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perfectly_pintsized's review
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
daniellem1's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
genxreadee's review
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
bargainsleuth's review
5.0
For this and other reviews, visit www.bargain-sleuth.com
I had not read or listened to any other books by Pamela Kelly, so I wasn’t sure what to expect when I decided to dive into the audiobook of The Bookshop by the Bay. I’m a sucker for books about bookstores, and I was looking for a summer 2023 Beach Read.
Allison has been an editor at a magazine for 20 years, but dwindling circulation and a boss/friend doing everything to save her job, she knows it is time to step back and take a hard look at her next career choice. Her grown daughter opened a homemade jewelry store a year prior and seems very happy with the decision. That leads Allison to consider other options besides the publishing world.
Jess is a prominent and well-known lawyer in Charleston. She’s thrown for a loop when she finds out her husband has been cheating on her with his assistant. She gets out of Dodge and ends up at her childhood home in Cape Cod with her 30-year-old daughter, Caitlin, who still hasn’t found her passion in life. Jess turns to her best friend, Allison, to decompress, regroup, and rethink her life and future.
You can see where this is going, can’t you? A local bookstore owner mentions to Allison that they want to sell, and the wheels are set in motion for she and Jess and their daughters. The bookstore has an adjacent coffee shop (shouldn’t they all? I once worked in a used bookstore that was also a coffee shop.) The women all get their second chances at careers, love and life in general. It’s a heartwarming book that’s an easy breezy read or listen on the beach somewhere this summer.
I’ll definitely be checking out other Pamela Kelly books in the future.
I had not read or listened to any other books by Pamela Kelly, so I wasn’t sure what to expect when I decided to dive into the audiobook of The Bookshop by the Bay. I’m a sucker for books about bookstores, and I was looking for a summer 2023 Beach Read.
Allison has been an editor at a magazine for 20 years, but dwindling circulation and a boss/friend doing everything to save her job, she knows it is time to step back and take a hard look at her next career choice. Her grown daughter opened a homemade jewelry store a year prior and seems very happy with the decision. That leads Allison to consider other options besides the publishing world.
Jess is a prominent and well-known lawyer in Charleston. She’s thrown for a loop when she finds out her husband has been cheating on her with his assistant. She gets out of Dodge and ends up at her childhood home in Cape Cod with her 30-year-old daughter, Caitlin, who still hasn’t found her passion in life. Jess turns to her best friend, Allison, to decompress, regroup, and rethink her life and future.
You can see where this is going, can’t you? A local bookstore owner mentions to Allison that they want to sell, and the wheels are set in motion for she and Jess and their daughters. The bookstore has an adjacent coffee shop (shouldn’t they all? I once worked in a used bookstore that was also a coffee shop.) The women all get their second chances at careers, love and life in general. It’s a heartwarming book that’s an easy breezy read or listen on the beach somewhere this summer.
I’ll definitely be checking out other Pamela Kelly books in the future.
jessecaw97's review
4.0
This is a really good summer/beach read! I enjoyed it a lot! I’m just more of a romance girly so that’s why it didn’t get 5/5!
crafalsk264's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Jess is a high profile lawyer with the same firm as her husband in Charleston. Their adult daughter, Caitlin, is at loose ends after losing a job and a boyfriend. Jess takes a long vacation when she learns her husband has been having an affair and is now expecting a child with his mistress. Jess and Caitlin plan to spend the summer on Cape Cod with her best friend, Alison, and her daughter, Julia. When Jess and Alison learn that their favorite bookshop is being closed. They put together a plan to purchase and operate the shop. The two friends reopen the bookshop with a coffee cafe and persuade Caitlin to run it.
There is a lot going on in this book. With four women’s stories being told, there is some confusion in the individual storylines. The book is perfect for a vacation read. The long term friendship between Jess and Alison provides a solid base on which the partnership in the bookshop and their personal lives is built on. Their strong friendship is at the core of this book. It also tells the story of two mother-daughter relationships, and the summer that changed all their lives. I enjoyed this book and recommend to readers of contemporary romance, women’s fiction, books-about-books, family, summer and beaches.
jillmlong's review
2.0
I found this book to be ok. Overall I liked the story but it just felt flat. One reason is that there were too many characters and they all seemed like the same person. Another reason is that there was nothing exciting in the story.