An interesting historical novel on Montauk, New York in 1938. A good summer read on how the rich spent their summer. While the setting was enjoyable some of the characters needed to be explored and developed more as they made parts of the story drag.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I love historical fiction and this was a fun time period to visit and I really enjoyed seeing the day to day life of the summer people and just how the details were managed. I also enjoyed Harrison's pacing. Even when I was getting frustrated with certain aspects of the book it was always easy to read.

However, I did have two issues with the book. While I enjoyed Harrison's efforts to make 1938 Montauk come to life the level of detail was just a bit two much and bogged the story down at times. Also, while I felt sorry for Beatrice there were multiple times where she seriously annoyed me. She seemed completely unaware of the way things were in the society world but it's mentioned multiple times that she and Harry have been married five years and she's hardly been living under a rock so why was she so shocked that the Jewish newsman wasn't instantly accepted? Or to find out that hanging out with the woman who does the laundry is unacceptable and could potentially get the woman in trouble? She cannot see the point of this exclusion or not think it's right but to be so unaware was hard to believe. There was another character who clearly knew a great deal about her but she never thought to question this. These things made it hard for me to really believe in her intelligence and just frustrated me.

Despite my rant above I did enjoy this book and found Harrison's writing style very readable. While I wanted to strangle Beatrice at times I did enjoy the reading experience and will be keeping an eye out for future books.

Review will be posted on 7/23/19

Beatrice, although she grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania, now lives a life of luxury along with her banker husband, Harry. Harry wants her to spend her summer at Montauk Manor, where all the other well-to-do wives stay for the summer while their husbands toil away in the city. Montauk, in 1938, is an up and coming sleepy fishing town that at least for the summer is filled with the city's finest, so the Manor ends up employing many locals. While there, Beatrice finds herself gravitating to the wrong crowd as opposed to the other wealthy wives. She finds herself especially drawn to Elizabeth, the Manor's laundress. While spending time with Elizabeth, she meets the lighthouse keeper, Thomas. Sparks fly and it leaves Beatrice wondering if perhaps she made the wrong choice in marrying Harry, who has essentially left her all summer and she comes to find that he is up to no good in the city. Well, you know what they say? While the cat is away, the mouse will play! Harry wants Beatrice to focus on what he wants her to focus on this summer, so when she comes in contact with a Manhattan journalist who wants her to write an anonymous column about life in Montauk, she initially declines. As her summer goes on, she decides she might do it after all and highlight some of the ridiculous things the upper class partakes in while summering in Montauk. Montauk by Nicola Harrison is a decent historical beach read and while I really enjoyed parts of it, such as the time period and the setting, a lot of the story ended up being just ok.

Beatrice, also known as Bea, is someone I really initially liked in Montauk. I felt badly for her that she is trapped in such a horrible marriage, but summering in Montauk doesn't sound like a bad trade off, right? Wrong. Bea is like a fish out of water in Montauk. She finds herself relating more to the "help" and the locals instead of mixing and mingling with the upper class like her husband wants her to do to help his business. Harry at first seems like a good guy, but once you peel back the layers of their relationship you see inside is a rotting piece of fruit. He ends up being a pretty toxic character and in turn a bit of a caricature at times. Even though I wanted Bea to escape his clutches, I didn't necessarily agree with her interest in Thomas. I mean she is upset her husband is having an affair in New York City, so should she stoop to his level and do the same thing? Or perhaps this is true love? Is this risk worth losing it all?

The setting of Montauk in 1938 is my favorite aspect of the novel. I loved the time period, the Manor, and the dynamic between the locals and the wealthy. The crazy antics that they partake in, such as mailing dirty diapers home to be cleaned is just unbelievable. Rich people problems, I suppose? I also enjoyed how Bea started working for a Manhattan newspaper and anonymously exposing some of Montauk's secrets. The events at the Manor, the dinner parties, the cocktails, the lighthouse, the quiet fishing village, and beaches were all well done and my favorite parts of Montauk.

While Montauk was entertaining enough, I do wish that Harrison would have explored the characters a bit more and fleshed out some of the plot points. I felt like Bea and especially Harry became a bit derivative at times. Oh, and that ending!! It was over the top depressing.

Nonetheless, if historical beach reads are your go-to summertime read, then give Montauk a try, especially if you like a story that examines the important question of whether it's worth it to risk everything for love or is for money more important?

As a Long Islander, I loved reading about Montauk in the late 30's. It was amazing to learn how a place I love was so many years ago. And it was equally awesome to visit Montauk a couple of weeks after I read the story. I kept thinking about the cast of characters and the summer they spent at this special beach town.

Montauk is a hotel where all the rich New York wives go to for the summer while their husbands come to visit on the weekend. Beatrice has married rich, to a man who after not being able to get pregnant during their 5 year marriage, has grown distant over the years. Feeling disconnected from her husband and not fitting in with the wives in Montauk, she finds herself becoming friends with the workers in the hotel and on the island. One such person is the light keeper, whom she helps out after he was injured. Ignoring the warnings from others, she begins a relationship with him and the story continues to unfold.

