This is a lovely women’s fiction to enjoy on a summer day. The women in this story are all at a crossroads in their lives. Some are experiencing relationship issues and others career troubles. Throughout the summer they all examine their lives and make happier choices. Readers will really enjoy this very interesting story.

Just the word bookshop in the title drew me to this one. I can't resist books involving bookshops/bookstores. And the beachy picture on the cute cover was cute too and made me wish for summer and the beach. This is fhe first time I've read anything by Pamela Kelley I think.

Description:
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, in Chatham. Caitlin has always been bright but directionless, looking for her passion but keeps coming up blank. And Jess needs to regroup with the help of good food and wine, the company of her best friend, Allison, and come up with a plan for the future.

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 one day and learns that the owner wants to sell, a long-held dream turns into a reality, thanks to Jess. 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.

My Thoughts:
I loved the long-time relationship between Jess and Allison. The way they supported and complemented each other. I also iked the friendship that developed between their daughters, Julia and Caitlin. The setting in Cape Cod, Chatham was picturesque. Although taking over a bookshop is risky, this was an exciting change and I loved reading about the development of the bookshop and the changes they were making. Julia's jewelry making business was interesting as well. An enjoyable read.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on June 6, 2023.

We all have unexpected twists and turns in our life. When Caitlin loses her job and her boyfriend in the same day, she plans to start looking for another one - again. But when her Jess, her mother's marriage crumbles, they decide to go to Chatham, MA on Cape Cod for a brief getaway. Jess grew up there, her mother was still there, as was her best friend. So Caitlin and Jess go quickly, without a real plan, except to relax for a while. Jess works as a lawyer in her husband's father's law firm and she believes it will be difficult to continue to work in that situation.

But as they stay longer, they make new friends and find things to occupy their time until their anticipated return to Charleston. Slowly their lives and interests shift. The characters adapt to their new situations to stretch and grow. They have to wonder how they want to live their lives in Charleston.

This is an outstanding beach read. Easy, fun, clean reading. Pleasant people for the most part, no one is particularly hurt by the events that occur in the book.

I read an advance reader copy of this book. This is my honest review.

wo lifelong friends, a bookshop by the bay. Infidelity and jobs lost, bring these two friends back together and for taking chances. Jess and Allison take a chance on a local bookstore and re-opening a coffee shop that didn't do very well the first time around. Will their bookshop and coffee shop in Chatham, Cape Cod fail or will it thrive.
This is a great beach read about lifelong friendship, loss and taking a chance. You will get wrapped up in this book and won't put it down until the very end and will leave you wishing there was more. This book will be released in June 2023.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press,, for giving me the opportunity to read The Bookshop by the Bay.
#netgalley, #st.martin'spress, #friendship, #secondchances, #thebookshopbythebay

The Bookshop by the Bay is a sweet, heartwarming story about a small group of mothers and daughters who work to find out what they truly want in life….and where they want to be! This story kept me turning pages to see what would happen next. Really enjoyed it!

I love “the Cape” and can envision locations whenever a book is set in that area. The characters are well developed and I loved the relationships among them. It is a joy to read a story about people who develop and grow … discovering who they are deep inside. And the friendships help these people along the way. I loved the bookshop setting and café and how the women continued to work together to make it a success. Just a great heartwarming read that will leave you smiling while you lounge by the pool or on the shore at the ocean.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

A great beach read. Set in a seaside town with lots of atmosphere.

Best friends since childhood decide to take over a bookstore that is closing.

A story of mothers and daughters, best friend, new friends, breakups, new business owners, small town life, starting over and romance.

Very atmospheric and relaxing. A lot of characters to keep straight in the beginning.

I liked all the main characters and enjoyed getting to know them. Although many of them had similar things going on in their lives, they were all portrayed differently.I especially appreciated the friendships and sense of community among them.

Thanks to netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the arc.

