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.

You had me at the title...The Bookshop by the Bay. Books about books are my favorite so I knew I was going to like this one. The story is about two friends each with their own personal struggles who have to come together in their hometown to help each other out. Jess has just found out her husband was cheating on her and got the young girl pregnant. She decides to take her daughter with her to Cape Cod to have a little distance but also to decide what she wants to do going forward.
Allison loves her job as an editor but the magazine isn't doing well and she needs to make a change before she gets laid off. She respects her boss and feels bad he's having to make these cuts but maybe it's time to do something else with her life. On a visit home Allison hears that her favorite bookstore is for sale she thinks this may be her chance to start a new career. Her childhood is full of good memories from the bookstore and she can't imagine it closing or anyone else running it.
The two friends will come together and decide how they can make this dream come true for Allison, but also it will be a time for healing and learning to love again.

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 go part time. 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 turning 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. The two friends, along with the help of their daughters, reopen the doors of the cherished bookstore and adjacent coffee shop to the community. Also, yhey open themselves up to the possibility of romance, the bonds of mothers and daughters, and the magic of second chances.

I am not familiar with this author, but any title that has "bookshop" in the title attracts me so I decided to give it a try. This is a well written book that develops the main characters throughout the book plus brings in some important secondary characters. I love the description of the area and Chatham. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. I will be looking for other books by this author. I highly recommend.

An easy breezy story of friends who open a bookshop and coffeeshop on the bay. They come from other careers and need a change of scenery and a change of purpose.

The Bookshop by the Bay
By Pamela M. Kelley

Here I am just a week before Christmas recommending a book that you will want to add to your summer TBR list. The Bookshop by the Bay by Author Pamela M. Kelley will have you standing right behind Jessica, Caitlin, Allison and Julia; cheering them on when need be and hugging them when things seem like they may not get any better.

This is where we learn how strong we can be when life throws a lot of crap at us. How crying alone and with your best friend can be cathartic for both and why it’s ok to change your mind at the last moment.

Jess and Allison grew up together in Chatham and Cape Cod town that makes you want to eat with the locals, enjoy the beach and a place where you are always welcomed home. Jess left for college in South Carolina, meets her husband Parker and marries him after graduating law school. They have a beautiful daughter Caitlin and for years it seems they had it all. We change though as time goes by and Jess is very aware that she and Parker aren’t really communicating and have in a way gone in different directions. The day Jess found out Parker had gone where no married man should go, she gives him an ultimatum and she and daughter Caitlin return to her home town of Chatham.

Allison never really left Chatham behind, she had the best of jobs working for a magazine that features Cape Cod life, she has a wonderful daughter Julia and her ex-husband Chris is her best friend. Now her best friend Jess is coming home and bringing her daughter with her. Allison is bound and determined to be there for Jessica while she is working out how things are going to change.

Will their daughters finally become the friends Jess and Allison have wanted them to be? While all of their lives are changing, their favorite childhood bookshop goes up for sale, should they or shouldn’t they?

The chapters flew by, each character grew and changed and that made reading this book even more enjoyable.

Thank you to Net Galley, St. Martin’s Griffin and Author Pamela Kelley for the opportunity to read The Bookshop by the Bay.

Pleasant if not somewhat (totally?) predictable beach book about two friends and their daughters, two of whom live in Chatham, Cape Cod and the other two of whom are visiting for the summer after breaking off relationships with their husband and their boyfriend back in Charleston. I think the story could have used a bit more tension to make it a little more dramatic, but if you're looking for an easy read on a summer's day, this is a decent choice.

NOTE: Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

"The Bookshop by the Bay" was an enjoyable story about four women (two pairs of mothers and daughters) whose lives are in transition and who find happiness and the next stage of their lives through a bookshop/coffeeshop. Jessica Coleman and her daughter Caitlin are spending time in Chatham, Massachusetts, the small Cape Cod village where Jessica grew up, and where Jessica's best friend, Alison Page, and her daughter, Julia, still live. Jessica is preparing to divorce her husband, who has been having an affair with his assistant, who is now pregnant. Caitlin's relationship has recently unexpectedly ended, and she is at loose ends career-wise, cycling through a series of short-term jobs as she tries to figure out what she wants to do. The visit to Chatham is intended to be a vacation, with both women fully intending to return to Charleston, SC. However, while in Chatham, an opportunity arises to help Alison achieve her dream of owning a bookshop. Jess sees it as a good investment, especially paired with re-opening the adjoining coffee shop, and it is a good opportunity for Alison, who is preparing to be laid off from the magazine where she had worked for years due to budget cuts. Julia, her daughter, has a small jewelry shop on main street and is managing to make ends meet, but it is still a struggle. She will also soon see the end of her relationship, when her boyfriend's job takes him to Nashville. The experience of running the bookstore and restarting and running the coffee shop, as well as the friendships that are made or rekindled, will result in new experiences for the four women, and significant changes in plans for Jess and Caitlin.

A story involving a bookstore is always going to be appealing to me. In addition, this is a sweet story. The main characters are dealing with some rather significant issues, but they find support in each other and from others in Chatham. The characters are interesting and well-developed, including many of the "minor" characters. The author does a good job of portraying how different life is in Chatham compared to Charleston or other places. She also uses the backstories of other characters, including unexpected career choices, to help Caitlin realize that her situation in Charleston, and the expectations that come with it, is really not what she wants. I would definitely recommend this book.