This book took me longer than normal to read. At times I found the characters hard to follow. But I was determined to finish it. As other said there are many similarities to the great gatsby and how to different sides of society live. I do love beach reads set in New England and I’m always down for a thriller

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced reader copy.

Nicola Carr arrives on Block Island ready to restart her life--she's broken up with her boyfriend, quit her burgeoning law career, and is now an intern for a marine conservancy. Her plan is to stay in her (aka her cousin's wife's) cottage, do good work, and figure out her next steps for this life pivot. What she doesn't plan for is to be living next to Juliana George, the secretive CEO of a fast-tech company, or that living next door to Juliana will get her pulled into a love triangle that includes her cousin and his wife (Taylor), and her own strange summer relationship. As the summer unfolds, all three women will have secrets revealed and their lives changed.

As a sort-of remake of THE GREAT GATSBY, this was a fun summer read. Mitchell Moore does a great job of keeping the essence of the story while layering in new ways of colliding the characters' lives. I found Juliana a much more intriguing and empathetic character than Gatsby, and the setting of Block Island, instead of Long Island, brings a fresh spin to the tale.

MANSION BEACH is out May 27, 2025

I loved this book and its well-developed and muti-faceted characters. Being invited into the upper echelon of the rich on the East Coast Block Island and New York was delightful, and I would say the island is a main character, too. Incidentally, one of the things I enjoyed most about author Elin Hilderbrand's books was the descriptions of Nantucket and its establishment, and this book gave me shades of that for Block Island. Having read The Great Gatsby several times and knowing before hand this is a parallel retelling from Meg Mitchell Moore made the book more interesting to me. I read it in a day, and I didn't want it to end. I also LOVED the ending. Well done! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Beach read inspired by THE GREAT GATSBY, set on Block Island off the coast of Rhode Island. Lots of rich people with poor relations, wealth on display, and class secrets. Juliana is young, accomplished and rich, but lonely and doesn't know how to spend her newly found wealth. So she throws lavish parties in her new beach house, while neighbor Nicola watches from her tiny rented cottage. They eventually become friends and their lives become intertwined with Nicola's cousin and his rich wife, who are also summering on the island. Lots of character development and backstory. Only negative was the podcast device - I didn't think it was necessary and any narrative value it added could have been worked in elsewhere in the story. This will be a popular beach read this summer once it publishes in May 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher William Morrow for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this modern retelling of Great Gatsby. It’s kind of a quiet story, not unlike its inspiration, so don’t expect wild dramatics or a quick moving plot. But enjoyable picture of one Block Island summer and the dynamics between between rich/poor, friends & family.

Before I get into the review, a quick thank you to both NetGalley and the publishers over at William Morrow for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Mansion Beach follows outsider Nicola Carr as she spends the summer on Block Island as the oldest intern ever at the local conservatory. Her neighbor, Juliana George, disrupts Nicola's sleeping pattern nearly every night with outrageous parties. Juliana George was only ever hoping to catch the attention of her neighbor across the water (and Nicola's cousin) David Carr who is married to the heiress of a real-estate empire, Taylor Buchanan. Over the summer, the rich become careless with their wealth, with their bodies, with others' feelings. When the end of the summer comes barreling at them, they'll make some grave mistakes they can never hope to undo. Mansion Beach comes out on May 27th and is available for preorder now.

Because I just finished this book and read the acknowledgement pages I want to address something. The author writes in those pages that this is "not a retelling of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby." GIRL. I need you to be so real right now. This is a joke, right? Having read the entirety of this book I have to tell you that you're wrong. This is a straight The Great Gatsby retelling. You hit every single beat. Come on now. For some reason, I went into this expecting more of a murder mystery element, but that's not what happens here. I think the author tried to create that feeling by adding a podcast element to the story, but the podcast doesn't add anything at all and is just some locals bitching about rich people doing rich people thing. I get it. But it didn't add any tension or mystery to the story. I also spent a ton of time waiting for the plot to kick off. I was constantly thinking that it's all about to start. On the next page. Or the next page. But it was the same drudgery throughout. Even at the end of the novel, we don't SEE the life changing action of the story. Everything gets told second or third hand. The writing style also drove me up the wall a few times. For some reason, the author inserts emojis in the story at random moments to describe a character's facial expressions. She doesn't even just describe the emoji it's just a straight insert into the novel. It felt pretty jarring at times. There was also a moment when the author felt the need to explain to the reader what the word "diluted" means. Could someone please send this girl an editor?

