What happens when three grown sisters inherit a struggling restaurant on Nantucket—from a grandmother who never told them she owned it? Drama. Laughter. Healing. And one very unexpected co-owner (hello, broody chef Paul 👀).

In The Nantucket Restaurant, Pamela Kelley serves up a layered story full of family tension, heartfelt growth, and small-town charm you can practically smell through the pages (seriously—if someone doesn’t bring me a bowl of chowder, I’m rioting).

Each sister is navigating her own mess, and watching them rediscover themselves—and each other—is so satisfying. The writing flows like good conversation over wine and old memories. It’s cozy fiction with a backbone, and it left me full in the best way.

Big emotions. Real-life stakes. And a setting that feels like a warm hug with a salty breeze.

🍽️ Family + food + finding yourself again? Don’t walk. RUN to Mimi’s Place.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing this review copy via NetGalley for my honest voluntary review.

#NetGalley #PamelaKelley #TheNantucketRestaurant

Family food and Nantucket are at the heart of this enjoyable book. After the death of their grandmother, sisters Jill, Emma, and Mandy are surprised to discover that she owned Mimi’s Place, their favorite Nantucket restaurant. The will holds another surprise, it requires the sisters to run the restaurant, along with Paul the chef and Emma’s high school boyfriend, for 1 year. After the initial disbelief the sisters figure out how to make it work and with their life’s at crossroads the year together on Nantucket may be exactly what they need. This was a perfect book for a lazy summer day as I immersed myself in the lives of Jill, Emma, and Mandy. The time on Nantucket allowed them to reconnect, to heal, and to discover what they want out of life and love. I recommend this book to readers that enjoy books about family, finding love, and creating the life you truly

3.5 stars. Three sisters inherit a restaurant from their grandmother, and have a year to decide whether or not to keep it. The reading was easy, nothing heavy at all. A good change from the mysteries and thrillers I’ve been reading. I enjoyed the restaurant setting with the descriptions of menus and the day to day goings on in the business. The sisters’ stories were predictable but somewhat entertaining. All in all, this was a pleasant women’s fiction story.
Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for this arc.

I enjoyed this read and read it in almost one sitting.

I loved the story of the three sisters and finding a new way of life together even when pieces of their lives separately are falling apart. There is nothing like the bond of siblings making it through hardships together.

I also loved how picking up the pieces allowed them each to find something new they loved.

I do think it could've used more depth into each of the sisters and their relationships with others (whether new or old) and I really thought the story could be longer. The ending came in hot and I expected more tying up of loose ends.

I think the writing is good along with the descriptions. It held my attention and I think it's a perfect summer read that's great for a beach.

Thanks so much to Sourcebooks for the eARC of this book!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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Mandy, Emma and Jill O'Toole are as close as three sisters who live hundreds of miles apart can be. They grew up together on Nantucket, but have scattered around the country. When their beloved grandmother passes peacefully in her sleep a week before her ninety-ninth birthday she leaves them quite a surprise. In addition to her Nantucket home, they learn that they've inherited Mimi's Place, one of Nantucket's most popular year-round restaurants. They had no idea that she was the silent owner of a restaurant, and no idea how they're going to handle this kind of inheritance.

There is of course, a catch―she left the restaurant equally to Mandy, Emma, and Jill―and also to Paul, the executive chef for the past fifteen years.

And before they can sell, all three women need to work at the restaurant for a period of one year. Now they have to examine their priorities and figure out a way to make it work, all while discovering that Mimi's Place is in serious need of a facelift. The restaurant hasn't changed in years, and its finances are declining. Meanwhile, Nantucket is a special place, a tight-knit and insular upscale beach community, both supportive and challenging.

Three sisters, each at a crossroads in her own life, facing the challenges of a surprise inheritance in the close-knit community of Nantucket.
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When I requested this book from NetGalley, I did not realize it was a rerelease of a book I had already read...in 2020. However, since it was back then a four-star read, I decided to give it another go, and it was still enjoyable this time around. I am a big fan of Kelley's books set on the island of Nantucket and enjoyed the cameos of some of her characters from the Nantucket Beach Plum Cove series. I remembered parts of this book, but after five years, plenty of it was unfamiliar to me, so it was certainly not a hardship to reread it.