I had a hard time with this book. The descriptions of the hotel were detailed and interesting, which to me, didn't bode well when I was more interested in the hotel and secondary characters, than what happened to our main one.

I appreciate the opportunity from St. Martin's Press to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 Stars

Nicola Harrison's debut novel, Montauk should be labeled as a summer beach read! Sweeping, dramatic, but more romance than historic, Montauk takes us through the summer of 1938 with a wonderful look into the time and the place. The characters are well written and true to the time - yes, even our main protagonist Beatrice, who is unhappy in both her marriage and her societal role and is drawn to those whose friendship her husband definitely wouldn't approve of.

While I prefer more historical pieces, Montauk would definitely tick a few boxes for those who prefer their romance with a little bit of an edge and wonderfully written.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of this book.

A summer at glamorous Montauk Manor, in New York, could be a dream come true for the wealthy. Wives and children spend summer days swimming, playing tennis, croquet, golfing, archery, having tea parties and luncheons.
It is the playground of the rich and famous. One young wife is unhappy there, spending the week without her husband of five years. She waits anxiously till he returns each weekend. That is until she discovers his midweek affairs while she is away. Then, she embarks on an affair of her own.

She seeks out and makes friends with the folks in town. Her summer becomes much more interesting, until her husband discovers how she has been entertaining herself in his absence.

The end of the summer is fast approaching. Decisions and plans for the future need to be worked out. Everything is temporarily placed on hold when a major storm roars through.

This book is a great summer read. It takes a young, naive woman and explores her transformation into an independent, free thinking person that begins to know her own mind and trust her own decisions.

Montauk is the perfect summer read! Set in 1938, it's a look at the summer days. The wealthy from New York have started to spend the summer at Montauk, Long Island. Beatrice is there with her husband Harry. The husbands go back to the city for the week. The wives are busy with their society organizations and hanging out at the club and the manor where they are staying. Beatrice is struggling with what she had hoped for her marriage and what it actually is. The story shows us what life was like for the wealthy elite and also what it was like for the villagers and the people who live in Montauk all year round. Beatrice finds her way forming new friendships and avoiding the snobbier women. And she meets a man who will change her life forever.

Set in Montauk ( hence the title) before Montauk) when it was n the cusp of becoming the premier place for the wealthy to summer. Harry decides that he and his wife Bea should summer there, although he will only be there on weekends aas he continued t work in New York City. sBea really wasn't enthralled with the idea as she had no idea wheat she would do . Eventually she met up with the other summer wives - all equal because of their husband's wealth. The women spent their days planning parties, playing tennis, gossiping nad generally enjoying wife w hile their children we're tended to by their nannies. Bea has become disenchanted with her marriage, but there's not much she can do. she makes several friends on Montauk - a couple in her "class" other who are the islanders who support the wealthy. She sees no harm in befriending everyone, although that eventually leads her to a major crossroads in her life. Well-written, great scenery , and a quite spunky protagonist.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the author, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in thisreview are my own.

Ms. Harrison's debut, Montauk, is a thoughtful look into the world of New York society in the late '30s. The author takes us along with her main character who discovers that there is more to life then what has been set before her.

Lush in detail, this book is perfect for historical fiction fans. A pleasure to read.

5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.

Montauk takes place during a time when rumblings of WWII are in the background. The book follows Bea as she evolves and finds herself enjoying the simple things of life instead of the wealthy life she shared with her husband. The descriptive visuals are well done and the reader is easily transported into Bea's life. Beautifully written novel.

Throughout this book, I kept wondering how is it going to be resolved. (No spoilers here) Most definitely, women’s fiction, it was an interesting book. Times certainly were different in 1938, a far cry from the independent women of today. At times, because of that, I was hoping for the best outcome. The end will surprise readers. The tip of Long Island during that time must have been lovely. With the convergence of Manhattanites coming to town, it seemed to be quite an invasion. This was an interesting story, and I couldn’t stop reading it. Thank you to author Nicola Harrison, talented writer that she is, and to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the perusal.

The year is 1938 and the setting is New York City where college educated Beatrice Beaudreaux lives with Harry, her husband of five years. They’ve tried unsuccessfully to have a child and she’s noticed that some of the spark is missing between them. When Harry makes plans for them to spend the summer in nearby Montauk, Beatrice believes this will be their chance to reconnect. Unfortunately, he’s only there on weekends and much of his time when there is spent with his other friends and potential investors. She’s also finding it difficult to connect with the other spouses and soon turns her attention to other attractions on the island.

I initially found Beatrice emblematic of most married women of that era, focused on satisfying her husband’s needs and eager to start a family. Her attention and interests centered around Harry’s with her own identity secondary or nonexistent. The author does a great job of establishing the environment for women, so well that it was jarring to recall the massive journey we’ve made since that time. I had to adjust my mindset as the images were vividly crafted including fashion, vernacular and conversation.

Beatrice wasn’t raised in the society world so her drift away from these shallow women was somewhat predictable even though her friendships with the townspeople and relationship with a certain lighthouse keeper weren’t. The disintegration of her marriage was painful as Harry’s cruelty and disregard was insensitive and rather public. But, at the same time, it was uplifting to see her embrace independence and pursue her own interests, talents and romance.

