Cover Image: Our Place on the Island

Our Place on the Island

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Member Reviews

Our Place on the Island by Erika Montgomery is a perfect summer book. It's romantic, feel-good, and tells stories across generations. The characters are lovable, and their tales will make you smile. If you need a break from reality, this book is for you.

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Renowned chef Mickey Campbell has been written up in The Baltimore Sun, naming her a “Thirty Under Thirty”. This should put her restaurant over the top, but with overdue notices piling up, is it too late? She hasn't told her partner, chef and boyfriend about the trouble they're in and she is afraid that will be the end of them. When she gets a call from her mother telling her that her grandmother is getting married, she heads off to the familial vacation home, Beech House, on Martha's Vineyard, putting everything else on the back burner. It's been over a decade since she has been to the place where she grew up and created so many memories with her grandparents. She and her mother have a strained relationship, but when three generations of women come together under one roof for this once-in-a-lifetime family event, they become bolder, stronger versions of themselves. With secrets being revealed, new love, and healing, this will be an unforgettable summer.

This was a perfect poolside read with a wonderful summer beach setting, great characters that I loved and wanted to be happy, and all those New England foods that I love. This was a dual timeline story, one is set in 1948 and is Mickey's grandmother, Cora's story. The second is 1999, where we meet Mickey, her mother, her friends and boyfriend. I enjoyed both of these storylines equally and my heart broke for all three of these women. They all had their own baggage and regrets and I wanted them all to be happy. Much of the story is set in Cora's kitchen in the cottage. It showed how food and cooking were such a huge part of her life and in turn, the family. I liked seeing Mickey heal over creating food and cooking with her grandmother. This was a beautiful story, well written and developed.

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Thank you to @stmartinspress for the #gifted copy of the book.

This was a great beach read! I love stories about family traditions and good food!! All the Campbell women were heading to the cottage to attend Cora's wedding. Will Cora's secrets finally come out?

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I contemplated not leaving feedback for this title because I don't know if my lack of interest in the content of this story stemmed from the fact that I should have read the summary and thought maybe it wasn't for me or if it had to do with the novel itself. I will not be posting a review on Goodreads simply because I don't want to hurt the rating of the story itself. I found myself to be extremely bored while reading. I didn't feel connected to the character or the events of the novel. It also took me months to get through Out Place on the Island. As a lover of anything beach or coastal, I thought I'd appreciate the story itself but I just really struggled with it. Again, could be reader error, but just really wasn't my cup of tea.

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I have been a fan of Erika Montgomery's since her first sentence and I was thrilled to receive a copy of Our Place to review. As with her first, she grabs your attention and holds on. The setting of Martha's Vineyard is lovely and the intertwining stories are blended well. It was a very enjoyable read and I look forward to what Erika brings us next.

I received a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

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I really enjoyed this book. It was multi POV (the grandmother, the mother, and the daughter) and dual timelines (current and past when grandma Cora  was a newly wed). I enjoyed getting to know Cora better when she was younger. It helped paint a beautiful picture of the relationship she had with Max. I also enjoyed reading about and watching Mickey's relationship grow with her BF.  This is a book that can tug at your heart or make you cry. It wasn't overly emotional for me, personally, but I don't cry when reading. However, it was a beautiful book. The writing was great, and I could feel the emotions Erika was trying to portray with her writing.

I read the ebook and listened to the audio version. Both were really great!!

This book is definitely worth the read or listen.

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A quick, satisfying summer read for fans of “The Hotel Nantucket.”

Jumping between past and present, three generations grapple with uncertain futures, complicated pasts, and matters of the heart in one magical home.

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I really enjoyed this book, it was a little slow to start but the dual timelines helped pull me in. It was great to get to know 3 generations in this family. The writing was great and the characters were all fully developed. This is an easy ready, perfect for a rainy day spent curled up on the couch.

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This was a really sweet story and I was so excited to find out more about the characters, progression, and how the story would resolve. This was an easy read and easy to listen to in the background.

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3.5 stars
Our Place On The Island was a pleasant enough read, but for me, it was nothing special. If you love a second chance romance, this may be the book for you. The story covers three generations of women in one family: Cora, the grandmother, Hedy, the mother, and Michelle/Mickey, the daughter. Hedy wasn’t in the book very much; the other two women were really the focus of the book.

Two timelines were explored in depth: 1948, featuring Cora as a young married, trying to fit in with her husband’s “in crowd” on Martha’s Vineyard; and 1999, with Mickey, an accomplished chef, realizing she has mismanaged (financially) her well-regarded high-end restaurant in Baltimore. Cora is getting remarried and Mickey and Hedy both show up on “the island” for the occasion.

The 1948 timeline was my favorite. Cora had a working class background and felt out of place in the country club atmosphere in which she found herself. I felt her frustration and awkwardness. Her love of cooking is her saving grace. I enjoyed reading about the process of getting her kitchen updated and customized. Her gradual friendship with the craftsman, Max, was sweet, and I wasn’t surprised at the eventual path it took many years later.

