Great beach read......

This is a good book. Semi-predictable but a great book to take to the beach. It is a quick read also.

Cute

Great beach read. Has a cute story line. Kinda predictable at times but then there was a twist. Fun to read and I wanted to read all the time.

Predictable plot; great for those Nantucket-bound: 2.5 stars

There are no major flaws in this predictable and slightly over-sweet book of two childhood friends, separated for a decade, who rediscover their friendship, joie de vivre and -- of course -- true lurve. But neither is there any real excitement or suspense or dramatic tension. It's a warm and fuzzy book that I ended up enjoying more than I had expected -- and more than Thayer's Hot Flash series, which has long since passed its 'best before' date -- and that will probably suit anyone looking for some mindless entertainment. The plots are predictable -- will the two friends find happiness living on the island, and if so, with what kind of man and doing what kind of work? Needless to say, the result is perfection for them; the right man, the right place: all plot ends neatly tied up and tucked under, out of sight.

This will appeal to anyone who reads and enjoys novels by the likes of Eileen Goudge. While there's less drama here, the plot is also more plausible and the writing a bit better than Goudge's books. The plot 'twists' are a bit contrived but never stretched to the breaking point.

This is the consummate beach read, and probably best suited to being read on a beach in Nantucket. That said, it could also easily be squeezed into the bag of someone heading for the Caribbean. Certainly, it's not a book that will distract you from the sun or making sure the kids aren't swept out to sea on a rip tide. Recommended only as mindless entertainment; rated 2.5 stars and rounded up simply because it's reasonably well-written for the genre. (A vast improvement over Dune Road by Jane Green, for instance, which has similar plot elements and a seaside setting, and should be left on the bookstore shelf where it belongs.)

Not as good as Summer House

I read this book based on how much I enjoyed the author's book, Summer House. Although not as good as Summer House, Moon Shell Beach is still entertaining.

The story revolves around two friends on Nantucket Island who are inseparable as children but then grow apart when they are adults. Lexi leaves Nantucket and marries a millionaire and Clare stays on the island and is engaged to marry her high school sweetheart.

When Lexi returns to the island after 10 years of marriage, the friends try to renew their lost friendship.

Moon Shell Beach is a bit of a soap opera and the characters are not as well developed as the ones in Nancy Thayer's, Summer House but it is still a fun beach read.

Started Out Strong But then Lost Steam (C+ Grade)

Clare Hart and Lexi Laney are the best of friends. They live on Nantucket Island and spend their summers playing at each other's house or going to the beach. One day they find a special beach that is hidden off a country road. They claim the beach as their own and call it moon shell beach. They promise one another that they will never bring just any regular guy there, but only the men they end up marrying.

The years fly by and Clare and Lexi begin to drift apart. Clare has her first romance with Jesse Gray, who is one of the sexiest boys in the senior class at her high school. He is her first love and the one she wants to spend the rest of her life with. Lexi doesn't care for Jesse and thinks Clare is making a big mistake. The two friends fight and by the time they are in college, they are barely speaking to one another. Lexi meets Ed Hardin, a land developer, and a much older man. He wines and dines her and she elopes with him. It won't be until ten years later and after divorcing Ed, that Lexi will return to the island and all those she left behind.

When Lexi returns home, everything seems to be the same. Her parents are a bit stiff around her because she was busy living a whirlwind lifestyle. Her brother Adam seems pleased to have her back and has his own thriving veterinarian practice. Lexi wants to open an upscale clothing store and knows just the person to ask for advice. Clare is in for a shock when she sees Lexi after all this time.

These two women may have their own personal problems, but they understand the need for building a friendship with one another again. Things come to a head when Clare and Jesse break up and he turns to Lexi for comfort. Clare feels like a new woman and finally acts on her desire for Lexi's brother Adam, whom she has had feelings for ever since she was thirteen. But then a life changing experience happens to Lexi where she will need Clare now more than ever.

The first part of Moon Shell Beach is a nice read where Nancy Thayer has written a wonderful relationship between two women that begins with them as two little girls on the cusp of womanhood all the way to adults who have responsibilities that lead to some interesting problems for them both. Clare and Lexi are two characters readers will sympathize with and will hope that Lexi, a woman who relied on a man for so long, will be able to be independent and not disappoint those she cares about.

Unfortunately, things become a bit strange when Jesse and Lexi embark on a no string affair, especially after Lexi has said countless times that she doesn't care for Jesse. Their attraction for one another comes out of left field and just didn't make sense. I felt as if Moon Shell Beach transformed into a bad soap opera with the bed hopping and if Ms. Thayer had stuck to the dynamics of the friendship between Clare and Lexi, the story would have been a much more poignant and emotional read.

Towards the middle and end the tone of the book changed so suddenly that I felt as if I were missing something that I had found in the first one-hundred pages or so. Nancy Thayer's writing does grab you and I can see other readers enjoying the sights and sounds of small town island life with two women who are trying to find their place in this world as they come to grips with themselves and the everyday problems that may arise.

Katiebabs