Mansion Beach involves wealth, power, a love triangle, a betrayal and a dead body. The tone is snarky and fun; great escapist reading for travel or the beach.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Recommended. Pub Date is May 27.

#MansionBeach

A fun summer read x modern take on Gatsby.

The story opens with a podcast episode of locals speculating about a shocking death. While this is an interesting angle, it wasn't used very consistently or frequently throughout the chapters so there wasn't much tension or intrigue and I'm not sure this added much to the story. I liked the multiple narrators. I found Juliana to be very compelling and was rooting for her happiness (and hoping she would be able to chill out!). Nicola was likable as well and I appreciated the insight into Taylor and her motivations as she gets a chapter from her point of view.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

I was intrigued by the premise of MANSION BEACH and found myself enjoying the author's writing style. I really liked the style of humor and also the layers and complexity to the cast of characters. I did find parts of the plot confusing, but it honestly I found that it just added to the eccentricity of the world that explores social classes and why and what humans will do in order to get what it is they are wanting. A love triangle, secrets and a dead body definitely keep you on edge while reading. I enjoyed the multiple points of view and cared about all the characters. A different and refreshing read and I look forward to reading more of this author's work.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I have been a fan of Meg Mitchell Moore since her first novel so a chance to read and review “Mansion Beach” was a welcome treat.

Like many of the author’s novels, the novel is set on Block Island where the reader gets to enjoy references to previous characters and island spots as well as meet compelling new ones. This time around, the story is told through the eyes of two female protagonists—Nicola, an attorney who has left the field of law to intern as a marine biologist and Juliana, a savvy entrepreneur, who is in love with Nicola’s cousin, David. The problem is David is married to Taylor Buchanan, of the Buchanan family who are overtaking the island with several developmental deals. Meanwhile, Nicola crushes on Jack, a golfer, who is spending the summer with David and Taylor, but is also a notorious playboy.

It's a lot of plot and under a weaker writer’s hand, a reader would surely be confused. However, I found the author’s well-developed characters and gorgeous scenery to be enthralling. While the novel had a mystery element, the trajectories of Nicola and Juliana helped make this story engaging.

Four out of five stars.

Thanks to Net Galley, the author and publisher for a chance to read and review this novel.

Meg Mitchell Moore is a fantastic writer and I have been reading her books since 2012. She never fails to write a book that holds my interest. This book is about Nicola who has a loving family and Juliana, who grew up in a foster home. Nicola had the drive to become a lawyer but soon found that she had chosen the wrong career path. Throwing her career and lackluster boyfriend out, she moved to Block Island and went to work at a marine rescue. Juliana lived next door and was waiting for a company that she built to go public. Juliana and Nicola meet when Juliana finds out that "the one who got away" is Nicola's cousin, David. The book alternates between the POV's of the characters, both in present day and the past. This is a good read containing family, love and people with too much money. It also contains a mystery--someone dies and you don't find out who until the end. Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the complementary digital ARC. This opinion is my own words and not coerced in any way.

Meg Mitchell Moore has quickly become one of my favorite authors. Her annual summer release is one of my must-reads! I love her writing style, variety of characters, and the settings of her books. Mansion Beach takes us back to one of MMM’s popular settings—Block Island. This time around, the main characters consist of Nichola, an older intern who left a law career (and an ill-fitting boyfriend in Boston) to pursue her dream of becoming a marine biologist. She is on the island for the summer to gain experience working in her new field. Her cousin is also on the island. He is married to Taylor, the daughter of a wealthy real estate developer who has come to Block for the summer to try and win over the locals on a proposed multi-property development deal. Nichola rents a cottage arranged for her by Taylor. The cottage is next door to Juliana, a former foster care kid who has beaten the odds and started her own high-profile tech company. Juliana is in love with Taylor’s husband, having met him before the two got married. He is also in love with her, but his relationship with Taylor is complicated and it is not so easy for him to just leave her to be with Juliana.

If this sounds confusing, it’s because it kind-of is. Throughout the summer, the lives of these three women intersect in various ways. MMM also inserts snippets from a local podcast throughout the story to add some flavor and context to what we know is the drowning of one of the characters at the end of the summer.

