Vashon author Tavi Taylor Black will read from her new novel, “Serabelle: Where the Weathy Come to Play,” at a release party at 5 p.m. Thurdsay, April 25, at the Vashon Bookshop.

Black’s debut novel, “Where Are We Tomorrow,” following four women working backstage on rock tours, won the 2022 Nancy Pearl Prize.

Her new novel, a work of a historical fiction, is set in Bar Harbor, Maine, in 1913, following the life of its heroine, Mabel Rae, a smart, reckless, and naive 17-year-old who joins the staff at a rocky cliff-side cottage. After she’s caught up in the machinations of a family feud, Mabel decides it’s time to take matters into her own hands. But with no money and few rights, she fears a forced marriage to the brutish gardener is her only socially acceptable option.

In a classic upstairs-downstairs tale, Taylor Black spins an intricate web of idealism’s battle against harsh reality. Set at a time when suffrage was at its height, temperance was gaining momentum, and war loomed in Europe, the novel shines a light on inequities women still face today.

Shanessa Gluhm, author of “Enemies of Doves” and “A River of Crows,” called the book “a compelling story wrapped in stunning, lyrical prose that is perfect for fans of Kate Morton’s “The House at Riverton.”

Taylor Black grew up in Maine but has lived on Vashon for nearly 25 years. She is a current student in the Master of Information and Library Science program at the University of Washington. Taylor Black also designs sets for Vashon Dance Academy, works as a freelance tour manager, and was the founding director of the Dove Project, an anti-domestic violence non-profit organization.

The book can be purchased at Vashon Bookshop as well as other major booksellers.

Find out more about the author at taviblack.com.