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.

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.

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
———
•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.

Absolutely loved this book! The storyline was so good. The way it was written was so wholesome and great. I devoured this book!

Three sisters are left a popular, but somewhat dated restaurant on Nantucket by their grandmother. They were genuinely surprised since they didn't realize that she owned it. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the characters who seemed like real individuals. I thought dialog flowed well. I also liked the back story that the women's grandmother won a restaurant many years ago in a card game. The history comes out through a found diary, written by Gram many years before.
Each sister has a busy life already, but work together to meet the terms of the will. The author enjoys food and cooking and that comes through in the book.

This is the first book by this author that I've read. I'm looking forward to reading more. I listened to the audio version of the book and I found the narration to be very well done.

Update: I originally read this book in 2020. It's been updated and some new characters have been added. Like all of Pamela Kelley's books, this is a light read and the characters are likeable. Reading her books is like catching up with friends.

I picked this one because it gave me Elin Hilderbrand vibes and it did NOT disappoint. This was a great read and so happy to have read it before the summer. Thanks so much for the copy!

“The Nantucket Restaurant” tells the story of three sisters whose grandmother dies and leaves the family’s favorite restaurant to them in her will. The girls had no idea their grandmother was the owner of the restaurant, and her will stipulates that they can’t sell it until they spend a year working their together, so the three sisters band together to learn the restaurant business and get to know each other better as adults.

This book will inevitably be compared to Elin Hilderbrand’s books, especially to one of my favorite of her books, “The Blue Bistro” which is also about a restaurant. While this book is a pleasant read with a fun plot, it isn’t on the same level as “The Blue Bistro” or other books by Hilderbrand. It also doesn’t have the same sense of place as Hilderbrand’s books. And the writing and stylistic choices felt a little bit amateurish and just slightly off. For example, there are two characters who live in NYC and their favorite restaurant is Rosa Mexicana … and not in an ironic way. And the interludes with diary entries from the grandmother also felt a little too convenient and pat.

Lastly, the foodie aspect of the book didn’t work for me. There was a lot of descriptions of food, but the food described didn’t sound all that good to me or like food that would really be served at the upscale restaurants in question. It sort of seemed like someone who isn’t a real foodie was writing the descriptions.

All that said, for readers looking for a replacement for Elin Hilderbrand’s annual beach read set on Nantucket, this book will do just fine as long as readers go into it without setting their expectations too high!

Pamela Kelley’s "The Nantucket Restaurant" is a heartwarming story about family, second chances, and finding purpose in unexpected places.

Set against the charming backdrop of Nantucket, the story follows three sisters - Mandy, Emma, and Jill - who inherit their grandmother’s beloved restaurant, with one condition: they must run it together for a year before deciding its future.

Each sister brings a unique perspective - Mandy is practical, Emma is ambitious, and Jill is quietly strong. These differences between them create tension, but also lead to growth as they reconnect and rediscover what truly matters. The character of Chef Paul, a longtime fixture at the restaurant, adds warmth and depth to the story.

Kelley’s writing is simple and heartfelt, capturing both the beauty of the island and the emotional journey of the characters. While the plot is somewhat predictable, the joy lies in watching the sisters rebuild their bond and embrace a shared legacy. "The Nantucket Restaurant" is a cozy, feel-good read about love, resilience, and the ties that hold us together.

(3.5 rounded up to 4)

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read The Nantucket Restaurant before its release date!

Three sisters - Jill, Mandy, and Emma - are floored to learn that their late grandmother was the owner of their favorite restaurant on Nantucket, Mimi’s place. A secret held for many years, their grandmother revealed her truth in her will, along with the news that she was transferring ownership to the sisters - as long as they all worked there together for one full year. This book covers the transformative year of the womens’ lives as they navigate entrepreneurship as well as the changing nature of their own personal lives, in very similar and different ways.

I feel like this book will be a hit for readers looking for something quick, easy, and fun. However, for me, this book unfortunately fell flat. While I did enjoy the overall story and all the delicious food (seriously, this book made me SO hungry!), I really struggled with the overall writing and style of the book. Parts of the book felt a bit unbelievable. Having worked in the restaurant industry for many years I cannot imagine that three women with almost no experience could pick it up as quickly as they did. I also felt that they all uprooted their lives so quickly and easily - it seemed unrealistic. The writing was very basic and obvious - there was no tension, no room for interpretation. I felt the characters lacked depth and the story was rushed.

I think the premise of this book is good, and with a deeper level of story telling this could have been a home run. However, for me it was too simple and too predictable. I definitely think there is a market for a book like this, I just am not sure I am part of that market.

2.5 rounded up to 3 stars for me.

Ms. Kelley is a prolific writer and I've read a number of her prior novels, particularly enjoying her storytelling, interesting characters, and the Nantucket setting. I always like how she presents Nantucket - it's a character and important part of the book, but she doesn't overwhelm us with extraneous details.
In The Nantucket Restaurant, Jill, Emma and Mandy are all sisters who are originally from Nantucket and who are busy living their independent lives. The illness and death of their beloved grandmother brings them together and all back to the island in an unusual way.
Elements of the storyline were a bit predictable and I would have liked a deeper look into the grandmother's life, but The Nantucket Restaurant is a perfect book if you like an island setting and restaurant (ie food porn) focused novel.
Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks/Landmark for the opportunity to read The Nantucket Restaurant. I received a complimentary copy of the book and opinions expressed are completely my own.