The Second Story Bookshop by Denise Hunter
4.6⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (rounded up to a 5)
Spice: 0.2/5
Cursing: none
Format/Source: audio from NetGalley, Thomas Nelson, and Zondervan Fiction Audio
Genres/Tropes: romance, second chance, small town
Audience: NA
Setting: NC
Characters: Shelby, Caleb, Logan, Oliver, Gray, Brendan, Gram
👍 short-med chapters, multi POV, bookshop, redemption, book loving MCs, no cursing
👎 multi time frames

Description:
Shelby enjoys working in the charming small-town bookshop her grandmother opened years ago. When her beloved grandma passes away, Shelby inherits the bookstore. But to her shock, Gram leaves half ownership to Gray Briggs, the man who broke Shelby's heart years ago.
Granville residents have been vilifying Gray as long as he can remember. After graduating high school, he couldn't skip town fast enough, even though it meant leaving the girl he'd fallen deeply in love with. Facing the town's animosity is difficult, but seeing Shelby again is sheer torture. No one could ever stir his heart the way she did.
As the adversaries are forced to work together, Gram's beyond-the-grave scheme is working--Shelby's old feelings for Gray begin to resurface. Is their love doomed to fail again, or will they find a way to make it work this time around?

My opinion:
Denise pens a sweet and clean second chance romance. The short-med length chapters and multiple POV made for an effortless read. I adored the small town bookshop setting. I always love reading a book with characters who love to read, and both MCs do so in this book! The redemption arc was somewhat predictable but still great. I truly appreciated that there was no cursing to pollute the storyline. Typically, I do not enjoy novels with multi time frames; however, they were clearly labeled, making them easy to follow along. I was entertained by this novel and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys clean romantic stories.
#bookstagram #arcreader #booklovers #netgalley #romancebooks #booktok #denisehunter
***I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A cute second chance romance. A story exploring a tumultuous past of a son in a small town and the overcoming prejudices to keep his love.

Shelby Thatcher adores working in the charming small-town bookshop her grandmother opened years ago. Since high school she's helped Gram turn the shop into a community hub for book lovers in the lakeside town of Granville, NC. When her beloved grandma passes away, Shelby inherits the bookstore. But to her shock, Gram leaves half ownership to Gray Briggs, the man who broke Shelby's heart years ago.

Granville residents have been vilifying Gray as long as he can remember. After graduating high school he couldn't skip town fast enough, even though it meant leaving the girl he'd fallen deeply in love with and alienating her family once and for all. Now he's back, the beneficiary of his elderly friend's will. Facing the town's animosity is difficult, but seeing Shelby again is sheer torture. No one could ever stir his heart the way she did.

As the adversaries are forced to work together, Gram's beyond-the-grave scheme is working--Shelby's old feelings for Gray begin to resurface. But the problems that destroyed their relationship before still remain, and a new one surfaces--one that threatens Gram's beloved bookshop. Is their love doomed to fail again, or will they find a way to make it work this time around

Everybody deserves to get to write their second story - and this is Shelby and Gray's version.

Shelby and Gray both found themselves back in their small-town after Shelby's Gran dies and to their surprise, she leaves her beloved bookshop to both of them. Gray's life was never easy - bullied because of the sins of his father. All he wanted to do was to leave town, but that also meant breaking Shelby's heart. When they learn that the bookshop is in trouble, they work together to save Gran's pride and joy.

This book evoked such emotion due to the pain that Gray has felt all of his life and continues to feel. It showed the small-town politics and how tough that can be when you're on the opposing side of it. Kim Churchill narrates this audiobook and I enjoyed listening to her tell their story. So grab your blankets and hot tea and sit down for this cozy read!

🎧
Narration: 🎙️🎙️🎙️
Plot: 📖📖📖📖

This books was so good! I don’t know what I expected when I started this but I finished it it in 24 hours! The feelings this book gave me were real! I went from giggling to tears! I loved both Shelby and Gray! They both went through so much but still came out strong yet vulnerable. And that nickname! ❤️‍🔥 Gray is it I’m telling you! His teasing had me giddy! This book touched on so much between bullying, grief, heartbreak and even Down syndrome. It did so beautifully! I enjoyed the ending of the story! It was just so sweet and perfect touch. I will say that I wish the book had been longer. I think it got a little choppy and slightly rushed at about 75% but other than that it was really great.

I also want to mention the narrator, Kim Churchill. She was great! She actually reminded me of the narrator that does some of Kristin Hannah’s books, Julia Whelan. Kim really brought the raw emotion alive in this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for the opportunity to listen to this book!

I received this ALC courtesy of NetGalley. I enjoyed this book for the first 30ish percent. Then it veered heavily down the road of aspiring to be a movie Candace Cameron-Bure would star in. For me that is not the vibe. The conflict between the main characters was ridiculous and seemed selfish on the FMCs part especially carrying on all those years later. Also the whole town behaving the way they did? And the incident that lead to the climax? Ok then…
The audiobook narrator did a great job voicing every character but I wish they had also had a male narrator. I think it would have given more to the book.
Overall if you enjoy hallmark movies and things like that you would enjoy this.