I love stories about sisters, and this was no exception. I also tend to love books that surround cooking or restaurants, so this also had that going for it. I appreciated the little bit of romance in there, and I loved hearing the back story of how it was that Grams came to be the silent partner in Mimi's Place. And it was a pleasure watching them bring the restaurant back to life, all while figuring out exactly where they fit into the equation. All in all, this was a fun summertime read from one of my auto-buy authors, and it was a great way to spend a day of my current staycation. I would still rate it a solid four stars.

Cozy Hallmark-type readers will love this one. It’s a quick and easy summer read with a fun setting and elements of love, family, friendship, sisterhood and redemption. I did feel the pacing was slow at times, but overall this is an excellent choice for your beach bag.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Pamela Kelley creates characters that I would like to have as friends and in a setting that I would love to visit. Her books make good beach reads and offer up realistic family drama. In The Nantucket Restaurant, three grown sisters have each come to a crossroads in their life as they mourn the loss of their beloved grandmother and take over the restaurant they were surprised to find she owned. I hope to read more about these characters in future books. Thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Emma, Jill, and Mandy are sisters, all living in different parts of the country, getting ready to reunite on Nantucket, for their grandmother’s birthday. But when Grams passes unexpectedly a week before her birthday, they inherit not just her home, but Mimi’s Place, a well known restaurant on Nantucket that Grams was a silent partner in. In order to earn their stake in the will, the sisters must work together at Mimi’s place for a year with the head chef, Paul.

The sisters are each dealing with changes in their personal lives. Mandy lives on Nantucket year round with her husband and children. Emma, is in the midst of getting a divorce, and moving to Nantucket from Arizona is just the move she could use. Jill is the co-owner of a recruiting firm in New York City, and while it’s not the ideal situation for her, she can work remotely and deal with the move for a year.

Throughout the year, the sisters learn different things about their grandmother , their personal lives go through changes, and they have the opportunity to work together and bond as sisters, which they haven’t done in a while.

This was a heartwarming book, about family, friendships, second chances, and love. Perfect for fans off Elin Hilderbrand , and a great summer read. I enjoyed the story line, character development, and watching the sisters grow throughout the story,

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks, and Pamela Kelley for the e-arc, in exchange for my honest review.

Love this story, I thunk Pamela Kelley writes the coziest books, like a hot cup of what ever you like and a warm blanket on the sofa cuddled up in book form. I hope that she writes another book with this family, it was so good- maybe even mix it up with her other nantucket series.

Three sisters inherit a restaurant and must learn to work together - a sweet story that while maybe not surprising is cute and fun

Thank you, NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark, for giving me the ARC to read and review.

4.25/5
In this cozy summer read, three sisters get tasked to work at their family-owned restaurant. Their grandmother passed away and left in her will that she secretly owned a popular Nantucket restaurant. She states that the three sisters must work in the restaurant for a year before selling, or the ownership goes to the head chef of the restaurant. This story goes through the trials of owning a restaurant and the exploration of relationships in your thirties.

The three sisters and their families were very interesting a different to dive into. All of them are at different points in their life, but all come together for one soul purpose. I liked how we got different pov's of the sisters and delved not only into them working in the restaurant but also their relationships and problems.
Some men in this story are keepers, but there are a few, or really only one, that is a huge walking red flag! I am glad he got what was coming to him.

This book is supposed to span over a year, and for the most part, it dives into the first few months of them owning the restaurant. Not until the end does it start to do time skips. It goes from being with the characters for their weekly tasks to all of a sudden month skips or only detailing a day because it is important. Before you know, they are deciding what to do with the restaurant and the book ends. The time skips are not bad, it just felt not as put together as the beginning because of the skipping around. The relationships kind of suffer from this because, towards the end, things felt rushed relationship-wise. This book also tries to touch on addiction, I think. I am not sure that the whole chapter was a bit confusing.

A cute little summer read and a nice cozy beach read. If you are into cozy fantasy and want to read a summer book, this might give you the same vibe. The descriptions of food reminded me of cozy fantasy. This book did make me hungry on multiple occasions.

I love to start my summer with a Nancy Thayer novel. She is a great writer of women's fiction and this one did not disappoint me. I love the character of Blythe who is moving past her divorce with her four kids in Boston. She spends the summer on Nantucket with her kids and they are all going through their own stuff and of course leaving Mom in the dark. While staying on Nantucket she is introduced to Nick and her first love resurfaces. She has to decide what she wants to do about these two relationships while still trying to be a parent. I related to Blythe in so many ways and loved the way it turned out. Being introduced to each of her children was a joy in this book. Thank you #NetGalley and they publisher for the ARC of this book. .

