Montauk is more historical romance than it is historical fiction and typically that's not what I'm looking for when I pick up a historical novel but lately, I can't seem to delve into anything deep, so I was very pleasantly surprised to be swept away by the utter beauty of Nicola Harrison's debut novel. 

Harrison impressed me from the start with her writing style. It is lyrical and flows so elegantly as she describes the beauty of Montauk, the charming village off the end of Long Island known still today for its gorgeous beaches, luxury resort, and historic lighthouse.

In 1938, Beatrice Bordeaux and husband Harry head to Montauk Manor, the luxury resort built by famous financier Carl Fisher (developer of Miami Beach), with plans that she will spend the summer there with other wealthy wives while he visits from the city on the weekends―although he rarely ever visits as promised. Beatrice loses all hope in reigniting their passion and trying for a child, especially once she discovers Harry has other interests. 

Beatrice, who is from a middle-class family, soon grows bored and annoyed with the gossipy, sniping, idle other wives and takes off exploring the seaside village of Montauk where she befriends Elizabeth, the laundress for the resort. Elizabeth and her family remind Beatrice of her own roots, and she begins to clearly see what she's missing in her own marriage and life.

Beatrice also becomes close to Thomas, the lighthouse keeper, and the relationship that develops between the two is quite lovely and gives Beatrice a chance to discover the woman she really wants to be. Yet, it's emotional and bittersweet, and I shed some tears―so maybe keep some tissues handy.

I really enjoyed this one and the issues it explored such as class privileges and societal norms of the time period and true love without money versus living in a loveless marriage. If you like your hist-fic to have a romantic side, then Montauk is perfect. It's also an ideal summer read since Harrison does such a wonderful job taking you right to the beach town of Montauk! 

**Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC to read in exchange for my fair and honest review.**

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC of this book.
What a disappointment. I counted on this book being more a romance than a mystery but was in the mood for a bit of fluff. It was very slow getting started and though it moved more quickly, I just couldn't relate to the characters and I really didn't much like them. It was a real struggle to get to the end.

Montauk by Nicola Harrison certainly was a surprise! The setting is the summer of 1938 and the New York elite are vacationing on the resort beach of Montauk. Talk of war is just that, talk, and no one believes it could happen again especially not the rich and privileged. Beatrice Bordeaux is the main character. I loved her! She is from a blue collar background and has married into high society. The death of her brother has changed her life and a new life with Harry Boudreaux seems to be just the ticket. But when Beatrice spends the summer at Montauk with the other high society wives she realizes she isn’t as happy as she thought. And waiting every month to see if she is pregnant isn’t helping. While Harry is taking care of “.business” in the city Beatrice discovers what true happiness is. Thomas, the lighthouse keeper, changes her life in more than one unexpected way.
Montauk brings to life the last vestiges of the wide gap between the rich and the poor before World War II. I loved the descriptions of fashion and food as well as the carefree lifestyle of the rich. But the “locals” are probably the most realistic in the story. Living day to day, loving each other despite the lack of money and facing life head on. I can’t say the ending was my favorite but I still am certain this is a 5 star story!
I voluntarily received a copy of this book from Netgalley.

If you love Beatriz Williams...Nicola Harrison will be your new favorite author! Historical fiction, a beach read & romance all wrapped up into one delicious summer novel! I held off reading this book, so I could read it closer to the summer season! I knew from reading the description was absolutely going to adore it!

I loved the romance, the scandal, the island gossip - I loved it all!

I have already recommend this book to several friends!

4.5 out of 5 stars!

What a great debut Nicola Harrison! This has all the high-drama and scandal of a soap opera. Set in 1938, Beatrice has married Harry, who is very wealthy. She, herself, came from a more humble backgroung. Spending the entire summer in Montauk, New York - a beach resort town, Beatrice tries to throw herself into the high-society curriculum and make friends. She longs for a child and wants to rekindle her marriage which has become stale. She is pretty sure Harry is cheating on her.