The Second Story Bookshop
by Denise Hunter
Narrated by Kim Churchill

I received an ARC of this audiobook through Netgalley.

Shelby and Gray had a sizzling teenage relationship that ended when Gray suddenly left town. Now, Shelby and Gray half each inherited 1/2 of the Second Story Bookshop that her grandmother owned. Can they put the past behind them and come out on the other side?

There’s a lot of things to love about this book:
Bookshop romance, dealing with old traumas, meddling grandmother, small town, and two main characters that you can’t help but fall for immediately.

If you like romance and second chances - I definitely recommend this book. It has so many good feels!

If you are looking for a small-town, feel-good read, then Denise Hunter is your girl! Her latest novel, "The Second Story Bookshop" may just be my favorite!

I haven't read a Denise Hunter book in years, so when I saw she had one coming out about a bookshop, I had to give it a try! I think there will be many grandmas in my community who will love this book and want to check it out at the library. The grandmas of both Shelby and Grayson played such huge roles in their lives. Many people will find that relatable. Shelby and her family is grieving after her grandmother passed away. She was given her grandmother's bookstore, The Second Story Bookshop. The bookstore is called that because her grandmother received money after her husband died. She wanted to start a new life, a new story, so the "second story" bookshop began.

Shelby and Grayson fell in love when they were in high school. After Grayson wasn't able to secure a scholarship for college, he decided to join the Army so he could still get a college education. Shelby found this unforgiveable. I can understand her being upset that he made this decision without her, but I don't understand why she was mad enough about it to not answer his phone calls or letter once he was in boot camp. Her family's grudge against Grayson after this drama also seemed unjust. Shelby was the one who decided to end things with Grayson, yet her father and brother were very hostile towards Grayson when he returned to town to help with the bookshop.

Because Shelby's mother left when she was younger, Shelby, her father and brother all had abandonment issues which escalated their feelings towards Gray when he left for boot camp. BUT it still seemed mind-blowing for them all to stay so mad for so long. It made me feel like Shelby didn't really love Gray as a teenager. Teenagers normally will do anything for love. They think they can overcome any obstacle. She gave up pretty quickly with Gray.

I also found it incredibly unrealistic how much the town hated Gray, not only as an adult at present day but as an innocent teenager. Yes, his father was in jail, but I don't believe that that amount of people in a town would blame a teenager for their father's mistakes. When Gray returned to town and had his house vandalized, unjustly stopped by officers TWICE, and had his house shot at, it was just too much for me. I can understand a few people not wanting him to stay in town, but to go to the lengths that they did to run him out of town seemed ridiculous. And majority of the town backed up those actions by boycotting the bookshop for a time period.

Again, I think the people who just want an easy read with lots of drama will eat this book up. It was just too unrealistic and farfetched for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for providing me an advanced copy for my honest review.

5 ⭐️
This book was so cute! I loved the bookshop setting. It felt cozy and fun. And I think it would be a great book to adapt into a film! I don’t know why, but as I was reading it I just kept thinking how it would make a great movie lol 😂

I really connected with the characters and thought their story was beautifully written. Our FMC is loyal through and through and our MMC is genuine and puts others before himself. So many things wanted to get in their way but ultimately their love for each other brought them back together!

In this book We get:
•2nd Chance Romance
•BookShop Owners
•Forced Proximity
•Closed Door Christian Romance
•Small Town
And more!

I received the Audiobook version of this book and the narrator did an amazing job! I would highly recommend this one! I would love to read more by Denise hunter as I genuinely loved this book.

Thank you @deniseahunter and @netgalley for gifting me this Arc 🫶🏼

This was a interesting story, surrounding a second chance love and some conniving grannies. I really enjoyed the drama and the small town vibe but not in the good light most have, putting some reality to the bad side of small town gossip and straight bullying that happens. Makes you take a look at yourself and how you treat others makes a life long impact you may not even know you did at the time. Great story
Great narrations
Loved this!

Thank you for the opportunity to review.
This was a sweet, warm hearted tale of love resurrected. I loved the narration and they kept me completely wrapped up in Shelby and Grey.

Holy cannoli, I loved this book!

The Second Story Bookshop is a heartwarming second-chance romance between Shelby and her ex-boyfriend, Gray. The two are thrown back into each other’s lives after the death of Shelby’s sweet, meddling grandmother—who was so lovingly written, I genuinely felt a sense of loss. Her presence lingers warmly throughout the story.

Shelby and Gray unexpectedly find themselves co-owners of her grandmother’s beloved bookstore. As they work together to preserve her legacy, they’re forced to confront their complicated history—all while facing unexpected challenges that threaten the shop’s future.

The emotional history between them felt so real. I especially enjoyed the dual timelines—flashing between their high school years and the present—which added so much depth to their characters. There were moments I wanted to shout, “What are you doing?!”—but those frustrating choices made their eventual growth feel all the more satisfying. The character development is spot-on and incredibly rewarding.

