This was my first book by Pamela Kelley and I really enjoyed it. Jess Coleman’s marriage is over and she needed a change. Her grown daughter Caitlin and her head back to her hometown of Chatham for an extended vacation. Jess is able to spend time with her best friend Alison. Alison and Jess decide to take a chance and buy the local bookstore that was for sale.

I really enjoyed the mother/daughter relationships. I will definitely be reading more books by Pamela Kelley.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Three generations, two life-long best friends, and their two daughters are the feature of this women's fiction/romance that makes the perfect beach read. Jess is burned out from her job as a lawyer and, when she learns of her husband's infidelity, leaves Charleston to return to her roots on Cape Cod. She and her best friend, Allison, have always dreamed of working together, and when the local bookstore goes up for sale, it looks like the perfect opportunity.

As a reader, a bookstore setting is always something that interests me, and I love this quaint setting in New England. Add to that a story that delves into so many questions and challenges we all face at some point in life, and this heartfelt, inspirational story is the perfect read. Starting out for the first time, starting over later in life, and finding one’s place in the world are handled with charm, humor and grace. Compelling, intuitive, and heartwarming, this phenomenal story is not to be missed.

Pamela Kelly's THE BOOKSHOP BY THE BAY is a charming summer beach read featuring two friends, two daughters, a book and coffee shop, and a summer of change and new beginnings!

Set in a quaint seaside town of New England —Cape Cod, Massachusetts, a heartwarming generational tale of mothers, daughters, friendship, and strong women.

Jess is a high-profile lawyer in Charleston. Her husband, Parker, has been cheating on her with his assistant, and she is pregnant.

She accompanies her daughter, Caitlin, age 30, to the childhood home on Cape Cod in Chatham. Caitlin has not found her passion, so she and her mom, Jess, are here for the summer.

Allison is Jess's friend, and her career takes a hit when her editor's job at a Chatham magazine goes part-time and is ultimately cut due to the economy and online business. Her daughter Julia has her own jewelry shop that she loves.

Allison discovers her local bookstore wants to sell, which has been her big dream. Jess helps her with the financial end, and they go into business together—a place of fond memories of their childhood.

With the help of these friends and their daughters, they open the bookstore and the adjacent coffee shop with new ideas and new beginnings.

No matter your age, it is never too late to start over. The women come together with new friends, new business, good food, and wine—finding Cape Cod the perfect place for second chances. These women drink a lot of WINE!

THE BOOKSHOP BY THE BAY is a light, breezy beach read about mother-daughter relationships, friendships, family, romance, and taking chances.

Who doesn't love quaint bookshops, coffee shops, and charming beach towns?

For fans of Sherryl Woods, Viola Shipman, Susan Wiggs, Mariah Stewart, Kristy Woodson Harvey, and Debbie Macomber. I read the e-book and listened to the audiobook narrated by Stephanie Németh-Parker for an engaging beach escape.

Thanks to #Macmillan Audio #StMartinsPress #StMartinsGriffin #NetGalley for a gifted ARC and ALC for review purposes. #SMPInfluencers

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My Rating: 4 Stars
Pub Date: June 6, 2023
June 2023 Must-Read Books

Four women, mothers and daughters, each at a turning point in their lives. Are they ready for the changes they face?

Jessica knows her marriage is in trouble. Taking time to clear her head, she heads for her childhood home on Cape Cod where her mom and her best friend can lend a sympathetic ear..

Alison, Jessica's best friend, chose to stay in their hometown of Chatham. For years she's had a successful career as a reporter for a local magazine. Unfortunately, with circulation and ad revenues falling, her job just may be in jeopardy. Now she needs to figure out what might come next.

Alison's daughter Julia is happy creating her own jewelry and selling it from her little shop. Unfortunately, her personal life isn't going as well. She's no longer feeling it with her long time boyfriend.

Then there's Caitlin, Jessica's daughter. She's been drifting, working temporary jobs, just trying to find her place. When she learns her mom is heading back to the Cape, Caitlin decides to join her, hoping the change of scenery will be the boost she needs to put her life in order

I found this story to be much more than advertised. It's about friendship and relationships, about change, taking control, and going after what you want. Unfortunately, I had a couple of problems with the telling of the story.. While I normally prefer a book with shorter chapters, in this case, they interrupted the flow of the story. Only four or five pages each, the chapters jump from one plotline to another. Because the author didn't do much to intertwine them,, I found it a bit confusing and difficult to get caught up in any one plotline, especially over the first several chapters. I was also disappointed with the lack of power and intensity in the scenes of conflict in the story.. There was little time devoted to the solutions and the resolutions were very simplistic and held no emotion..

