The Bookshop by the Bay by Pamela Kelley

Pamela Kelley’s novel The Bookshop by the Bay not only is a wonderful testament to friendship, family, friends, love and books, but quite the homage to the other character lurking in the background of the beautiful story…Cape Cod! Kelley gets everything right about why not only Chatham, MA is so glorious, but Cape Cod in general!

Alison works as a magazine writer in Chatham. But unfortunately, because everything seems to be going online, they have lost subscribers and need to downsize the office. Alison has been saved this round, but realizes her days are numbered. She is divorced but her best friend is her ex-husband, Chris. They have a daughter Julia who owns a jewelry shop in Chatham and is beginning to become known. Although she seems content with her life, she realizes that she needs to figure out a new path.

Jess is Alison’s childhood best friend. She is an attorney at her husband’s family’s law firm in Charleston. She has always gone to visit Alison for a few weeks in the summer but has missed the last few years. When her marriage is shockingly turned into turmoil and her daughter Caitlin loses her job as well as her boyfriend all in the same day, she knows they need to get away to somewhere they can both decompress and relax.

They decide to head to Chatham for a month to see her mother and Alison. She needs to sort her life out and needs the comfort of family and friends as she tries to make the most difficult decisions of her life.

And that’s the beginning of when all their lives start to change.

Alison discovers the local owner of the Chatham bookstore, a staple in her life since she was a child is being sold, she decides she must somehow save it. And when Jess agrees, they become business partners in the endeavor. But trying to sustain a bookstore, while still working part-time and coming up with creative ideas on how to make money and get people excited to come into the shop is not easy. But with the help of their family and friends they begin to actually succeed in getting patrons excited.

As the summer season starts to wind down and Jess knows she must go back to Charlston and salvage that part of her life, she can’t help but question where she truly belongs. Coming back to Cape Cod has given her a gift she never asked for…peace.

Filled with interesting relatable characters, imaginative picturesque scenery and a wonderful storyline, The Bookshop by the Bay will have you not only eating up (pun intended) this delicious story but wishing to book a trip to this charming seaside town. Long live The Lobster Pot!

Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin’sPressGriffin #TheBookshopbytheBay #PamelaKelley for the advanced copy.