The Bookshop by the Bay is a wonderfully uplifting story about new beginnings, personal growth and second chances. I loved the lifelong friendship shared between Alison and Jessica, how despite the miles they were there for one another, constantly supporting and lifting each other up. Despite the challenges they each were facing in their personal lives, they drew strength from the other, along with the courage to move forward. Watching the friendship bloom between their daughter’s, Caitlyn and Julia, was endearing.

Much of the setting takes place in and around the quaint Cape Cod town of Chatham, Massachusetts, as the two embark on a somewhat risky business venture purchasing and running a bookshop (with coffee shop), during a time when each is facing personal struggle in their lives. Having a home somewhat near Chatham, I loved the mention of the many restaurants and shops I’ve had the joy of visiting on Cape. Really made this extra special.

A truly special story about friendships, mother daughter relationships, listening to your heart, taking risks and new beginnings. I found it to be enjoyable even knowing the direction the story was going to take and enjoyed watching things play out. I couldn’t help but cheer on each of these ladies. When I’m sad to leave the characters behind at the last page, I know it was a great story. Fingers crossed we will visit these ladies again down the road.

Fans of Elin Hilderbrand and Nancy Thayer will enjoy Pamela Kelley’s books. Her settings are quintessential Cape Cod, her characters are interesting, and the challenges they face realistic.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eGalley that is due to publish 06-June-2023. Be sure to add this to your summer beach read TBR. You won’t be disappointed.

This is a sweet mother/daughter summer story in the same likeness of Nancy Thayer and Mary Kay Andrews. I enjoyed the book store angle and loved watching the women thrive in spite of their situations.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

The synopsis of The Bookshop by the Bay enticed me. It gave off the contemporary beach vibe of a Elin Hilderbrand or Mary Alice Monroe novel and I was looking forward to the read.

The writing style is straightforward, the time line is present day so it flows easily on the eyes. The scenic descriptions were magnificent. I could easily envision the vivid scenes in my head as I read.

However, despite the flow of the book, I just found it was too much crammed into one book. To specifically elaborate, there were way too many POV's. I think it would have been a much better read for me to have focused on one or two POV's. I found myself confused for the first quarter of the book trying to remember who were the moms and who was the daughters. I think having the two J names (Jess and Julia) made it more difficult for me than it really should have been.

Because there were so many characters and POV's, the development of the characters was not as strong as it could have been. I did not connect with any of them, it felt rushed from one POV to another. All four of them were making big changes in their lives at the same time. This is a lot of information to cram into a 320 page book with all those POV's

The storyline was good, the execution could have been a lot better or made into a series ~ first book focusing on the moms, second on daughters.

2.5 stars from me but will round up to 3 for rating purposes. A huge thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Net Galley for the electronic advanced reader copy of this book to review.

Bookstores, women’s fiction and romance? I’m there. This was a sweet story with lovable characters. I personally found the pacing very slow and a hard time staying engaged with the story.

This would make a great beach read!
A story about finding a new path to follow when life throws you all kinds of curves.
I enjoyed reading about the journey the characters go on.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is a great beach read or palette cleanser. Light and entertaining, a quick and easy read.

It is about relationships: old and new relationships, mother/daughter relationships, and friend relationships. It's about looking forward and leaving the past behind. It's about taking chances.

Bonus points for having a bookstore as part of the setting. And, a beach and great restaurants. All things near and dear to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

Life changes very quickly for Jess when she finds out that her husband has cheated on her. She decides to take some time off from the law firm owned by her husband’s family and trades in the bustle of Charleston for the serenity of Cape Cod. Her daughter, Caitlin, has recently lost her job and decides to join her since they haven’t had a chance to spend time on the Cape for a few years and both look forward to spending time with their mother/grandmother.

Alison has been an editor for a popular magazine for two decades, but with the changing tides of media, the company needs to downsize. When she hears that the owner of the bookstore on the Cape is looking to retire, she imagines what it would be like to run it, but fears that it may be impossible for her dream to become a reality since she knows that she can’t afford to buy it.

