Review: Down with the Shipmans by Meg Mitchell Moore

Down with the Shipmans by Meg Mitchell Moore

Blurb from Goodreads:

It’s the week after Fourth of July, and the Shipman sisters are returning to their picturesque summer home on the New Hampshire coast for what they believe is a family reunion, the first without their late mother. However, their tranquil setting quickly becomes a stage for drama when their father, Calvin, drops the bombshell news that he plans to sell the cherished beach house. 

Mae, the youngest daughter, who has a newfound penchant for attracting trouble, is distraught, already dealing with her own emotional scars and a problematic rescue dog. Natalie, the middle sister and social media darling known for her seemingly idyllic life as a tradwife, is equally anxious, especially since her flawless public image is on the verge of imploding. Meanwhile, Jordan, the eldest, a high-powered crisis communications expert, is ready to be rid of the house so she can tend to her own professional disaster. 

As old memories are stirred up and the sisters navigate both the packing of the house and their personal crises, the arrival of Calvin’s new wife pushes Jordan, Natalie, and Mae to decide how far they’re willing to go to preserve the Shipman bond. 

A delicious summer read that explores the enduring power of family and sister connections, Down with the Shipmans is a humorous, heartfelt reminder that home is not a place, but the people who love you, no matter how imperfectly.

 I was expecting more since I look forward to this author's books every summer, especially now with Elin Hilderbrand no longer writing Nantucket books.  And I did enjoy the New Hampshire setting -- but the characters were insufferable.  All of them. I just did not want to be in the same story as them.  Hope you have better luck.

Down with the Shipmans comes out next week on June 2, 2026 and you can purchase HERE.  

Mae Shipman stands on a secluded patch of grass outside a La Quinta in South Bend, Indiana, almost exactly halfway between Boulder, Colorado, and her final destination: Rye, New Hampshire. The temperature is ninety-one degrees. The humidity, at eighty-three percent, is nearly thick enough to see. The air is chewy. It is the fifth of July, afternoon. 

Many of Mae's belongings are in her car, a twelve-year-old Subaru parked in La Quinta's lot. Her sister Jordan paid for the motel room. The Subaru bears the scars of hard, unlucky living. Just like I do, she thinks dramatically, but not inaccurately. The rest of what she owns is in a storage unit in Boulder that is costing her $139 a month, which is $139 per month more than she has. She imagines that one day in the near future her storage unit will be adopted by one of those people who scavenges through other people's abandoned detritus in hopes of finding a treasure. There should be a reality show about this, and maybe there is already. Storage Scavengers. Locker Luck. Vacant Vultures.