The Marthas Vineyard Beach and Book Club: A Memorial Day Vacation in one book!

I made it to Martha’s Vineyard at last, that storied island. I’d heard it was almost too charming. That Princess Diana had stayed there. Lots of presidents. Carly Simon and James Taylor once upon a time.

The year is 2016, and 34-year-old Mari Starwood is grieving the loss of her mother & travels from the sunny state of California to the island of Martha’s Vineyard which is almost a land from a magical story with nothing but a piece of paper with the name Elizabeth Deveraux. Mari goes to Elizabeth’s stunning waterfront farm to take a painting class & to find out how Mari’s mother connects to the place. Elizabeth tells Mari the story of the Smith sisters and how they once lived there with a past of their own. The story then goes to 1942 The Smith Girls tells the story of Cadence Smith whose 19 an aspiring writer wanting to break out in publishing & 16-year-old war obsessed Briar Smith. Briar claims she saw a German U-boat off the coast, but no one believes her and gives her the nicknamed “Briar the Liar.” The two sisters try to keep their farm from falling apart, while taking care of their grandmother, having their book club and protecting a mysterious man on shore. Is this man a friend or foe? There’s also a spy on their peaceful island. The question is, who?

Characters, Story & Slow Pacing 

Other than the villain obviously, I like the characters of Cadence, Briar, Bess & Mari. Martha Hall Kelly as usual is an excellent writer and storyteller and I like how she used some of her family’s history to create the story and characters. I love the book club and how it kept the morale of everyone on the island as well as the soldiers up. The only issues I had, however, was the pacing was a bit slow, so it took a bit for the story to pick up. Something with one of the minor characters toward the end seemed rather convenient. Lastly, Mari’s story was there, but we didn’t get as much of her point of view as we did of Cadence & Briar’s. With the criticisms I have, it was still a good book. If you enjoy historical fiction, dual time limes and are a fan of Martha Hall Kelly, I recommend The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club available today on May 27^th wherever books are sold!