Dune Road is sort of predictable and also very familiar. Perhaps because my brother works in finance, lives in Easton, Conn. with four young children (two girls and two twin three-year-old boys) and is very successful. Or maybe because my family went through similar financial situations in the 90s. I also grew up in Westport, Conn (fictional Highfield) until my parents divorced. (My mom read the book after me and said: "I feel like I'm right back in Westport.") Instead of some of the simpler, romantic stories of past novels (Mr. Maybe, Swapping Lives), Dune Road has too many subplots at once.

Recently divorced Kit (who used to be a dissatisfied “Wall Street Widow”: I actually wish Green had explained this term a bit more because New York Magazine certainly does not) embarks on her new life in Highfield, a rather chic town on Connecticut’s Gold Coast, as a working mom who still harbors feelings for her ex-husband Adam. She starts a new job as a personal assistant to famous mystery writer Robert McClore, who lives in a secluded home on Dune Road. Of course, he has a secret (a 30-something-year-old one). Kit’s best friend Charlie and her husband Keith face the aftermath of Wall Street’s bust when Keith loses his high-level finance position. Something that really bothered me about this is that although Keith works in the finance industry, his own financial advisor told him that he didn’t need to have any savings. “So they have never quite managed to put anything away. They are only forty, after all, and his financial advisor said he has plenty of time to worry about that. They have small SEP IRAs, and of course he has had his stock over all these years.” Super financial advisor! Well done.

As all this is going on, several mysterious people are charming their way into Kit’s life. She’s gullible and doesn’t suspect that most want more than friendship. (“Kit has always secretly longed to be the type of woman men bought flowers for, and having never been that woman, not really, she is starting to discover jus how seductive it is.”) So much for that edginess she may have developed as the wife of a Wall Street financier.

Throughout the pages of Dune Road, way too much happens simultaneously. I felt that much of the book was a re-tread of stories in the news or things I’d heard before. Green is trying for a mystery and romance in one book and it just doesn’t work very well. I had one ‘mystery’ figured out at pg. 160 (I don’t know if that means I’m super smart or the writing is weak). Dune Road is not a page turner which is generally what you expect of a Green novel and what most people look for in a summer read. Green fails to create characters that you care about all that much in the end. Save your money on this one. Borrow it from the library or from a friend.

One of Green's most enjoyable, Dune Road plays with the concepts of a family happier and more functional post-divorce, a woman's rediscovery of her right to love and how to deal with surprises from your's family's unknown past. A lovely holiday break read.

a quick beach-type read with a likable main character named Kit.

Read this in English. Kit is divorced and finding her own way in her new life as a single mother and a working woman. She's made some new friends and is also getting new romance in her life. Then all of a sudden a little sister comes looking for her, one she didn't even know existed. Things seem to be getting very complicated around her and people are not what they seem. A light book, but not very interesting.

Jane Green is an author who I never know what to expect from and I am happy to say that Dune Road was a wonderful surprise. The summary on the book jacket does not accurately reflect this book, as it is really of a glimpse into the town of Highfield, with a bit more focus on the "main" character of Kit and her family. However, this novel is truly an ensemble show, giving readers glimpses into the very different lives of several characters and allowing them to become invested in their lives and struggles. Green is one of my go-to "comfort authors" who I pick-up when I need a break from life and the complex reading that that often comes with my job, and this novel does precisely that. I know I have truly enjoyed a book when I am both anxious to turn the next page and also dreading it as I notice the pages growing thinner. True, some of the events, particularly near the end, are a bit forced or too convenient, and everything is wrapped up a bit too quickly to truly feel complete, but overall this is one of my favorite Green books to date and I am reluctant to leave families of Highfield behind.

This book is terrible. Vapid one dimensional characters and uninteresting. Torture.

Not one of Jane Green's best. The characters were pretty one-dimensional and not entirely likeable. The plot meandered and I feel like everything got wrapped up way too neatly. The main character had some pretty horrible things done to her but at the end was like "Oh well, almost all is forgiven" which was beyond bizarre and unbelieveable.

Take it to the beach, but nothing more :)

Perhaps you need to be a 40-something divorcee to truly appreciate this story. I found it silly, over-dramatic, and hand-ringing.

Although it took me about 130 pages to get into this book it turned out to be good. It was a nice love story with surprises and a mystery thrown in. I probably would not read it again but it was good.