This title is sure to be a much-loved summer beach read! Two lifelong friends, both having had upheavals in their lives, reunite in their childhood hometown on Cape Cod. They impulsively decide to go into business together, and buy a bookstore and coffee shop from the owner, who wants to retire. Cape Cod and its beautiful towns and beaches make a perfect setting, as do the coffee shop and bookstore. The two women have enough complications in their lives to keep us eagerly reading, plus they each have a young adult daughter, each of whom has issues and drama of their own -- so there is a lot going on in this intergenerational family story.

I absolutely loved this book. The characters were so likable and the story was so relatable that I didn’t want the book to end. This book made me fall more in love with Cape Cod and had me looking up places to see on my next visit. I 100% recommend this book to anyone who loves a story of friendship and finding ourselves.

Jess and Parker have been together forever it seems. Their 30-year-old daughter, Caitlin, is out of the house and they have drifted very far apart. And Jess is about to find out exactly how far apart they have drifted~

She has lived and worked in Charleston, SC for thirty years, but is still best friends with Allison from home. Home is still Cape Cod. And when Jess gets a bomb tossed in her lap, she makes some changes.

One of those is going home. And who should be coming along but Caitlin? Caitlin has had a lot of disappointment too. Being home around family and friends could be just the thing they need.

Allison is at a crux as well. Layoffs are coming at her job and as much as her boss adores her, she needs a plan B. When she pops in her local bookshop and finds the owner looking to retire and sell the business, she thinks she may have an idea for all of them.

Allison’s daughter, Julia, is living her dream of designing jewelry. If only the business would take off nationwide. She has also just kicked a guy to the curb.

Four women of different generations, but all with the same problems.

Coming together and supporting each other in the best of ways, was such a good read.

NetGalley/June 6th, 2023 by St. Martin’s Griffin

Bookshop by the Bay is a delightful book about 2 mothers and daughters who embark on new adventures Set in picturesque Cape Cod it will have you feeling like you are right there with them. If you love bookstores, coffee shops and stories about small towns you will love this book also. Would love a sequel to find out more about the people in the book.

4 stars!

What I Liked:
Jess, Alison, Caitlin, and Julia are great great characters and i instantly fell in love with them. Caitlin and Julia's chemistry was awesome and I enjoyed the old friends vibe from Jess and Alison. The scenic descriptions are beautiful and actually transported me to this world of Chatam. I imagine this will be perfect to read in your vacations at the beach. The perfect breezy book about mother daughter bonds, friends, finding love, moving on, acceptance, and a little something that stays with you long after putting the book down. Bonus points if you decide to buddy read with a friend, partner, or even better, you mom/daughter!

What I Didn't Like:
Not much to say here, but the large cast took some time to get used to and the story seemed to drag sometimes.

Nevertheless, I still highly recommend this book!

The Bookshop by the Bay was an enjoyable read about two long time friends and their daughters at transitional periods in their lives. Jess, a lawyer, and her best friend Allison, an editor, are each at a crossroads both personally and professionally. They embark on a new journey with the opening of a bookstore on Cape Cod. We follow them as they open and run the shop and navigate relationships in their personal lives. We also follow each of their daughters as the make relationship decisions and changes in their lives. I enjoyed the characters in the story and the relationships between them. I would recommend this book if you are looking for a lighter feel good story about mother and daughters, friends, and relationships. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC!

This book features a dream that so many of us have….owning our own bookstore. Now add in that the bookstore also has a coffee shop and you own it with your best friend. Ideal. Now toss in the mother daughter relationships, divorce and discovering what you want in life and you have a wonderful read.

@barbarajgraham
Recommended and rated this book
5 stars
Pamela Kelley has a tremendous knack for creating characters that you would like to befriend. Her style of writing is a joy to read. When Jess learns her husband did her wrong, she goes back to her Cape Cod roots to reset at her childhood home with her mom for the summer. Her daughter Caitlin is also at a turning point and joins her. Jess reconnects with her best friend Alison and Caitlin finds that she and Julia (Alison's daughter) do have things in common and become great friends, just as their moms wished. Jess decides to buy a bookstore and the coffee shop next door. What a dream job! As they come close to the end of summer, decisions need to be made. The relationships portrayed are so true to life and Pamela is great at bringing food and wine to the storyline. As a foodie, I appreciate that. I have even made some of the recipes from her books.
My favorite line is "Everything about books is intoxicating."
Pamela's writing is intoxicating. I highly recommend this book.
Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Wonderful characters, Realistic, Original, Easy-to-read, Romantic

This is a nice summer read, and gave me a good break from other reading. I enjoyed the characters and their strength, because even if life had knocked them down, they remembered to get up and keep trying. Often as women we tie all of our identity to children or partners, and when our world's collapse, it is hard to find our way again. Jess and Caitlin, Allison and Julia keep their strength through the trials they face and because it is a novel of women's fiction, we know they will come out on top in the end; as they do.

Beach novels always make me want to move to the beach and open my own bakery, coffee shop, jewelry business - bookstore. That is the power of a novel, to give us hope and to inspire us in different directions.

I've always dreamed of owning a bookstore and The Bookshop By The Bay by Pamela Kelley sure peeked my desire again. Best friends Allison and Jess decide to buy The Bookshop and the space next door after the current owner wants to sell both of the shops, retire, and travel. They turn the space next to the bookshop into a coffee shop with the help of their daughters. What happened sure kept me interested in reading.All the books I've read of Pamela Kelley's have been amazing reads!

