Review: The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club: A Novel

The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club: A Novel by Martha Hall Kelly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the only time I have ever read two books in one month that I would rate 10 Stars if I could. I recommend this book to all those who love books that blend accurate history with fiction.  The family in this book was real people, the war actions around Martha's Vineyard was a real thing, and all of this is blended to give you one hell of a superb story!

Although this book begins in 2016 with Mari Starwood, it quickly shifts to 1942 and the Smith girls. The main story is told in two different voices: Briar, who was 16, and Cadence, who was 19...with a mix of other voices thrown in.

This is a love story, an espionage story, and even a murder story. Wow, it really had it all. Oh, and don't forget books, book clubs, and making books for soldiers to carry in their backpacks. They also found books to read during the deprivation of the war years, often looking to the town dump for them.

This book has believable, compelling, and likable characters. It also has a plausible plot, for the most part.

This book took me out of a low point in my reading and catapulted me up to the stratosphere.

This is the perfect beach read and also an ideal book club read. I highly recommend this book.

*ARC supplied by the publisher  Ballantine Books/Random House, the author, and NetGalley.

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DESCRIPTION: "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?