Three very different women live on Balboa Island in the 50s, and this is the story of how they ended up there, the challenges they face, and how they interact with other women. The women characters are nicely drawn and I do feel a bit of empathy for them. The men they are involved with seem a bit two dimensional, but that seems to fit with the experiences the women are having. Their interactions come to a head during a weekly festival. This is a pretty gentle and easy to read story, albeit one where the women have lots of secrets, and it is a story that presents a specific time and place very nicely.

The Island Club by Nicola Harrison takes place on Balboa Island in the 1950s. Three women varying in ages, each face their own life-changing problems. Sylvia, mother and wife, faces challenges with a husband who, unknown to her is caught up in major debt. Milly, also a wife and mom of two, faces marital issues related to fidelity. (and boy did she drop a bomb at the end of chapter 28). Adele, based loosely on a retired star tennis player, faces challenges related to a past that she's ashamed of.

Each woman opens up about their challenges and work together to build the confidence to address the challenges. I'm not a girl's girl but I SO wish I was. The amount of caring and assurance Sylvia and Milly found so quickly in a friendship is refreshing. As a forty-something wife and mother, I was really pulling for things to work out for these three, and I really loved reading how despite their age differences and different backgrounds, they became friends. As adults that can be hard!

What I liked best about the book was the small details that help the reader really picture what life was like in the 1950s. Harrison touches on things like what many young woman aspired to in the 50’s, what being a wife was like, and even fun events surrounding what Bal Fest (spring break) was like. This book had me looking things up like ‘Rangoon Ruby, Bathing Beauty Contest, the evolution of ferry boats, pink and cream Dodge La Femme, and Jean Patou cardigans.’

This is the first book by Harrison that I've read and I look forward to reading her other titles!

Three women living on the California cost in 1956 bond over tennis. Each one is dealing with secrets. If you can’t tell secrets to your friends and your life is a facade, things can get entangled in a web of lies.
Harrison is a auto-by for me. Her books always have me engaged throughout the entire plot and this one does as well.
The saying the grass is always greener or at least looks that way fits this story.

I loved this book so much as I grew up close to Newport Beach and remember going to Balboa Island for frozen yogurt every summer. In this novel, we see the island in all its glory as movie stars buy beachfront property and several wealthy couples join The Island Club which features the famed ferris wheel and tennis courts. But there are secrets and lies among the wealthy as they vie for attention and try to "outdo" the others. And of course this often leads to tragic consequences that come to light after years of silence.
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

The Island Club by Nicola Harrison takes place in the 1950s on Balboa Island in California.
The story revolves around three women. Their picture perfect lives begin to unravel and aren't so picture perfect after all. Each character is hiding secrets but a game of tennis just might bring them together and help them overcome the devastation.
The tennis game helps them all in a courageous and surprising way.
The pressure these women faced at that time feels somewhat like what women face today as well. This is a great love story about survival, friendship and women's independence.
I loved this book so much.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was drawn to this after another empowering historical fiction novel that gave me some insight into the treatment of women at the time.

The Island Club starts off getting you introduced to the three main protagonists, and the way they face the pressures and perceptions at the time. From the perfect and rich Sylvia, to the up and coming, reputation building Milly, and the reclusive Adele, we are taken across different perspectives of the expectations and challenges they face.

A happy ending and based loosely on tennis champion Suzanne Lenglen's life, The Island Club shows how women, when working together, can achieve things that seem impossible, and buck the trends of the time, while coming into their own.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fantastic book that everyone should put on their must read list for 2026. Sunshine, tennis, secrets, female friendships - this is a thoughtfully written and poignant book set in the 1950’s. You will become so invested in each of the characters and the story is told from multiple POV. I loved it and highly recommend it to all!

The Island Club takes the reader away to a different time - the 1950s on Balboa Island, CA. This is the time of the tradwife, dinner on the table when the husband comes home and wives responsible for children and all household chores. It is also the time when, while money problems, adultery, homosexuality and adultery existed, they were deeply hidden and never discussed. Reputation was everything. Milly Kincaid has moved to the island hopefully to repair her marriage. Instead, she finds herself totally in charge of her two young children and making excuses for her husband’s absence. Adele has picked the island as the place to hide from her past. On the surface, Sylvia has the perfect marriage. She and Walter own the biggest house and the island club. They throw lavish parties but their secrets won’t be hidden for long.

The Island Club is a beautifully written beach read with bite. I loved the way the women support each other, resolve their own problems and find success for themselves and for the island club. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Nicola Harrison for this ARC.

set in 1956 three women become friends while attending a social club called the Island club. the three women all have secrets that start to unravel.