Fans of MMM's other Block Island-set books will recognize some of the places and characters mentioned in those earlier stories, and I enjoyed this return to one of New England’s most popular summer getaway spots.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This novel offered a fascinating, contemporary, and imaginative reimagining of "The Great Gatsby." The gender-swapping of iconic characters, such as a female Jay Gatsby and a male Daisy, provided a compelling new perspective on the classic story. I thoroughly enjoyed this fresh interpretation.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

This was such an interesting, modern, and creative take on The Great Gatsby. I really liked this re-telling and modernization, where classic characters were gender swapped. It was so interesting to have the Jay Gatsby character be a woman, and the same for a male version of Daisy. I really enjoyed this book!

Mansion Beach by Meg Mitchell Moore will leave you wanting to get on the next Block Island ferry! From the gorgeous beaches, idyllic ponds, and majestic Mohegan Bluffs to the mudslide slinging watering holes of Block Island, this novel was the perfect escape! True to form, Meg Mitchell Moore deftly wove intricate plot lines and depth of character into a satisfying page-turner. I identified with the outsiders in the novel, and can relate to the ways wealth and class are exposed on Summer islands that are at risk of loosing the very currency of sameness that has made them destinations for generations.

Mark your calendars for this 5/27 pub date! In the meantime, I will be reading more of Meg Mitchell Moore’s prior work!

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow Books for the ARC!

This book takes place on an island where a lot of tourists go for the summer. There are a lot of wealthy people that go there for the summer. There is one girl who grew up poor and has made it to the top. This is a fun summer read!

Going to be the perfect beach read this summer!!

This book follows multiple povs and their relationships. All have different ways of life and all 3 of them come together for the summer. It's dramatic and funny with a twist of mystery added to it.

If you like old romances, secrets and drama coming to the surface this one is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

MMM is an auto read author for me & I was thrilled to discover Mansion Beach. I didn't realize up front that this was a modern retelling of Great Gatsby and it was really well done without beating me over the head. Having read all of MMM's Block Island books I recognized the recurring character but appreciated that it wasn't necessary to have read the other books first.

Nicola stays at her cousin in laws house for the summer. She needs a change from her lawyer job and boyfriend, so she embarks on a her adventure. She reconnects with her cousin, befriends the neighbor, and starts a romance with a rich boy. All of these characters have bad qualities and treat others horribly! Someone is murdered at the end, but they don’t focus that much time on the murder. It’s Juliana’s past, her present, and how her life intersects with Nicola for the most part. It was ok. You forgot about the murder aspect until they start interviewing people again. The author could have had more of those interviews I think.

Wow! This book just got better and better with every chapter.

Mansion Beach has so many more layers to it than I originally thought. I enjoyed that we got so many different POV’s throughout the summer. It helped me be unbiased towards each character, I was able to see their faults but reasoning for those faults - which is key for a book like this.

There are so many plot twists that really helped keep me engaged throughout the book. I am still reeling from the ending.

Amazing! Thank you Net Galley for giving me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Meg Mitchell Moore’s latest novel, “Mansion Beach,” set on Block Island, contains her usual mix of complex characters, vivid descriptions of life in an island tourist community and great dialog. Added to the mix is a mystery involving the death of one of the characters, which is hinted at throughout the book.

The two primary characters are Nicola and Juliana. Nicola recently quit her job with a prominent law firm in Providence, Rhode Island, broke up with her live in boyfriend, and moved to a cottage on Block Island owned by her cousin David’s rich in-laws, the Buchanans. Nicola left her high pressure job to work as an intern for the Block Island Maritime Institute, where she can enjoy nature.

Juliana, who owns a startup involving the purchase of low priced designer clothes, lives in the mansion next door to Nicola’s cottage, where Nicola is often disturbed by late night parties. Shortly after the first party, Juliana’s assistant invites Nicola to one of the legendary parties where Nicola meets and befriends Juliana. Shortly afterwards, an intermediary asks Nicola to invite her cousin David to her cottage for cocktails and also invite Juliana. It is then that Nicola discovers that David and Juliana met shortly before David married Taylor, and immediately fell in love.

Interspersed thought out the book are short transcripts of a podcast where the town council members are interviewed about the mysterious drowning incident, and the attempts by the Buchanan family to get zoning approval for tearing down an old hotel and building a spa complex in its place. These snippets of information adds intrigue as the reader tries to guess the identity of the mysterious drowning victim.

