Set in Southampton in the 1950’s, On Gin Lane is the story of Everleighh Farrows and her soon to be husband Roland. Roland surprises Everleigh with a hotel in her honor but when tragedy strikes, we’re left wondering who we can really trust.

While this story definitely has elements of ‘poor little rich girl’, by the end I found myself rooting for Everleigh and hoping she finds her way to happiness. I loved the exploration of what it was like to be a twenty something women in high society in the 1950’s and was hooked to the story with every twist and turn. I would recommend this book if you’re looking for a captivating summer beach read.

Summertime 1957. Everleigh Farrows heads off to Southampton with her beau who has, no big deal, built a hotel for her. As glamorous as the gesture is, Everleigh is initially dismayed by having to spend the summer in a hotel, her dismay is heightened even more when the hotel tragically burns down.

While her thought-to-be honorable beau begins emerging himself in the hotel rebuild, Everleigh begins a journey all her own that might just lead her to finding her own individual happiness for the first time in her socialite life.

I enjoyed this book for its partial historical relevance and also enjoyed that Everleigh takes up photography as her passion. Though I don’t know how factually realistic it would be for its time in regards to Everleigh setting out on her own, I enjoyed the premise behind the book and the mystery element webbed throughout the storyline as you attempt to figure out who is responsible for the fire that killed and rebuilt Everleigh Farrows.


Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Readers will travel from New York City down the Long Island Rail Road in this glitzy novel that has a pleasantly surprising amount of heart. Set in the 50s, there are many trappings of misogyny and classism that are wildly frustrating to see the main character go through (and know that this was real life for so many women), but never fear - Lee does just fine. I loved the supporting cast and the layers of mystery and whodunnit. While there were a few plot points I didn’t love, overall I found this delightful. Starling is the true star of this show, and I just love her spunk and the arc she goes through, as well. Four stars for a job well done and a book I’d absolutely pick up for a reread. Check this out if you love anything by Beatriz Williams. Definitely some similarities!

"After her fiancé whisks her off to the glistening shores of Southampton in June of 1957, one young socialite begins to realize that her glamorous summer is giving her everything - except what she really wants - in this new novel from the author of Summer Darlings.

Everleigh "Lee" Farrows thinks she finally has life all figured out: a handsome fiancé named Roland, a trust in her name, and a house in Bronxville waiting for her to fill it with three adorable children. That is, until Roland brings her out to the Hamptons for a summer that will change everything.

Most women could only dream of the engagement present Roland unexpectedly bestows on Lee - a beachside hotel on the prized Gin Lane - but Lee’s delight is clouded by unpleasant memories of another hotel, the Plaza, where she grew up in the shadow of her mother’s mental illness. Shaking off flashbacks, Lee resolves to dive into an unforgettable summer with poolside Bellinis, daily tennis matches, luncheons with her Manhattan circle, and her beloved camera in tow. But when tragedy strikes on the hotel’s opening weekend, the cracks in Lee’s picture-perfect future slowly begin to reveal themselves, and Lee must look deep within herself to determine if the life she’s always wanted will ever truly be enough.

From the regal inns to the farmland, the well-heeled New Yorkers to the Bohemian artists, the East End of Long Island is a hodge-podge of the changing American landscape in the late 1950s - and the perfect place for Lee to discover who she really is."

Come revel in 1950s America!

This is my first exposure to this author. While I found parts of the novel intriguing, the erratic pacing and unlikeable characters made it difficult to stay engaged.

Everleigh (aka Lee) Farrows grew up in the famed Plaza Hotel in New York City under the watchful eye of her wealthy, stoic father and her mentally unstable mother. After one broken engagement, she is now somewhat desperate to secure her future of a home and children with a charismatic young man, Roland Whittaker. Roland surprises Everleigh with an extravagant engagement gift – a luxury hotel named after her in the highly desirable locale of Southhampton. While Everleigh has mixed feelings about the gift and the plan to live there for the summer, a tragic turn of events presents an opportunity for her to reevaluate her life on several levels.

