Drawing Home by Jamie Brenner

Book Summary:

“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.”

Publication Date:

May 7th, 2019

Genre:

Domestic Fiction

My Rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️

My Review:

I recently picked up Drawing Home for a vacation read. A few weeks ago I read my first Jamie Brenner novel, her 2017 release The Forever Summer. After enjoying that one so much, I had high hopes for this one. I ended up finding Drawing Home to be just okay. I wanted to connect with the characters so much but I had trouble because the emotional depth was really lacking for me.

I understand that this is a “beach read” but it just had such promise and didn’t deliver. Because of this, I had a harder time connecting with the storyline and then the ending wrapped up so quickly in a not very believable way for me as the reader. While this was a bit of a miss for me, I do really love Brenner’s writing style. I am planning on reading The Husband Hour next and I have high hopes.