Nancy Thayer’s latest offering, Summer Light on Nantucket, delivers exactly what her devoted readership expects: a sun-drenched exploration of family dynamics, romantic awakening, and the healing power of island life. As her forty-first novel and another entry in her beloved Nantucket series, this book finds the bestselling author in comfortable territory, weaving together themes of motherhood, first love, and the complexities of modern family life with the assured hand of a seasoned storyteller.
The novel follows Blythe Benedict, a divorced middle school teacher who has successfully carved out a fulfilling life for herself and her four children. Their annual summer retreat to Nantucket represents more than just a vacation—it’s a sanctuary where memories bloom and new possibilities unfold. This summer, however, brings unexpected complications that will test everything Blythe thought she knew about love, loyalty, and her own desires.
Character Development: The Heart of the Story
Blythe Benedict: A Relatable Heroine
Thayer excels at creating protagonists who feel authentically lived-in, and Blythe is no exception. As a divorced mother of four, she embodies the reality many readers face: balancing personal desires with parental responsibilities while navigating the aftermath of a marriage that simply ran its course. Her relationship with ex-husband Bob is refreshingly mature—they’ve managed to remain friends, and she genuinely appreciates his girlfriend Teri, even if she sometimes feels like the “responsible parent” to their “fun parent” dynamic.
What makes Blythe particularly compelling is her internal struggle between safety and passion. Her contentment with her organized, predictable life in Boston contrasts sharply with the emotional turbulence that Nantucket brings. Thayer captures this tension beautifully, showing how even the most settled adult can find themselves questioning their choices when faced with unexpected opportunities.
The Benedict Children: Authentic Voices
The four Benedict children—Miranda, Daphne, Teddy, and Holly—represent different stages of adolescence and childhood with remarkable authenticity. Miranda, the seventeen-year-old beauty, struggles with the intensity of first love and the dramatic highs and lows that come with it. Her relationship with visiting Brooks provides a parallel to her mother’s romantic journey, though with the heightened emotions of teenage experience.
Daphne emerges as the family intellectual, volunteering at the Maria Mitchell aquarium and correcting her siblings’ scientific misconceptions. Teddy, at thirteen, grapples with typical middle school challenges, including a concerning incident involving violence that forces Blythe to confront questions about male role models in her children’s lives.
Holly, the youngest, serves as perhaps the most endearing character with her imaginative sea gerbil graphic novels and her intuitive understanding of adult emotions. Her scenes with her grandmother Celeste are particularly touching, showcasing Thayer’s skill at capturing intergenerational relationships.
The Love Triangle: Past Meets Present
Aaden: The Ghost of Love Past
The reappearance of Aaden, Blythe’s high school sweetheart, introduces a compelling element of “what if” that drives much of the novel’s emotional tension. Their reunion after decades apart is handled with nuanced complexity—the attraction remains, but both have become different people. Aaden’s invitation for Blythe to join him in Ireland represents the fantasy of romantic escape, the allure of returning to a time when love felt all-consuming and uncomplicated.
Thayer wisely avoids making Aaden either a perfect romantic hero or a clear villain. He’s simply a man whose life took a different path, offering Blythe a chance to reclaim something she lost long ago. The question becomes whether that something is worth disrupting the life she’s built.
Nick Roth: Love in the Present Tense
Nick represents a more mature kind of romance—built on friendship, shared experiences, and genuine compatibility. As a high school teacher and soccer coach, he understands Blythe’s world and priorities. His performance at the yacht club, singing sea shanties under the Nantucket sky, becomes a pivotal moment that captures both his character and the novel’s atmospheric strengths.
The developing relationship between Nick and Blythe feels organic and realistic. Their conversations about their previous marriages, their understanding of each other’s responsibilities, and their gradual physical attraction build credibly throughout the narrative.
Family Dynamics: The Celeste Factor
The Ex-Mother-in-Law Relationship
One of the novel’s greatest strengths lies in the relationship between Blythe and Celeste, her former mother-in-law. Their continued closeness after the divorce feels both realistic and heartwarming. Celeste serves as both confidante and voice of wisdom, offering Blythe perspective on love, aging, and family relationships.
When Celeste suffers what appears to be a stroke, the crisis forces everyone to confront their priorities and dependencies. The hospital scenes are particularly well-executed, capturing the fear and helplessness that medical emergencies bring to families.
The Secret That Changes Everything
The revelation about Bob’s vasectomy—kept secret from his girlfriend Teri, who desperately wants children—introduces moral complexity to the story. Blythe’s decision to share this information with Celeste demonstrates her evolved relationship with her ex-husband’s family, while also raising questions about loyalty, honesty, and when it’s appropriate to intervene in others’ relationships.
Thayer’s Masterful Setting
Nantucket as Character
Thayer’s description of Nantucket transcends mere backdrop to become an integral part of the story. The island’s rhythm—from crowded ferry arrivals to quiet evening walks—shapes the characters’ experiences and emotional journeys. Her intimate knowledge of the island, gained through forty years of residence, shines through in every detail, from the yacht club dynamics to the specific beaches where pivotal scenes unfold.
The summer atmosphere is rendered with particular skill. Readers can almost feel the salt air and hear the gulls crying as they navigate alongside Blythe through her complicated summer of choices.
Writing Style: Comfortable and Engaging
Narrative Flow and Pacing
Thayer employs a third-person limited perspective that keeps readers close to Blythe’s internal experience while allowing for broader character development. The pacing feels leisurely in the best possible way—like a proper summer vacation where there’s time to savor conversations and contemplate life’s complexities.
The dialogue captures the natural rhythm of family interactions, from teenage dramatics to middle-aged philosophical discussions. Conversations flow naturally, revealing character while advancing plot.
Emotional Authenticity
Where Thayer particularly excels is in capturing the emotional reality of her characters’ situations. Blythe’s conflicted feelings about her romantic choices never feel manufactured for plot purposes. Similarly, the children’s various struggles—from Miranda’s overwhelming first love to Holly’s creative endeavors—ring true to their respective ages and personalities.
Critical Analysis: Strengths and Limitations
What Works Exceptionally Well
The novel’s greatest strength lies in its realistic portrayal of modern family life. Thayer doesn’t shy away from the complexities of co-parenting, the challenge of maintaining adult friendships while raising children, or the difficulty of dating as a single parent. These elements feel lived-in and authentic.
The multi-generational perspective adds depth to the narrative. From Holly’s ten-year-old concerns to Celeste’s end-of-life wisdom, the novel captures different life stages with equal authenticity. The grandmother-grandchildren relationships are particularly well-developed, showing how different personalities connect across age gaps.
Areas for Consideration
While the novel succeeds admirably in many areas, it occasionally suffers from a genteel predictability that may frustrate readers seeking more dramatic tension. The conflicts, while realistic, rarely rise to truly challenging levels. Even Celeste’s medical crisis resolves relatively quickly and optimistically.
The resolution of Blythe’s romantic triangle, while satisfying, follows somewhat expected patterns. Readers familiar with romance genre conventions will likely predict the outcome fairly early in the narrative. However, this predictability isn’t necessarily a weakness—many readers of women’s fiction appreciate the comfort of knowing that characters they’ve grown to care about will find happiness.
Character Agency and Growth
Blythe’s character arc demonstrates genuine growth throughout the narrative. She begins the summer content but perhaps too comfortable in her routine, and ends it having made active choices about her future rather than simply accepting what life hands her. Her decision-making process feels authentic to her character—thoughtful, considerate of her children’s needs, but ultimately based on what will make her happiest.
Thematic Depth
Love Across Life Stages
“Summer Light on Nantucket” explores how love evolves across different life stages. Miranda’s intense teenage romance with Brooks provides a counterpoint to Blythe’s more measured adult considerations. The question of whether mature love can recapture the intensity of youthful passion runs throughout the narrative.
Family Bonds and Chosen Family
Thayer examines various forms of family connection—biological, legal, and chosen. Blythe’s continued relationship with Celeste after her divorce demonstrates how family bonds can transcend legal definitions. Similarly, the way the Benedict children relate to various adults in their extended community shows how modern families often rely on networks of support beyond blood relations.
Second Chances and New Beginnings
The theme of second chances permeates the novel on multiple levels. Blythe gets a second chance at love, Celeste gets additional time with her family after her health scare, and even the children experience new opportunities for growth and independence during their summer on the island.