This is a fascinating, scandal-filled view of lives of the privileged in a country on the verge of war. I enjoyed the read and my daughter will love it as she always likes books filled with "cheating". The themes are romance, scandal, women's issues, class inequality, and political issues - quite a range. The characters come alive on the page and the book is well-written.

Thanks to Nicola Harrison and St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy of this book.

Nicola Harrison does an amazing job of bringing Montauk, Long Island in 1938 to life. Although I would have liked to see more descriptions of the beach and the view from the lighthouse, the setting and atmosphere of Montauk and the Montauk Manor are lush, elegant and glamourous and make it seem the perfect place to spend the summer. The looming development of Montauk and what it will do to the locals is a fascinating story. Harrison also captures the not-so-perfect restrictions, prejudices, class distinctions, anti-Semitism and male/female rules, restrictions and expectations and social mores of the time. Some of the behavior and attitudes of so-called professionals were eye-opening to say the least.

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 is lucky to have married a very wealthy Harry and to be spending the summer vacation in Montauk. But is the social pressure and the rampant cheating really what she wants?

I really enjoyed this book. I love that Beatrice was different from the other “housewives” and that she truly stood up for her beliefs as the book went on. I loved her relationship with Elizabeth and Dolly and how both friendships grew over the course of the book.

Thank you netgalley and st martins press for allowing me to read and review this book in advance!

At first glance Montauk screams of a historic beach read, but it is so much more than that. Montauk is a sweeping summer romance set in a time lost. This book at its core is a story about love and following your heart. I am confident this one will be a bestseller.

Montauk, playground for the privileged was the perfect backdrop for this story. I enjoyed learning historical events going on in the world during that time and appreciated the author’s robust picture of class and privilege.

Beatrice realizes that her husband Harry has been unfaithful during his prolonged absences. She feels out of place, lonely and longing for something more than planning lavish parties and putting on airs.

She ultimately realizes she must build a life separate from her husband. I had high hopes for her journey to self actualization. Beatrice falls into a job as a journalist exposing Montauk’s wealthy. I enjoyed this vein of the story and wished the author dedicated more time to it. I could imagine the scrambling and chattering amongst the ultra rich. I also wished my favorite character Dolly was in the picture more. Loved her spunk and rebellious nature.

Beatrice is a middle class young woman who married into money but she craves ‘normal’ company. Unfortunately, she puts livelihoods at risk as she attaches herself to local ‘commoners’. I was not a fan of her persistently impulsive behavior and naïveté. I understand this character was not fully ‘cooked’ yet, young and bored, but the writing and Beatrice’s behavior were unrealistic at times.

Took me a while to really get into this book but oh bog did I get invested . The author managed to recreate 1930s ny with great detail of its classism and racism. The characters truly came alive for me and I would love to read more from Ms Harrison. This book was graciously provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Montauk is the debut novel by Nicola Harrison. Through the eyes of Beatrice Bordeaux, we are taken to the shores of Montauk which was still a sleepy town in the late 1930s. Beatrice finds out that she will be spending the summer at the new luxury resort Montauk Manor which is nestled in a closely knit village.

Life for both Beatrice and the U.S. is a bit tumultuous at the time and we learn about her struggles in her own marriage and roles as a woman while also getting a wider view of life around her..specfically the small fishing town and the residents who many are barely making it by.

While being a character study, there are nods to anti-Semitism, sexism, privilege, loss, and fertility. Harrison's descriptions of the people, clothing, and environment drew me right into this storyline. Her writing is captivating and engrossing and the multifaceted characters and storylines added a lot of depth that made this so much more than just a beachy romance.

I rooted for Beatrice and loved seeing her find her courage and strength once again. I highly recommend this beautifully written story and if you have enjoyed books by Anita Shreeve or Beatrix Williams I think you will enjoy this one as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review

I enjoyed reading Montauk. As someone who lived in Long Island for a while it was fun to read about the Hamptons when it was in its infancy.

