ASIN B06Y624R1M moved to the most recent edition here
After her mother’s passing, Brooke Nilsson makes the trek up to her family’s Minnesota vacation home to clean up the clutter and prepare the cabin for sale. Brooke never considered herself to be very outdoorsy, much preferring her big city life to lounging on the lake, and she’s not looking forward to spending her summer in the middle of nowhere.
But when she meets her neighbor, famous singer Hailey Reed, Brooke’s feelings begin to change about her old family getaway. Hailey, the beautiful and sultry redhead songbird, shows Brooke just how much fun lakeside living can be. And as the summer fun takes a romantic turn, Brooke can’t help but question the way she’s felt about the cabin for so long.
With a generous offer on the table, will Brooke be able to pull the trigger and sell her family’s cabin? Or will her newfound love of the home, and her growing feelings for Hailey, prevent her from going through with the sale? Sometimes the stories we tell about ourselves are nothing more than stories, and our feelings about who we are can change when we least expect it.
I enjoy Nicolette Dane. Usually. She repeats herself endlessly but every now and then throws out some weighty paragraphs requiring thought. It is what it is and I enjoyed the story.
This is a happy book without ex-girlfriends showing up, or one of the romantic pair ending up in the hospital at the 3/4 mark. One of the leads is a graphic artist (hey, that's what I do!) and the other is a Marissa Nadler type of singer-songwriter. They meet, they like each other and then the feelings grow throughout the book. That's it. This book brought up a lot of the same ideas about life styles, possessions and simplifying one's life which could also be found in her book about tiny homes.
Nicolette Dane's new novel is called Floats Her Boat. It starts out as Brooke Nilsson's fish out of water story. She is revisiting her family's vacation cabin after her mother died. The cabin is filled with her mother's old boxes and Brooke's untidy childhood memories. Her task is to cleanup this cabin in the woods by the lake in order to sell it. Neither she nor her sister see the old place except as quick, needed cash. Brooke has no desire to leave Chicago for the simple, country retreat.
Enter the game changer. Hailey Reed is a fortyish , indie music artist. Brooke is shocked to learn that one of her favourite performers lives next door. Their romance builds slowly, with gentle grace and kind heartedness. The attraction to Hailey mirrors Brooke's growing appreciation for her family's vacation home. Brooke likes the woman that she's becoming in her relationship with Hailey and her new life by the lake.
The story isn't wrapped up neatly in the new marriage plus baby packaging that has become so popular in lesfic. The future remains messy, complex and hopeful. I really enjoyed reading this novel. The writing is fluid and exudes the joy of new love. Brooke and Hailey are building something which will stand up to life's uncertainties. In all the ways that matter, their boat will remain afloat.
It was a pretty laid back book. I will read more from this author. It would have been neat if the book had a different ending. It was a romance for sure though.
I found myself getting impatient with the pace. I thought there was a lot of redundancy and that the story would have been better told in fewer words.
That said I find myself, as I frequently have at the end of Ms. Dane's books, feeling like the book ended before the story has been told, and hoping for a sequel.
Finally, for my fellow grammar geeks, this one was challenging for me. I think that a person who writes for public consumption has an obligation to the craft of writing. Telling a good story isn't enough in and of itself; the composition is equally important.
Brooke is a self-professed city girl tasked with selling her parent's lakeside cabin. When she arrives, she meets the next door neighbor, Hailey, an indie singer-songwriter. As they assess their romantic and professional priorities, they start to fall for each other. The story's pacing is relaxed, reminding me of slow, warm summer day. While Brooke's inner dialogue circles back on itself it still feels natural; it will resonate with anyone who has had to take a leap or second guessed themselves.
"Floats Her Boat" is a far better book than the title implies (sorry, I know naming is hard, but...). It's an enchanting little summer romance that' as easy and undemanding as the simple love shared by main characters Hailey and Brooke. The story unfolds like a summer day, with small little tensions substituting for the grand crisies used by other lesbian romances.
Alright. It's a story about two women who live hectic lives away from the cabins they both have on a lake. One wants to sell and the other bought hers a few years back. There is well written sexual activity. However, the back and forth about "should I sell or not" inner conversation took up too much of the story. Miss Dane's writing style for this story was effective in describing the area, the characters, and the parent child dynamic.
“We just tell stories about ourselves to relate to other people. It defines us, makes us feel unique. Draws a line in the sand to give us a little fake certainty in a wholly uncertain world.”
It was a very enjoyable & easy to read as the story developed & unfolded with a good cast of characters.
Great story, love the characters, perfect pace, but the ending was too abrupt. I do want to see how they turn out after the summer is over. It just seems yo me that there needs to be a sequel.
This was an okay book. The setting was beautiful, the main characters likable but unfortunately with zero chemistry. The plot itself was beyond boring, they did nothing except drinking wine or beer, talk and sunbathe.
I thought it had some really nice lead characters, full and deep, ones we really got to know. They made for a great couple by the end. It was a really laid out story and one you could feel that it could happen.
Dane has done it once again, and we have another model for building relationships under complex conditions. She does a great job, presenting readers with women who navigate successful careers and fulfilling personal lives.
Beautiful setting and lovely little character Barney; left me wanting to move to the cabin by the lake with my dog. I can’t think of anything else positive to say, so I will end there. 1.5 stars.
... just like the protagonist! This story about a freelance graphic artist from Chicago who is spending a good portion of her summer in the lake country in Minnesota in order to take care of the last aspects of her late mother's estate, the family's vacation cabin, is a sweet, gentle story. It totally fits with the theme of how the summer going through her mother's things, and getting to know the beautiful Indy-Pop-Country singer who she is already a fan of and happens to own the cabin next door, changes her outlook, not only on the merits of the sleepy little resort town, but on life in general. Not to mention the prospects for love in her life, which up to this point had been fairly dim.
The pacing and "feel" of the story are just about perfect. I love that there is minimal conflict in the narrative. Most of the drama comes from internal issues with the women, as opposed to arguments or jealousy or misunderstandings that could have been worked out with a bit of thoughtful conversation. Instead, they actually HAVE thoughtful conversation! Imagine that? Adults who act like they are adults? BRAVO!
I received an ARC copy of "Floats Her Boat" in exchange for an honest review .
I enjoyed the story of Brooke and Hailey. I found the location used in the story to be relaxing and adding to the growing relationship between the characters. I was able to understand and feel what each characters was feeling and how their individual paths lead them to each other. The story was beautifully written, it made me think how it's never to late to find love in the place you least expect it.
I enjoyed the story of Brooke and Hailey. I found the location used in the story to be relaxing and adding to the growing relationship between the characters. I was able to understand and feel what each characters was feeling and how their individual paths lead them to each other. The story was beautifully written, it made me think how it's never to late to find love in the place you least expect it. I received and ARC copy of this book.
I found that the main characters needed time to really speak about their feelings. It was drawn out till the end. Which in some way i understood because if done to soon it would of impacted the turnout of the choices Brooke had to make. I felt it could of had more personal development between the two ladies and their blooming relationship. Again better communication. However it was still a cute live story worth reading.