📚 Roundup: 10 Books set on Martha's Vineyard (2023)

A list of books set on Martha's Vineyard to add to your summer reading list

Nothing more perfect than a summer beach read! Some famous authors have written incredible books set on the island, with charming references that locals and past visitors can enjoy! We’ve rounded up ten popular titles for you to add to your TBR pile. Enjoy!

• Summer Reading by Jenn McKinlay (2023)

  • Genre: Beach Read

  • Summary: When a woman who'd rather do anything than read meets a swoon-worthy bookworm, sparks fly, making for one hot-summer fling in New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay's new rom-com.

• Counting Chickens by T. Elizabeth Bell (2021)

  • Genre: Beach Read

  • Summary: A charming tale of one woman’s sparkly summer at the beach, Counting Chickens takes you deep into the real Martha’s Vineyard. You’ll finish loving the characters, longing for the scenery … An infinitely fun read for anyone who wants to escape to the New England summer island.

• The Summer of Broken Rules by K. L. Walther (2021)

  • Genre: Young Adult

  • Summary: Meredith's family's annual game of assassin at Martha's Vineyard during a summer wedding is the perfect chance to honor her sister's legacy, and finally join the world again. But when she forms an alliance with a cute groomsman, she's at risk of losing both the game … and her heart.

• Summer on the Bluffs by Sunny Hostin (2020)

  • Genre: Beach Read

  • Summary: This summer fiction takes us to Oak Bluffs, a slice of the island that’s been home to the Black community elite for summers since the 1600s. Come for the ethereal setting and beautifully drawn characters, stay for the family dynamics, personal secrets and wisdom revealed.

• Summer of 69 by Elin Hilderbrand (2019)

  • Genre: Historical Fiction

  • Summary: Four siblings experience the drama, intrigue, and upheaval of the '60s summer when everything changed.

• Chances Are by Richard Russo (2019)

  • Genre: Literary Fiction / Suspense

  • Summary: A reunion on Martha's Vineyard reopens old mysteries and wounds for three Vietnam-era college friends.

• The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand (2017)

  • Genre: Beach Read

  • Summary: After not speaking for more than a decade, Harper and Tabitha switch islands-and lives-to save what's left of their splintered family. But the twins quickly discover that the secrets, lies, and gossip they thought they'd outrun can travel between islands just as easily as they can.

• Split Rock by Holly Hodder Eger (2016)

  • Genre: Beach Read

  • Summary: Annie Tucker’s world is upended. She’s lost her favorite aunt, inherited a house and dog on Martha’s Vineyard, and now finds herself alone there with three small children while her husband is away. When she runs into her old boyfriend, she must confront the life she has chosen with the life she might have had.

• Before the Fall by Noah Hawley (2016)

  • Genre: Mystery/Suspense

  • Summary: The story centers around a mysterious plane crash in the Atlantic that kills nine of eleven passengers. The book filters between flashbacks meant to round out the various characters on the plane and the current-day chaos of the survivors and investigators trying to process the cause and aftermath of the crash.

• Summer Sisters by Judy Blume (1998)

  • Genre: Women’s Fiction

  • Summary: In the summer of 1977, Caitlin welcomes Vix into the heart of her sprawling, eccentric family, opening doors to a world of unimaginable privilege, sweeping her away to vacations on Martha’s Vineyard, an enchanting place where the two friends become “summer sisters.” Years later, they reunite there to figure out what happened in their past during her wedding.

• Other honorable mentions: A Vineyard Morning by Jean Stone, Summer Darlings by Brooke Lea Foster, Goats in the Time of Love by T. Elizabeth Bell, Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks, Illumination Night by Alice Hoffman, Up Island by Anne Rivers Siddons, Someone Else’s Secret by Julia Spiro, The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen Carter, To the New Owners by Madeline Blais, The Wedding by Dorothy West, mysteries by Crispin Haskins and Philip R. Craig.