Review: Christmas On Chestnut Street by Nancy Thayer

In this enchanting holiday novel from New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer, family and friends gather on Nantucket for a gorgeous winter wedding with plenty of merry surprises in store.

As Christmas draws near, Felicia returns to her family’s home on the island to marry her adventurous, rugged boyfriend, Archie. Every detail is picture-perfect for a dream wedding: the snow-dusted streets, twinkling lights in the windows, a gorgeous red and white satin dress. Except a lavish ceremony is not Felicia’s dream at all; it’s what her mother, Jilly, wants. Jilly’s also worried that her daughter’s life with daredevil Archie will be all hiking and skydiving. Wondering if their handsome neighbor Steven Hardy might be a more suitable son-in-law, Jilly embarks on a secret matchmaking campaign for Felicia and the dashing stockbroker.

As the big day approaches and Jilly’s older daughter, Lauren, appears with rambunctious kids in tow, tensions in the household are high. With the family careening toward a Yuletide wedding disaster, an unexpected twist in Nancy Thayer’s heartwarming tale reminds everyone about the true meaning of the season.

Hardcover, 224 pages

Expected publication: October 28th 2014 by Ballantine Books

Terri's Thoughts

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher Ballantine via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.  The expected publication date is October 28th 2014.

This was a really cute Christmas read in advance of the approaching Christmas season.  For me their were two main highlights to the story which I will outline separately.

First it was the cat Rex.  Let me explain that I do not like cats at all.  I am now and will forever be a dog person with an above average disdain for cats.  That aside I just loved Rex.  His (in my mind) creepy cat personality added a lot of humor to the story.  The way he contributed to the chaos of the household during the holiday's had me cracking up.  It is not often I can appreciate a cat but it worked well in this story.

The second was the chaos of extended family converging in one household for the holidays.  It reminded me of my family.  My two sisters and I show up at my parents with husbands and children in tow and three large breed dogs.  The ensuing chaos is something that I will always cherish.  This story resembled my personal experience of trying to house all of these individual personalities under the same roof for the holiday's.  I can only guess that Thayer has had a similar experience to nail it the way she did.

Overall this is a story to curl up to on a snowy day with a cup of hot chocolate in anticipation of the holiday season.  Let's just hope that the snow holds off a little while longer.

About The Author

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 Walters. They have two children and two grandchildren.

Nancy Thayer is the author of nineteen novels, including Summer House, The Hot Flash Club series, Moon Shell Beach, Stepping, and Three Women At The Water's Edge.

Her books concern the mysteries and romance of families and relationships and the humorous adventures of growing older.

In 2008, Redbook magazine chose her novel Moon Shell Beach for their "Hot Summer Read." Nancy's work has been translated into more than 14 languages, including Polish, Hebrew, Russian, and Serbo Croatian. Her novels have been condensed or excerpted in several magazines, including Redbook, Good Housekeeping, England's Cosmopolitan, Holland's Viva, and South Africa's Personality.

She has published a commissioned three-part mystery novella in Redbook, and short stories in literary reviews in the United States, Canada, and Spain. Her first novel, Stepping, was made into a 13-part series for BBC Radio. Her ghost novel Spirit Lost was produced as a movie by United Image Entertainment. Her novel Everlasting was a Main Dual selection of the Literary Guild in 1991.

Website:  http://nancythayer.com/