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mishale1's review
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. It’s summery, it was light in just the right way, it was a fun storyline and I liked the characters.
I had just finished another beachy looking book that was actually super dramatic and heavy at times. Not that there’s anything wrong with that but it wasn’t what I was in the mood for. I picked this one up next and it just felt so relaxing to read. Even though it started with the lead character leaving her cheating husband, it never felt too heavy.
This book is about a dream that most of us readers have had: buying a bookstore!
Jess and her adult daughter Caitlin leave Charleston for the summer when Jess finds out her husband is cheating. She was never planning to buy a bookstore there.
Jess’s best friend Allison lives in Cape Cod. Her dream is to buy the bookstore but she doesn’t have enough money saved up.
Then Jess comes to visit for the summer and the next thing you know they’ve taken over a bookstore together.
Caitlin even starts working there, reopening the coffee place.
We also meet Allison’s adult daughter Julia. Julia has her own jewelry shop in Cape Cod.
I loved this book’s setting. I loved the storyline about the two best friends buying a book store together. I loved the detail in the writing, anytime someone went out to eat the food descriptions were fantastic.
I did start to wonder towards the end of the book of this was the first of a series. It didn’t feel like there were enough pages left to end the story. So, maybe it ended a bit suddenly but there was enough closure. And if the author decided to make this a series, I’d definitely read more.
This is the first book I’ve read by this character and I’m going to hit her back catalog next. I think I’ve found a new author to enjoy.
This is definitely a book you’ll want to take to the beach or one that will make you feel like you’re at the beach :)
I had just finished another beachy looking book that was actually super dramatic and heavy at times. Not that there’s anything wrong with that but it wasn’t what I was in the mood for. I picked this one up next and it just felt so relaxing to read. Even though it started with the lead character leaving her cheating husband, it never felt too heavy.
This book is about a dream that most of us readers have had: buying a bookstore!
Jess and her adult daughter Caitlin leave Charleston for the summer when Jess finds out her husband is cheating. She was never planning to buy a bookstore there.
Jess’s best friend Allison lives in Cape Cod. Her dream is to buy the bookstore but she doesn’t have enough money saved up.
Then Jess comes to visit for the summer and the next thing you know they’ve taken over a bookstore together.
Caitlin even starts working there, reopening the coffee place.
We also meet Allison’s adult daughter Julia. Julia has her own jewelry shop in Cape Cod.
I loved this book’s setting. I loved the storyline about the two best friends buying a book store together. I loved the detail in the writing, anytime someone went out to eat the food descriptions were fantastic.
I did start to wonder towards the end of the book of this was the first of a series. It didn’t feel like there were enough pages left to end the story. So, maybe it ended a bit suddenly but there was enough closure. And if the author decided to make this a series, I’d definitely read more.
This is the first book I’ve read by this character and I’m going to hit her back catalog next. I think I’ve found a new author to enjoy.
This is definitely a book you’ll want to take to the beach or one that will make you feel like you’re at the beach :)
Content Warnings
Minor: Infidelity
kelly_e's review against another edition
hopeful
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Title: The Bookshop by the Bay
Author: Pamela M. Kelley
Genre: Women's Fiction
Rating: 3.00
Pub Date: June 6, 2023
I received complimentary eARC and ALC copies of this book from St. Martin's Griffin and Macmillan Audio via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted #Ad
T H R E E • W O R D S
Refreshing • Cozy • Forgettable
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Jess loves her work as a high-profile lawyer in the respectable and austere city of Charleston. But when she finds her husband, Parker, has been cheating on her with his assistant, she retreats, with her thirty year-old daughter Caitlin for support, to her childhood home on Cape Cod. Caitlin has always been bright but directionless, looking for her passion but keeps coming up blank.
Jess' best friend Allison's career has hit a low. After twenty years as an editor for the Chatham magazine, circulation is dwindling and though her boss and long-time friend, Jim, does everything to keep her, she has no choice but to take a step back. With a career on hiatus and her main relationship being with Chris, her ex-husband who is still a good friend, Allison is at a pivotal point in life. Her daughter Julia opened her own artisanal jewelry shop a year prior, and she has the kind of day-to-day fulfillment Allison yearns for.
When Allison stops into her beloved local bookstore, she learns that the owner wants to sell. Allison and Jess set a plan in motion and what was once a place that held warm childhood memories is now theirs to run. As the two friends, along with the help of their daughters, reopen the doors of the cherished bookstore and adjacent coffee shop to the community, they also open themselves up to the possibility of romance, the bonds of mothers and daughters, and the magic of second chances.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I requested this book on a whim from NetGalley because it seemed like a feel-good summer read and, of course, because it involved a bookshop. The Bookshop by the Bay was my first foray into Pamela M. Kelley's work, and while it was enjoyable, it was also highly forgettable.
