An epic and cinematic novel by debut author Nicola Harrison, Montauk captures the glamour and extravagance of a summer by the sea with the story of a woman torn between the life she chose and the life she desires. Montauk, Long Island, 1938. For three months, this humble fishing village will serve as the playground for New York City’s wealthy elite. Beatrice Bordeaux was looking forward to a … Beatrice Bordeaux was looking forward to a summer of reigniting the passion between her and her husband, Harry. Instead, tasked with furthering his investment interest in Montauk as a resort destination, she learns she’ll be spending twelve weeks sequestered with the high society wives at The Montauk Manor–a two-hundred room seaside hotel–while Harry pursues other interests in the city.
College educated, but raised a modest country girl in Pennsylvania, Bea has never felt fully comfortable among these privileged women, whose days are devoted not to their children but to leisure activities and charities that seemingly benefit no one but themselves. She longs to be a mother herself, as well as a loving wife, but after five years of marriage she remains childless while Harry is increasingly remote and distracted. Despite lavish parties at the Manor and the Yacht Club, Bea is lost and lonely and befriends the manor’s laundress whose work ethic and family life stir memories of who she once was.
As she drifts further from the society women and their preoccupations and closer toward Montauk’s natural beauty and community spirit, Bea finds herself drawn to a man nothing like her husband -stoic, plain spoken and enigmatic. Inspiring a strength and courage she had almost forgotten, his presence forces her to face a haunting tragedy of her past and question her future.
Desperate to embrace moments of happiness, no matter how fleeting, she soon discovers that such moments may be all she has, when fates conspire to tear her world apart…
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Montauk is an extraordinary tale that had me hooked from the very start.
Stuck in a loveless and childless marriage, Beatrice has hopes for her marriage when her husband, Harry, suggests they spend the summer at newest beach resort, The Montauk Manor. But, it turns out Harry doesn’t plan on staying. He leaves Beatrice there while he goes back to the city to work. Beatrice isn’t comfortable hanging out with the society women at the resort, so she befriends the laundry woman at the resort which leads to meeting Thomas, the lighthouse keeper. Beatrice ends up having an affair with Thomas and as summer is coming to an end, she is left with some life altering decisions that need to be made.
This book took me by surprise. After reading the premise, I thought it was going to be good. But, I had no idea it would be this good. To say I got hooked on the story would be an understatement. I will definitely be reading more books by this author.
It is the summer of 1938 and the city people escape the heat by going to Montauk, Long Island. Like most resort towns, there is always the underlying friction between the wealthy summer folks and the poor locals who provide the services.
This is Beatrice Bordeaux’s first summer in Montauk. She was hoping to get her marriage back on track. After five years of marriage they are still childless. Her husband Harry seems more and more distant. But Beatrice quickly learns that her husband will only be spending weekends with her as he returns to his work – and other interests – in the city during the week. Having married into money and now left on her own she feels out of place among the social-climbing wives. She much prefers exploring the local fishing village and soon makes friends with Elizabeth, the local laundress. Beatrice finds herself drawn to the local lighthouse keeper who is everything her husband is not. Caught between the two worlds and two men Beatrice finds the courage to determine her own future.
Beautifully written, she transported me to Montauk where I could see and feel the beauty. I could hear the sea gulls and the crashing waves and smell the salty air of the little fishing village. Harrison captures the era perfectly with her descriptions of what was expected of the wives of the social elite. So glad I did not live in that era! The characters came to life as she took me on an emotional ride of real life situations and real emotions.
The perfect summer escape with passion and suspense. If you enjoyed Beatriz Williams’ THE SUMMER WIVES, you will love Nicola Harrison’s debut novel MONTAUK.
Many thanks to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC
1938, Montauk, Long Island. The Montauk Manor is where the wealthy go to escape the heat of New York City. The women and children summer there while the men travel back on weekends to escape work. But, all is not as it seems. The females are tucked away while the males enjoy other pursuits in the city. They can have their cake and eat it too. This book explores the class differences of the elite vs the working class, money can’t buy you happiness. It’s about finding your place and not being pigeon-holed into what other people or society say we belong. It’s about love….finding it in places outside the norm, and opening your heart. It’s about friendship in unexpected places. It’s about struggles that go on even now. It’s about finding yourself and being true to who you are and who you want to be.
The book started a little slow, then took off. Beautifully written characters, some you loved, quite a few you wanted to smack, some you wanted to cheer for! I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline and the writing. The ending wasn’t what I was thinking, but enjoyed it, even though it seemed rushed. I could have used another chapter or two.
Take this book to the beach or a lounge chair, it’s a little heavier than a normal beach read, but very enjoyable! I look forward to reading this author again.
I received an ARC of this book. Opinion is my own!
It is hard to believe that this is a debut novel, it is so engaging and beautifully written!
Montauk by Nicola Harrison takes place in 1938 when America is fighting to come back from the depression and World War II is yet a rumble on the horizon. New York City’s elite summer at Montauk, Long Island, the new “in” summer resort for the wealthy. The wives and children spend the summer, while the men work in the city during the week and come to the island for weekends. In contrast, the year-round locals live in a fishing village, full of shanty-like homes, doing whatever they can to get by.
Beatrice, the main character, grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania. Her beginnings were quite humble. Following the death of her brother, she moves to NYC, and meets Harry, a man of privilege. They marry and Bea is thrown into a social scene that she is ill-prepared for. She has a hard time fitting in with the socialites at Montauk and doesn’t understand (or agree with) their vacuous interests and values. Nor does she understand why Harry seems to find reasons not to come on the weekends and avoids spending time with her when he does. She expects more from marriage and is at a loss as to how to make things better, when Harry seems so uninterested in their relationship. More and more uncomfortable at Montauk Manor, Bea befriends Elizabeth, the local laundress. This is somewhat scandalous for the time and Bea doesn’t realize that her need for a friend could cause problems for Elizabeth. The more Bea explores the island, the more she falls in love with its natural beauty. She walks many fine lines all summer, trying to meet her “obligation” to curry the favor of the wealthy, pretending that all is well in her train-wreck of a marriage, and keeping her growing involvement with the townspeople a secret. It is a summer of great inner conflict and growth for Bea.
