Welcome to Book Bar's official Historical Fiction Book Club. For January, the selected book is The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club by Martha Hall Kelly (book description is located at the bottom of this listing).
So come out, grab a drink at our beverage bar, and join us for a lively book discussion! When you purchase this book club pick from us, your support will help us be here for a long time and put on more events! Purchasing options are below:
In Store: Stop by our location at 50 N. Railroad St. in Palmyra, PA!
Shipped: To purchase from Bookshop and get it delivered straight to your door, order from the following link (If you purchase here, we will receive a percentage of this sale):
https://bookshop.org/a/98905/9780593354919
Ebook: Bookshop now offers Ebooks for indie booksellers. Find it here (we will receive a percentage of this sale):
https://bookshop.org/a/98905/9780593354926
Audiobook: You can purchase audiobooks from us on Libro.fm. This audiobook can be easily found on our Jan 2026 Book Club Picks playlist here (we will receive a percentage of the sale):
https://libro.fm/playlists/10895?bookstore=bookbarus
We look forward to seeing you!
Book Description:
2016: Thirty-four-year-old Mari Starwood is still grieving after her mother’s death as she travels to the storied island of Martha’s Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts. She’s come all the way from California with nothing but a name on a piece of paper: Elizabeth Devereaux, the famous but reclusive Vineyard painter. When Mari makes it to Mrs. Devereaux’s stunning waterfront farm under the guise of taking a painting class with her, Mrs. Devereaux begins to tell her the story of the Smith sisters, who once lived there. As the tale unfolds, Mari is shocked to learn that her relationship to this island runs deeper than she ever thought possible.
1942: The Smith girls—nineteen-year-old aspiring writer Cadence and sixteen-year-old war-obsessed Briar—are faced with the impossible task of holding their failing family farm together during World War II as the U.S. Army arrives on Martha’s Vineyard. When Briar spots German U-boats lurking off the island’s shores, and Cadence falls into an unlikely romance with a sworn enemy, their quiet lives are officially upended. In an attempt at normalcy, Cadence and her best friend, Bess, start a book club, which grows both in members and influence as they connect with a fabulous New York publisher who could make all of Cadence’s dreams come true. But all that is put at risk by a mysterious man who washes ashore—and whispers of a spy in their midst. Who in their tight-knit island community can they trust? Could this little book club change the course of the war . . . before it’s too late?