15 books our critics can't wait for this summer

https://www.npr.org/2026/05/19/nx-s1-5800893/new-summer-books-2026

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The Island Club by Nicola Harrison

This story is set in 1956 Balboa Island, California. It’s about three women struggling with life issues that they fear will destroy them.

Milly Kincaid has moved to the island with her husband and two children. Milly fears that her husband is cheating. He is an executive on a television show in Hollywood. Milly knows that the leading lady on the show is beautiful and assumes that she is who keeping him from coming home to his family except on weekends. Milly struggles to be the perfect wife, thinking that will save her marriage. She can’t let anyone know because divorce is taboo.

Sylvia Johnson owns The Island Club with her husband. They live in a beautiful house overlooking the water with their teenage daughter. Everyone in the community envies her life. Sylvia’s husband makes a mistake that destroys their happy home.

Adele Lambert had been working at an amusement park until Milly, and her children showed up one day and cause Adele to get fired. Doing the bookkeeping and helping run the rides wasn’t the life she wanted but it was working for now.  Adele has a secret that she thinks would make her complicated and unhappy life unbearable if it came out.

The three women become friends. They learn to trust each other. They learn to believe in themselves.

This is a nostalgic look at the 50’s. A time when women went to college to get a husband. They were taught to be the perfect wife and mother. Women had an image that took a lot of work. Everything they did was for someone else. Women forgot how to live their own lives.

This was a great story about women, friendships, and family. A snapshot of the 50’s that probably only existed on television and the movies but women felt they had to be like those make-believe characters.

I loved watching the women grow and the found family aspect of this book. It was interesting to see how the women overcame their hardships and created the lives they were meant to have.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a book with strong female characters and the nostalgia of the 1950’s.

This was the first book I have ever read by this author and I would read more.

First published April 28, 2026

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending this book for review. All opinions are my own.

I include links to purchase. As an associate, I earn from qualified purchases. Thanks to all my readers who have supported me in the past.

Books by Nicola Harrison:

The Island Club

Hotel Laguna

The Show Girl

The Island Girls

What I am currently reading:

Dark is When the Devil Comes by Daisy Pearce – A NetGalley Book. It is so scary, I have to read it during the day.

Two Bodies are Better than One by Erica Ruth Neubauer – A book from an author I met this week. I do have another from her to read eventually.

Reviews that are coming up:

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt – I just watched the adaptation with Sally Fields and highly recommend it. If you loved the book as much as I did, you need to watch the movie. Alfred Molina is the voice of Marcellus. There I saved you from having to look it up.

If you think The Island Club sounds good, check out these reviews:

https://virginia-gruver.com/2026/03/09/so-old-so-young-by-grant-ginder/

https://virginia-gruver.com/2025/07/11/murder-on-an-italian-island-by-t-a-williams/

Happy reading!

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That dinner was amazing. Like life changing, amazing. Now the sun is setting and you're too stuffed to get up off the sand. Good thing you brought some books with you. Do they allow sleeping on this beach?

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https://amzn.to/45U0ksi

🌞 Dive into the blissful vibes of summer with "That Summer" by Euryia Larsen! 🏞️

This enchanting read is a part of the "Seasons in Montana" series, and trust us, you won’t want to miss a moment of this journey.

Perfect for those lazy summer days, it’s full of adventure, romance, and the allure of the great outdoors. 🌲📚 2

#ThatSummer #EuryiaLarsen #SummerReads #BookLovers #MontanaMagic

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