Bookshop By The Sea is a charmingly, sweet love story about second chances and forgiveness. I can definitely see it being made into a Hallmark movie.

I graciously received an advance e-copy from Netgalley for review. All opinions are my own.

This was the second book by Denise Hunter and I loved it just as much as the first one I've read

Deep thoughts meet anxiety to loose someone or something and the fear to be left behind.
Sophie and Aiden were high school sweethearts. At 18 they had lots of plans but the life has separated them at the worst of time. Because of stubbornness and pride they never has talked things out. When they meet 7 years later at Sophie's and Aiden best friend's wedding, they find out they have never really stopped to love each other. After Aiden's flight was cancelled he has to stay with Sophie and they finally talk things out. When Sophie falls of ladder and hurts her ligaments Aiden stays to help her to set up her new bookshop. Every day they fall deeply in love. But how to overcome their anxiety of being left behind? And how about the five hours drive long distance?

I loved everything about this book. Both characters, Sophie's dog Pippa and all the people from Piper's Cove. Their friendliness and help in a dire times.

Denise Hunter is my new go-to for a "beach read." This is the second book I have read by her and both stories were big wins! I absolutely love how she writes relatable characters with relatable conflict and relatable resolutions. The stories are impactful and interesting without being a hot mess express of degrading family drama or horrible sadness. I mean, there is definitely sadness in this book, but there is also hope and characters who just truly want to do the right thing. I also love that both character's had mistakes and conflicts, not just the male or the female. My Peacemaker personality seriously enjoyed that there were two sides of the story and forgiveness was sought after with all sincerity. Absolutely beautiful!

There is something about Denise Hunter books that always seem to grab at the weakest part of my heart and squeeze. I think about her books for days after I've finished them. This one was no different. A sweet sweet story of forgiveness, growth, and love. Always love. Worth picking up!

Thank you Netgalley, for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.

Sophie has taken care of her entire family since her father walked out on his sick wife. Even former boyfriend, Aiden, left her, on her worst day. Will she ever get a shot at her own happiness. Aiden returns and helps Sophie in a desperate hour, when her own family can’t be bothered. Bookshop by the Sea is a pleasant read. I love the bookstore setting. I despaired that Sophie would ever find her backbone. There is character development that was good to see. My favorite personality was the saucy grandmother. I like elder citizens who are blunt.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Bookshop by The Sea was written by Denise Hunter, who is a new author to me. This is a sweet story about Sophie, who is reunited with her long-lost high school love at her sister’s wedding when Aidan returns to town. Seven years prior, Sophie learned that her mom was seriously ill, her father left their family, and Sophie had to give up a prestigious college scholarship to take care of Mom and her siblings. Aidan abandoned her to take a job offer in another state on the same day. Phew. Fast forward seven years, and mom has passed, her family still takes advantage of her, and she’s working to open a bookshop. However, the two love birds are reunited at the wedding where they eventually realize they still have feelings for one another. The road to love is rarely smooth, and they have to hurdle obstacles to find their way back to each other. This book is a Hallmark-style/Christian romance with a very safe and chaste story. It was sweet and well done. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC but the review and my thoughts are my own and without bias. #chaste #christian @netgalley @deniseahunter #denisehunter #bookshopbythesea #romance #grace #forgiveness
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Sophie Lawson should be enjoying her sister’s wedding day. But nothing could have prepared her to see the best man again.

This definitely sounded like a novel I would enjoy - especially a novel about a book shop.

Sophie hasn’t had it easy. A lot of stuff happened to her when she was younger and from what we know of her backstory, she assumed the role of mother to her twin brother and younger sister at a very young age. This is where Sophie struggles – she hasn’t learned to let her siblings live their own lives. Throughout the majority of the book, this plays a HUGE role in her issues and affects the dynamics of her family big time.

Aiden left his hometown at a young age when a business opportunity presented itself. He struggled through school and didn’t have a great home life so of course he would take a good thing when it came along. Only thing is, he left his high school sweetheart, Sophie, behind to do it.

Sophie was a difficult character to connect with. She was an enabler at the beginning of the novel which got her into all kinds of trouble that she wouldn’t have gotten into. She doesn’t communicate well and as the novel progresses, I found myself frustrated with her. She has been holding onto UNJUSTIFIED anger for over seven years. When I read what really happened the day Aiden left, my opinion of Sophie sunk pretty low.

However, I appreciated Sophie’s desire to fulfill a lifelong dream of opening a bookshop beside the sea. It had taken her nearly a decade to do so, so it was nice to see the dream realized for her (once she got her act together and fessed up to her error in the past).

Aiden was a likeable character. He was honest and more helpful than I would have been to Sophie given how she was treating him. He sacrificed BIG TIME for her during their current situation.

The narrative flowed nicely and there were some really great descriptions throughout the novel. One could picture the rainstorms or almost feel the panic the characters were feeling when they realized the kind of predicament they’d gotten themselves into.

Family issues were resolved by the end, maybe a bit too sweetly, but worked out nonetheless.

I received an ecopy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

While I have read and thoroughly enjoyed several of Denise Hunter’s books in the past, this book was a challenge for me to read. I believe she did a great job of creating the world in this book, including the character development, scenery descriptions and plot; it just was not to my tastes. I pick up a Denise Hunter book to be enveloped in a cozy world where there might be problems, but they are resolved with love and faith.