In the end, I found this an enjoyable, uplifting story. I wish it had been told with a bit more depth.

Jess knows her marriage is in trouble, but when she discovers her husband has not only been unfaithful, he has impregnated his assistant, she knows there's no saving the marriage. Her lifelong best friend, Alison, is worried about losing her magazine job, so Jess decides to visit Alison and her own mother in Chatham. She takes her 30-year-old daughter, Caitlan, who is also at a crossroads after losing both her job and her longterm boyfriend on the same day.

When Jess and Alison learn the local bookstore is for sale, along with the next-door coffee shop, Jess decides to invest in it. While both Jess and Caitlan plan to return to Charleston, SC in October, they both find life in Chatham more appealing than they'd anticipated. Caitlan becomes friends with Alison's daughter, Julia, and all four women find new romantic interests.

There are few things better than bookstores, coffeeshops, and the beach. All the characters are likable, with different personalities and interests. The very definition of a beach read. #BookshopbytheBay #NetGalley

Oh my gosh, I loved this book! The Bookshop by the Bay by Pamela Kelley is a beach read type of book that centers around friendship. The characters learn that sometimes you have to make lifestyle changes in order to live your best and happiest life. There was nothing that I didn’t like about this story. It had everything, a bookstore, a coffee shop, an old friendship and a new friendship between daughters. And the location was perfect! I’m not sure if I’ve ever read this author before but now want to read everything that she writes. I’d like to thank St. Martin’s Press for accepting my request and NetGalley for the arc. I enjoyed this so much and recommend it highly. I’m giving this book a 5 star rating.

This is a wonderful story that focuses on friendship, family, and that it's never too late to make meaningful changes to your life. Jess is a high-powered attorney in a Charleston law firm. When Jess discovers her husband is cheating on her, she decides to take a step back and take a vacation in her hometown in Cape Cod to think. Her daughter Caitlin join her when she loses her job and her boyfriend on the same day. Jess's best friend Allison also needs to make some changes in her life. Her work at the magazine is slowing down and the bookstore that she loves is for sale. Her daughter Julia owns a custom jewelry shop and has hopes for a bright future, but she isn't so sure about her boyfriend. I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher through Netgalley. This is my honest and voluntarily given review. I love seeing how each character is at a crosswalk of life and takes the time to reflect. There is a little romance in the story, but the focus is the friendships. I love seeing how supportive the relationships are between the four women. I am adding Pamela Kelly to my TBR pile and looking forward to reading more in this series.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for a chance to read this book early. Unfortunately it was a slow start for me and I'm putting it away for another time.

I've said it before, I'll say it again, I love books about books, bookshops and libraries. There is something comforting about those kinds of stories. This one is as well despite the fact that there is way more to the story. With multiple POV's, from both mothers and both daughters, each has a unique story and issue going on in their lives. These are not kids. Both daughters are in their thirties. One doesn't know what to do with her life while all around her, everyone seems to be living their best life. One has the bottom drop out of her life while another seems to have her life together but things are changing. Take a journey to Chatham, Massachusetts and into the lives of four women who must lean into each other and find their own paths in order to find happiness. A good summer beach read. No spice to speak of but the story didn't really need that anyway. I am now hoping to get down there someday and see the places that were mentioned (some were real, others not).

Jess's marriage has been off for a while when she finds out by chance that her husband got his new, barely older than his daughter, secretary pregnant. Their daughter, Caitlin, just got fired and dumped by her boyfriend in the same day. They decide to get away for a month in Jess's hometown on Cape Cod, much to the joy of her mother and her best friend, Alison. This leads to a summer of finding themselves, new friendships, and new opportunities.

I received a free copy of this book to review through NetGalley and thoroughly enjoyed it.

This was such a feel good story of mothers and daughters and friendship!!! I absolutely loved following Jess, Allison, Caitlin, and Julia along their summer in Chatham and watching each woman shed wanting the things they’re supposed to want and instead realizing the things that make them happy. Absolute perfect beach read!

Two lifelong best friends find themselves at crossroads, searching for something new and fulfilling for the next chapter of their lives. They find it in a long-held dream and reopen a beachside bookstore and coffeeshop in Cape Cod, working alongside their adult daughters.

Charming and heartfelt, this was my first book by Kelley, but it won't be my last! I love books about books, bookstores, etc., But what made this book was the loving generational relationships between the mothers and daughters, the deep friendships between the women, and how they supported one another. That was the heart and soul of this story. This just had a sunny and warm vibe that was more than its beautiful beachy setting. If you enjoy women's fiction and are looking for an easy-reading, feel-good story, consider adding this to your summer tbr!

