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Heat Wave: Book summary and reviews of Heat Wave by Nancy Thayer

Heat Wave

A Novel

by Nancy Thayer

Heat Wave by Nancy Thayer X
Heat Wave by Nancy Thayer
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  • Published Jun 2011
    320 pages
    Genre: Literary Fiction

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Book Summary

Unerringly perceptive, superbly written, every page packed with the warmth and compassionate wisdom that have become Nancy Thayer's trademark, Heat Wave tells the moving story of a woman who, after her seemingly perfect life unravels, must find the strength to live and love again.

Making the startling discovery that her family finances are in dire straits is only the latest shock endured by Carley Winsted after her husband's sudden death from a heart attack. Resisting her in-laws' well-meaning overtures to take in Carley and her two daughters, the young widow instead devises a plan to keep her family in their beloved home, a grand historic house on the island of Nantucket.

The solution is right at Carley's front door: transforming her expensive, expansive house into a bed-and-breakfast. Not everyone, however, thinks this plan prudent or quite respectable—especially not Carley's mother-in-law. Further complicating a myriad of challenges, a friend forces Carley to keep a secret that, if revealed, will undo families and friendships. 

When her late husband's former law partner keeps showing up at the most unexpected times, Carley must cope with an array of mixed feelings. And then, during a late-summer heat wave, the lives of Carley and her friends and family will be forever changed in entirely unexpected ways. Lyrical, emotional, dramatic, and ultimately wonderfully uplifting, Nancy Thayer's latest novel is compelling from its first page to its last.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"This latest from the popular Thayer should make good beach reading." - Library Journal

This information about Heat Wave was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Louise J

Beautiful Novel!!
I absolutely loved this story!

Nancy Thayer has written a real story about real women. She has an uncanny knack for taking real life situations and putting them in story mode. This novel is completely believable and I actually know someone who several of these issues happened too. I love her books and always highly recommend them. Well done, once again, Nancy!!

Sandra S. (Huntington Woods, Michigan)

Independence
Never knowing what life has in store for you, Carly falls in love and marries a wealthy lawyer she hardly knows. Within a few years of their marriage he has a mortal accident and she is left to raise her two children in the house he left her. She is left with decisions only she can make. I enjoyed this book, because it takes place on the east coast on Nantucket Sound where people populate the area in the summertime. Our family spends the summer in Northern Michigan, in a small town called Charlevoix. Recently, I had a decision, not unlike Carly's, to make. Consequently, the books main theme was very interesting to me. However, because, Nancy Thayer adds so many interesting characters, actions, and a little mystery, I think
"Heat Wave" would appeal to most people, but especially women.

Carm D. (Omaha, NE)

Heat Wave by Nancy Thayer
This book is perfect for summer reading. It is fast paced, keeps you interested and the characters are likable. It's about loss and friendships who last through thick and thin. It's about trying to do the right thing for yourself and your family in trying times, and respecting the feelings of others in the process. The heroine is an admirable lady and I liked her immensely.

Ann D. (Clermont, GA)

New Beginnings
Newly widowed Carley discovers that she and her two young daughters are broke after the sudden death of her husband. She decides to turn her Nantucket home into a B &B much to the dismay of her staid in-laws. This is a story about survival, about the ties that bind friends and family ,and about reliance on inner strength when the world as we know it has collapsed. This is a good read with substance.

Sue Z. (Mooresville, NC)

Heat Wave by Nancy Thayer
A perfect book to take on vacation - the quintessential beach read. Women will find this a relaxing page turner, which will relate to much in their own lives or at least how they would wish their lives to be. "Heat Wave" will not join the annals of great literature but it is a fun book.

Jenna B. (Fairfield, CA)

Great Beach Read
This book was fantastic - a great, fun, fast read. You fall in love with the characters and feel like you can really know these women in real life. Will certainly have to check out the other books of Nancy Thayer. I think I may have found a new favorite author!

...19 more reader reviews

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Author Information

Nancy Thayer Author Biography

Nancy Thayer is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 20 novels, including The Guest Cottage, An Island Christmas, Nantucket Sisters, A Nantucket Christmas, Island Girls, Summer Breeze, Heat Wave, Beachcombers, Summer House, Moon Shell Beach, and The Hot Flash Club.

Nancy has a B.A. and M.A. in English literature from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. She was a Fellow at the Breadloaf Writers' Conference. She has lived on Nantucket Island year-round with her husband Charley Walters. Her daughter is the novelist Samantha Wilde.

Link to Nancy Thayer's Website

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