Review~ The Bookstore on the Beach

The Bookstore on the Beach
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Published: April 6, 2021
How do you start a new chapter of your life when you haven’t closed the book on the previous one? Eighteen months ago, Autumn Divac’s husband went missing. Her desperate search has yielded no answers, and she can’t imagine moving forward without him. But for the sake of their two teenage children, she has to try. Autumn takes her kids home for the summer to the charming beachside town where she was raised. She seeks…

For the most part, this was an enjoyable read. I liked the characters and felt involved with them throughout the story, which would normally make this at least a 4-star read, but the plot turn in the last two chapters really disappointed me, and the ending was very abrupt, so it knocked my rating down to 3.5 stars.

The main storyline revolves around Autumn, though her mother, Mary, and daughter, Taylor, are also key characters in the story and all three of their experiences move the book along.

Mary has a secret from her past that she wants to keep from Autumn and her grandchildren, and she’s terrified of it coming out. Though with Autumn’s curiosity about the father she’s never known, Mary’s afraid she’ll find out on her own before Mary tells her. And when that past shows up in Mary’s present, she knows time is running out to tell Autumn the truth.

Autumn’s husband has been missing for almost 2 years and she has come to terms with the likelihood that he’s never coming back. Though she initially resists, she can’t help falling in love with Quinn, someone from her past. Afraid to disrupt her children’s lives, concerned about her mother’s secrecy, and coming to terms with the loss of her husband, Autumn is frequently overwhelmed, and does not always make the best decisions (I’m looking at you, last 2 chapters).

Taylor has struggled with her father’ disappearance, which has led her to make some bad decisions as well. One of those bad decisions will change the course of Taylor’s life, as does meeting Sierra. While Taylor is only 17, she handles her challenges with a lot of maturity, even though she is scared of the choices in front of her. She also learns more about herself and is open to a new, wholly unexpected relationship.

The supporting characters are all amazing- Quinn, Kayden (Autumn’s son), and Sierra all bring depth to the story and bring out more in the main characters. Quinn’s parents and Mary’s “sister” and her family also round out a supportive cast.

There are “villains” in the story, namely Quinn’s ex-mother-in-law and someone from Mary’s past. But the worst villain, in my opinion, isn’t actually written as one, but I did not like them before they even appeared on the page in the second to last chapter. (If things had been handled differently, I might have been ok with them, but the way the story played out, they made my skin crawl).

All in all, I definitely recommend this one.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book through Net Galley on behalf of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.