That is true for the second half of this book, but the first half was mainly one character dealing with her family constantly taking advantage of her good nature and I honestly wanted to shake her and her family into seeing what was happening and have it resolved quickly. It was extremely frustrating to me. The fact that I had so much emotion invested in this world, shows that the author did a great job of writing the story, but it was not a world I wanted to inhabit. I read to escape real life and this plot had me just wanting to complete the book to have it over.

The final part of the book was a pleasure to read and it made the other parts of the book fade, as the world (within the book) became a better place to exist.

I want to thank Thomas Nelson--FICTION and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy of this book, with no obligation to write a review. My review is written freely as a hobby, and is totally my own opinion, not influenced by receiving the ARC.

I really enjoyed this one and especially the setting of Piper's cove and bookshop Sophie is opening! I want to visit there! Second-chance love stories are also a favorite for me. I felt like Sophie and Aiden's relationship was so realistic, seeing each other again brought back a flood of memories, and I loved that they were forced to confront their past being stuck in a hurricane together. I also liked that it wasn't just smooth sailing, they had to confront the things that didn't work the first time around. The supporting cast was good as well. I liked the character development and how everything works out. Just a really fun "beach read" and one I would read again.

While this author is one of my go to’s for her books, this one in particular I just didn’t connect with the characters or the storyline. I really tried with Sophie (main female character) but she really bugged me and her grudge for holding onto the past throughout the book. 7 years is too long! I will definitely continue to read from this author.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

When pathological selflessness and unconfident self-preservation collide you have the makings of a wonderful, uplifting story as evidenced by Denise Hunter's 'Bookshop by the Sea'. The growth of Sophie and Aiden is a delight to behold, coupled with the kindnesses of the incredible people in Sophie's new hometown as she attempts the opening of her dream bookshop all combine to make a thoroughly engaging story. I highly, highly recommend it!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Bookshop by the Sea
by Denise Hunter
Thomas Nelson--FICTION
You Like Them You Are Auto-Approved
Thomas Nelson
Romance
Pub Date 13 Apr 2021 | Archive Date 13 May 2021

This book will go out in our library! We have several readers who are fans of Denise Hunters. Thanks for a well-written sweet, second chance at romance. Thanks to Thomas Nelson-Fiction and NetGalley for the ARC.
It was a nice escape from reality. Bookshop by the Sea... even the title makes you smile.
5staar

Who doesn’t love a sweet slow burn romance?

Especially in a small town with second chance tropes and opinionated grandmothers! I love when characters have highly opinionated grandmothers that have absolutely no filter. It’s wonderful. This book is a literal hallmark movie on paper, everything you can want in a sweet small town romance that has two characters that come back to each other after years of being apart and rekindling what was lying dormant for so long before,

Plus a bookshop? By the ocean? What’s better than that? True love of course!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the ears in return for an honest review.

This story starts us out with meeting Sophie as she tries to keep things running smoothly for her sister, Jenna’s, wedding rehearsal, which included keeping tabs on her dad, Craig, and brother, Seth. She’s also trying to brace for seeing Aiden again, as he’s the groom’s best friend. Aiden, who left her 7 years ago to start a new career 5 hours away, while she was left to care for her mother and siblings. They both have deep seated fears to work through and some insight from a few people. Much of the story is Sophie and Aiden working to get her bookshop ready to open for a release party with Nathaniel Quinn, whom we met in the Bluebell series. Beautiful story, that is easy to get in to and hard to put down and characters that are easy to relate to. Aside from Sophie’s family we meet Haley, Anna, Ellie, Alanda, Ross, and a few others.
A complimentary copy was provided by Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. A review was not required and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I requested to read and review this book for free from Thomas Nelson a trademark of Harper Collins Christian Publishing. This is another smash hit from author Denise Hunter. The setting is perfect spot in the South right on the water. Can trust be earned back. Can a past wrong be made right and can old flame become a new flame. This book has comedy, determination, drama, a little mystery and romance. You will meet characters Sophie, Jenna, Grant, Aiden and Granny May. And a town that know how to help someone out. This book is for any type of reader and can be read anywhere. This book would
make a great movie!!

The perfect read for that get away from reality book.
Follow Sophie as she enters a new chapter in her life - with ups and downs with family (don't we all have them but perfect to read you are not alone), past catching up with her in more ways than one, and with her own dreams, will they come true?
I really enjoyed this book and wanted to know what happened next, it was written as you could imagine you were there and see how everything was described.
I have never read any of Denise Hunter books before - but I will be looking out for more by her.
Thank you for NetGalley for allowing me to read this before the publication date in return for an honest review.
#NetGalley #BookshopbytheSea #perfectgetawayfromitallread #goodreads #treatyourself

Whenever I need a sweet romance fix, I turn to Denise Hunter. The premise of this novel, starting out at a destination wedding, was a clever way to kick off the story and bring the hero and heroine together for their second chance at a relationship after several years apart. The beach setting was such a fun place to visit, and I’m looking forward to getting to see the secondary characters we were introduced to in future books.

A romance book set in NC, Sophie reunited with her high school boyfriend 7 years after the relationship ended. While the book was sweet in the first half, I got increasingly annoyed with how easily Sophie lost her backbone with her family. By the time she faced her truth, I cared a little bit less about her getting her happily ever after.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

This was not at all what I thought it was going to be. Because of the title, I thought it would be more literary in both form and content, but we didn't actually see the bookshop until more than 1/3 into the book. I also didn't realize that the book is published under a Christian imprint, so that was my mistake; I am not the target demographic.

Small beach side town - second chance romance. a bookstore and a hurricane. Makes for a great read!