A review by crafalsk264
The Bookshop by the Bay by Pamela Kelley

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.