The Bookshop by the Bay is the story of four women who face challenges, support each other, and make the most of their second chances. Jess, a successful lawyer in a firm run by her husband and his father, finds out he has been cheating in a marriage that has been going down hill for years, so she goes home to cape cod to visit her best friend to regroup, taking her grown daughter who has her own issues with her. There, she ends up buying a bookshop/coffee shop to run with her best friend, with help from her grown daughter.

I found this story of family and friendship and found family sweet and enjoyable, if not 100% realistic. If you are looking for a story with interesting female characters and with very little angst and drama, pick up this book!

Thank you Net Galley for this e galley for a non biased review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This was a cute, quick read. Jess and Allison have been friends for years. When life changes unexpectedly for Jess she takes a visit back to her hometown and her friend. Allison is going through some changes herself. Together the two friends embrace the changes and move forward together.

Sometimes you just want an easy read that you know will end well. This is the book for you. At times it got a little too simple and "happily ever after" but that's the type of book this is. I enjoyed it and would recommend Pamela Kelley.

To Mothers And Daughters And Best Friends Forever! Yes, the title is a line from near the end of the book. But I thought it summed up the book quite well - this is ultimately a story of girl power, of friends and family and the family you choose. It is a lighter-side Hallmarkie type tale where there is some amount of drama, but most of the tale is women finding their paths at various ages and stages of life. Yes, there is some romance here (though with no sex scenes, for the clean/ sweet crowd), but really the focus really is squarely on the various women at hand. While the men are never *quite* caricatures, there is certainly a fair amount lacking in their characterizations and indeed even ultimate importance to the story, but that is perhaps to be expected with the type of tale crafted here. Foodies - and those aware that Kelley has written at least two fiction tales specifically about a restaurant - will love the descriptions of the meals and drinks here. This is clearly designed, from its storytelling to its cover to even its early June release date, to be designated a "beach read", and it absolutely feels comfortable in that type of space. Very much recommended.

I have visited Chatham a few times in the past couple years and have been charmed by this sweet little city so I was delighted to read this book!

I felt that The Bookshow by the Bay really captured the city well and I enjoyed getting to see it through the eyes of Jess, Caitlin, Allison and Julie who are 4 women on their own paths with love and their lives. While it was a bit predictable at time that's also why I picked this one up to read- I wanted something cozy and easy to read with a bit of escapism.

Overall this is the perfect book to slip into your bag for a vacation read - especially if you're hitting the cape!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I am a fan of Pamela Kelley’s and have read several of her books that take place in Nantucket (a place I’d love to visit someday). I knew, just by the title, that I wanted to read The Bookshop by the Bay—she had me at “bookshop” and “bay!” This “beach read” takes place primarily in Chatham, MA, and focuses on second chances, starting over, friendships, and mother & daughter relationships. The two lifelong friends, Jess and Allison, are each going through changes in their work, relationships, and, in Jess’ case, her marriage. Jess buys the bookstore, and Allison becomes the manager. Jess' daughter, Caitlin, becomes the manager of the adjacent coffee shop. Pamela does a great job of writing women in their 40s/50s, and I can relate to both these characters. Pamela also gently reminds readers that regardless of age, it’s never too late to start over, to do what you love, and ignore the snobs and naysayers! The dialogue and situations are realistic and well-written. Yes, the story lines (and there are a few here) ARE predictable, but I like that! When I’m invested in the characters, I want them to have their HEA or HFN. I gave this book four stars because I would have liked to see more scenes in the bookshop, including how Jess and Allison adjust to their new circumstances, interact with customers, and deal with the good and the bad of owning a business. I hope that this will be the first in a new series, because there are lots of characters that I’d like to see again! Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for the ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first time reading a book written by Pamela Kelley and I throughly enjoyed it. This is a story of friendship, summer in the cape, family, divorce and mothers and daughters. It made me want to move to a small town in the cape, make new friends and start a new life. This was an easy read and I recommend it highly

This was such a great read. It would be a perfect vacation book, especially if you are going to the beach.
The characters were relatable, the plot was interesting, and the writing was well done.
I would recommend this book to anyone.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own *

Jess is a lawyer with her husband. When she realizes he is cheating on her with his assistant she goes to Cape Cod to visit her mother. Her daughter Caitlin is between jobs and goes along with her. Jess learns her best friend, Allison, has a dream to own a bookstore. When the town’s bookstore is for sale, Jess decides to buy it as an investment along with the coffee shop next door. This book is full of second chances and demonstrates how important friendships can be, both old and new. Caitlin has a chance to compare the small community of her Cape Cod life and the life she left in Charleston. It was fun watching her interact with her new friends and take a closer look at the friends she used to have. I really liked the portrayal of the new romances for Jess and Allison as well as their daughters. Great book with great characters and a lot to think about.

This is a perfect book to read during the summer and on a beach vacation! A beautifully written story about starting over and second chances. The flow of the story kept me engaged and I didn't want to stop reading until I finished. This is the first book I have read by Pamela Kelley and it won't be my last. Thank you for my copy!

The Bookshop by the Bay is the kind of book I would recommend to take on vacation to read by the pool. A quick, breezy read that is both charming and engaging. Few great surprises but an entertaining read none-the-less.