Montauk the debut book by Nicola Harrison is a definite pager turner. Very well written, great storyline, well-developed characters and very well researched. This book kept me turning the pages, Nicola had me smelling the salt in the air, the sand between my toes and the sunshine on my face. I found this an enjoyable, light and entertaining read, this is not a book to be missed. Thank you to Nicola Harrison, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of the book.

*Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an early copy in exchange for an honest review.*

Started skimming around 25%.

I think I may have stuck with it if the MC wasn't so bland and just plain unlikeable. But there was also nothing holding me to this story and no great dialogue or description. I couldn't bring myself to spend hours reading the whole thing. I did skip to the end and wow, that was just um, yeah. Glad I didn't spend too long on this book. I guess troubled marriages in the 1% don't garner sympathy from me. That being said, I really enjoyed The Awakening by Kate Chopin.
I'd give it one star but I won't since this may be one of those times where it's me, not the book.

This book effortlessly and completely enveloped me in the setting of Montauk, New Jersey during the summer of 1938. The first person narrative of the main character, Beatrice, made it easy to envision the small fishing village at the tip of New Jersey, and the differences between the lifestyles of the hard working and struggling villagers and the wealthy self-centered WASPS who took up summer residence at a luxury hotel. There was even opportunity to experience some scenes in New York City.

This story was slow to build, and as it did, some important issues were brought to light, including anti-semitism, infertility, feminism, and social class. Personally, I found this book to be emotionally unfulfilling and thought the ending was abrupt, compared to the pacing of the rest of the book. However, I believe that this book will hit the spot with many readers who will love it.

I received an electronic ARC of Montauk by Nicola Harrison for my honest review. I really enjoyed this book. Nicola Harrison is a wonderful writer. Her writing brings you right into the story. Right into Montauk. I felt that Beatrice was a very likable character. Her being so kind and welcoming to the townspeople in the fishing village made me like her even more. Yes, it was a love story that may have been told before. But I still very much enjoyed it. I look forward to reading more from Ms Harrison in the future.

Montauk is such an inspiring and delicate love story about a rich married woman and a lighthouse keeper after they met during Summer months in Montauk. The wife was left out by herself during the week at the manor, while the husband had work and all kinds of adventures in the city. It was only natural that she went ahead and tried to find other ways to cope with the loneliness. The story is interesting and helps understand social differences in the late 1930s.

This beautiful novel had me hooked from page 1. I could not put it down and I was rooting for Beatrice the entire way. I loved how down to earth she was and how she saw so much beyond the rich life she was a part of. Her fertility issues truly hit home for me and all I wanted was for her to find her happy ending. Many parts of this book broke my heart and while I wish the ending was different, I would read it all over again to be engrossed in her world.

“Montauk” captures all the elements of a perfect beach read. An easy, breezy escape on a warm summer day.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41150486

I appreciated the prose, and the writing style. I however couldn't connect with the characters. So I'm putting this down for a bit, until I'm in the right mood.

When I started reading Montauk, I was not sure I was going to like it, but very soon, I fell in love with Beatrice, the main character in this Novel, set in the rich playground of Montauk, during the summer of 1938. The story begins with Beatrice (Bea) and her Husband Harry, arriving in Montauk and the description of the manor where they will be spending the summer. Well, where Bea will be spending the summer, joined by Harry on the weekends, when he is able to get away from work. Harry intends to invest in Montauk, as the developer, who also created Miami Beach, also began the project at Montauk which is now incomplete, as he has run out of money, and looks to be a great investment for others to jump in on. He asks Bea to get connected to the women who are there, as he feels it would be good for business. Bea, with some trepidation and concern that she will be bored, agrees to do what she can. She connects with Dolly, who she knew from the city already, and who becomes her closest friend. She tries to get in with the other ladies, but finds it challenging to deal with some of the behavior, especially of the queen bee, Jeanie, who is similar to the popular, but mean girl, everyone knew in high school.

On laundry day, Bea misses the laundry lady and ends up running after her to give her the bags. She does meet up with her, and learns that her name is Elizabeth. Elizabeth fascinates Bea, as does the fishing town that Elizabeth lives in, next to where the Manor is situated. Over time, Bea learns more about this woman's simple life, and enjoys getting away from the ladies at the manor. Through Elizabeth, she reconnects with a mysterious stranger she bumped into during an event she attended in which boys from the town attempt to capture a greased pig. She comes to know this man better and over the summer, also learns more about her relationship with her husband than she ever wanted to know, and much more about herself in the process.

Montauk is a story of love, loss, betrayal, acceptance, joy and pain. It takes you through one momentous summer, in the lives of Bea and her friends in Montauk. It takes you through the development of relationships and the shattering of others and the end... well, I will not spoil it for you.... so I will leave my opinions out on how the story concludes.

Nicola Harrison did an amazing job on this book, which looks to be the first novel she has written. I will be on the lookout to see whatever she writes in the future as I am an instant fan!

Montauk is both heart warming and heart wrenching all at the same time. As Beatrice, a former working class farm girl from Pennsylvania, struggles to fit in with the ritzy New York set she is lost. With a husband pulling away and unable to conceive a child she agree to spend the summer in Montauk.

Beatrice is a great, relatable character, who pulls you into her world from the first word. Her world is filled with glitz and glamor, but yet, she is miserable. Part love story and part story of self-discovery Montauk is a great story. I could not put it down!

