Waiting on Wednesday - The Martha's Vineyard Beach And Book Club

 

'Waiting on Wednesday' is an event where I feature an upcoming book that I am extra excited about.  I love doing this, letting the 'word' spread about authors and series that I enjoy.   Hope you'll stop by often and see what I'm 'waiting' on!

Today's book is one that I selected mostly because of the cover.  Isn't that a fun, historical beachy scene?  Now, what I will say is that those girls don't have sunscreen on - not invented yet.  However, they are at least partially under an umbrella and enjoying their books.  I have not yet read anything by Martha Hall Kelly, but I have certainly heard about several of her historical fiction books.  I think I might have a copy of Lilac Girls.  I do know that several friends have enjoyed her writing.  This one is set in 1942, WWII era, and also in 2016.  I see these girls and think about my mother.  She would have been about their age at that same time.  I look forward to this one and ask, have you read any books by Martha Hall Kelly?  Did you like them?  Or have you visited Martha's Vineyard?  I have not.  What do you think?  Interesting?  

The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club

by Martha Hall Kelly

Publication Date: May 27th

Two sisters living on Martha’s Vineyard during World War II find hope in the power of storytelling when they start a wartime book club for women in this spectacular novel inspired by true events, from the New York Times bestselling author of Lilac Girls.

2016: Thirty-four-year-old Mari Starwood is still grieving after her mother’s death as she travels to the storied island of Martha’s Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts. She’s come all the way from California with nothing but a name on a piece of paper: Elizabeth Devereaux, the famous but reclusive Vineyard painter. When Mari makes it to Mrs. Devereaux’s stunning waterfront farm under the guise of taking a painting class with her, Mrs. Devereaux begins to tell her the story of the Smith sisters, who once lived there. As the tale unfolds, Mari is shocked to learn that her relationship to this island runs deeper than she ever thought possible.

1942: The Smith girls—nineteen-year-old aspiring writer Cadence and sixteen-year-old war-obsessed Briar—are faced with the impossible task of holding their failing family farm together during World War II as the U.S. Army arrives on Martha’s Vineyard. When Briar spots German U-boats lurking off the island’s shores, and Cadence falls into an unlikely romance with a sworn enemy, their quiet lives are officially upended. In an attempt at normalcy, Cadence and her best friend, Bess, start a book club, which grows both in members and influence as they connect with a fabulous New York publisher who could make all of Cadence’s dreams come true. But all that is put at risk by a mysterious man who washes ashore—and whispers of a spy in their midst. Who in their tight-knit island community can they trust? Could this little book club change the course of the war . . . before it’s too late?