20190422_183726.jpgToday I am super excited to bring you a review of Drawing Home by Jamie Brenner. I am a HUGE fan of Brenner’s, beginning with her first novel, The Wedding Sisters.

Drawing Home will be published via Little Brown on May 7, 2019!

My Thoughts:

I love that Elin Hilderbrand, the queen of the beach read, wrote a blurb for Jamie Brenner. The pair could be two peas in the same pod! 

Drawing Home is set in beautiful and quaint Sag Harbor. It’s summer, and Emma Mason is working the front desk at The American Hotel. 

Henry Wyatt, an artist  and one of Sag Harbor’s most famous residents, passes away and leaves Emma’s teenage daughter, Penny, his waterfront home. 

Why? Emma has no idea. 

Bea Winstead is a famous art patron in shock over her friend, Henry’s, death. Bea lives in Manhattan and is absolutely flabbergasted by Henry leaving his house to some unrelated child. 

Bea, along with her personal assistant Kyle, travels to Sag Harbor to right this wrong and protect her friends’ legacy. 

Emma is in place to defend what her daughter has inherited. At the same time, Bea discovers a large number of Henry’s art pieces around Sag Harbor. Penny helps Bea find them all, and through them, they learn a giant secret about their shared history. 

Emma and Bea are forced to confront the past. 

First off, I loved the characters here. Emma is so sympathetic. She has her hands full as a single mom, and she faces many new challenges as the novel progresses. She has to battle with Bea on top of it. I also loved Bea and Penny.

The tone of the book is authentic, and the writing and storyline are completely immersive, as with Brenner’s other novels. I dove into this story and didn’t come up for air until I read the last page. The plot itself has it all, including family dynamics, mystery, friendship, grief and loss, as well as forgiveness and hope. 

Brenner takes what is best about summer beach reads and makes them all her own. She captures the nuances in relationships and handles difficult issues with grace and honesty, while never going too dark or overbearing. I always find her books smart and entertaining with lots of heart.

Thanks for another brilliant book, Jamie Brenner! 

I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own. 

Synopsis:

An unexpected inheritance, a promise broken, and four lives changed forever: the newest page-turner from USA Today bestselling author Jamie Brenner.

“Welcome to the gold standard of summertime escapism.”-Elin Hilderbrand

Summer has started in idyllic Sag Harbor, and for Emma Mapson that means greeting guests at the front desk of The American Hotel. But when one of the town’s most famous residents, artist Henry Wyatt, dies suddenly, Emma learns he has mysteriously left his waterfront home – a self-designed masterpiece filled with his work – to her teenage daughter, Penny.

Back in Manhattan, legendary art patron Bea Winstead’s grief at her lifelong friend and former business partner Henry’s passing turns to outrage at the news of his shocking bequest. How did these unknown locals get their hands on the estate? Bea, with her devoted assistant Kyle in tow, descends on Sag Harbor determined to reclaim the house and preserve Henry’s legacy.

While Emma fights to defend her daughter’s inheritance, Bea discovers that Henry left a treasure trove of sketches scattered around town. With Penny’s reluctant help, Bea pieces them together to find a story hidden in plain sight: an illustration of their shared history with an unexpected twist that will change all of their lives.

Drawn together in their battle for the house, Emma and Bea are forced to confront the past while facing a future that challenges everything they believe about love, fate, and family.

Have you read Drawing Home, or is it on your TBR? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR