New Book Review: "The Islanders"

Another great Meg Mitchell Moore Book.

The Islanders by Meg Mitchell Moore finds three strangers spending their summer on the small island of Block Island off the coast of Rhode Island. Each one has their hidden secrets, looking for answers and trying to find the right path for themselves.

What the three don't know is that their stories will end up intertwining, and they may need each other more than they think.

Joy- Is a single mother who lives all year round on the island with her teenage daughter Maggie she also owns Joy Bombs a bakery that specializes in whoopie pies. Joy is navigating raising a teenager, the new business competition on the island, and past feelings she has always put aside.

Anthony- His life has come crashing down from one mistake that has cost him everything. While his marriage has crumbled, his career as a writer is nonexistent, and his relationship with his parents is on the rocks he finds himself running away to the tiny island and staying for the summer. Anthony does not expect to fall in love or live the life of an islander but becomes fully immersed in this new life as he picks up the pieces of his old life.

Lu- Is a stay-at-home mom to two small boys. Her in-laws have rented a house for her and her husband to stay on the island. Lu loves staying home with her two boys but misses her life as an attorney. She has a secret she hasn't told anyone, she is the author of Dinner By Dad a successful food blog about a stay-at-home dad with a picture-perfect fictional family.

The three characters will find each other in the most unlikely ways on the small island and leave a lasting impression and impact on each other. Lu becomes the friend that Anthony desperately needs. The pair will share secrets they haven't told anyone. Joy and Anthony will find a relationship with one another they didn't know they wanted or needed. Lu has also hired Joy's daughter Maggie to be her mother's helper and they will confide in one another about the struggles of parenthood. Each character will learn that you never know what other people are going through and it's not always what it seems.

Meg Mitchell Moore brings these characters together and wraps their stories into one. You will spend the beginning of the book wondering how these three will ever cross paths and how their stories can collide but you slowly see it with each detail and decision made by Joy, Anthony, and Lu.

The novel is told from the perspective of each character alternating chapters giving the reader a unique perspective of how they feel during interactions with some overlapping with both perspectives. This way of writing keeps the reader invested in the novel and waiting to hear from each main character.

The end of the book is a little slow but with the immense amount of details every last loose end is tied up and it all pulls together perfectly.

The Islanders by Meg Mitchell Moore was a 5-star read for me and I couldn't stop listening. This novel is more than a beach read instead a great book to get lost in.