Thank you @netgalley, @stmartinspress and @nicolaharrisonauthor for the ARC Pub Date:
04/28/26
1956: On idyllic Balboa Island, just off the California coast, life seems peaceful and welcoming. But when the lives of three women begin to unravel in shockingly different ways, an unlikely friendship-and the game of tennis-may be the only thing that can save them.
This story centers on the OG era of Trad Wives the 1950s. There's Milly a young mother of two whose husband is never home in spite of how she tries to be the perfect wife and mother. Sylvia the First Lady of Balboa Island who seems to have the perfect life and marriage. Adele the single middle aged recluse whose hiding a past she'd rather forget.
I feel in love with these women and the obstacles they faced. This is a fun and inspiring story of female friendship and empowerment set against a southern CA beach town.
I enjoyed how tennis was interwoven in the story and part of what brings these women together. As someone who loved and played tennis this really resonated with me. It's a beautiful and inspiring story, the perfect historical fiction beach read which is quickly becoming a new favorite genre!

Perfect for fans of Elin Hilderbrand, Kristy Woodson Harvey and Beatriz Williams

Nicola Harrison is a new favorite and I can't wait to read her other books!

This is a fast, fun, time piece. It’s definitely a beach read. I was rooting for each character even though it was predictable and somewhat sappy. It’s a fun light summer read.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an early release in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A very enjoyable read for lovers of historical fiction and women's fiction. This tells the story of 3 weekend living in the same island all with their own secrets who learn how to become friends and forge a new path forward despite societal pressures. This book definitely kept my interest. I didn't want to stop reading.

Three different women each struggling with their own personal crisis, each one of them becoming friends. They have secrets betrayals and lives that were difficult to get through. There was only one thing they had in common and for one of them -- she kept herself hidden for over 20 years. This story was one you could not put down. Great character development, very well written. This book is highly recommended. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Island Club by Nicola Harrison is a perfect summer read. I spent the past few days reading this while floating in my tiny little pool, imagining I was with the characters in this book.

Molly, Sylvia, and Adele all lead different lives on Balboa Island, but they are brought together at the Island Club that Sylvia and her husband opened. Despite their differences, the women form a bond in this book set in the 1950's and become stronger women with each other's help and friendship.

I really enjoyed this book - Ms. Harrison wove a story that captured the time and the way that women were perceived and their roles in family and business. Despite these preconceived notions, the women find solutions - whether good or bad - when their friendships form and they can rely on each other. I can't wait to share this with my book club when it is released.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader's copy. All opinions are my own.

Honestly, a fun little summer read - I found the characters endearing and perfectly human, and now I suddenly want to learn to play tennis. It's worth checking out! Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Island Club was exactly the type of read I was hoping for. I would consider it a beach read with some extra substance to it. And even better, as a historical fiction fan, it takes place in the 1950's, which made it just that much more interesting to me. I loved the strong female characters, which is not what you would expect of 1950's suburban housewives. I also really enjoyed the development of their friendships with each other and how they all worked together to become even stronger than they were on their own. I would definitely recommend!

An interesting glimpse into a different time and lifestyle, set in Balboa Island (off the coast from Newport Beach, CA) during the late 1950’s. It’s a well-written story with the verve of “Mad Men” mixed with “Le Divorce.” The Island Club is a tennis club and the women’s stories (Milly, Sylvia and Adele) mesh very well as they deal with, and resolve, their varied issues. My only caveat is that none of the characters grabbed my heart in a way to make me care about what happened. All in all, it’s a good fictional escape- a perfect beach read.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the free ARC. All opinions stated here are wholly my own.

I love a book that one simply cannot put it down. This was such a refreshing read and I’m glad it suited me.

I’m starting to get more into Historical Fiction in books, as I do very much love the genre in other media. One thing a book needs to have in order for me to love it is a good character ensemble. I cannot stand dull characters at all, and I’m glad this wasn’t the case.

I genuinely enjoyed this novel, even if there were moments where the pacing was rather slow, that did not stop me from wanting to keep on reading. The novel delivers what its premise promises, be assured of that. Its nostalgic, charming and secretive nature makes it very difficult to disappoint. These three women I grew to know through the pages of this book have each left me with something to think about. What a delight!

Really enjoyed the setting and time period—Balboa Island in the 1950s was such a fun backdrop. Loved getting the different perspectives and the peek into the social pressures of the era. It was a little slow in spots, but overall an engaging, well-told story that kept me interested.

The Island Club is a gripping and atmospheric thriller that kept me hooked from start to finish. Nicola Harrison masterfully builds tension with a compelling mix of mystery and psychological drama, set against the alluring yet unsettling backdrop of a tropical island. The characters are complex and well-drawn, and the twists are both surprising and satisfying. It’s a thrilling, page-turner that explores secrets, trust, and the dark undercurrents beneath paradise.