The characters were all as awful as you expect them to be in a retelling of The Great Gatsby. So, they are pretty true to the originals. I also found the setting to be really well described and set up for the reader. Block Island is a place where the author has obviously been quite a few times so it was always fun to see the characters running around all over the island and getting up to rich people non-sense. For the most part, I liked Nicola, but as the outsider she was always expected to be the reader's favorite. She's more realistic and down to earth as she watches the summer of drama unfold.

Overall, I realize that this was never going to be for me. It's more General Fiction than Mystery/Thriller. That genre never does well with me. I think this is a good read for those who like the genre or just someone who enjoys a good The Great Gatsby retelling.

3.75 rounded ⬆️ This will be the perfect summer read! Right off the bat I was intrigued, the writing was very entertaining! (Come to find out it’s a modern retelling of the Great Gatsby). Summer on an island, parties, wealthy islanders who love to gossip, love triangles, multiple POV’s between two FMC’s. From the podcast that introduces the story we know through the interviews that last summer there was a death that happened. Someone drowned… but who was it and what happened? 👀

Drama, secrets, scandal… all that good stuff!💋🤫

An incredible story of family, relationships,new friendships, long time longing, and very iffy behavior set among the opulence and money of
Block Island.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get through this book and am having trouble putting into words what I didn't like. I found myself skipping chunks of paragraphs and eventually even pages. I ended up reading the end and didn't feel like I missed too much.

A Block Island summer brings some very different people together. We know from the podcast that begins the prologue that someone has drowned. There are quite a few possibilities. Nicola is spending the season in a cottage belonging to her cousin David and his wife, Taylor. Taylor is the daughter and employee of an uberwealthy real estate developer. Juliana George is Nicola’s neighbor and a successful entrepreneur who is about to take her company public. The lives of these three women become entwined, tangled more than they can imagine in a way that can only end in heartbreak.

Mansion Beach is more than just a beach read. All characters evoke emotional responses, especially George Halsey and Jack Baker. Although Juliana and Taylor are both wealthy and successful in their careers, their differences drive the plot. Juliana grew up in foster homes, worked hard and managed to fit into the rarified lives of the rich. Money and accomplishments prove her worth. Taylor was born into generational wealth and is naturally beautiful. She desperately wants love and simple kindness. Both women can achieve their dreams but not without sacrifice and loss. Nicola, as she watches behaviors she doesn’t understand, makes an important life choice. Mansion Beach is deliberately slow paced, with an atmospheric location and full of characters you want to know more about. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow and Meg Mitchell Moore for this ARC.

This novel is the newest in from Meg Mitchell Moore and returns us to Block Island for more intrigue. The story follows Nicola, a lawyer who wants a new career after a break up and some burn out, David, her cousin, who married into wealth, and Juliana, a tech entrepreneur with a start up about to go public. There's a lot of twists and turns, family strife, and a secret identity. I love how all the characters are written and you get a back story that gives them more depth.
The story flows along, going from past to present, along with transcripts from a local podcast, which keep you guessing about a mysterious drowning.
Overall, I feel that Moore has kept up with her complex characters, an island full of mostly summer inhabitants, and her usual mix of a little romance and a lot of mystery.
Thank you to NetGalley and William morrow for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was perfect for a quiet rainy weekend.

I felt transported to summer on Block Island, the smaller and less know neighbor to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Progress and building has discovered the sleepy little island as the summer population continues to expand.

Buchanan Industries wants to build four elite homes and a resort and spa on the island, so Brice Buchanan builds his daughter and her new husband a huge house on Great Salt Pond. Taylor Buchanan, Brice’s daughter will live there and manage the building projects.

Taylor’s husband David is from Minnesota and did not grow up with money or privilege but he did go to Yale. Yale is where Taylor and David met. They did fall in love but David is still adjusting to Taylor’s wealthy lifestyle.

David’s favorite cousin from their Minnesota childhood, Nicola, gets an internship on the island with the oceanic institute and needs a place to live. She’s thirty and starting over when she realized she hated being a lawyer. David and Taylor just happen to own a cottage they lend to her for the summer.