Jess and Alison have been best friends for years and are cherishing the time they are now getting to spend together on Cape Cod. Alison has a dream of owning the bookstore and Jess has money saved, so just like that a partnership is formed.

This is a novel of second chances and newfound opportunities. Sometimes we don’t take time to assess what is important in life and what we may be missing, but Jess and Alison along with their daughters have decided to take chances to help them grow in life and love.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel. #NetGalley #TheBookshopbytheBay

Pamela Kelley has written a really good book. All of her books are good, but I especially liked this one. Maybe it was the setting of Chatham Massachusetts, maybe it was the book shop, maybe the coffee shop… Definitely all three put together were a great setting. I liked the stories of each of the characters. I liked the way new characters were introduced. I like the ending. I read every word.

The Bookshop by the Bay
Author: Pamela Kelley
St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: June 6, 2023

The power of female friendship shines in the setting of the Cape Cod village, Chatham, Massachusetts. Bookshop by the Bay is a multigenerational story of two mothers, their daughters, and new beginnings. I always love a book featuring a bookshop, and when a coffee shop is included too, it is a winner for me. The sense of gathering in these places of books and beverages serves to connect the characters and make the reader feel part of the scenes.

This book transports me into the lives of Jess and Alison as they take chances, focus inward, and learn to seize the moments of opportunity. Lots of sensory details make the tastes, smells, and sights come alive. Kelley makes sure that as a reader, I was able to see, smell, taste, hear and feel the atmosphere of friendship, food, books, coffee, and coastal setting. I felt a sense of relaxation while reading this book, loving the escape and tranquility that it brought me.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for the advance reader's copy. My review is my own.

This is my first book by Pamela Kelley, and I really enjoyed it.

This book is about Jess, a lawyer in Charleston, and her daughter, Caitlin, taking an extended summer trip to the Cape where Jess grew up to get time away when life throws them curveballs.

Overall, it was a really sweet story of family and friends, of dealing with trials of life. This was a perfect book to read as it gets closer to summer. Loved the story and the characters. There were quite a few characters in the story, although the focus was on the mother and daughter, but all the characters had a part.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and I'm glad I did.

This book is basically my dream - to open a bookstore in a quaint beachy town. Please give me all the bookstores. I loved reading this book, the setting on the Cape, the mother-daughter relationships and the idea of starting over and bringing your dream to fruition.

The Chatham, Cape Cod setting is luxurious! Moreover, this book is about mothers and daughters, mother/daughter relationships and starting over. It's about finding what fills your cup and doing it, not worrying about status, etc.

The Bookshop by the Bay was a pleasant, entertaining story about friendships and new beginnings. Two long time friends end up buying a bookshop together after one woman leaves her husband and needs to start over, and the other decides to fulfill a long time dream. Their adult daughters are also an integral part of the story. It is a very readable and charming tale with a satisfying ending. I will read more of Pamela Kelley's books. Thank you to Net Galley for letting me read this book for my honest review.

Many thanks to St Martin's Press, St Martin’s Griffin for the ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
I binge-read this book in one day - I just loved the story and could not put it down! A story about friendship and family and dealing with changes in life, The Bookshop by the Bay includes excellent descriptions of food, clothes, jewelry, and scenery. I felt like I could smell the beach - that’s how well the atmosphere was set.
Overall, this book made me READY for summer (4 weeks of school left…) and helped me dream about moving to Cape Cod, particularly Chatham, and running a bookshop/coffee shop. This would be a great book to read on the beach this summer - especially with some cold wine, as the characters tend to be drinking icy wine throughout many key scenes. While this isn’t the Whispering Angel or La Crema that they enjoy, it’s the white wine I sipped on while reading the book this weekend. This is my first novel by Pamela Kelley but it won’t be my last.