Ballantine Books
The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club
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NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Two sisters living on Martha’s Vineyard during World War II find hope in the power of storytelling when they start a wartime book club for women in this spectacular novel inspired by true events, from the New York Times bestselling author of Lilac Girls.
“A dreamy beach book that also sizzles with tension . . . another winner by one of the best historical fiction writers around.”—Fiona Davis, author of The Stolen Queen
2016: Thirty-four-year-old Mari Starwood is still grieving after her mother’s death as she travels to the storied island of Martha’s Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts. She’s come all the way from California with nothing but a name on a piece of paper: Elizabeth Devereaux, the famous but reclusive Vineyard painter. When Mari makes it to Mrs. Devereaux’s stunning waterfront farm under the guise of taking a painting class with her, Mrs. Devereaux begins to tell her the story of the Smith sisters, who once lived there. As the tale unfolds, Mari is shocked to learn that her relationship to this island runs deeper than she ever thought possible.
1942: The Smith girls—nineteen-year-old aspiring writer Cadence and sixteen-year-old war-obsessed Briar—are faced with the impossible task of holding their failing family farm together during World War II as the U.S. Army arrives on Martha’s Vineyard. When Briar spots German U-boats lurking off the island’s shores, and Cadence falls into an unlikely romance with a sworn enemy, their quiet lives are officially upended. In an attempt at normalcy, Cadence and her best friend, Bess, start a book club, which grows both in members and influence as they connect with a fabulous New York publisher who could make all of Cadence’s dreams come true. But all that is put at risk by a mysterious man who washes ashore—and whispers of a spy in their midst. Who in their tight-knit island community can they trust? Could this little book club change the course of the war . . . before it’s too late?
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Book Details
ISBN:
9780593354919
EAN:
0593354915
Binding:
Hardcover
Pages:
336
Authors:
Martha Hall Kelly
Publisher:
Ballantine Books
Published Date: 2025-27-05
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"The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club" is a dual-timeline story, with one timeline during the early days of WWII and the other being in 2016.The story starts in 2016, when a grieving Mari Starwood sets out to discover why her recently deceased mother had planned to meet the reclusive artist, Mrs. Devereaux, on Martha's Vineyard. But she is ill-prepared to handle what she finds out.In order to explain why Mari's mother was coming to visit her, Mrs. Devereaux shares an intricate tale of the role the Smith family of Martha's Vineyard had played in WWII. Two teenage girls, Cadence and Briar Smith, are tasked with keeping the family farm going while their brother Tom heads off to war. However, Cadence dreams of leaving the island to head to NYC and pursue a career in publishing, while Briar as a bit of a reputation for crying wolf one too many times (even though she was right every single time!) by calling in sightings of a German U-boat off the shoreline near their farm.Soon after Tom leaves, and while Briar is still mourning the loss of her German neighbor and friend, Briar finds a wounded defector that puts the family at risk. And as they nurse Peter back to health, he shares crucial information he has with them, unfurling a mystery that Briar is determined to solve in addition to discovering who killed their neighbor. But danger lurks at every turn, and it's hard for the girls to know who they can trust.And as Mrs. Devereaux's story comes to its conclusion, it gives Mari the answers she was looking for as well as leaving her with some life-altering choices to make.Overall, I found the story to be engaging, but the story was told through multiple character viewpoints, which could be a bit jarring at times. It was usually fairly easy to tell which time you were in, but within the WWII timeline, there were at least three different characters who narrated those chapters.I will say that I was tickled when I read in the acknowledgments that the author's hometown bookstore was my childhood hometown bookstore. So the shout-out to the Hickory Stick Bookshop was a small thrill for me.Thanks to Martha Hall Kelly, Random House, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.
Very good condition for being used. Good novel.
This is a wonderful historical novel/ family saga, set in Martha’s Vineyard, which was a training ground for our military as WW II started. The characters are well developed; and the story has its ups and downs, just like real life. I won’t spoil it for future readers by discussing how it ends; but Martha Hall Kelly did a fantastic job of tying the loose ends together and creating a meaningful story. I highly recommend this book.
Gram, Tom, Cadence , Briar and Bess all live on the farm together on Martha's Vineyard. World War Two has started and Tom trains to be a Ranger in the Army. He heads off to Europe without knowing that Bess is carrying his child. Enjoy the story told between 1942 and 2016 when Mari Starwood comes for a painting lesson with the reclusive artist Elizabeth Devereaux.
Love this author! Can’t wait to read this new book!