There are emotional themes around bullying and parental abandonment, so readers sensitive to those topics may want to be aware—but I felt they were handled with care and added emotional richness to the story. The portrayal of bullying, in particular, was striking. At times I was shocked that someone would actually behave that way—yet sadly, it wasn’t unrealistic. The book does an excellent job showing how cruelty in adolescence can echo into adulthood if left unchecked. I appreciated how everything came together in the end, and the resolution still managed to surprise me.

I also loved the sister-in-law dynamic woven into the story, and the cameos from Gavin and Wes from Riverbend were such a fun treat for fans of Hunter’s previous work.

I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator did an excellent job capturing Shelby’s voice. Her performance brought each character to life and made the alternating POVs easy to follow.

If you’re looking for a sweet, clean romance with depth, charm, and lovable characters, The Second Story Bookshop is one to add to your list!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review this ARC.

This book was an enjoyable read. Surely, it meets the expectations that one may have when one reads a romance set in a bookshop, even though I believe that a few themes could have been explored further (it seems to me that a few characters/mentions are just added here and there to make the reader go "aww so nice", but then promptly left aside). Overall, an entertaining reading experience.

I thought the book was incredibly cute and promising. Denise dives in with tackling hard-hitting topics like bullying, abandonment, first love, and how we can push people that matter to us away.

Gray is an outcast who is bullied and paying the price of his father's crimes, while Shelby is a ray of sunshine who is dealing with her mother, who abandoned her. Gray leaves Shelby heartbroken after graduation. (You'll have to read to figure out why 😉)

The book was solid where we get to see Gray and Shelby find each other again amongst the failing bookshop that Shelbys Grandma left them. We watch them fight to keep it afloat. We see Gray deal with childhood bullying (and how the town still bullies him) and how he won't do wrong by Shelby again. I honestly wished the book was longer so we could see more of Shelby & Grays relationship unfold. This is perfect for a palate cleanser after heavy books and will leave you smiling and rooting for the main characters!

The narrator did a great job of conveying emotions and keeping me engaged.

Thank you, Netgalley & Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio, for the ALC 💕

I thought this was super cute. I really liked the little banter between Shelby and Gray. I think the town hateing him and making everything a struggle added to the story. I enjoyed the narrator.

Narration was perfect but the plot fell a bit flat for me. I just couldn’t get into the love story of the two main characters. At times it felt like too much effort to make it happen and some of their backstories were a bit too far fetched for the emotions they depicted.

I loved the author’s last novel and was excited for this one. The premise is great I just think it could have been executed differently. Still an enjoyable listen for something lighthearted

The Second Story Bookshop offers a soft, reflective tone and centres on a second chance romance set against the backdrop of a charming small-town bookshop.

Denise Hunter’s writing carries emotional authenticity, gently exploring themes of grief, healing, and rediscovery. The main characters are well-drawn, with chemistry that simmers beneath layers of shared history and unspoken feelings.

The narration fits the pace and emotional weight of the story well, creating a soothing experience for audiobook listeners. A great pick for fans of heartfelt women’s fiction and sweet, character-driven romances.

A second time around novel. This takes place in a very small town. Shelly who helped her grandmother in the bookshop she started in Granville South Carolina. When she passed she left majority of the bookshop and minority to Gray. Gray is not accepted well in this town as his Dad murdered someone. He left town as soon as he could and made a name for himself in Riverbend. He did come back to Shelly with the bookshop despite the way people still treated him. He actually gave her his shares. See how they worked together to keep the bookshop thriving. Everyone is against them giving it a second chance until things happen. Definitely a nice cozy read, clean and light 3.5 rounded up. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity.

The Second Story Bookshop, written by Denise Hunter and narrated by Kim Churchill, tells the story of Shelby Thatcher, who helps her Gram run a bookshop of the same name. Our book begins with the death of Shelby's Gram, and Shelby begins to discover some of the surprises her Gram has for her, including leaving half of the ownership of the Bookshop to Gray, who broke Shelby's heart in high school. Gray has never really been accepted by the residents of Granville where Shelby lives, and Shelby's family seems to be struggling with her Gram's decision as well, wanting to protect her from getting her heart broken again. But as time goes on Shelby seems to realize that she might really need Gray's help, and that maybe he has some lessons of his own to teach her.

I really enjoyed this book, and the small town feel. I liked the chapters that helped us learn more about the past of the main characters, and also appreciated how the characters learned about each other and themselves. I also enjoyed seeing the relationships between characters change, and appreciated the talk of faith and religion without it being overpowering. I do think that there was also some wonderful self discovery included, especially when it came to family relationships, and why individuals act and react in certain ways in different situations.

This was my first book by this author but it will definitely not be my last! I recommend this book to anyone looking for a book with a small town feel, or a comedy/romance. Thank You to NetGalley and to the author, narrator, and publisher of this book for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great second chance romance with a lot of small town drama and even a little bit of action. I listened to this on audiobook and would definitely recommend. I loved the duel time lines and compelling characters. I listen at 2x speed and feel the narrator does a fantastic job with the different characters, she wan't over the top with the different character but was enough for me to differentiate them all and made this a very easy listen.