Comparison to Thayer’s Previous Works
Consistency and Evolution
For readers familiar with Thayer’s extensive catalog, Summer Light on Nantucket represents both consistency and subtle evolution. Like her previous Nantucket novels including Surfside Sisters, A Nantucket Wedding, and Secrets in Summer, this book delivers the expected elements: complicated family dynamics, romantic entanglements, and the island setting that serves as both sanctuary and catalyst for change.
However, “Summer Light on Nantucket” demonstrates a more mature approach to romantic relationships than some of her earlier works. The love triangle here isn’t based on misunderstandings or external obstacles, but on genuine questions about what kind of love and life the protagonist wants as a middle-aged woman.
Within the Beach Read Genre
Compared to other authors in the contemporary women’s fiction genre—such as Elin Hildebrand (also known for Nantucket settings), Kristin Hannah, or Jennifer Weiner—Thayer occupies a specific niche. Her novels tend to be gentler, more focused on everyday challenges than dramatic crises. This approach has both strengths and limitations, appealing to readers who want emotional engagement without trauma or excessive drama.
Technical Craftsmanship
Dialogue and Voice
Thayer demonstrates particular skill in creating age-appropriate dialogue for her characters. The teenagers sound like actual teenagers—sometimes wise beyond their years, sometimes frustratingly immature. The adults converse with the comfortable familiarity of people who have known loss and learned to value what they have.
Plot Construction
The novel’s plot unfolds organically, with events flowing naturally from character choices rather than feeling imposed by authorial manipulation. The pacing allows for character development and relationship building while maintaining forward momentum through romantic and family drama.
Cultural and Social Context
Modern Motherhood
“Summer Light on Nantucket” addresses contemporary challenges facing divorced mothers, including the balance between personal fulfillment and parental responsibility. Blythe’s struggles with dating while parenting four children, managing relationships with ex-spouse and his new partner, and maintaining her own career aspirations reflect real challenges many readers face.
Aging and Family Relationships
Through Celeste’s character and her relationship with Roland, the novel also explores love and companionship in later life. The portrayal of older adults as vital, romantic beings rather than simply wise advisors represents a welcome perspective in women’s fiction.
Final Assessment: A Warm and Satisfying Read
Summer Light on Nantucket succeeds admirably at what it sets out to do: provide readers with an engaging, emotionally satisfying story about family, love, and personal growth set against the irresistible backdrop of one of America’s most beloved summer destinations. While it may not break new literary ground or surprise readers with unexpected plot twists, it delivers the comfort and emotional engagement that Thayer’s audience expects and appreciates.
The novel’s strength lies in its authentic portrayal of modern family life and its nuanced approach to romantic relationships at different life stages. Thayer understands that for many readers, the appeal of summer fiction lies not in dramatic plot revelations but in the pleasure of spending time with well-developed characters facing relatable challenges.
For Fans of Nancy Thayer
Long-time readers will find all the elements they love in Summer Light on Nantucket: the Nantucket setting rendered with insider knowledge, complex family relationships explored with empathy and humor, and romantic complications that feel real rather than contrived. The novel fits comfortably within Thayer’s established body of work while offering fresh perspectives on familiar themes.
For New Readers
Those discovering Thayer for the first time will find an accessible entry point to her work. The novel stands alone successfully while providing a taste of what makes her Nantucket series appealing to devoted readers.
Similar Reads for Further Exploration
Readers who enjoy Summer Light on Nantucket might appreciate:
- The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy by Jenny Han – for multi-generational summer romance
- A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand – for Nantucket setting and complex relationships
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid – for mature perspectives on love across time
- Where the Rivers Merge by Mary Alice Monroe – for family dynamics and coastal settings
- The Summer We Started Over by Nancy Thayer – for more of the author’s signature style
- The Guest Cottage by Nancy Thayer – another beloved entry in her Nantucket series
Summer Light on Nantucket ultimately delivers exactly what its cover promises: a warm, engaging summer read that will leave readers feeling satisfied and perhaps a little nostalgic for their own island summers, real or imagined. In a world often filled with heavy news and complex challenges, there’s genuine value in fiction that offers hope, second chances, and the enduring power of family love. Nancy Thayer continues to provide exactly that, making this novel a worthwhile addition to any summer reading list.