Mansion Beach

Finished April 25

Mansion Beach by Meg Mitchell Moore

This novel is supposed to be a modern spin on The Great Gatsby, and follows Nicola Carr as she spends the summer on Block Island, where she is doing an internship as a marine wildlife researcher. She has left her previous partner and career and is taking her life in a new direction. She is staying in a small house that is owned by her cousin's wife's family. David is her favourite cousin, and they grew up very close, almost like siblings, including spending the summers at the lake in a family home. Now he is married to a real estate heiress, Taylor Buchanan. Taylor is very involved in her father's real estate empire and does whatever he asks of her, leaving her little time for David and their young daughter. 

Nicola soon discovers that her next door neighbour is Juliana George, creator of a fashion-based social media empire called LookBook. Staying with David and Taylor is an old college friend of David's, Jack, who is a pro golfer, taking time for an Achilles tendon injury. 

As Nicola continues getting a variety of job experience and exploring the small island, she also gets to know her neighbour Juliana and learn a little of her story of building her business and how her life has changed over time. She also finds herself courted by Jack, and unsure about Taylor given her standoffish attitude and how little time she is spending with her family. Nicola tries to avoid being drawn into any of the drama going on, but she also finds it all interesting, seeing these people in a world she is unlikely to ever live in. 

The story is interrupted by transcripts from a podcast about what happened on the island that summer, but that part of it feels like it isn't really needed for the story. 

This is an interesting tale of questionable relationships, social class, and misadventure. 

The Twilight Wife

Finished November 29

The Twilight Wife by A.J. Banner

This novel starts with marine biologist Kyra Winthrop walking the beach on Mystic Island, set in the San Juan islands of Puget Sound. Kyra had a diving accident a few months ago and, as a result, has no memory of the last four years of her life. Jacob, her husband has told her that she taught at Seattle University and that they've been married for three years. She goes through picture albums, both of the earlier years that she remembers and of the years she has forgotten. When she tries to force the memories, she gets headaches, so she slows down, but it bothers her a lot that she has this gap in her life. Jacob says that they recently moved to the house that he grew up in, on this remote island to allow her a quieter environment to recover. He's also told her that they spent time here on the island last summer, staying in a local bed and breakfast, before the accident.

Kyra is beginning to have spurts of memories come through. She remembers another man, Aiden and knows that she had feelings for him, and intimacy. When an older local man, Doug, seems to recognize her she wants to find out who she reminds him of. 

One of their neighbours is Nancy and her husband Van. Nancy grew up with Jacob and seems to have confused feelings about him. Nancy has befriended Kyra and yet seems to also resent her in some ways. 

As Kyra begins to remember things and learn things from the few others on the island, she also finds that Jacob has kept some information from her. Is it to protect her as he claims, or are there secrets he doesn't want her to know? 

This is a tale of narcissism, control, and manipulation, along with Kyra's struggle to find the truth about herself and the people in her life. A book that is hard to put down. 

Underwater to Get Out of the Rain

Finished June 3

Underwater to Get Out of The Rain: A Love Affair with the Sea by Trevor Norton

This memoir covers Norton's life as a marine biologist, particularly his site research, as well as the history of marine biology as a whole as he looks back at his predecessors and talks about the young researchers he has worked with. Norton was born in the U.K. and did most of his work while affiliated with universities there. His work studying ocean life necessitated travelling to many places around the world and diving into the water to explore and observe. He obviously loves his job, in particular the variety of creatures he has seen and their behaviour. 

I loved learning about this part of science, and finding out about so many creatures that I wasn't familiar with. He made no secret of the some the dangers inherent in diving, including ones in specific locales. He talks about the health of the ecosystems, how politics and economics have their effect, and about local feelings about research, tourism, and other ocean related activities. 

Norton's writing flows and this book was an entertaining read, with humour in spots. 

There are also small drawing scattered throughout the book, which add to the context of the writing, and they are done by the author's wife, Win Norton.