An easy read that might be trope-y but which delights. Bffs from childhood Alison and Jess are both at inflection points- Allison is about to be downsized and Jess has discovered that her husband is cheating on her. And their daughters, who have never been real friends, are also in a state of romantic change-and Caitlin can't find a career while Julia loves her jewelry making. All four women converge in Chatham, Mass for what's meant to be a month but.....Jess impulsively buys the local bookstore Allison has always wanted and Caitlin finds joy in helping set up and run the accompanying cafe. There are references to books early on but not so much in later but those who have spent time on the Cape might reminisce about the Impudent Oyster and the Squire. While each woman finds a New Romantic interest, this is more about finding their unexpected bliss and second acts. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read. And now I want a scallop sandwich from the Oyster!

A great story about finding yourself and starting over. I loved that the Jess and Allison were lifelong friends that support each other even with the distance between them. The book actually tells the story of two friends and their daughters who are all facing questions about their future. The multiple points of view worked well for this, and I enjoyed each character's personal journey. The book was a calm escape that was completely heartwarming. It was a great way to check out of the reality of life and felt like I was among friends. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

The Bookshop by the Bay....They had me at Bookshop! Two best friends; one's been divorced for years, and the other one is just deciding to divorce. Their daughters; one freshly broken up and freshly out of a job, the other in a relationship that's destined to go nowhere, but working at a job she loves. One pair in Charleston, the other in Chatham- Cape Cod. All in need of a new perspective and a fresh start. Mix in some snobby friends, some hunky guys, and a spunky mother/grandmother along with a bookshop and coffee shop and I didn't want this book to end!

I love women's fiction about multiple generations of women in a family and I love books that take place on Cape Cod. The location just has a certain feel to it that I will probably never experience in person.

This book is centered around two long time friends that go together to purchase and run a bookstore. Each woman in the book has a different things going on in their lives. There are divorces, separations, new romances, old romances, old friends, new friends, new jobs starting and old jobs ending. All the characters were a little hard for me to keep clear, but the support and love these women gave each other was what came shining through. That was the upside.

Overall, this would make an awesome vacation/beach read. One thing I kind of had issues with was the extreme and lengthy description of food in the book. After awhile, it seemed like I was skipping whole pages totally devoted to food names and descriptions.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

This book is delightful especially now that we are approaching summer! It has all the summer vibes you would need.

I read this book in two sittings, stopping only to go to sleep.

Throughout the book I kept trying to figure out the direction in which each character was going to end up in but something kept surprising me and throwing me off, which I loved!

All of the characters are very likable except for Parker, which is by design.

I loved how close Caitlin and Julia had gotten close as well.

The ending tied everyone up perfectly, and I was so happy with how it all went with each character.

This is a great story about friendship, family, and taking a chance to start over.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

As a retired bookseller, I was naturally drawn to this book and could relate to so much of the story. It also turned out to be a perfect fit for this month's "Hallmark Movie" theme at my local book club. I could easily picture the bookstore and coffee shop set in a small Hallmark-style community. This was the first book I've read from Pamela M. Kelley, and I am excited to discover that I have several of her earlier books waiting for me in my Kindle library. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for introducing me to another author to add to my favorites list.

The Bookshop by the Bay by Pamela Kelley is a wonderful beach read.

Pamela Kelley is one of my favorite women's fiction authors and I have been highly anticipating this new book.

The story is about mothers who have been friends for a long time and their daughters. I loved each of the main characters, Jess, Caitlin, Alison, and Julia. The characters are well developed, complicated and well fleshed out.

The story is set in Chatham where this is a coffee place and a bookshop. The description of the town transported me right to this seaside town.

A well written story about finding yourself with the help from family and friends.

Highly recommend!

This multigenerational story is my pick for beach read of the year! It is a great example of finding your way whether you are young and starting your life, middle aged and needing to start over or more mature and finding your way in later years. The friendships that are woven throughout this story are aspirational and wonderfully encouraging. I truly hope the author decides to give us more glimpses of the people in this book with a follow-up as one visit to this Cape Cod setting is not nearly enough! Anyone who has ever desired a fresh start or been wondering if they could start something new at a more mature age, needs to read this book for inspiration! I absolutely devoured this book as I completely relate with the need to find a new beginning. In my case, my husband and I are both looking for something different to do as we have both become somewhat disenfranchised with our current careers and after 30 years, it may be time for us to find a different career as a second act. This book inspires you to live your life to the fullest and find that place with the help of friends and family to truly be happy. The plot is incredibly well written. It drew me in and kept me enraptured for an entire day! Good thing I had a day off today!