The book also contains a nod to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” with Juliana as a Gatsby figure, Nicola as the “Nick” character, and David as Daisy. There is even a green light at the end of David’s dock, which Juliana watches from her own dock across the lake. I particularly loved these references since “The Great Gatsby” is one of my all time favorite books.

My only quibble with this book is that it contained a lot of “parenthetical” comments, which is one of my pet peeves, since I feel that it breaks up the the narrative flow. But again, this is a minor, personal grievance and would probably not detract others from the book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes novels with strong, complex characters involved in emotionally charged situations with a hint of mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

read if you like:
📍 Block Island
💁🏻‍♀️ multiple female protagonists
🥰 romantic drama

summary:
This book was a fun change of pace from the drama and darkness of my normal thriller! It follows three women — Nicola, Juliana and Taylor, for their summer on Block Island. Nicola, looking for a fresh start after a breakup, is visiting for the summer, staying in her cousins’s house and reconnecting with his family after being close childhood friends. Juliana George, her neighbor, is the CEO of a fashion startup preparing for its IPO, and escapes to Block Island to prepare and reconnect with her past. Taylor, the wife of Nicola’s cousin, works as part of her father’s real estate empire, living the perfect life with her husband and young daughter. As the three collide for the summer, old romances, secrets and drama come to the surface, and all of them are forced to fight for their own self preservation.

The book starts off slow and hard to follow. It’s tough to keep track of the various characters and their existing relationships, and with everyone having their own backstories, it takes a bit to figure everyone out. However, about 25% of the way through, it picks up and becomes a quick read. All of the characters are complicated and conflicted, but I found myself loving and empathizing with Nicola quickly. Her character is relatable and her journey of self discovery is easy to root for. Some of the other characters come and go, and it’s harder to track who might be important. The murder that takes place is overlaid throughout the chapter, but I’ll be honest, as someone who loves a good crime, it felt like an afterthought. The ending was a bit anticlimactic and abrupt, and I didn’t find the story coming together the way I thought it would. That being said, it’s still dramatic, funny and written to be a tv-movie, which I hope it becomes!

Thanks to William Morrow and Net Galley for the advanced copy. If you want a quick read, check this out when it releases on May 27!

What I found fascinating throughout the book is how Nicola appreciated Block Island for what it was in its natural beauty and its ecosystems whereas Taylor saw it as what it could be through continuous construction. There was such a perception that wealth meant happiness and he who built the largest house and threw the most lavish parties must truly experience joy. However, as successful as Juliana was with LookBook, she was constantly lonely and needed to prove herself. Shuttled between 9 foster homes and felt degraded at college, the only happiness she could find was her determination to work harder than anyone else around her. She knew what it was like to have nothing and promised herself that it would never occur again. It was through George that she started believing in herself. Of course there was a rationale behind why she chose the house that she did but she bought it at her terms and means. Taylor grew up being groomed to run the company regardless of her sex which was evident in her name. She never knew what it was like to be a little girl which was why she promised herself that Felicity would know what it was like yo be a princess. It was sad how her and David lost sight of each other as each one felt that they didn't support each others dreams. This book ended on s hopeful and loving note as what was supposed to happen truly did. It can always be tough but just like the one night between David and Juliana doesn't mean that there is a future involved.

Ah! A book set on Block Island! YES. Written by a talented writer, please! I was transported to a summer on Block throughout reading Moore's novel. I adored the action, mystery, characters, and setting. It reminded me sometimes of The Great Gatsby. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. Telling everyone about this for summer book choices!

Oh man, this book was awesome. I didn’t know that it was a retelling of The Great Gatsby when I started it, so I was a bit surprised by the references at first. I love Gatsby, and I think this book was a wonderful successor. Highly recommended for all fiction lovers!

I enjoy reading Moore's books each summer and like that they are set at the same location, Block Island, in this case. I was excited to start this book but it quickly fell kind of flat for me. It was predictable, and the death referred to in the podcast notes wasn't even introduced until very late in the book. I didn't feel that the podcast interviews added anything to the story, and I also felt like the ending was rushed. Overall, a good read, though and I will continue to look for new works by this author. Thanks to netGalley and the publisher for the ARC.