This was a wonderful story and a definite page turner, submerged in NY high society, as socialites vacation in the resort seaside of Mantouk. An engaging tale of Beatrice, a Pennsylvania country girl, who marries well, and finds herself in a loveless marriage, desperately wanting a child. Married to a serial adulterer, Harry, she meets a kind, warm-hearted man, Thomas, who is the lighthouse keeper.
Nicola Harrison brings romance, high living wealth to the poor struggling townspeople, that work hard to assure the shallow visitors a lovely summer. Women left during the week, enjoy the sea, sun, and sand, while their husbands toil in the big city and arrange their many affairs.
It’s a perfect beach read and I thank #NetGalley and #StMartin’sPress for the ARC. For me, it deserves 5 stars.

This is a touching novel that I loved more than I expected to. It is not my usual genre, but I’m glad I took a chance. Set between WWI and WWII, when the US is recovering from the stock market crash and women are struggling to find a voice. This book takes place in one single summer, a couple “summering” at a Montauk resort. There is issues with infertility, marital discord, infidelity & searching for a way to be heard when society considers you a quiet accessory on the arm of your husband. The ending was unexpected and touching. 4 stars!

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley!!!

#Montauk
#Netgalley

Montauk by Nicola Harrison is a stunning first book. Montauk is historical fiction that reminds us how different life was in 1938 America. I liked the depictions of the life of wealthy, middle and lower class New Yorkers, the struggles of life and death, how our actions affect so many. It’s a realistic story of each characters plans, but how little power they have to implement them because of circumstances they can’t control. Nicola Harrison has been added to my favorites list.
. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I appreciate the opportunity and thank the author and publisher for allowing me to read, enjoy and review this book.

In some ways, this book is entirely predictable (wealthy wife in an unhappy marriage meets the love of her life while escaping her privileged world for the real world).
But there are moments you don't expect, and they completely take you by surprise.
You root for Bea the entire time you're reading the book - hoping that the summer in Montauk will revitalize her marriage, that she navigates the social shark=infected waters, that she doesn't get caught hanging out with her laundress=turned=friend. Montauk follows a predictable arc for women's fiction and the first half is slow-moving and sometimes dull. But the last quarter of the book picks up steam, and is impossible to put down as Bea is delivered bombshell after bombshell.
The book is quite good for a debut author, and historical fiction lovers will get caught up in it. But the slow moments drag on infinitely, and its predicability in the beginning makes it a 3 star book instead of 4.

The story takes place on Montauk, Long Island in 1938. Beatrice and Harry have been married for a few years with no children. Harry has a good job in the city and Beatrice does not work. They are wealthy and decide to spend the summer in Montauk. Beatrice is left alone most of the time while Harry carries on with his job and comes back on most weekends. Gradually, Beatrice feels distanced from the other wealthy, narcissistic and selfish women, although she feels she has to try to fit in for the sake of her husband. She becomes more aware about how she is expected to play the perfect wife, but husbands are free to be unfaithful with no consequences. Somewhere along the way, Beatrice finds her voice and shows her strength.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Montauk is the story of Beatrice, the woman who married well before the start of the American involvement in WWII. Although she's a simple Pennsylvania girl at heart, the tragic death of her brother led her back to New York where she attended college, and straight into the arms of a man who thought of nothing except his ultimate business and personal successes.

It's a summer in Montauk that changes their lives, and the lives of all those summering in the area as well as the locals who are tasked to cater to their big city ways. Beatrice wants to be a great wife for her husband, but her lack of children and the fact that Harry simply doesn't want to spend time with her drives Beatrice to think outside the box when it comes to making friends and finding ways to occupy her time.

The book is supposed to take place in the 1930s, but sometimes the phrasing and the vocabulary took me out of the time period since it was written in first person. The ending of the book (which I won't give away here) does feel like it fit the time and setting because it seems to punish Beatrice for not being the person that everyone else wanted her to be.

Excellent story line. Loved the setting and the period piece of the novel. Kept my interest. The first person narrative was captivating. Would recommend as a summer read, light yet well written.

3.5 stars.

This book is extremely well written, especially for a debut. The author takes us to a new vacation hotspot in 1938, Montauk, Long Island, where New York's wealthiest plan to invest and spend their summers from then on. Beatrice and her husband Harry hope to rekindle some of the spark in their marriage after failing to get pregnant. Instead a giant chasm is created when Beatrice discovers some things about Harry, and then about herself. She no longer feels she fits into such a life, being from a simpler background and finding the other wives to be mostly shallow and self-centered.

The seaside town of Montauk, originally a small fishing village with a lighthouse and mysterious lighthouse keeper, is described with visuals that had me picturing every scene. I was rooting for Beatrice to come into herself, even though there was more romance here than I usually get into. I loved Dolly, one of the more likeable wives, and Elizabeth from the village, both of them straight shooters in contrast to Beatrice. The ending had me reeling -- I will say it was unexpected and even over the top. Could have turned out much differently.

I read an egalley thanks to St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.

WOW!!!!!!!!!!! Nicola Harrison's Montauk has everything. Socialites, love, drama, historical fiction at his finest. This book gripped me at the first page and didn't let go until the last. I read this in one day. I couldn't put it down!!!!!!!! Beatrice is a country woman married into money and society status. Until one summer changes her life forever. She discovers a new life that she never dreamed of and begins to question her own life and destiny. Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for my honest review on this amazing novel. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Unfortunately, Montauk follows the tiresome direction of so many books where a frustrated and lonely wife seems to find herself only when coming across another man, who "awakens" her true self.
This is done and overdone, nothing new. The descriptions of Montauk are lovely, but the book offers nothing new to the table in terms of narrative, plot or character description.
For once, it would be nice to see a woman coming into her own, pulling away from an unworthy husband for herself and herself alone., and not because she meets a man who makes her want to be "different."