What I like:
• the setting. There are so many descriptions of places throughout that I just wanted to head to Cape Cod on vacation. Of course, there is also the bookshop.
• middle aged characters. It's refreshing to read a book involving middle aged characters and their older children. As you can probably guess there are lots of second-chance opportunities happening here.
• multi-generational. Similar to above, I really liked how the pair of mother/daughters came to work together and rebuild their lives.
What I didn't like:
• the pacing. At times it dragged. At times it felt like everything was moving way too quickly. And still it somehow felt longer than it needed to be.
• Four POVs. It took me quite awhile to get everyone sorted out, but I still don't think each perspective was necessary. It would have been fine with just two POVs.
The audio read by Stephanie Németh-Parker was decent and helped me get through this one quicker than I would have had I simply been reading with my eyes. Overall, an okay read but nothing extraordinary. This is just your average feel-good summer read.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• anyone in need of a new start
• readers who love literary elements in their books
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"There’s nothing like browsing a bookstore. Smelling all those books, flipping through the pages and choosing the perfect one for your mood at that moment."
Author: Pamela M. Kelley
Genre: Women's Fiction
Rating: 3.00
Pub Date: June 6, 2023
I received complimentary eARC and ALC copies of this book from St. Martin's Griffin and Macmillan Audio via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted #Ad
T H R E E • W O R D S
Refreshing • Cozy • Forgettable
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Jess loves her work as a high-profile lawyer in the respectable and austere city of Charleston. But when she finds her husband, Parker, has been cheating on her with his assistant, she retreats, with her thirty year-old daughter Caitlin for support, to her childhood home on Cape Cod. Caitlin has always been bright but directionless, looking for her passion but keeps coming up blank.
Jess' best friend Allison's career has hit a low. After twenty years as an editor for the Chatham magazine, circulation is dwindling and though her boss and long-time friend, Jim, does everything to keep her, she has no choice but to take a step back. With a career on hiatus and her main relationship being with Chris, her ex-husband who is still a good friend, Allison is at a pivotal point in life. Her daughter Julia opened her own artisanal jewelry shop a year prior, and she has the kind of day-to-day fulfillment Allison yearns for.
When Allison stops into her beloved local bookstore, she learns that the owner wants to sell. Allison and Jess set a plan in motion and what was once a place that held warm childhood memories is now theirs to run. As the two friends, along with the help of their daughters, reopen the doors of the cherished bookstore and adjacent coffee shop to the community, they also open themselves up to the possibility of romance, the bonds of mothers and daughters, and the magic of second chances.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I requested this book on a whim from NetGalley because it seemed like a feel-good summer read and, of course, because it involved a bookshop. The Bookshop by the Bay was my first foray into Pamela M. Kelley's work, and while it was enjoyable, it was also highly forgettable.
What I like:
• the setting. There are so many descriptions of places throughout that I just wanted to head to Cape Cod on vacation. Of course, there is also the bookshop.
• middle aged characters. It's refreshing to read a book involving middle aged characters and their older children. As you can probably guess there are lots of second-chance opportunities happening here.
• multi-generational. Similar to above, I really liked how the pair of mother/daughters came to work together and rebuild their lives.
What I didn't like:
• the pacing. At times it dragged. At times it felt like everything was moving way too quickly. And still it somehow felt longer than it needed to be.
• Four POVs. It took me quite awhile to get everyone sorted out, but I still don't think each perspective was necessary. It would have been fine with just two POVs.
The audio read by Stephanie Németh-Parker was decent and helped me get through this one quicker than I would have had I simply been reading with my eyes. Overall, an okay read but nothing extraordinary. This is just your average feel-good summer read.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• anyone in need of a new start
• readers who love literary elements in their books
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"There’s nothing like browsing a bookstore. Smelling all those books, flipping through the pages and choosing the perfect one for your mood at that moment."
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Alcohol and Pregnancy
divorceemmas_bookshelf's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This was such a feel good story of mothers and daughters and friendship!!! I absolutely loved following Jess, Allison, Caitlin, and Julia along their summer in Chatham and watching each woman shed wanting the things they’re supposed to want and instead realizing the things that make them happy. Absolute perfect beach read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Alcohol, and Pregnancy
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