Can you marry young and remain faithful all your life? Will marriage fulfill your deepest desires? Is a secret the same as a lie? To whom should you be most loyal, your best friend or your spouse?
These are some of the questions troubling Lucy West, the wife of Max West, editor of a small-tow Massachusetts newspaper. The Wests' best friends are the glamorous Cunninghams; their four children are friends too. Every August for ten years the two families have shared a summer house on Nantucket.
When they met in their twenties, Lucy and Kate Cunningham, vivacious young women who found their lives limited as wives and mothers, shared a certain restlessness that led to some wild times that their husbands knew nothing about. Lucy kept Kate's secrets from Chip, Kate's husband. Through the years, the secrets accumulated. And Lucy had some secrets of her own. Then one summer a pivotal event forces Lucy to expose what she's been hiding. And now they all must sift through the tangle of lies and love to discover where desire has led.

I have this book on my "favorites" list. The realness of the characters allows you to connect to them and the drama that they are experiencing. An excellent read that I would highly recommend.

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A story that could have been no more intriguing or compelling than a run-of-the-mill Lifetime tear-jerker was elevated by the skillful storytelling of Nancy Thayer. Her characters were well-developed & her clever technique of alternating between two time periods in the characters' lives drove the story to a tense but satisfying climax.

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Having married young, Lucy West - wife of Max West, the editor of a small-town Massachusetts newspaper - found herself occasionally troubled by a variety of doubts and questions which flitted through her thoughts. Will marriage fulfill your deepest desires? To whom should you be most loyal, your best friend or your spouse? Is a secret the same as a lie? and Can you marry young and remain faithful all your life? were just some of the unanswerable questions which still went through Lucy's mind from time to time. Lucy loved her family dearly, but she couldn't help feeling that there was so much more to life that she was missing.

Every August for the past decade, the West and Cunningham families have spent summers together sharing a summer house on Nantucket. As both couples are best friends, they are delighted to know that their four children are friends as well. When they first met each other in their early twenties, Lucy West and Kate Cunningham were vivacious young women who found their lives as wives and mothers incredibly limited. Both women shared a certain restlessness; a personality trait that they recognized in each other and which led to some pretty wild times together that their husbands knew nothing about.

So, Lucy kept Kate's secrets from her husband Chip. And through the years of their friendship, those secrets had steadily accumulated. Lucy even had some secrets of her own to keep.

Then one summer a pivotal event forces Lucy to disclose the secrets she's been hiding. And now everyone must sift through the tangled beds of love and lies to discover where desire has ultimately led them. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book; I find Nancy Thayer to be a thoughtful and emotional author, writing poignant stories and creating characters that really resonate with me. I give this book a definite A+! and will absolutely be keeping it on my bookshelf to read some time soon again.

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I really liked this book. It was "meatier" than most of the beach books I've read this summer. The characters came to life & I cared about them. It was a little daunting to have each chapter focusing on a different time period, but I was eventually able to follow it without frustration.

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Great book! I read it through in a couple of days. Couldn't put it down...will look for more from this author.

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It was a little slow starting but once I got into it I enjoyed it a lot.

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