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Fiction. Literature. Historical Fiction. HTML: An epic and cinematic debut from 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 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 Manorâ??a two-hundred room seaside hotelâ??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 â??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 apar… (more)
User reviews
What I enjoyed about the novel is the description of the locale and people of that era. It pulled me right into it. The story flowed and was predicable though. I was expecting more. I thought the climax was too convenient and history adjusted to fit the story. I’d still read another novel from this author.
. 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.
Beatrice is a young woman trapped in an unfulfilling marriage. She’s a woman who is ahead of her time, in that she does not want to stay home and
When her husband Harry takes her to Montauk and leaves her there for the summer in the company of other wealthy wives, Beatrice feels out of place and separates herself from most of the women. Because of this, Beatrice opens herself up to their petty gossip.
Beatrice hates that the wealthy have their dirty little secrets, but then Beatrice begins to collect her own secrets. These secrets gain momentum and at the end of the novel things go horribly awry.
For readers looking for a scandalous beach read, this may be right up your alley. For readers wanting good historical fiction, this won’t quite hit the mark. I found the first part of the book a bit slow moving, but once Beatrice got herself deeper and deeper into a compromising situation, I found I was riveted to the story.
I’d give this 3 stars for the slow beginning and the lack of character development, especially where Harry is concerned. I also had some issues with the way the story wrapped up.
For the tension and scandal in the story, I give it 4 stars.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing to read an advance copy and give my honest review.
While I loved the historical aspect of Montauk, I was not as pleased with the character development and romance. Beatrice Bordeaux is naïve, immature, innocent, deeply hurt by Harry. She has never really fit in with the society life and its expectations she’s been thrust into, and now rather than the opportunity to rekindle the romance with her husband, she is faced with 12 weeks with women she doesn’t know or feel comfortable with. She may never have married Harry in the first place had she not withdrawn so much after her brother Charlie’s death.
But this is the life she chose, and she comes off as careless and irresponsible in her forced interaction with the locals. She may feel more naturally at home with them, but she is not of their world anymore and she puts their livelihood at risk. She insists on becoming a part of Elizabeth’s life, and she’s playing with fire with Thomas, putting not only her own reputation and way of life at risk but those of so many others, especially Elizabeth and her family and Thomas. Beatrice is also putting herself at risk with her newspaper articles, not just because she is doing something independent, anonymous and a little radical, keeping it secret, but because she continues to associate with a Jew after being told not to. It’s kind of hard to wrap your mind around how restrictive and confining by today’s standards the lives of these wealthy privileged pampered women were, and how narrow-minded and casually cruel everyone could be, and Beatrice seems justified in making her own choices, especially when she is welcomed into the local world. But actions have consequences and she is heedless of them.
I found the first half of the book excellent. Montauk was beautiful and the characters were turning out to be very, very interesting. But then the story began to lose momentum and feel rushed. In three short months Beatrice gets herself into a predicament from which there is no easy escape. Someone is going to be hurt, someone’s reputation is going to suffer, and there may be real physical danger. Again, I was pleased with her independence but couldn’t help feeling that even though this is not the life she imagined it is the life she chose and she needed a well-thought out way to extricate herself. At some point it started to feel like a thriller, as I was waiting for her to get caught. It was a bit unbelievable that she continued to sneak around without anyone seeing her and confronting her until nearly the end of the book. Even if Montauk Manor is large, she is part of a small group and it seems like someone would have been asking about or looking for her more often. Because of the secrets she kept and the corner she backed herself into, there were only so many ways the story could end.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Montauk was an enjoyable read and a good beginning for a debut author.
Beatrice was definitely the voice of this story. The more
Finally, there is the love story between Beatrice and Thomas. It was a beautiful one filled with love; unlike, Beatrice's current marriage that was just about duty and image. I look forward in glee to reading the next book from Ms. Harrison.
This is Beatrice Bordeaux’s first summer in Montauk. She was
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
Beatrice Bordeau and her husband are spending their summer in Montauk, hopefully improving their marriage. That is Beatrice’s hope, only to find that her husband will be working mostly in the city and she is spending time with the other wives in Montauk. Beatrice comes from a simpler life and is not comfortable with the wives that flaunt their wealth, clothing, jewelry and mannerisms.
