The Guest Cottage: A Novel

I just finished reading The Guest Cottage by Nancy Thayer. Sophie Anderson is thirty-six years old and lives in Boston with her husband, Zach along with their two children (Lacey who is ten and Jonah who is fifteen). Zach is an architect who always seems to be busy working. It comes as a surprise to Sophie when Zach wants a divorce. He has fallen in love with a woman from his office (explains all the hours at work). Sophie had received an officer to rent a house in Nantucket for two months from her friend, Susie Swenson (she co-owns a house with her cousin, Ivan). Sophie decides to take the money her Aunt Fancy left her and rent the house. She needs to get away and think. Zach refuses to go and moves out of the house (in with girlfriend). Sophie takes the kids (who do not know about the father moving out and wanting a divorce) to Nantucket.

Trevor Black (he is thirty) lives in Boston and has recently lost his wife. His son, Leo is having a hard time coping. Since Trevor can work anywhere there is an internet connection (he develops and maintains websites), he decides to get away for two months. He gets a great opportunity when a friend, Ivan Swenson offers to let him rent his house in Nantucket (you can see where this is going). Trevor arrives at the house to find Sophie and her children. The two decide to stay in the house (it is a big house). As Trevor and Sophie get to know each other, love develops. But are either of them ready for a new relationship?

The Guest Cottage is a sweet book that would make a great beach read. I got a little frustrated with Sophie at times (she needed to develop a backbone), but overall I liked the characters. Nantucket sounds just lovely. What a great place to spend the summer. The writing is easy, breezy (nice conversational style) which makes the book very easy to read. The book is a little sappy but it is a romance novel. There seems to be a huge focus on age. Sophie is six years older than Trevor and she makes a huge deal about it. Then there is the vegetables. I got tired of the writer making a point of the children eating right. Making sure they had a lot of vegetables and fruit. This had to have been mentioned at a minimum six times (I stopped counting after that). I did not understand the focus on correct eating in a romance novel. The ending is sweet and wraps up all the storylines quite nicely. I give The Guest Cottage 3 out of 5 stars.

I received a complimentary copy The Guest Cottage in exchange for an honest review.