I am so thankful to have been sent an ARC of this book! It was a true romance with characters that you grew to love. Each woman has their own secrets and in the 1950s, this was scandalous!
I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to those who love a good cozy romance!

This book took me awhile to get into, but I always love a story about female athletes. Once the story got going I was hooked, and the last 30% had me locked in.

I loved the friendships formed between the 3 main characters and the unfolding of their individual struggles as well as the resolutions. Everything was tied up in a nest little bow in the end, and while it’s not how I saw it ending it was perfect.

I enjoyed the themes about women in the 50s and “finding their own” and how as they were able to provide for themselves and find their own identity their storyline strengthened.

A story of secrets, friendship, and liberation from the life you think you’re supposed to live. Loved.

This is a beautifully written novel about female friendships in the 1950's. Each woman is dealing with their own secrets and crisis, but the game of tennis brings them together in a lovely way. This is the perfect summer read!

Genre: Women’s Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Publishing Group
Pub. Date: April 28, 2026

“The Island Club is set in the 1950s, where three women’s lives are intertwined on glamorous Balboa Island, off Southern California. We meet Milly, Sylvia, and Adele, who are each facing their own personal struggles. Through their shared love of tennis, they develop a strong and unexpected friendship that becomes the heart of the story, highlighting the power of female friendship. “Club” is a sunny, juicy, escapist read. I usually enjoy a beach read; however, this one was too predictable for me. I am not usually a fan of women’s fiction, meaning others may enjoy the novel more than I did.

I am a huge fan of Nicola Harrison having read every book she has written, and The Island Club coming out in April of 2026 does not disappoint.

Three women—Milly Kinkaid, Sylvia Johnson, and Adele Lambert—form a powerful bond as they become friends who share embarrassing secrets from each of their lives.

Set on Balboa Island, just off the California coast in 1956, the idyllic setting forms the background of a community that seems to be open and welcoming, but if their secrets are revealed, all three women feel they would be shunned by that very community. Will the shared love of the game of tennis be the only thing that can cement their friendship?

Milly’s marriage is on the rocks, and the shock of why is devastating. She moved her family from Hollywood to the island thinking that a distance from her workaholic husband’s place of business would give more balance to their lives. But he finds more and more reasons to come home late, if at all, and the relationship is eroding her love for him.

Sylvia and her husband are true pillars of the community and have been since she won a beauty contest, Miss Balboa, in 1938, and married the judge. They are the backbone of The Island Club, an investment they made for members to enjoy a tennis club and also to swim and enjoy fine dining. But a grave mistake on his part risks their financial security and their future, something she would be embarrassed by if their community finds out.

Adele has long shut the world out as she hides from a scandal that happened 20 years ago. She has been guarding her privacy for years, but slowly Milly and Sylvia work to break down the barriers and return Adele to the sport she once excelled at: tennis. She rejoins the world as a tennis pro in Sylvia’s club, teaching both Milly and Sylvia how to play.

The Island Club is a novel about love, secrets, and the power of female friendship. Readers will not want to put the book down until they reach the conclusion when all their secrets are revealed.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting August 25, 2025.

I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

I absolutely adored this book, as I grew up on THE Balboa Island in Southern California. And this precious book was spot on - all about the 50's when our high school's dream was to spend Easter week on Balboa - or "Bal week". Loved this book, couldn't put it down.
Thanks NetGalley.

I absolutely could not put this book down! This ensemble of characters were so easy to fall in love with and really brought the plot to life. I think this a great one for those wanting to work their way into historical fiction but don't want anything too heavy or previous-knowledge reliant. I found the pacing to be a bit off at times. The beginning moved pretty slow, yet I wish we would have spent more time learning about these characters' backgrounds. However, overall I loved the premise and the characters and I'm looking forward to reading more from Nicola Harrison!

I loved this book. Being a former Californian I relished reading about a place I always loved to visit.
This is a a lighthearted book with a strong message. Women working together and supporting each other can get things done. Loved this story of female empowerment set in the lovely setting of Southern California.

The Island Club by Nicola Harrison is an enjoying novel based in California in the 1950’s. We follow 3 different women as they face personal challenges and form an unlikely friendship. I appreciated how different these women are and how they faced society and the pressures placed on them. Appearances are and have always been everything.

I liked that the novel focused most on Milly. I feel like the emphasis on Milly really doing everything she could to be The Perfect Wife. After years of doing everything she can, she begins to have an identity crisis and question everything she knows. I think this crisis portrays what a lot of women might have experienced in the 1950’s.

Overall this was a really nice read.

Nicola Harrison!! Sometimes my love for World War II novels get the best of me and just when I have had enough mayhem and violence, along comes one of my favorite authors to ground me. I LOVED Montauk, Hotel Laguna and The Show Girl and I absolutely LOVE The Island Club as well.

