What a wonderful read. What happens when you find out your husband is having an affair and has got his young assistant pregnant? You go back home. That is exactly what successful attorney Jess does. There she reconnects with her childhood best friend Allison. They visit memories which include a visit to a favorite haunt The Bookstore. They find out there that the elderly owner is ready to retire and an idea forms, they decide to buy The Bookstore and make major changes to their lives. New friendships are formed along with new romances. Just a great feel good read.

Middle-aged Jess has just learned her husband is having an affair, while her daughter Caitlin has just lost her job and her boyfriend. At a crossroads, the two women decide to spend the summer in Jess's childhood home in Cape Cod, where Jess's childhood best friend, Allison, and Alison's daughter, Julia, are also struggling. Together, the four women will recover from their setbacks and find new paths forward.

The book's tagline describes it as a "breezy" read, and that's accurate. The pages turn fast, and even though the characters' lives are in turmoil, the tone is light and the story is easy to absorb. This makes for a quick read - but a superficial one. I never felt like I was truly in the mind of any one character despite the omniscient narration, and none of the objectively moving events of the story really moved me. There was always plenty going on - four main characters and at least one romantic interest for each made for a lot of well-written banter - but I didn't feel much emotional heft. It was a light read, nothing more or less.

Four women face life changing upsets in The Bookshop by the Bay, a summer read that belongs in your beach bag! Jess is a South Carolina lawyer in a family law firm. Then she learns that her husband is expanding his family by one. His assistant is pregnant. She decides to return to Chatham, her Cape Cod home, for some much needed summer “me” time. Her daughter Caitlin, who has been fired from her job and dumped by her boyfriend, all in the same day, is more than happy to join her. Allison, Jess’ best friend, is a journalist for a fading local Cape Cod magazine and is facing a certain layoff. Her daughter Julia, a talented jewelry designer with her own Main Street shop, is planning to break up with the domineering Kyle. What could solve these very different life problems? A bookstore, of course.

The Chatham bookstore is for sale, as is the empty coffee shop next door. Owning a bookstore has always been Allison’s dream and Jess is thrilled to make an investment to support her friend. Caitlin takes over the coffee shop, with Julia adding her marketing expertise. As the days summer fade into autumn, the women discover what is most important in their lives. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Pamela Kelley for this ARC.

Four women at crossroads, and one summer on Cape Cod that will change all their lives. And there's a bookstore with a coffee shop. What's better than that?

The Bookshop by the Bay is sure to be a bestseller for Pamela Kelley. The story is about mothers, daughters and friendships. Jess and Alison have been best friends since their childhood when they lived in Chatham.. Jess married and lives in Charleston with her husband, working in his family law firm, Alison is divorced and lives in Chatham. Their young adult daughters Caitlin and Julia are not the best friends their moms hoped they'd be.

As Jess experiences heartbreak at home she decides to take Caitlin and go stay with her mother for a month in Chatham. Alison has always wanted to own a bookshop, and there is one in Chatham that is for sale. Jess wants a business venture and purchases the store for them to have together.

The characters of Chatham will steal your heart. The mothers and daughters forge a close relationship and the reader is rooting for them. This book could (hopefully) become a new series.

What might have been a book of lost opportunities/lost loves was actually a fantastic and uplifting book about people taking charge of their lives. Lifelong friends are thrown together at a time of upset, and the way they turn their lives around is inspiring. The thing I liked best were these great characters who never stooped to an unseemly level when things fell apart. These women decided what they wanted and determinedly set about making it happen without tearing the problem causing part of their trouble to shreds. Fairness, dignity, hard work, friendship, and family are the foundation of this beautiful story that left me appreciating the author and her ethics.

I absolutely loved this book! All of the characters were so well written, and the development throughout the story made me feel as if I was friends with everyone in the book. The whole time I found myself wishing I was right there in Chatham experiencing this for myself.

When your world is falling apart, best friends are there to help ride life's waves. After Jess discovered the truth about her husband's late-night meetings, she needed to get away from Charleston. Taking shelter in Chatham, the brilliant beaches and childhood friends provided an oasis from the storm.

Through their own stories, readers will meet the mothers and daughters that are fashioning the bay. Julia's has her own jewelry shop and is on the cusp of an exciting chapter. Alison, is considering booking a new adventure. Jess' daughter Caitlin, takes on what is supposed to be a summer job but falls in love with the bay and its residents. At the end of her escape period, will Jess return to Charleston or has Chatham's still waters run deep?

In the storms of my own life, I was seeking a feel-good escape read. The picturesque setting and Pamela M Kelley's charismatic characters provided a staycation.. I've found a new author to add to my go-to list and look forward to checking out her backlist and future titles.