This historical novel takes place in 1957 with all of the cultural restrictions on women’s roles. I don’t know if the portrayal of the wealthy socialites is accurate, but in this storyline they come across as shallow and petty. As alluded to above, I found very few characters that I could embrace. I appreciated Everleigh’s struggle to reconcile her desire for a home and family with her ambition and creativity to pursue a career in photography. However, she vacillates so much between people pleasing and asserting herself that it became tiresome and made it hard to empathize. Roland has his own issues and his charm runs dry as he is exposed as a manipulative, selfish cad. The characters that did stand out for me were Starling, who becomes Everleigh’s mentor, and the personable local doctor.

Overall, there was some solid writing in the scenes describing the panic and terror related to the tragic incident at the hotel and the subsequent suspense related to its causation. Mostly, I found myself drifting at the beginning of the novel and finished it feeling moderately satisfied.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

This was good, not great. The story was interesting and it certainly portrayed Lee as a woman coming into her own despite the period she lived in and the lifestyle she was born to. I wanted to love it but it was just too slow and I ended up skipping through most of the middle chapters just to get to the end. And I have to admit there was a twist that I really didn't anticipate. This is a great beach read with a wonderful romance and ending that satisfies. I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley and I appreciate the opportunity to read this book.

This is one of those books that I would have loved to have read while laying out by the pool growing up. My skin, burning a little under the sun, a cold Dr. Pepper sweating beside me, while I read about an artist struggling and being held back by society's expectations.

But now, I'm 43 years old, and live in New York, and hide under layers of sunscreen, long-sleeved shirts and hats and only drink water. However, books like this still appeal to me. Because artists and women are still struggling and being held back.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

What a great novel! On Gin Lane centers around Everleigh Farrow who in her finds herself torn between what her parents want her to become and what she truly wants for herself. Set in the late 1950’s this captivating novel combines the historical fiction, mystery and romance genres seamlessly! I found the storyline well-developed and loved the fact that even though Everleigh is in her 20’s this novel really is her coming-of-age. I enjoyed seeing Everleigh’s transformation and though Brooke Lea Foster did a fantastic job in organically conveying that to the reader! This is the first novel I’ve read from Brooke Lea Foster and I am so excited to read more from her in the future!

Thank you to Gallery Books and Net Galley for the chance to read and review this book. The opinions expressed are my own.
I liked this story, although it was slow at times. It is the story of Everleigh Farrows, a young woman who thinks she has it all. Over the summer, she figures out everything is not what it seems, and she begins to grow and figure out what she wants out of life.

This is the second book I’ve read by Brooke Lea Foster and I just loved it! A wealthy young woman in 1950’s New York, newly engaged, moves to South Hampton for the summer. Her fiancé has opened a beach hotel named after her. Having grown up living in The Plaza Hotel in NYC, she is underwhelmed but puts on a good face. The night of the grand opening party, the hotel burns to the ground! The aftermath causes cracks in their idyllic lives and his past comes back to haunt them. Rich characters, some really unlikeable, drives this historic tale of a woman coming into her own and letting go of her parents and society’s expectations of how she should live her life. You can almost smell the sea salt feel the ocean breeze! This would be an awesome Netflix series!

“On Gin Lane” by Brooke Lea Foster is a novel set in the late 1950s. In this book, we follow Everleigh “Lee” over a summer as she discovers that she’s more than “just” an attractive young society woman - and in fact is a young woman trying to find how she fits into the world, which may mean breaking the mold she thought herself in. I enjoyed parts of this book - the interesting beginning, the detective trying to uncover the truth about the hotel fire, and also Everleigh’s jobs. In fact, I really enjoyed the bits about photography - from Sterling’s comment about things coming instinctually (some things are just difficult to teach with photography), to “shooting from the hip” and Everleigh’s thoughts about the photos she wanted to take. I wasn’t as enamored by her finance’s, Roland’s, storyline or those he surrounded himself with in the story. I was a titch bored, at times, with the story, though it was a decent read and once the second half arrived, kept more of my attention.

Ohhh, my goodness. I downloaded this for the plane and I literally could not stop thinking about this book while I was walking the beach when my plane landed. I wanted to go back to my room and find out what happened.
This is akin to Fiona Davis, Beatriz Williams. It’s a period piece and a summer novel if I have ever read one. It’s a 1950s Southampton summer drama. Read this book!!!

I really enjoyed the start of this book but then I realized (as did every one reading it) that the main character is a weak, ignorant woman. Hello, red flags. But she refuses to see them to to investigate or question her fiancé's motives.

A weak book.