Three women living in California during the 1950’s. The three find each other and find solace in each other and share in each others life and marriage issues. This is a wonderful story of found friendship, loyalty to each other and shared empathy.

Thank you, Ms Harrison for another very enjoyable book. I swear, I will read everything that this authors pens. To NetGally, you have changed my world a hundred times over, thank you! Thanks also to St. Martin’s Press. This book is really lovely.

Was hooked from the beginning. I was like oh boy what dreadful secret does she have haha. Enjoyable read!

Fabulous setting!
Story a little light for my tastes but inspiring ending and characters.

With thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this e-ARC.

1956. Milly and her family have just moved to Balboa Island. She is hoping that her husband, Lloyd, will not spend as much time at his job in Hollywood, but things are not working out. Sylvia and Walter live in the biggest house on the island, and they own The Island Club, a tennis club with a pool. But Walter is hiding something from Sylvia...
Adele was a tennis champion twenty years ago, until an incident ruined her career. She's been hiding on Balboa Island ever since.When these three women's paths cross, their lives will change, but will it be for better or worse?
I really enjoyed this book. I basically read it in one sitting. I couldn't wait to find out what would happen next. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

3.5/5. I really enjoyed this. It was different than what I normally would read. But I like different. The characters were likeable. The story interesting. Thank you Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Island Club is a story about three women whose lives intertwine on a small island, Balboa Island, in Southern California. The story takes place in the !950s. Milly has recently moved to the island with her Hollywood Executive husband, Lloyd, and their two young children, Sylivia is a longtime resident, living in an opulent house with her husband and teenage daughter. Adele is a recluse, tending to her garden early in the morning to avoid small talk and nosy neighbors.

Milly's husband is absent, staying at his job in Hollywood late into the night. After an argument, he suggests getting an apartment close to his office, and Milly wonders if he is having an affair and wants a divorce. Sylvia realizes that their finances are not what she thought, and they may need to sell their gorgeous house and hand over their business, the local tennis club. Adele senses that people are figuring out who she is, and after such a careful life, may need to once again relocate to avoid scrutiny.

The lives of these three women interweave, and they find a camaraderie with each other. Their friendship might be just what they need to keep going, pushing forward. The book was entertaining enough, however sort of long and probably not one I would read again,

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance read in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved this book. First of all I like stories set in this time frame because the social norms were so different and strict. So different from today’s social issues. It was a simpler time but so interesting as to the wife’s place socially. I adore tennis do this was fun to read about. The characters were real and believable. It held my interest in that I wanted to read it straight thru!!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I had read a previous book by Nicola Harrison
“ Hotel Leguna” and thoroughly enjoyed it, so I knew I would be in for an enjoyable read with this book, I certainly was not disappointed. The story focuses on three women living in the community of Balboa Beach in California in the 1950’s, it was enlightening to read about women in he 1950’s, what was expected, the shattered hopes and aspirations that women gave up to fit in the “ norm”. Adele, Sylvia, and Milly against all odds formed a friendship, that helped them all in the end, each of these women had a potential devastating secret that could impact not only their life but other people. I would highly recommend this story for a light, breezy read, I enjoyed all of these women and I enjoyed the ending.

The Island Club by Nicola Harrison is a great beach read. It follows three women leading very different lives in an island community in 1950s California. I thought the book was paced well and interesting without any spots that drag. It took me a bit to get behind the women in the story but, eventually, I was very much cheering for them. There is a love scene in the book and while those often feel gratuitous, I think Harrison writes it very well and makes it a useful narrative tool for understanding that character’s evolution.

My critique would be the dialogue. It pulled me out of the era in which the book is set by using turns of phrase or ideas that are more modern or by being just plain clunky. However, a lot of the characters’ thoughts and behaviors seem to be only very lightly sieved through the filter of 50s era societal expectations and cultural norms. I’m comfortable with a book that doesn’t take itself or its research too seriously though if it is consistent so I enjoyed this book and think others will, too. It is fun and uplifting, light but not boring.

The Island Club is a book about found family, finding self and forgiveness. It follows 3 women living on Balboa Island, California in 1956. Sylvia, who owns the Island Club, has just found out that they are broke because of her husband's gambling problems. Milly and her family have just moved to the island, but her TV executive husband never comes home. And Adele, who has lived as a recluse on Balboa Island for 20 years, is hiding from herself and a mistake in her past. The 3 women find each other and find that friendship and working together can make light work of even the hardest problems.

Nicola Harrison, you know how to write a gosh darn good book! This was fabulous! I couldn’t put it down. I loved the characters, and the intensity of the storyline.