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!

Two lifelong best friends find themselves at crossroads, searching for something new and fulfilling for the next chapter of their lives. They find it in a long-held dream and reopen a beachside bookstore and coffeeshop in Cape Cod, working alongside their adult daughters.

Charming and heartfelt, this was my first book by Kelley, but it won't be my last! I love books about books, bookstores, etc., But what made this book was the loving generational relationships between the mothers and daughters, the deep friendships between the women, and how they supported one another. That was the heart and soul of this story. This just had a sunny and warm vibe that was more than its beautiful beachy setting. If you enjoy women's fiction and are looking for an easy-reading, feel-good story, consider adding this to your summer tbr!

An easy read that might be trope-y but which delights. Bffs from childhood Alison and Jess are both at inflection points- Allison is about to be downsized and Jess has discovered that her husband is cheating on her. And their daughters, who have never been real friends, are also in a state of romantic change-and Caitlin can't find a career while Julia loves her jewelry making. All four women converge in Chatham, Mass for what's meant to be a month but.....Jess impulsively buys the local bookstore Allison has always wanted and Caitlin finds joy in helping set up and run the accompanying cafe. There are references to books early on but not so much in later but those who have spent time on the Cape might reminisce about the Impudent Oyster and the Squire. While each woman finds a New Romantic interest, this is more about finding their unexpected bliss and second acts. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read. And now I want a scallop sandwich from the Oyster!

A great story about finding yourself and starting over. I loved that the Jess and Allison were lifelong friends that support each other even with the distance between them. The book actually tells the story of two friends and their daughters who are all facing questions about their future. The multiple points of view worked well for this, and I enjoyed each character's personal journey. The book was a calm escape that was completely heartwarming. It was a great way to check out of the reality of life and felt like I was among friends. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

The Bookshop by the Bay....They had me at Bookshop! Two best friends; one's been divorced for years, and the other one is just deciding to divorce. Their daughters; one freshly broken up and freshly out of a job, the other in a relationship that's destined to go nowhere, but working at a job she loves. One pair in Charleston, the other in Chatham- Cape Cod. All in need of a new perspective and a fresh start. Mix in some snobby friends, some hunky guys, and a spunky mother/grandmother along with a bookshop and coffee shop and I didn't want this book to end!

I love women's fiction about multiple generations of women in a family and I love books that take place on Cape Cod. The location just has a certain feel to it that I will probably never experience in person.

This book is centered around two long time friends that go together to purchase and run a bookstore. Each woman in the book has a different things going on in their lives. There are divorces, separations, new romances, old romances, old friends, new friends, new jobs starting and old jobs ending. All the characters were a little hard for me to keep clear, but the support and love these women gave each other was what came shining through. That was the upside.

Overall, this would make an awesome vacation/beach read. One thing I kind of had issues with was the extreme and lengthy description of food in the book. After awhile, it seemed like I was skipping whole pages totally devoted to food names and descriptions.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

This book is delightful especially now that we are approaching summer! It has all the summer vibes you would need.

I read this book in two sittings, stopping only to go to sleep.

Throughout the book I kept trying to figure out the direction in which each character was going to end up in but something kept surprising me and throwing me off, which I loved!

All of the characters are very likable except for Parker, which is by design.

I loved how close Caitlin and Julia had gotten close as well.

The ending tied everyone up perfectly, and I was so happy with how it all went with each character.

This is a great story about friendship, family, and taking a chance to start over.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

As a retired bookseller, I was naturally drawn to this book and could relate to so much of the story. It also turned out to be a perfect fit for this month's "Hallmark Movie" theme at my local book club. I could easily picture the bookstore and coffee shop set in a small Hallmark-style community. This was the first book I've read from Pamela M. Kelley, and I am excited to discover that I have several of her earlier books waiting for me in my Kindle library. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for introducing me to another author to add to my favorites list.

The Bookshop by the Bay by Pamela Kelley is a wonderful beach read.

Pamela Kelley is one of my favorite women's fiction authors and I have been highly anticipating this new book.

The story is about mothers who have been friends for a long time and their daughters. I loved each of the main characters, Jess, Caitlin, Alison, and Julia. The characters are well developed, complicated and well fleshed out.

The story is set in Chatham where this is a coffee place and a bookshop. The description of the town transported me right to this seaside town.

A well written story about finding yourself with the help from family and friends.

Highly recommend!