Now this is what a historical fiction book should be! The story and main character Lee were captivating and I was non stop reading because I had to find out what happened. I liked that there was a little bit of mystery mixed in to the story which made it even more intriguing and entertaining.

This is very much so a book about self discovery which I appreciated and I loved how it focused on the main character Lee’s road to finding out who she was and her strengths/passions. I do read a lot of historical fiction books and many focus on love stories so it was refreshing reading a story of self love, a different type of love story! Anyone who loves historical fiction should read this when it’s out in May!

Thank you Gallery Books for letting me read this and Brooke Lea Foster for writing a gem of a book!

This is a charming story of the pre-celebrity, still artsy Hamptons. The author tells the story of Everleigh who comes out to Southampton with her fiancée to find her life plans turned upside down. The hotel built by her fiancée burns down within hours of their arrival. From that point on Everleigh is plunged into a mystery and a journey of self-discovery.

Set in the 1950’s, the author portrays the mores and aspirations of young women, pushed into marriage by their families. Everleigh believed that marriage equaled success and despite the apparent weakness of her fiancée, she feared breaking up more than remaining with a very suspect, sneaky man.

It is her passion for photography that ultimately presents a lifeline for change. The author doesn’t fully explore the underbelly of Southampton at the time, full of antisemitic restrictions, a place where artists moved away from the mainstream of society into small colonies and where the gay populace moved to to structure a separate society.

It is a very good read, especially for women, who can spend hours discussing the changing roles of women. Thank you Netgalley for this very interesting ARC.

This was such an interesting book to read! There are so many dynamics going on but it's very smoothly written.

Socialite Everleigh finally has her life in order - or so she thinks - she's found a fabulous fiance, her mother's mental illness is steady, she's got a fun social circle of great friends, a new house being decorated for her married life. And then Roland surprises her with a pre-wedding present and a free summer in the Hamptons. And even with her misgivings about the present, things are going along famously -- until a freak fire...or was it arson -- causes a huge upset in her life and she finds out what she really wants!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

This review is for an advance readers copy. I hope the many anachronisms and copy editing errors are resolved before publication. I got one page into the prologue and already had an issue with the lead character’s name. I’m sorry, but no society mother would name their child “Everleigh” in the 1930s. Moving past that, in the first few chapters the author mentioned every trend, brand name, and/or celebrity name she could think of, possibly in an attempt to set the story in the time she chose. Once the plot picked up about halfway through, the author obviously felt more at ease and the story flowed much more smoothly. I just wish she and/or her editors had taken more care at the outset to make the lead and her circumstances more believable. All of the elements are there to create an interesting romance with a nice element of suspense, but it doesn’t quite land.

I truly enjoyed this title and the author's writing style. It was the perfect elevated beach read. The descriptions were telling and the characters were fleshed out. Our protagonist, Everleigh, is a likeable, but flawed character herself. There were portions of the book that lagged somewhat and a few of the relationships could have been developed more, but overall this was a book that I truly enjoyed and will recommend.

ON GIN LANE
by Brooke Lea Foster
Gallery Books
Pub Date: May 31

On Gin Lane grabbed me from page one, as socialite Lee is taken by her fiancé Roland to glamorous Southampton in the summer of 1957.

Lee has everything she could want: Her handsome intended, a trust fund in her name, his gift to her of a beachfront hotel on tony Gin Lane, and a home in Bronxville waiting for them to fill it with children.

But when the unexpected happens during the hotel's opening, Lee's facade begins to crack, with flashbacks to another time in another hotel: The Plaza, where she grew up amid her mother's mental illness.

What will become of Lee's dreams now?

This must-read historical novel offers captivating characters, an engaging and well-written storyline, a sensitive look at how mental illness was seen during the judgmental Fifties, and a young woman's brave coming of age. Highly recommended!

Thanks to the author, Gallery Books, and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.

#OnGinLane #BrookeLeaFoster #GalleryBooks #NetGalley #Southampton1957 #socialitecomesofage #mentalillness #historicalfictionnovel #womensfiction #bookstagramcommunity

Started off strong from the opening page. Well developed characters, gorgeously vivid descriptions.

Utterly fantastic heroine, in an utterly fantastic setting. I really enjoyed seeing Everleigh come into her own during this novel. Beach reading at it’s finest.

Start this one with free time set aside; you’ll need it because you won’t want to stop reading this.

Recommended!