Brenda Novak is a master at creating characters with great depth. This multi generational story is full of emotion. There is a lot to love here and you can't help but become immersed in the lives of the characters. It's a journey that will stick with you long after you finish reading.

“The Bookstore on the Beach” by Brenda Novak. I don’t think I have read any books by Brenda Novak before and now I am wondering why not. What can I say other than I loved it and read in one day.

How do you start a new chapter of your life when you haven’t closed the book on the previous one?

The story is told from three generations of women—a grandmother, a mother and a daughter. It had everything you could want in a story love, regret, laughter, sadness, forgiveness, friendships and family however that might look.

I found the characters to be well developed, and multi-dimensional. There were multiple sub-plots to keep you engaged and interested in the outcome. I must admit I choked up and even wanted to know more

I will definitely read other books by this author.

I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from Harlequin and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved the characters and the storyline development of this book. It was absolutely one of my favorites so far and I can't wait to delve in to the next one that this author writes. The storyline was simple, enjoyable, and entertaining. The characters were complex while being completely entertaining.

Mary is keeping a secret that she doesn't want to share with her daughter, Autumn. Autumn has enough on her plate with a missing husband and two teens. However, Autumn starts seeing a guy she worshipped back in high school.
I really enjoyed this book and at the end I was crying. If you enjoy romance novels you need to read this one.

I was immediately sucked into this story about three generations of women dealing with secrets and situations that are not about to go away or resolve themselves easily.

First, there's Mary. She's kept a secret from her daughter Autumn for so long she doesn't know how to come clean now. She's got to take care of a few things first before she can tell her daughter the truth about where she came from. Mary's story is heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time.

Then there's Autumn. Her husband has been missing for 18 months. She doesn't know if he's coming back or if he's dead. She's exhausted and in desperate need of something good in her life. Her old high school crush is available, but it's not an easy decision to move on when she doesn't know what happened to her husband. I really felt for Autumn's situation, especially when her first love Quinn is waiting in the wings to lift her up. She thinks she's faced with a choice between her own happiness and her family -- loved her dilemma and her character as she makes her tough decisions.

Autumn's daughter Taylor is dealing with her sexuality and a huge mistake she made with long-term consequences on top of losing her father and possibly her brother when he finds out what she did.

They're all dealing with something. What I loved best about this story was how this story was told. I'm usually not a big fan of head hopping from one character to the next, but that worked so very well with this story in keeping all three story lines moving forward at a very nice pace. This was an easy read that had me engaged with these characters from page one and kept me interested. It's been a while since I've been tempted to skip to the end to see what happens! I loved that about this story.

I really enjoyed this. If you are a fan of women's fiction with a touch of romance, you might like this title. I thought it was terrific, and this will definitely be one of my favorites of 2021. The characters are interesting, the writing seems effortless, and it was very easy to get involved in the story. Definitely 5 stars from me.

I thought this was going to be an easy fun beach read, but nope, I was so wrong, this book is really complex.
Complicated stories from three generation women. The journey to move on, to find love again, to face the fears. Lots of heartbreaking moments. Lots of sweet moments. Love the three generation women, they've been through a lot, and I can't not root for their happy ending from the beginning.
Not a big fan of the ending though kinda hate it, it kinda rushed and I felt something missing in the end.

If you're looking for a complex story about family with lots of drama, go for this one.

The Bookstore on the Beach by Brenda Novak features the stories of three generations of women in a single family, each faced with very different, compelling issues in their lives. I found myself looking forward to learning what came next in each woman’s journey as their stories developed. This was a well-written and truly enjoyable book. It would be the perfect summer beach read!

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC. The opinions expressed above are all my own.

Loved this one. Definitely not a super light-hearted beach read (despite the cover). And you know what, that is totally okay with me! I listened to the audio version, which was great! Love all the family dynamics and all the elements of mystery, secrets, and intrigue along the way. Really enjoyed it!

This was a wonderfully complex book with so many stories happening with each character. There was kidnapping, a mysterious disappearance, a stabbing, teen angst, and confused sexuality all rolled into one book in this idyllic beach setting. The ending was a little rushed and I believe could have benefitted from a bit more development but otherwise it gets my wholehearted recommendation.

This was such an interesting story! With a family that's had to keep such heavy secrets, to making life changing decisions, this book had twists and turns on every page. Getting into the book I wasn't sure what to expect as the author had the reader guessing as to what deep dark secret was being kept.

Autumn Divac’s husband of twenty years has been missing for 18 months. She has spent countless hours, hoping and praying and exhausting all avenues to find him before deciding to go back to her childhood home. Autumn and her two teenage children would be spending the summer with her mother, Mary Langford, who runs a bookstore on the beach along with her sister Laurie. Autumn is hoping to relax and find a way to recharge while spending the summer here. But fate has other plans for her. It turns out her high school crush is also home, working at his family restaurant while taking care of his sick mother.

There were so many different layers to the story as there were life changing events taking place for the 3 generations of women, Mary, Autumn's mom, Autumn and for her daughter, Taylor. I feel like the story could have been 3 different books because there was so much to uncover and I felt that there was so much left unsaid.

Overall this was an enjoyable read as secrets were brought out into the open and it was a happy ending for all.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book.

Beautiful written story by Brenda Novak!! This has to be one of my favorite reads of 2021. Will reread and recommend to all readers!!