This was a slow burn as it took some time to create that strong sense of time, place and atmosphere of the era and the author did that so effectively. It was impossible to appreciate Beatrice’s story otherwise and I found myself completely immersed in her environment. I was unprepared for the poignant ending but appreciated the direction taken. I came to really like Beatrice even though at times her liberties with the townspeople felt intrusive. But, her motives were pure and admirable. It’s an interesting story that, through Beatrice, contrasted the world of the wealthy and entitled with those of the people in the surrounding community whose livelihoods depended on them. It had me appreciating simple values and be reminded that privilege sometimes exacts a princely price. I enjoyed this debut novel.

3.5

Beatrice is both excited and apprehensive about spending the summer of 1938 on Montauk. Excited because Montauk is just coming into it's own as a place that the wealthy go to summer. Aprrehensive because her husband will only be there on weekends and this means she will be left to fend for herself amongst people she doesn't really know. It doesn't take long for her to tire of the snobbish behavior of the wealthy and she starts to connect with some of the locals. This leads her down a path that has tragic results.

This was a sad but well written story. The story slowly unfolds but in many ways was also a page turner. I think it was because I liked Beatrice so much. She is naive in many ways but has a good heart. She tries to connect with her husband's rich friends and the local townspeople. The story really picks up the pace in the last quarter of the book when the two worlds Beatrice is trying to live in collide. And the ending! I just did not see that coming.

My thanks to St. Matin's Press and Netgalley.

Montauk was a perfect summer read. Light and easy to follow, the story was of a woman who comes to summer with her very detached , rich husband at Montauk , the new summer playground for the wealthy and connected. The story is set in the 1950s and the other does a great job capturing life in the era. She tries her best to immerse herself in this world of privilege and indulgence , even though deep down she knows she doesn't belong. When she meets some of the local townspeople, she finally begins to find her true place, and the love that she's always dreamed of.
Perfect for book clubs and those looking for a light romance read.

This is a nice slow summer read about one women's struggle with her failing marriage and seemingly unhappy life in the 1930's. I like reading about this era so this appealed to me. It is the prefect summer read and has nicely done descriptions of Montauk that are pleasing to read. I did not much care for the main charcter as she seemed a over privileged spoiled vapid wife to me that was not appreciative of her fabulous life but the writing was done well and I liked it as a summer read. 3 stars due to the charcters.

I loved the idea of the book, but the characters and the storyline did not grab me. I had about 92 percent read and I put it down to go to bed and finish in the morning. It was formulaic -- Poor girl marries rich guy turns into a rich woman, rich guy is not a nice guy and doesn't care about the environment to boot, rich woman falls in love with poor guy, rich guy rapes wife, rich guy finds out about poor guy, rich guy becomes angry........etc. Throw in an unbelievable plot twist and a pregnancy with a heroine that seems meh and not fully likeable. B

I received a copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I added Montauk to my list to read as soon as I caught a glimpse of the beautiful cover! The story inside is just as beautiful. Set in 1938, Montauk tells the story of Beatrice, a middle class girl who married up into higher society. She spends the summer at Montauk Manor while her husband works in the city and visits on weekends. The time spent apart exposes serious issues in their marriage and Beatrice finds herself falling in love with the local village life...and the lighthouse keeper. Montauk is a solid debut novel filled with history, the divide between classes and romance. I can't wait to read Nicola Harrison's next book!

I was thrilled to see a novel written about one of my old summer stomping grounds. And then to find out it's written by a former writing workshop friend from the Southampton Writer's Conference, I was beside myself. Written by debut author, Nicole Harrison, MONTAUK (St.MartinsPress) is a gem. It's an ode to a very special locale and place in time.

It's 1938 when Beatrice Bordeaux, raised middle class, marries into the wealthy Bordeaux family and her life completely changes. She divides her time between Manhattan and Long Island, spending all summer in the small but growing town of Montauk, located at the very tip of Long Island. Beatrice finds herself not fitting in. She hasn't been able to become a mom, and her background is very different from the other ladies who summer in the isolated town.

Beatrice spends her first summer in Montauk on a journey of self-realization. While trying to discover the true essence of who she is, she'll put herself at odds with her husband and his family.

Nicole's novel is a luscious cinematic reading experience. As MONTAUK slowly unfolds sharing the beauty of the east end of Long Island; the gorgeous landscape, the famous lighthouse and the smell of the powerful Atlantic ocean. In additon to the beauty, there's an ugliness between the locales and city people that cannot be ignored. It feels a bit Downton Abbey, but it's rooted in the American folklore of the time.

A wonderfully written vivid depiction of 1938 high society vacationing in Montauk New York. I was transported back in time. This is a story of wealthy New Yorkers Bea and her businessman husband Harry summering with their high society friends in an up and coming beach community. Harry is a neglectful and unfaithful husband who expects Bea to be an obedient trophy wife. Bea is presented with an opportunity she can not refuse, nor can she share this secret with anyone for fear of being shunned from the circle she is a part of. This story accurately depicts how different the wealthy are from the locals in this small town. This story is filled with gossip, secrets and even forbidden love. This will be a great summer read. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC copy.