in my opinion.
(less)

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Jul 19, 2011 Diane rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Promoting the gospel of personal happiness at all costs, this story had it's moments of sweetness. However, in order to bring about the requisite "happy ending", Thayer follows the party line that divorce is ok when people are unhappy and the children will be better off with happier parents and true love happens before you get to know someone. While Abbie does consider the possibility that breaking up a marriage is bad, she succumbs to the current ideology that all will be well if we get what we...more

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Sep 29, 2010 Tonya rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-reads

This is why I read. First off, the little bits go back and forth between 3 sisters and a new woman to the island, that is renting the little cottage behind their father's house.

All women are going through something in their lives, as life happens to us. Broken hearts or just feeling lost in this great big world. I thought the way it went back and forth was so awesome, I never once thought who is saying this, or it went too long and you wanted to get back to someone else.

Over the summer each wom...more

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May 21, 2010 kim rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads, used-to-own

I received this advanced copy through the Goodreads 'first reads' program. I enjoyed this book and would give it a 3-1/2 stars if that were possible. This was a good, light story....perfect for an easy summer read. It is fun and with a happy ending, but it is not 'deep'. It would make a good 'Lifetime' movie. The story is about 3 Nantucket sisters who lost their mother 15 years ago, while they were still children. Their father has rented their former playhouse, converted to a cottage, for the su...more

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Feb 04, 2013 Beth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was the first book I checked out through the library's audio book software and I chose it on the recommendation of a coworker. This book hooked me in right from the beginning. I had to restart it when I realized that they were setting the characters right away in their own chapter, and I was trying to listen and do other things at the same time, because there was so much depth and detail I was afraid I was going to miss something. Nancy Thayer takes you on a journey through the lives of the...more

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May 10, 2010 Marti rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads, pop-fiction, zzz-books-2010, new-england, arc, goodreads

Nancy Thayer's book, Beachcombers, is a wonderful story about dreams of love and life. It was very fitting that I finished the book on Mother's Day as Marina found... well I don't want to give that away, do I?

The story takes place on Nantucket during the summer. Jim, the father has rented out the 'playhouse' to a woman, Marina, grieving the end of her marriage and hopes for children. Jim's three daughters, all grown, are home for the summer. Abby is home after being an au pair in Europe because...more

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May 15, 2011 Mary Anne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I enjoyed this novel about three sisters living on Nantucket Island where they grew up. One has never left the island and lives with her father, the other two came back for varied reasons. All three are facing changes in their lives. There is also the tenant in their old playhouse who is going through her own crisis. The book is both funny and sad as the girls work their way through the life changes in one summer. Perhaps the conclusion is a little too pat and somewhat predictable to be true to...more

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Nov 11, 2010 April Jarrard rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was the first time I have ever read anything from this author. I was somewhat impressed by the way the author wrote the book. At first, it was hard to remember all the characters because each chapter was from a different characters point of view. Each main character has at least 5 other side characters. They were difficult to keep up with. I'm not sure if all her books are written this way. I thought the book was rushed, and the story lines were hard to believe. It almost seemed to be "soap...more

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Feb 29, 2012 Lauri rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 12, 2011 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was fun enough, and I breezed through it. A good summer read, but the characters are a bit flat (one of them, Marina, is downright unlikeable), and the story ties up a bit too neatly in the end. It's especially jarring given that all the plots are full of conflict up to that point.

That being said, I do still recommend this as a mindless beach read. It's fun to read about Nantucket society (something I have zero familiarity with) from an "island insider/society outsider" point of view....more

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May 18, 2010 Peg rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

Yes! This is what great writing does! It transports, enlightens and captivates! Thayer's characters are "fat", genuine and engaging. What Desperate Housewives and Parenthood do in a season, Beachcomber does in 363 pages ... you do the math.

Beachcombers has all the charm of the Nantucket Island where it takes place. I admire the talent of this author to fabricate so many rich and well-developed characters and then to weave their stories together so effortlessly (and without taking a lifetime to d...more

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Feb 10, 2013 Anna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

For some reason, I thought this book was by a different author, maybe because the covers look the same. But this was the worst kind of chick lit. Lots of totally unbelievable events, told from four points of view (and two of the characters were close to identical, so I spent the first third of the book trying to remember who was who).

It felt like the author was trying to recreate Little Women, but with the characters ten years older and with a father instead of a mother. But the self-centered, v...more

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Sep 16, 2012 Victoria rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoyed this book! Its much what I would imagine it would be like to have a sister or two, the closeness, and the annoyance with each other battling it out almost daily. Plus reading this book just really brings out how beautiful Nantucket must be, how relaxing it must be to live there. Jim, the father, lives on the island with his youngest daughter, Lily. Emma, the jet setter, has lost her job and her fiance and moved back home in a bout of depression. Lily, who is a bit spoiled and ha...more

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Jul 08, 2011 Mary rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a nice summer read. The storyline revolves around 3 grown sisters who have all regrouped at their family home on Nantucket with their father. Dad has been a widow for many years. The book tracks the lives of each family member for the summer and their respective romances. And, the interplay between the sisters and dad's new girlfriend. What I enjoyed most was the setting of the story ... I felt like I had visited Nantucket for the summer.

I have read all of Thayer's Hot Flash club books...more

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Nov 27, 2012 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Nancy Thayer lives year-round on Nantucket and all of her books take place on the island. I expected this to be a light beach read and was happily surprised with the depth of the relationships between sisters Abbie, Emma, and Lily. Having a sister is a wonderful thing, and Thayer captures this wonderful and often complicated relationship perfectly. At school, I teach my elementary school students to write about small moments, and this book is full of profound, everyday small moments. After readi...more

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Mar 06, 2011 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

THIS WAS A DELIGHTFUL BEACH READ... EVEN WITHOUT THE BEACH.

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About Nancy Thayer

Nancy Thayer has a B.A. and M.A. in English literature from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. Before settling down to write and have children she taught English at various colleges and traveled, living in Paris, Amsterdam and Helsinki. In 1981 she was a Fellow at the Breadloaf Writers Conference. She has lived on Nantucket Island year round for twenty-five years with her husband Charley W...more

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