This multigenerational story is my pick for beach read of the year! It is a great example of finding your way whether you are young and starting your life, middle aged and needing to start over or more mature and finding your way in later years. The friendships that are woven throughout this story are aspirational and wonderfully encouraging. I truly hope the author decides to give us more glimpses of the people in this book with a follow-up as one visit to this Cape Cod setting is not nearly enough! Anyone who has ever desired a fresh start or been wondering if they could start something new at a more mature age, needs to read this book for inspiration! I absolutely devoured this book as I completely relate with the need to find a new beginning. In my case, my husband and I are both looking for something different to do as we have both become somewhat disenfranchised with our current careers and after 30 years, it may be time for us to find a different career as a second act. This book inspires you to live your life to the fullest and find that place with the help of friends and family to truly be happy. The plot is incredibly well written. It drew me in and kept me enraptured for an entire day! Good thing I had a day off today!

The Bookshop by the Bay is a heartwarming story and perfect for readers who love books that are chalk-full of characters who love books as much as they do. I found this book easy to read and a nice way to spend my Sunday. The characters are real and complex, and the story will take you on a bit of an emotional roller coaster ride.

Best friends Allison and Jess, along with their adult daughters, reconnect and discover new directions for their lives during summer in Cape Cod. A multi-generational story that shows that it is never too late to start again.

The Bookshop by the Bay is my first book from Pamela Kelley. She ranks right up there with the Queens of Beach Reads - Nancy Thayer, Debbie Macomber, Mary Kay Andrews, and Anita Hughes. This won't be my last book by Kelley - I'm adding her to my list of must-read authors. (When I finish with this review, I'm going to see what books my library might have).

What avid reader doesn't dream of owning a bookshop? Some of my favorite beach reads are set in Nantucket, but Cape Cod is almost as good of a setting (Kelley does have a series set in Nantucket). It's on my bucket list to one day visit the New England coast, but until then I will keep visiting in the pages of books.

I loved the characters. I was a little shocked that Allison's and Jess's daughters still lived at home (though Allison's daughter Julia had recently gotten her own place), but Cape Cod isn't cheaper and neither is Charleston, SC where Jess and Caitlyn live. I have read other beach reads with well-off characters and sometimes I get annoyed with the characters as they "struggle" financially because of a change in marital status because I can't relate to their struggle as it is usually a loss in social status (country club membership, McMansion home) rather than a true financial hardship. That wasn't the case with these characters. They felt very real and down-to-earth.

Julia is the owner of a custom jewelry store where she makes her own pieces. She is concerned about making enough to cover costs - she even bounces a check for insufficient funds - all real possibilities for a small business owner, especially one in a tourist town. Caitlyn can't seem to keep a job. While her situation is the most difficult for me to relate to, I know a lot of people now in their late 20s and early 30s are struggling to find a good career fit. Allison works for a magazine that is falling on hard times as more people turn to the internet for their news. She's facing a layoff. Again a reality for people in the publishing industry. Jess knows her marriage is over but it is easier to just go through the motions rather than initiate a very difficult conversation until she can no longer ignore the situation. As she works in the same law firm as her husband and whose family founded the firm - it's not just a change in her marital status that will change, she will also need to make a career change.

With the freedom to do so, Jess and Caitlyn decide to spend the summer in Jess's hometown of Chatham where her mother, Allison, and Julia still live. For the four women, summer is going to be a time of change and if they are open to it it might just put them on the path to their best lives.

I'm usually very disciplined about going to bed at a decent hour. A book might keep me up an hour or two past my bed time (if it is the weekend) but it has been a long time since I've stayed up reading until 2 am. My Kindle said I still had 1.5 hours left but I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer otherwise I probably would have kept reading until I finished the book. The story flows really well making it a fast read and adding to the difficulty of putting it down.

It is also the perfect novel for relaxing. Yes, there is some light conflict but it isn't anxiety-inducing and resolves itself pretty quickly. It is kind of like a daydream where you know everything is going to work out perfectly. I definitely recommend this for a lazy weekend or your vacation trip.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Tuesday, June 6 - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2023/06/the-bookshop-by-bay-by-pamela-kelley.html

With THE BOOKSHOP BY THE BAY, Pamela Kelley has shared the story of a woman facing betrayal in a carefully constructed marriage and lifestyle, retreating to familiar, beloved Chatham, MA, and ultimately building a new, genuine, and rewarding life for herself with old friends and new joys. I deeply enjoyed the Cape Cod setting and the total immersion in a relatable story. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