Right next door to the cottage is a huge house owned by new entrepreneur, Juilian George, founder of LookBook, an app combining fashion and easy to find outfits. Unfortunately for Nicola, her neighbor enjoys throwing huge parties that last well into the night.

These four people interact in direct and indirect ways that will affect all their lives. Supporting roles by Jack, a handsome professional golfer and David’s friend from college; and Shelly, the PR specialist and party girl who went to college with Juliana (aka Jade).

I couldn’t put this down, reading every chance I got.

Perfect for an escape to summer.

Thanks Netgalley and William Morrow.

This was the summer beach read I needed for spring break. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of this fun page-turner. I felt like I was there, on the island and it didn’t hurt that I was lucky enough to be on a beach myself at the time. The characters, there’s so much to love and hate here. You will have plenty to cheer for and against. And you might even change your mind here or there. Do yourself a favor and grab a copy of Mansion Beach!

Thank you Netgalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was another disappointing read from a usually really good author. I have enjoyed Meg's books in the past, but there was nothing in this story that I was drawn to. There were a lot of characters and I didn't like any of them. I felt like I had nothing to root for and I felt the plot was lacking. I do want to visit Block Island or somewhere similar. I wish I had a better experience reading this novel but overall I was bored.

i enjoyed meg mitchell moore’s latest book, mansion beach, so much!
first and foremost, block island as the setting is an automatic win in my book. journeying around the island with nicola, juliana, taylor, jack, and daniel is like being there in the best way a book can transport you. i can taste the mudslides, the sushi at the oar, the drinks at the spring house. i can feel the crisp breeze coming off great salt pond and the wind whipping my hair at the bottom of the mohegan bluffs. meg takes you right to the island with her writing.
second, this book has a bit of a mystery involved. someone winds up dead! it was fun to try and figure out who (and who’d done it) while learning more about each character’s background.
third, juliana’s relationship with george. it just takes one person to love and believe in you!
last but not least, the mentions of eben horton’s glass float project! be still my heart. they say you’ll find a float when you least expect it…same could be said for true friendship, success, and love, all of which mansion beach explores.
i’d say mansion beach is the perfect vacation book, but it’s much more than a typical “summer read”!

thank you to william morrow for providing this book for review consideration via netgalley. all opinions are my own.

I'm a big fan of Meg Mitchell Moore's books - they are quintessential summer reads. Mansion Beach is set on Block Island, a favorite setting for Moore, deals with class, privilege, with a mystery at its core. Much thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read this eArc. 3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I've read all of Meg Mitchell Moore's books, and this is her best, by far. It follows a cast of characters from all walks of life during a summer on Block Island. The characters are messy and complicated, as are their relationships. There's old romance, new loves, secrets, and oodles of drama, including a mysterious death. The way the three main characters' stories overlap and intersect has a real authenticity to it. Everything about this book just oozes summer - the New England setting, the lavish parties on the lawn of the mansion, the islanders coming to terms with the "summer people" in their midst - it's truly the perfect beach read.

This is a good beach read, with various mysteries thrown in. Very Gatsby-esque vibes, set in modern day on Block Island. Perfect for your next vacation or poolside read!

Here’s the thing: I actually loved the overwhelming majority of this. It’s a near-perfect beach read.

For bookish 30-somethings, if you ever read the It Girl series by Cecily von Ziegesar, this novel felt like the grown up version of that and I ate it up. Throw in some White Lotus vibes and it’s truly unputdownable.

Wealthy 20-30 somethings summering on Block Island comes with all of the drama and gossip you expect, with messy, reckless characters that develop deep into their origin stories.

That’s where this lost me. One character in particular is depicted as being a former foster child from Lawrence, Ma. If you know me, you know I’m a proud Lawrence kid. It’s a small city - 7 square miles. The bakery the author references in this novel was my first job when I was 14. While one facet of her Lawrence depiction is statistically correct (Lawrence is a city that has many residents living at or below the poverty level), the way Lawrence is written into this novel is dated, and it reinforces a narrative that the people in this community have been battling for a LONG time.

Reminiscent of elin hildebrand at times given the island and descriptive setting. Unfortunately found the characters unlikable and at 50% still did not understand the point of the book.