Maine Characters Book Review: A Charming Beach Read
I was initially attracted to Maine Characters because of the cover. The colors and setting are beautiful. I immediately wanted to find out more about this idyllic cottage at the lake, and the people who lived there. But as I started reading the first couple of chapters, I realized that the little house at Fox Hill is definitely beautiful (but also home to a lot of secrets). The story is sad, but also hopeful. To find out my full thoughts on this love letter to the lake, keep reading for my full Maine Characters book review.
And if you’re looking for more beach read recs, click here.
What is Maine Characters by Hannah Orenstein About?
From beloved author Hannah Orenstein, this love letter to lake life is “the Parent Trap for adults,” the story of two half-sisters who meet for the first time at their father’s cabin in Maine after his unexpected death.
Every summer, Vivian Levy and Lucy Webster spend a month with their father at his lake house — separately. Raised in New York City, Vivian is an ambitious sommelier with a secret that could derail her future. Lucy grew up in a tiny Maine town, where she now teaches high school English while watching her marriage unravel. They’ve never met. While Lucy envied her half-sister from afar, their father kept Vivian in the dark.
When Vivian arrives at the lake to spread his ashes and sell his cabin, she’s shocked to find Lucy there, awaiting his return. In an ideal world, they’d help each other through their grief. Instead, forced to spend the summer together, they fight through a storm of suspicion and hostility to untangle the messy truth about their parents’ pasts. While Lucy is desperate to hold onto the house, Vivian is scrambling after a betrayal. After thirty years apart, is it too late for them to be a family?
For fans of Carley Fortune and Elin Hilderbrand, this sister story set on a lush lake brims with the undeniable heart, depth, charm, and humor that have endeared Hannah Orenstein to legions of readers. (from Amazon.com)
My Initial Thoughts
I think it is misleading to act like this story is a version of The Parent Trap for adults. Because it’s really not. Other than the fact that it’s about two sisters who didn’t know that the other existed (And actually, they did! Lol Lucy knew about Vivian the whole time. And while it wasn’t confirmed, Vivian was aware of Lucy as well) there really aren’t any other factors in common.
And also, The Parent Trap is fun! Lol. It’s silly and goofy. Like The Poker Scene. The stealing of the clothes. The oreos and the ear piercing. (I’m referring to the Lindsay Lohan version because it has been a very very long time since I watched the original). And Maine Characters was good, but I wouldn’t say it was funny. There’s not really very much humor in it. It’s more of a thoughtful story about family secrets, family drama, and how to make the best of things when the people you love deceive you.
So while I did wind up enjoying this story in the end, I felt a little misled by the description. But that seems to be happening a lot in the publishing world lately so am I really that surprised? I probably shouldn’t be.
The Writing Style
This is my first time reading one of Hannah Orenstein’s books. I have a bunch of them on my TBR list but I just haven’t gotten around to reading them yet. I did enjoy her writing style and was glad that the chose to tell the story from both Lucy and Vivian’s perspectives. It’s interesting because even though they share the same father, they grew up in two completely different worlds. And because of that their personalities are so very different.
The Side Characters
While Vivian and Lucy (and their father, Hank) are the main characters in this story, there are also quite a few side characters.
First, there’s the mothers. Dawn is Lucy’s mother and Collette is Vivian’s mother (and Hank’s wife). I think it was interesting how mid way through the book, Lucy and her mother share a serious conversation about how Dawn and Hank met. It helped to explain the whole messy family situation to us readers. It also made me feel a lot of sympathy for both Dawn and Collette, because neither of them was getting 100% of the man that they loved.
I really liked Lucy’s friend Caleb, who takes a liking to Vivian over the course of the summer. And there were different people around the town who made me smile. There were certain characters I didn’t like but luckily they were just small parts of the story.
No Relationship between Family Members is Perfect
And it’s especially not perfect between Vivan and Lucy.
The two girls meet by accident when they both turn up at the lake house at the same time. Vivian is there to scatter her father’s ashes. And Lucy is there to spend the month with her Dad like she does every year. And from there, everything goes south.
I had a hard time getting into this story at first because of the drama between the characters. Lucy really rubbed me the wrong way right off the bat. I know she was upset, but she felt very immature and entitled. Over the course of the book she got better, but she was a lot to handle right off the bat. It’s like, don’t blame Vivian just because your Dad was hiding secrets and being kind of awful.
And then there’s Vivian. To Lucy, she seems to have it all. But in reality she always felt like she was never enough for her father. Vivian is a little spoiled but I also felt like she didn’t deserve all the anger and rudeness Lucy was throwing her way.
I think that Hannah Orenstein did a good job of developing the characters, although the plot was a little clunky mid-book. There were some very heartfelt conversations between the two main characteres and there really was a lot of growth that let to a good relationship between the two.
What Makes This a Fun Beach Read
To me, this would be a great book to read on Summer vacation. I would love to read it by the pool, ocean, or by the lake. Here are some of the reasons why I think it would be a great beach read:
- This fun story takes place during summer.
- Although the main plot is about sisterhood and family, there are also some romantic side plots.
- The author did a great job of writing the small town where the lake house is located. I loved the mentions of the lake, boating, and the local bar (that’s right… there’s only 1 bar! lol)
- The lake house sounded really cute. It made me laugh when Lucy and Vivian both retreated to their own porches.
- Although some of the characters are frustrating at first, there is a good amount of character growth by the ending of the book.
- The romantic interests in this book are sweet
- It has a happy ending.
In Conclusion
Thank you so much for checking out my Maine Characters book review. This story was filled with grief, family drama, and secrets. It was difficult to read at times, but I kept going and was ultimately happy with the ending.
The author took a crazy situation and really dove into all of the different intricacies. I liked how we got to see how each girl grew up from their own perspective. This twisty plot kept me guessing as each of the women navigated through their own grief, but I felt that it was well done. Some stories are slow burns as the characters come to terms with their surroundings and learn to trust again, and that is exactly what happened with Maine Characters.
If you’re looking for a story that’s twisty and emotional, I suggest checking this one out this summer.