The author stays true to the social mores of the day when the roles and expectations of men and women are strictly defined and the differences between the social and economic classes are great and not meant to be breached. Her characters are fully complex and relatable (even the irritating ones!), and she is skilled at setting the scene with her descriptions.
An entertaining read from an author I look forward to reading again. This gets a 4-star rating from me.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions expressed here are my own.
3/3.5 Stars
Montauk, the debut novel from author Nicola Harrison, takes readers to Montauk in 1938 just a few years after it had become a summer haven for the rich of New York City. Over the course of the summer, we see a young woman in an uncertain marriage discover strengths she didn’t know she had while rediscovering a part of her she’d lost when her brother died.
I enjoyed my read of Montauk. Nicola Harrison creates a fictional world that I easily fell into and characters that I cared deeply for. I appreciated Harrison’s look into the class differences in the early part of the 20th century even if it felt like a bit of an unbalanced look with the wealthier, city folks portrayed fairly one-dimensionally as uppity, careless folks who did nothing for themselves, while the villagers were more well-rounded and relatable. Naturally, Beatrice stood out among her peers, championing the villagers as she made discoveries about herself.
Beatrice’s grief over her brother’s death drives quite a bit of the first half of the book as she’s lost inside of herself. Married to Harry for five years, she starts to realize that her connection to Harry grew out of her isolation from others after Charlie’s death. I loved seeing this depth of character as Bea recognized how she kept to herself, unwilling to share her grief with anyone who didn’t know Charlie. It set the stage for her growing awareness of who she had become since he died.
When she meets Thomas, those things that had been simmering boil up and, though he’s clearly keeping some secret, Bea is drawn to him. When he suffers an accident, she has the excuse she needs to spend more time with him, even as she finds herself playing a lying game that could get her into trouble. I enjoyed their romance, which is a slow build from a sweet friendship. But, I also struggled with it as it was infidelity and stemmed from Bea’s response to somewhat cliché actions from Harry.
This is where I struggled with Montauk. I loved the look into the time period and the people. I loved Beatrice’s journey, but there are plot points that felt somewhat contrived and others that took up space just to take up space. Beatrice takes a job that brought tension to the story, but not in any real organic way. Rather it felt thrown in just to give her something else to do. Harry’s personality turn seemed a bit off to me, but that could be attributed to Beatrice’s naive unreliability as a narrator.
Still, I read through Montauk in about 2 days, half of the time on the edge of my seat. I empathized with Beatrice early on when she was desperate to befriend Elizabeth, the local laundress. For just a bit, Bea was caught in prejudice from both sides of the social spectrum and I hurt for her. Perhaps the best character, other than Beatrice, is Dolly, an older friend of Bea’s that’s open minded, encouraging Beatrice out of her shell, but still true to the time period. The ending is takes a harrowing turn, which surprised me but felt true to the story.
I would encourage anyone that enjoys historical fiction and wants to get lost out on the end of Long Island to give Montauk a read.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for honest feedback.
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.
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.
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.
I received an advanced copy of Mantauk from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Montauk takes us back to the summer of 1938 – a time when New York’s elite spent their summers at the beach. We meet Beatrice who while part of the elite crowd, really doesn’t belong. She is much more comfortable with the locals. During the summer, we discover how Beatrice finds herself, love, and friendship. She also encounters betrayal, scandal, and cattiness that make the Real Housewives look civil.
I don’t want to give more of the plot away, readers will discover the stunning story Nicola Harrison created and be taken away by the beauty of Montauk.
My husband and I visited Montauk for the first time a few summers ago and immediately fell in love. There is something incredibly special about that town at the tip of the Long Island—the lighthouse, the bluffs, the smell of fish and salt air. We stayed at Gurney’s, climbed the lighthouse, had dinner watching the sunset over Lake Montauk, and drove the Napeague stretch, all mentioned in this lovely book. I loved learning about how Montauk went from a quiet fishing town to the summer playground of the rich and famous. The historical details are interesting and well researched and I liked the way Harrison explores how the changes in the town affected the people who lived there year round. The plot could have been a bit more complex and nuanced, but I still enjoyed seeing Bea’s story unfold. The unexpected ending will be sure to spark discussion. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced review copy.
I really enjoyed this historical romance book. The year is 1938 and Beatrice is staying in Montauk Long Island. The setting is just beautiful. Beatrice is longing for a baby but her husband is in New York living his life while Beatrice in Montauk. I enjoyed Beatrice’s transformation into a strong woman. Beatrice doesn’t fit in with the other society wives which leads her to find her own way. I enjoyed this book and can not wait to read more by this debut author. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.
Nicola Harrison’s debut novel is one not to be missed.
Such an amazing story of Montauk in the early years of its development and the beautiful , rich people who traveled there to “ Summer “
Beatrice is stunned when her husband Harry , one of Manhattans elite , informs her that she and much of their social circle will be “ Summering “ in Montauk as the husbands remain in the city and travel out for weekends.
Beatrice falls in love with the beauty of Montauk and its people, it’s real people not her social circle , with whom she is finally seeing them for who they are .
I loved this book, the characters and the story! The author has done a great job with the characters, the time period and the beauty of her writing had me sunning myself and smelling the salt air !