Title: The Islanders by Meg Mitchell Moore
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction
Length: 432 pages
Book Rating: B
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss
Summary:
J. Courtney Sullivan’s Maine meets the works of Elin Hilderbrand in this delicious summer read involving three strangers, one island, and a season packed with unexpected romance, well-meaning lies, and damaging secrets.
Anthony Puckett was a rising literary star. The son of an uber-famous thriller writer, Anthony’s debut novel spent two years on the bestseller list and won the adoration of critics. But something went very wrong with his second work. Now Anthony’s borrowing an old college’s friend’s crumbling beach house on Block Island in the hopes that solitude will help him get back to the person he used to be.
Joy Sousa owns and runs Block Island’s beloved whoopie pie café. She came to this quiet space eleven years ago, newly divorced and with a young daughter, and built a life for them here. To her customers and friends, Joy is a model of independence, hard-working and happy. And mostly she is. But this summer she’s thrown off balance. A food truck from a famous New York City brand is roving around the island, selling goodies—and threatening her business.
Lu Trusdale is spending the summer on her in-laws’ dime, living on Block Island with her two young sons while her surgeon husband commutes to the mainland hospital. When Lu’s second son was born, she and her husband made a deal: he’d work and she’d quit her corporate law job to stay home with the boys. But a few years ago, Lu quietly began working on a private project that has becoming increasingly demanding on her time. Torn between her work and home, she’s beginning to question that deal she made.
Over the twelve short weeks of summer, these three strangers will meet and grow close, will share secrets and bury lies. And as the promise of June turns into the chilly nights of August, the truth will come out, forcing each of them to decide what they value most, and what they are willing to give up to keep it.
Review:
The Islanders by Meg Mitchell Moore is a charming novel which takes place on Block Island.
Author Anthony Puckett’s first novel was a bestseller, but writing his next novel? Requires a herculean effort that is virtually impossible now he is married with a young son. Under immense pressure by his agent, Anthony takes a huge advance on his sophomore novel, but he is finding it difficult to put words to the pages of his work. Drinking heavily, Anthony’s makes a massive error in judgment that leaves his career and marriage in tatters. After his wife kicks him out, Anthony lucks into staying rent free on Block Island.
Anthony’s next door neighbor for the summer is Lu Trusdale whose husband Jeremy is a busy surgical oncologist. After giving birth to their twosons, she agrees to give up her law career in order to stay home with their children. Lu is very unhappy with their arrangement but she finds it impossible to discuss her feelings with Jeremy. She has instead undertaken a secret career that has slowly taken up much of her free time. With her resentment towards Jeremy and her sons growing, Lu has to make a choice about whether to come clean about her project and her feelings about her marriage.
Block Island resident Joy Sousa is a single mom to thirteen year old Maggie. She is also a successful business owner who relies on summer tourists to keep her afloat all year. This summer is particularly stressful since she now has unexpected competition and her once close relationship with Maggie is in peril. Joy realizes she has taken her eye off the ball when she learns startling information about her daughter that leaves her doubting herself as a mother.
Anthony’s, Lu’s and Joy’s lives intertwine in unexpected ways over the course of the summer. Anthony and Lu form an unlikely friendship and at a crucial point in her unanticipated career, he becomes an unanticipated voice of her reason about an upcoming decision. Lu hires Maggie to help her with her sons and Joy feels threatened when her daughter and Lu become close. Joy and Anthony embark on a romance that comes to a screeching halt once she discovers the important secrets he has been keeping from her. With a summer full of changes, will Lu, Anthony and Joy embrace these unforeseen opportunities that could positively alter their lives?
The Islanders is an even-paced, engaging novel with an interesting but difficult to like cast of characters. The storyline is well-written with realistic issues for Joy, Anthony and Lu to overcome. The setting is quite idyllic and springs vibrantly to life as Joy and Maggie introduce Anthony to their favorite places on Block Island. With a bit of convenient timing and a well-placed storm, Meg Mitchell Moore wraps up the various story arcs in a very satisfying manner. Readers who do not mind a bit of drama with their beach reads are sure to enjoy this delightful novel.