I was very intrigued by the premise of this book. A woman starting over with a bookshop and coffee shop with her best friend’s and daughter’s help in the town she grew up in. This was a light beach read where everything seemed to be positive and predictable, which I don’t have a problem with. It just felt a bit anticlimactic and like there was zero conflict throughout the story even though it was actually there. I enjoyed how everyone found their way in the end, but it seemed unrealistic and didn’t grab me like most books.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

Give me a book that has best friends, daughters, and Books and I am all for it. This book is the perfect summer read. We meet Jess who is going through a divorce, so the scandal is a wild one. Her best friend Allison tells her to come back to her hometown to visit and get away, and she does just that with her own daughter Caitlin. While there and trying to process everything she does the wildest thing ever with her best friend. Each character has their own struggle which I loved and the author did her thing with character build up. But I love how these best friends were able to rebuild their lives all over again, fall in love again, and even start a new business together, it was a huge lesson on "its never too late" and I loved that.

Thanks Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this gem.

I read this book as well as listened to the audiobook.

This is a wonderful story about two married friends and their daughters and how after heartbreak you can make a life that is fulfilling and holds the promise of love once again for all 4 women. This book is a quick and easy read. Great book to listen to while on the beach or while on holiday. A very heartwarming relationship shown with all 4 women.

I voluntarily received an advanced copy from NetGalley and all opinions are my own..

I would recommend this book to my family friends and my book club

✨ARC Book Review: The Bookshop by the Bay✨

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Pub Date: 6/6/23

Talk about a beautiful, idyllic setting for a book! The Bookshop by the Bay had me picturing the sandy shores of Cape Cod from start to finish.

Jess is a high profile lawyer living in Charleston until she discovers her husband is cheating on her. She and her daughter, Caitlin, decide to escape to Chatham for the summer to get away. Allison, long time best friend of Jess, lives in the small Cape Cod town with her artsy daughter, Julia. What brings them all even closer together? Buying a bookshop!

“Mothers and daughters and best friends forever.”

I loved the relationships in this book! Two childhood best friends who lean on each other through good times and bad. The mother/daughter connections were each unique and very sweet. It was also fun to watch their daughters, Caitlin and Julia, form a similar bond as their mothers. I felt like I was a regular at their coffee shop getting a front row seat to their lives.

Overall, the book is a pleasant, feel good read. The plot may not be the most memorable for me in a few weeks or months, but I enjoyed escaping to the beach for a few days while reading The Bookshop by the Bay!

I listened to some of this as an audiobook and felt the narrator did a terrific job.

Thank you @netgalley for an advanced copy of this book and audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

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I love books that are set by any kind of water add a bookstore and I'm gonna read it. This is the perfect book to get your summer reading started if you havent already.
Pretty much sums up the story from the sysnopisis: possibility of romance, the bonds of mothers and daughters, and the magic of second chances.

Out June 6th wherever books are sold

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jess. a high-profile lawyer in Charleston moves to her childhood home on Cape Cod to lick her wounds and regroup, when her marriage implodes, Her thirty-year-old daughter, Caitlin, joins her, as she is having problems of her own that she has to recover from. Jess has always dreamed of owning a bookstore, and when the owner of the local bookstore announces she is retiring, she along with her longtime best friend, Alison, decide to buy the bookstore and make that dream a reality. This is going to be a summer of second chances for all of them.

I had hoped this would be an enjoyable beach read, but it fell short of my expectations. All of the characters just felt one dimensional and their storylines were, and I hate to say this, boring. It was mainly a lot of them going out drinking and trying to find a new love interest or divest themselves of an old one, and a LOT of Caitlin talking about moving back to Charleston in October and not knowing what she was going to do with her life. Maybe this book just wasn't for me, but I really didn't enjoy this one at all.

The Bookshop by the Bay by Pamela M. Kelley is an easy summer read of women and relationships. Jess returns for the summer to Cape Cod along with her grown daughter. Together with lifelong friend Allison and her grown daughter a bookshop and café is bought restored and opened for business. A lot for these women to take on suddenly. However, sometimes change is needed in one’s life.

For Jess that couldn’t be more true with a cheating husband and divorce coming. An interesting woman that rolls with life’s punches. In fact, there is drama, some angst but not as much conflict that would have probably been normal for a couple of these women with the men in their lives at the beginning of this book.

A summer read that highlights childhood forever friendships, close mother-daughter bonds and that it is never too late to start anew.

An ARC of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.