The Nantucket Restaurant is an updated/re-issued version of Pamela Kelley’s previously published book, The Restaurant, and includes a new storyline concerning the staff at Mimi’s Place. Fans of the original will recognize all the things from that first story—the food and wine, family relationships, and the mention of some of Pamela’s favorite places around the island. It was a little surprising to see how much of the book remained unchanged…with a new set of editors I think there was a missed opportunity to elevate this story to another level. Despite the lost editing opportunity, I love reading books set on Nantucket and still enjoyed this ‘mini-vacation’ to one of my favorite destinations.

Thank you to NetGalley and SourceBooks Landmark for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

A book about sisters navigating life after their grandmother passes away and leaves them a restaurant to run together with a twist. These 3 women have their own lives, going through their own struggles and I was loving the different POV’s. The setting is amazing, makes me want to go to Nantucket so bad lol.

Thank Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I loved this story so much! I love Nantucket and food based books so I loved the backside of the restaurant that the sisters inherited from their Grandmother. My grandmother was a mimi so I loved the name of the restaurant as well. The three sisters each had their own problems going on and I loved how they got to experience them together and help each other through hard times but then happy times too. I think the end of the story was a little rushed trying to wrap it all up and I wouldn’t have minded it being a little bit longer. This really does give off Elin Hilderbrand “The Blue Bistro” vibes just with more characters at play. This story is really great for all ages.

A solid summer read. I read it through a second time, and my only real feedback was that the last 20% of the book felt a bit rushed. For that, I'd give it hree and a half stars rather than four.

Mandy, Emma and Jill O'Toole are close sisters. They are called in when their grandmother passes away. The girls find that she was the owner of Mimi's Place their favorite restaurant. The will says they have to live and work the restaurant for a year. The chef Paul was also left a quarter share in the restaurant.
Wonderful story of the ladies finding their way with taking over the restaurant starting over in their lives.

First off, I really love the cover of this book, and I was excited to see it being compared to Elin Hilderbrand’s novels, which intrigued me. Unfortunately, while the story had a charming premise, it turned out to be quite predictable, and the characters lacked depth. The pacing was slow, the dialogue felt overly simple, and overall, the writing just seemed off. I would compare this book to a Hallmark movie, so if that’s your thing, I would highly recommend it. However, it just wasn’t for me. That said, if you’re looking for a quick, easy read to throw in your beach bag this summer this would be a good choice.

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

My rating: 4 ⭐️

In short:
❤️This book is great for fans of stories involving:

🤔Self-reflection and resilience
☀️👙Beachy settings
🏘️Small-town vibes
🦞🍤Lots of food references
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•Synopsis: Jill, Mandy, and Emma are sisters who unexpectedly find themselves part owners of a restaurant on Nantucket, where they grew up with their grandmother. Unbeknownst to them, she was the silent owner of her favorite restaurant, Mimi’s Place, and has now stipulated in her will that the sisters work together in the restaurant for a year. Jill’s life is hectic, Mandy and Emma are dealing with marital crises, and only Mandy currently lives on Nantucket. How exactly are they going to pull this off? •

[A shorter version of this book was originally published in 2020 under the title The Restaurant. The new version contains 1/3 new content. I did not read the original version so I can’t compare the two or comment on the additions.]

I enjoyed this story and found all the characters likable, though most could have been developed more thoroughly. If comparing the book to those of Elin Hilderbrand or Meg Mitchell Moore (my favorite contemporary/summer/women’s fiction authors), it falls a little short due to not having as much depth — the characters are not developed as much, themes and story arcs aren’t delved into as deeply, etc.

Taken on its own, though, it is an enjoyable story with little to complain about.

The Nantucket Restaurant is a mix between being character driven and plot driven. Most of the story plays out based on how the sisters respond to the challenges in their lives and what they learn about themselves, but the construct of the year working in the restaurant gives the story a backbone that helps move it forward in a concise and satisfying way. You know you’re going to move through the year and check in with the sisters and the restaurant in places, and to me this was a plus. It helped make the somewhat lacking character development less of an issue and I always appreciate a shorter book.

[Thank you to @bookmarked and @netgalley for the electronic review copy!]

I have a soft spot in my heart for family restaurant stories. Grandma surprises the family in her Will that she is actually the owner of the family's favorite restaurant. The three sisters must work together for a year, or it goes to Chef Paul. This was a quick easy summer "chick lit" read.