What do readers think of The Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams? Write your own review.

First loves, enduring love and family love all play a part in this spectacular novel. Alternating between social and economic classes, Ms. Williams invites us into the world of privilege and societal nuances during the 1930s off the eastern coast of America. Our heroine, Miranda, has just been exposed to the wealthy through the marriage of her mother into one of the areas most wealthy and influential families. Miranda wants to "fit in" as all girls her age do, but her educational background make it difficult for her to separate the "classes" that society as imposed upon the East Coast elite. Her father had taught her that everyone is equal, but this is clearly not the case in her stepfather's world.

She struggles with wanting to be accepted by her peers and new stepsister and with the morality that she has grown up with.

I had an extremely hard time putting this book down to carry on with "life". I encourage you to find your "beach" and curl up for the day to devour this book. If you, like me, have read all of Ms. Williams novels you will find yourself asking "When is the next one coming out?"
Bravo, Beatriz, Bravo!

Beatriz Williams knows how to tell a story! She opens the story having you wonder why Miranda Schuyler has returned to Winthrop Island in 1969. Williams then zips you back to 1930 to begin her tale of love, betrayal, murder and redemption. This intricately told tale has you guessing quite a bit throughout the book as she toggles back and forth between the past and present. Great beach read so dig your heels in the sand and start reading! You will be oblivious to everything around you so don't forget the sunscreen!

I loved, loved, loved this book about a group of very wealthy summer residents on Winthrop Island, NY and their interactions with local year round residents of the island. The story begins in 1930 with the interactions of a local and the wealthy summer residents. Jumping to the 1960s the story is still interacting with locals and summer residents only in the second generation. There are underlying secrets and lies you can feel. There is a very palpable mystery running throughout the whole story which comes out in the end. The author has very well developed characters and lots of historical research which made me feel like I was part of the island. I could feel myself climbing down the rocky edge of the island and sitting at the waters edge watching the waves crash on the shore, the lobster boats coming in and out of the harbor and the flash from the ancient light house (which plays a huge part in the story). I highly recommend this well researched historical book which includes mystery, intrigue and romance. Beatriz Williams has a #1 hit coming out for the summer and I suggest you pick it up!

I have read several of Beatriz Williams' books and enjoyed them all. I enjoyed this one as well, although it took a while to get into it, with the jumps from one time period to another and the number of characters that were introduced. Eventually, things came together and it was easier to understand the connections between the summer families and the full-time residents of the island. From the outside looking in, Winthrop Island may have seemed idyllic, but it harbored a lot of secrets and resentments that festered for many years.

This is the third of Beatriz Williams novels for me. Cocoa Beach and A Certain Age came before Summer Wives, therefore I knew just what a great storyteller Ms. Williams is. She makes very sure to do her historical research before beginning a new novel. F. Scott Fitzgerald told a story about the very wealthy folk who spent their summers on these islands so we are not complete strangers to the goings-on here. Ms. Williams has updated it with a relish and has added other islanders to the mix with a delightedly complex result.

Our first sight of the island is through the eyes of Miranda, a 1951 high school girl. A catastrophe befalls the wealthy family she has been added to by re-marriage and she is banished for nearly two decades. She returns to an island that appears exactly the same but is a shadow of its former self and she is determined to discover the truth, and right the wrongs that happened to people she loves.

A terrific story. Lovely prose. Beatriz Williams has once again written a book that will linger in memory long after the last page is turned. I loved The Secret Life of Violet Grant, which I read only a few months ago. But, The Summer Wives is even meatier. She has better developed characters and a writing style that flows so beautifully that one can't help but get caught up in this wonderful tale. Absolutely brilliant.

Old money. New money. Very little money. All three are enmeshed, entangled, and some even ensnared on one island off the coast of New England, where "The Families", as the upper echelon are known, use the area as their seasonal playground, sometimes at the expense of the Portuguese fishermen and their families who depend upon the surrounding water for their livelihood. Co-existing on this island together looks simple from the outside, but things on Winthrop Island are rarely what they seem. Expertly volleying between different time periods to weave the stories of the Schyulers, the Fishers, the Vargases, and the Medeiros, Beatriz Williams shares with readers the world of Winthrop Island, first at a wedding that blends two families together in joy and renewed hope, but it is short-lived as soon after, a murder tears that same family apart for decades. I was captivated by the characters from the first page. I wanted to know their secrets (I just had no idea how many there would be!) and understand where all of the puzzle pieces fit. As entrenched in the story as I was, I still would have never guessed what would ultimately unfold in the final pages, tying everything together and leaving the reader shaking their head with satisfaction and understanding. I highly recommend this book and give five stars to the story in which "The Have Nots" possess far more than the "The Haves" could ever dream. If you like historical fiction, beach reads, are a fan of the movie "Mystic Pizza", or stories with interesting twists, than this is for you! A huge thank you to BookBrowse.com and William Morrow Publishing for this Advanced Reading Copy in exchange for an honest review.

If you are looking for a reason to settle on the New England coast with gin and tonic for a day or two, because you won't be able to stop reading, cuddle up with The Summer Wives. Beatriz Williams' best work yet, I have read and loved them all, is a recipe for a perfect summer read. The recipe is as follows: 1/4 cup The Great Gatsby, 1/2 cup any Agatha Christie novel of your choice, 3/4 cup Pride and Prejudice, 1 TBSP East of Eden, 1 TSP Jane Eyre, 2 heaping TBSP The Colony by Anne Rivers Siddons, a dash of any Gabriel Garcia Matquez novel,and a smidgen of Anna Karenina. Combine these ingredients, gently stir, read, and enjoy!!!