Beatrice feels more comfortable with the domestic help from the hotel and loves to see the fishing village and people. Beatrice is drawn to the beautiful lighthouse and views. Beatrice becomes friends with some of these people.
Things are not what they seem in Beatrice’s husband’s circle of friends. There are betrayals and threats. Some of the women are bullies.
Beatrice finds herself getting more involved with the resident’s and community problems and people. Only, Beatrice doesn’t realize the danger that she is in. I would highly recommend this thought-provoking novel. Be warned there are some Kleenex moments.
Harry sweeps Bea off her feet, makes the loss of her brother less painful, and gives her a new life of privilege. Now, several years into their marriage they remain childless and are beginning to drift apart. Bea is expected to use her summer in Montauk to help further Harry's ambitions and make nice with the other rich ladies staying at The Manor. But here's the rub, Bea doesn't really fit anywhere lately.
The loss of her brother and her continued childless state weigh heavily on Bea. The former occasionally felt overplayed and the latter, in keeping with the times, is understandable. She doesn't fit with the "idle" rich wives and soon becomes friends with Dolly. A bit of an outlier herself, but Dolly knows well how to play the game.
While there were times it was easy to empathize with Bea there were also times it was difficult to like her. My favorite characters were actually Dolly and Elizabeth, a young mother and laundress from the village.
Bea's choices, often selfish (but don't we all do that on occasion), and refusal to listen to sound advice have repercussions far beyond anything she could've imagined. The ending dovetails perfectly with those decisions and any other would have been disappointing, at the very least.
MONTAUK does a primo job of reflecting the societal norms and strata of the time. The village of Montauk, The Manor, all of it is brought to life.
If you enjoy history and realistic flawed characters there's a good chance you'll enjoy MONTAUK.
A copy was received from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
3.5 stars
By
Nicola Harrison
What it's all about...
Beatrice finds herself in Montauk at an amazing hotel for the summer. Wealth, privilege and a husband are all that is required. Unfortunately she finds out that during the week...when her husband is supposed to be working in the city...he is
My thoughts after reading this book...
I really enjoyed the early history of Montauk. The writing was fluid and clear. I loved reading about this period of time in our country’s history.
What I loved best...
I couldn’t help but love Beatrice and her baby steps into a real life. She stood up for what she believed in.
What potential readers might want to know...
This is a long slow simmering story. It’s an incredible look into the lives of the wealthy and the not so wealthy during this period of time. Readers who love this king of book should truly enjoy this one.
I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. It was my choice to read and review it.
**copy received for review; opinions are my own
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!
Beatrice "Bea" Bordeaux is excited about spending the summer with her husband, Harry, in Montauk. Her delight quickly turns to disappointment once she discovers Harry will only be with her on
Beatrice is no stranger to tragedy but she has been relatively happy since marrying Harry. From a small Pennsylvania town, she has never quite fit in the wealthy world she inhabits but she fulfills her hostess duties with aplomb. Beatrice longs for a baby but despite following her doctor's advice, she remains childless. Even before arriving in Montauk, she is worried about her marriage and she is quite upset to learn Harry will be staying in town during the week. Pushing aside her dismay, Bea attempts to fit in with the other wives, but her dissatisfaction at their lavish and somewhat frivolous pursuits ignites a yearning in her for something more meaningful in her life.
Bea finds what she is searching for in a most unanticipated place. In spite the of the risks, she cannot stay away from the lighthouse and Thomas. Her time with him and Elizabeth reminds her of her childhood and she is thoroughly captivated by Thomas who has also experienced more than his fair share of heartache. As Bea's time in Montauk draws to an end, she will have to decide between duty and happiness.
Set against the idyllic backdrop of the beach resort and lighthouse, Montauk is an enthralling historical novel. Montauk, the lighthouse and its habitants spring vividly to life and it is quite easy to visualize the peaceful surroundings. Bea, Elizabeth and Thomas are vibrantly crafted characters who are quite likable and easy to root for. Bea's gradual realization that she needs more in her life is realistically portrayed as is her angst as she tries to make the right choice for her future. Nicola Harrison brings this poignant novel to a somewhat dramatic and completely unpredictable conclusion. I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend this alluring story to readers of historical fiction.
I received an advance copy for review.