The Bookshop by the Bay is my kind of beach read. It’s women’s fiction and involves longtime friends and their daughters – all going through personal dramas.

Jess has lived in Charleston for most of her adult life. Her daughter Caitlin is grown and at loose ends so the timing couldn’t be better for the two of them to visit Jess’s mother on Cape Cod for the summer. Having found out her husband was unfaithful and clearly heading in a different direction from Jess the time away from Charleston will give her space and time to think and make some decisions.

Jess’s best friend from childhood is Allison. She has always dreamed of owning a bookstore and when the opportunity arises she can only hope to make that happen. When Jess agrees to being a business partner suddenly the future looks brighter in many ways. Allison’s daughter is a local jewelry designer whose business is taking off. She wishes her love life looked as bright.

If you’ve read enough romantic women’s fiction you’ll predict the ending and probably be right. I enjoyed it all and look forward to reading more by Pamela Kelley.

This is a perfect beach’y read! I loved the characters and the setting. Definitely on my list to recommend to friends. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early read.

While I personally kept getting the characters a bit mixed up, I did enjoy reading the book. It is a somewhat lighthearted read with the outcome as I had expected. Therefore, it did not disappoint! I found it quite easy to visualize the different locations, which made this such a nice mental getaway, as I do love the beach!
Thank you #NetGalley & #StMartinsPress for the ARC. I look forward to seeing this book on the best seller list next June - this is certainly a good book for a vacation read by the beach.

Two lifelong friends at a crossroads (Jess finds out her husband has been cheating and Allison makes a career pivot) open a bookstore by the bach.

If you are looking for a light and easy read right now, look no further.
Yes, it was predictable, but sometimes you want that in a read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Jess finds out her husband is cheating on her and she and her adult daughter head North to her old home base to visit with Allison and regroup. Allison is going through her own challenges as her job is in danger of being cut. As the two besties commiserate and plan their future, their next act opens up as their old favorite bookstore goes up for sale. A new beginning for all four women as they forehead and open themselves up to new possibilities and new lives.

A great read and perfect for anyone who’s looking for that next act, or who just wants that good feeling that comes from reading about others finding it. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

An uplifting and fun beach read., set in wonderful Cape Cod and Charleston. Those descriptions rang true. it was a predictable plot with exploration of mid-life divorce, mother/daughter relationships, careers and second chances.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book. Sweet story about friends that decide to open a bookstore. If you are looking for a light read this is it. This would make a great Hallmark movie.

This is a sweet read for the right demographic and i don’t know that i was the right demographic, unfortunately,

It was very sweet, had moments I-enjoyed, but overall i found it repetitive and a bit predictable.

I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley. I adore books about bookstores, but that is pretty minimal in this book. The main focus is on relationships and everything that comes along with them. I would classify this as a predictable romance, but there are times when I want my books to be predictable. I felt like there was a bit of repetition that was a little annoying. I don't need to hear about sharks/seals 4 times. Once is enough. I also disagreed with the notion that a 30 year marriage ending in divorce is a failure. It served it's purpose. They successfully raised a daughter to adulthood.

Another wonderful read by Pamela Kelley! In the Bookshop by the Bay, you get to follow the story of best friends Jess and Allison, who are in their 50s, and also Julia and Caitlin, their daughters as they all navigate through life. You also get to meet a cast of characters ranging from their friends, to coworkers, to their families. Pamela’s books always feature such likeable and kind characters and that holds true in this story as well.

Pamela’s book are also so descriptive and written in a way that I feel like I’m in the book, and the characters are my friends. This book tackles important matters like divorce, being laid off, cheating, controlling relationships, friendship, and not knowing what you want to be “when you grow up”. Her books have the ability to transport you to the Cape while you’re reading her story.

A truly delightful story that kept me smiling and interested each page. Thank you to Net Galley for the advanced copy by one of my favorite authors Pamela Kelley.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read The Bookshop by the Bay by Pamela M. Kelley. I enjoyed reading this book, but felt, at times, it did drag. With that said, I never wanted to stop reading it or skip pages. I was fully invested in the two mother/daughter duos and what issues they were experiencing. I could’ve predicted the ending by mid book, but that didn’t make it any less special for me when it all rolled out and came together. I would definitely recommend this book.

I read this book in 2 days. It covered many important topics, and was both soul-searching and uplifting. Unfortunately, it has a huge amount of errors -- it is seriously in need of a proofreader. I give the story 5 stars. The use of redundancies such as "replied back", the constant use of "up" as in grill up, cook up, type up, etc. appeared to be simply a desire to increase the word count. I give the writing/editing 3 stars.