While I received the eARC from NetGalley, I wound up listening to the published audiobook by Vibrance Press. The narrator, Sara Hannan, did a nice job with the many voices.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book, although I was quite late to it. All opinions are my own.

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An entertaining women's fiction beach read set on Martha's Vineyard that is full of family drama, second chances and tons of feels. Perfect for fans of authors like Mary Kay Andrews and Elin Hilderbrand. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

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Our Place on the Island is a charming novel that explores the relationships of mothers and daughters, especially as time shapes their experiences and memories. Erika Montgomery's slowly paced writing is a perfect compliment to the setting of the summer months at Martha's Vineyard. Readers are immersed in the sea air and salt water.

The story is told over two time lines - 1948, where newlywed Cora is first moving into her husband's family's summer home and trying to ease her way into the social circles of these new "friends"and present day, 1999. Now Cora's daughter and granddaughter have returned to the Vineyard to celebrate Cora's second marriage a mere 2 years after the death of her first husband. Tensions are high and secrets are being kept on every level just because no generation is ready to face their troubles, or share the burden of their mistakes.

I found this novel to be beautifully written and look forward to seeing what other stories Erika Montgomery can come up with. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the chance to read this book.

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Many times I find general Women's Fiction books a little too 'fluffy' for my taste. However, this book was captivating and I didn't want to put it down and when I finished, I was sad that it was over. The three main characters are all strong women facing different struggles when reunited at Beech House for the wedding. Although I could guess the way that things would work out for all three, I loved the way everything moved. Yes, there is the romantic element but this story is more about each learning about themselves.

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I love multigenerational family novels, and this one was no exception! I loved the characters in this one and thought it was a great read!

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Mickey returns to Beech house to try to figure out how to let her boyfriend know that she is in danger of losing their restaurant and to attend her Grandmothers wedding. While her mother is still mourning the loss of her father and isn't ready to replace him with her mothers new husband. While Cora is enjoying getting together with her daughter and granddaughter, it is bittersweet, knowing that this could be the last time they are all together at Beech House.

A great story with wonderful characters! A fast read that gives you all the feels.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

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This was the perfect summer read and quickly became one of my favorites. I enjoyed the focus of the three generations of women and the two timelines in which the story was told. And the grandmother getting her second chance at romance made this book truly enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC copy.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Pub date: 6/12/23
Genre: family drama, beach read
Quick summary: Cora, Hedy, and Mickey represent three generations of strong women with secrets. As Cora prepares for her second marriage at Beech House on Nantucket, will their secrets bring them together or pull them apart?

I love a multigenerational family drama, and this book was the perfect choice for my beach vacation! Each of the women were well-drawn and complex; I especially enjoyed Cora's arc taking place in 1948 during Beech House's kitchen renovation. Like Elin Hilderbrand's books, this is a love story to family, food, and Nantucket. The 1999 timeline came together so well at the end and gave me all the feels!

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Review will be posted on 8/23/23

Cora Campbell is a fish out of water in 1948 as a newly married woman on Martha's Vineyard. She grew up in a blue-collar community, worked as a waitress, and has nothing in common with the people that live on the island. They are rude and judgy, and she isn't comfortable with their behavior. Her husband, while sweet, is often gone for business, and is, essentially, one of them. He desperately wants her to fit in and leave her past behind her. Cora worked at her uncle's restaurant and is an expert cook, so when her husband renovates their beach house, she is excited to revamp the kitchen. Enter contractor Max Dempsey, who attends to Cora's needs and understands her like no one else. They form a bond as he builds the kitchen of her dreams. Fast forward to 1999, and Cora's husband is dead and she is remarrying none other than Max Dempsey at their family home on Martha's Vineyard. Her daughter, Hedy, isn't quite sure how she feels about this, and her granddaughter, Mickey, is coming along for the wedding but is hiding secrets of her own. Erika Montgomery's Our Place on the Island captures the story of three generations of women, and family secrets; it's a sweet summer romance.


Our Place on the Island is a dual timeline story taking place in 1999 and 1948. I really enjoyed how Montgomery tied the story together slowly and readers could see what happened in the future with Cora and Max, but I enjoyed the journey to get there. I think Montgomery developed the 1948 timeline very well; in fact, I gravitated to that timeline a bit more than the other. Also, Montgomery brought to life Martha's Vineyard nicely - the beautiful beach, the expansive homes, the country club, the parties, etc. I felt like I was there! I think Our Place on the Island would be a perfect book to curl up with Labor Day Weekend, especially if you love a charming romance as well as a story about families.

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I love multigenerational family novels, and this one was no exception! I loved the characters in this one and thought it was a very satisfying read! So so good!

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This was an awesome read from the beginning to the very end. I enjoyed the relationship between three strong women, who were the main characters. It was interesting to read from the two time lines and see how woman's expectations have changed.

If you have not packed your beach for the summer yet, I would definitely put this one in your bag. It is deeper than a fluffy beach read, but would be enjoyable with your toes in the sand as it is set on the beach.

There were a few surprises along the way, but in general it ended the way I would have wanted it to. Now I am looking forward to her next book.

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