I thought the descriptions of the hotel where the ladies summered while waiting for their husbands on weekends sounded very luxurious and the fishing village was not but showed the haves and have nots to the extreme during this time period.

Beatrice is a young married woman who is summering at the Hamptons and trying to make friends and find her way in the upper class and slightly uncomfortable as she grew up in the country in Pennsylvania.

I don't want to ruin the plot but I enjoyed that Beatrice found herself in the story and found love.

I finished this book this morning and have been mulling over how to write this review all day. I am truly torn on my review. The story started out so good, it was covering the lives of the rich and famous in the newly developed summer escape in the resorts of Montauk Island, the descriptions of the ladies and the island were wonderful. We follow Beatrice and Harry, an affluent couple from Manhattan spending their first summer on the Island. Beatrice is a kind, sweet young woman that doesn’t quite fit in with the rich and famous wives and lifestyles, but she does blend in fine with the locals with their down-home attitudes. Harry, on the other hand, spends his weeks back in the city with work and many other activities to keep him entertained.
Somewhere about half way through, the story takes a downward turn and leans more toward Beatrice being narcissistic and only caring for herself. She tries to justify her actions by any means possible. The love story does have its moments and I did enjoy reading it, unfortunately I wish the entire book could have stayed at the same caliber it started out with.
This one gets 4****’s. I was given an advanced copy from St. Martin’s Press and Net Galley for my honest review.

I found this book interesting and well written, It was a little predictable but I appreciated the time period and description of the place.

This was a great read. Beatrice a lonely rich housewife, sees her marriage is falling apart. Beatrice finds new meaning to her life, but the ending will blow you away. I highly recommend.

Thanks for Netgalley for the proof to read.

Come back to the 1930's and meet Beatrice and Harry. He's a typical male of the times, but since she's our heroine, she isn't. They've been trying to have children, but it doesn't work the greatest when he only comes down to see her at Montauk on the weekends.
The story ended pretty much how I expected, but slightly different. I loved the descriptions of life back then. All in as ll, an enjoyable experience to read. 3.75 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to review Nicola Harrison’s debut novel, Montauk. Below is my honest review.

Nicola Harrison has written a rich evocative story of a young women on the brink of self discovery. Set in the late 1930’s, Beatrice Bordeaux is a bored housewife summering on the exclusive enclave of Montauk, Long Island. Frustrated with her scoundrel husband, disappointed by her inability to conceive, shunned by the upper crust ladies, Beatrice befriends the locals who work and live on the island.

I was hoping for more historical fiction and less romance, but that’s my own preference as a reader. At times the story fell flat but I appreciated the author’s language and sense of place to keep me engaged. I think fans of Beatriz Williams will really enjoy this lovely summer read. It’s light, crisp and aching for a beach chair and cocktail.

I received this ARC from the publisher and netgalley for my honest review.

I had to think about this one for a little bit. It was a nice, light romance and perfect for a summer reading list. I just feel like all the characters were very typical for a romance novel. You have the thought she was weak but turns out she's strong and independent leading lady, her seems OK but slowly is turned evil as the book goes on significant other, the guy who is obviously going to sweep her off her feet, the plucky bestie and of course the bitch. That being said though it was a good read. A surprise but maybe not satisfying ending.

Recommended if you're looking for a beach read about the beach!!

Remembering that this is a debut novel, and a fine launch at that, I found so much to enjoy in this story. We are truly transported to Montauk of that era. Harrison captures the social climbing creations of that day, and we get a nice sense of place here. I enjoyed the relationships between the women far more than the romantic or crumbling marital relationships. I found myself not as engaged in the flirtations as I was in the careful machinations of the ladies' connections. So what we have here is some mastery of place, language and 'how it's done' of that time period, gripping relationship dives, and a slow burn that sometimes hits dead spots, but we can forgive a new author for a spotty ride when most of the writing is this good. I'll be seeing this one poolside and on the beach a lot this summer. Very worth the time.

A beautifully writtwn domestic drama, sure to tug on your heartstrings and make you appreciate your relationships more . Will definitely read more book by this author.