Autumn’s husband has been missing for almost two years. She finally goes home to Sable Beach for the summer. Is it time to give up searching for her husband and start living again?
I could not put this book down at all. I loved every minute of it. There was so much I had to figure out, drama with all the family.
And then seeing Autumn and Quinn reconnect, it was wonderful.

Brenda Novak always delivers a heartwarming novel, I’m a big fan of her Silver Springs series. No worries, this novel is a standalone. This is a great beach read, just like the cover shows. It has a really big build up in the book as it follows a family about 18 months after Autumn’s husband has disappeared. It’s a generational family story of three strong women in different stages of life. Autumn, her mother, and her daughter are all navigating beginnings and endings. There’s a lot of turmoil in the group and as they return to their beach cottage to visit their grandmother, all their secrets will be revealed. There were many sweet moments and a lot of character development as well. Overall, it’s an enjoyable read with many soap-opera like dramatic moments.

Three generations of women joined together for a life-changing summer.
Mary, the grandmother, who has deep secrets from her past she would like to remain there.
Autumn, the mother, is unsure whether to move on with life even though her husband has been missing for over a year.
Taylor, the daughter, has a secret of her own, and a new friend she isn't sure she wants to be just friends with.

Thanks to Harlequin Trade Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I was swept up in all the drama this book had to offer. A missing husband, teenage pregnancy, and 35-year-old secrets. I fell in love with the characters and was rooting for their success. I knew how it was going to end, but I was hoping that would not be the case. I was disappointed with the ending which is why it got 3.5 stars instead of 4.

I have always loved Brenda Novak’s books, so I was so excited to read her newest one. I am glad to say I enjoyed this book, as much as her previous books! She does such a wonderful job at getting you hooked to the story, right from the start. Once I started, I did not want to put this book down.

This story centers around three generations of women, over the course of the summer. Each family members has their own issues that they’re working through. I loved how the author connected each character together through their struggles. The problems these characters face are real life issues. You will find yourself connecting with them and rooting for them. This book is part fiction, romance, and even has a little mystery to it as well! If you’re looking for a great beach read this summer, I highly recommend checking this book out!

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

I am a fan of Novak’s. I won’t say I have read everything she has ever written but I have read books of hers that I really enjoyed. This was not one of them.

Honestly, there is just so much in this book that it becomes unbelievable. Yes, a family can have bad times when it feels like everything is on their shoulders but it really isn’t. In this book it is. I mean everything was thrown at the family including the kitchen sink.

I would have been happy with this book being much shorter. There was a lot in the middle that was filler, in my opinion. I liked the beginning and came back in for the end but the middle was just too long.

I really felt the connection between the mother and son. I felt each word of love she said to him as I have said the same to my son.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Loved it! I thought this was going to be another book about a romance on the beach. (should have known better it is a Brenda Novak book after all.) It was more - it is about the lives of 3 woman, 3 woman who are stronger then they think and the people who love them.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review -
What a totally awesome book!
Autumn's husband has been missing for two years. Because of this she has taken her two children and moved in with her mother who owns a bookstore.. .. And then the unexpected happens - she runs into the boy she loved in high school and once again the sparks fly.
Autumn wonders if she dare let herself become involved as she is still married - but with all the people she has hired to look for her husband no one has been able to find him. And - what about her children - will they accept a new man in her life? A thought provoking book you will want to devour!!!

Today I’m part of the Winter Reads Blog Tour from Harlequin for Women’s Fiction, dishing about The Bookstore on the Beach by Brenda Novak. This is a novel that has several subplots, but primarily focuses on three generations of women: Mary, a bookstore owner with a past she’s kept hidden; Autumn, her daughter whose husband went on a business trip and never returned; and Taylor, Autumn’s daughter, who is trying to understand her sexuality and also dealing with a life changing event. The story is told in three voices. There is some romance, some mystery, some “family issues”. This is my first Brenda Novak title and I enjoyed it!
Thank you for my copy and making me part of the tour!

Mary and Laurie are two friends who own a bookstore in the beautiful location of Sable Beach. Mary's daughter Autumn has had a difficult 18 months - her husband, Nick, has disappeared in his capacity as a Government employee. Autumn isn't ready to give up on him yet, and continues to investigate, but she really needs the comfort of her homeplace so decides to take her teenage son and daughter to Sable Beach for the Summer.

This is one of those books about a small town full of characters with secrets - Mary is hiding something enormous that she hoped Autumn would never find out, but that is threatened when a private investigator shows up in town asking questions. Autumn is struggling with the feelings she still harbours for her childhood sweetheart Quinn. Taylor thinks she might be pregnant, and that's the least of her worries when she meets a group of teenagers at the beach and forms a connection with one of the girls.

This, for me, was almost too much at times. Every single character has an issue or a secret and I felt like it was a drama series that had been condensed down to fit into one book. I mean, what are the odds of two private investigations on in the same family at the same time but with two different people?!

I also would have really loved more of the actual bookstore. From the title, I imagined it to be a central hub for all the goings-on in Sable Beach and it really wasn't that. The notion of having a bustling bookstore in a beach location was the reason why I wanted to read it in the first place.

This is sounding a bit negative - it's not a bad book by any means, but it's the second one now that I've read by this author that I thought had a little bit too much going on (the first being A Matter of Grave Concern). If you DO make it to a beach at any stage this year, and you like these kind of sweeping, drama-filled generational stories, then this could be a really great beach read. I think if you like Lucy Diamond books this may suit you.