The Beach House by Jane Green

At first I wondered where this book was going as there is quite a character list and not a lot seems to happen in the early chapters.  In fact, it takes more than half the book to actually get everyone together on Nantucket Island, but, I found myself starting to become really involved in their disparate back stories.

Daniel and Bea have two young daughters and a crumbling marriage.  Bea seems to think a romantic summer spent in a holiday rental at Nantucket will fix things, even if Daniel will only be there on the weekends thanks to his work.  The couples therapy doesn't seem to be working so she is more than willing to try anything.  Daniel has a huge secret that he has plucked up the courage to speak to the therapist about and now he is more convinced than ever that the marriage is over.

Richard and Daff have split up and their daughter Jess is floundering.  Both of them are tiptoeing round the teen and giving her the space they think she needs.  Unfortunately, Jess doesn't need space, she needs firm boundaries and the more she gets away with the further she pushes things.  When Richard starts dating again Jess really disintegrates and Nantucket seems like the ideal solution.

A few drinks too many and Michael makes maybe the worst mistake of his life with his married boss.  He is free and single and at first seems to enjoy the thrill of the affair but he soon realises that his actions are so very, very wrong.  The only solution seems to be a hasty retreat back to his mother's Island mansion.

Nan is the Island eccentric.  Still suffering from the loss of her husband decades ago her money has run out and now it looks like she is going to lose her home.  In an attempt to salvage things she draws on her reserves of inner strength and decides to open a rooming house for the summer.

It could all have been a bit bleak if I'm being honest.  Lots of lives in turmoil and people floundering to make it through to the next day.  Somehow I found myself really enjoying it all.  Some of the characters are more relatable than others but there are so many that even if one irritates the hack out of you there is the sure and certain knowledge that we will be moving on to another one in a few pages.  Normally the themes of adultery and stroppy teens would turn me off a book in short order but although these are pushed to their limits in certain sections (Jess's tantrums spring to mind) they have enough empathy and truth to them that I soon became engrossed.  It does all make for uncomfortable reading in places as it cuts a little close to relationships that I see around me.

This is the first Jane Green that I have read and it definitely won't be my last.  Complicated characters that are allowed to speak for themselves and have real world problems and insecurities.  Throw in an idyllic summer retreat and you have the almost perfect holiday read.