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The Sandy Page Bookshop
By Hannah McKinnon
Atria, July 2025, 384pp.

The Short of It:

Sweet story about starting over.

The Rest of It:

After her publishing career and engagement fell apart in Boston, Leah Powell has no choice but to return to her hometown. Feeling lost and discouraged, she stumbles upon a once prominent sea captain’s historic home that now looks as dilapidated as she feels. Suddenly inspired, Leah decides to transform it into a bookstore and café she will call The Sandy Page. ~ the publisher

The Sandy Page Bookshop is a little predictable but delivers what you’d expect. A sweet story, lovely bookish moments, actually more of them would have been welcomed and a tiny bit of romance.

Leah’s engagement falls apart and her ex-fiancé seems to have moved on. What’s left to do but start over? She returns home, sees this wonderful old property and rolls up her sleeves to start something new. The bookshop becomes so much more than a just a shop. It’s a community creative space, a small cafe and the people that gather there all have a story to tell.

To do this though, Leah needs help and that help comes in the form of Luke, someone from her past that resurfaces to help make her dream a reality. Luke is handy and can build anything but he and Leah seem to connect and then, not. It’s complicated.

This is a story about starting over, taking chances, and having faith that things will work out in the end. There are some sweet moments between the characters, friends and lovers alike.

Recommend.

Source: Review copy sent to me by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

Bright Young Women
By Jessica Knoll
S&s/ Marysue Rucci Books, 9781501153235, August 2024, 400pp.

The Short of It:

A killer, a house full of sorority girls, what could go wrong?

The Rest of It:

Plenty! Knoll wastes no time, we learn very early on what happened to those sorority girls, we just don’t know who did it. Pamela, the sorority president takes her role very seriously. In the aftermath of what’s happened, she feels the weight of the world on her shoulders. Contact the parents, get the other girls to safety, talk to the police and yes, the press.

She is the only one who saw his face. As a law students, she knows the importance of this and knows that cases can go sideways quickly. For that to happen though, they have to have the suspect in custody.

That’s where Tina comes in. She shows up out of nowhere, offers to help. Offers a place to stay. Gives Pamela pointers on who to talk to in the press and who to steer clear from. Tina is a problem. She lost her friend Ruth years earlier and has been hell bent on finding her killer. Tina’s instincts and intentions seem good but is she taking Pamela down the wrong path? Plus, Tina has a horrible reputation with law enforcement so her friendship with Pamela is questioned.

I was very invested in this story for the first half. The details as they unraveled piqued my interest. Pamela is a strong, likable character but Tina is not and her opinions take up much of the story. I also felt that although Pamela’s closeness to one of the victims is what drives her to look for her killer, I did not know enough about the girl to really care for her. Sure, no one wants someone to be murdered but besides her being a sorority sister, what gives?

The author makes some decisions with some of the characters that raised my eyebrows. They felt like an addendum rather than part of the story. Kind of tacked on for mystery’s sake. I didn’t care for it. Also, the sexual orientation of the girls was woven into the story, but I’m not sure it was needed or if it brought anything else to the story, really. My opinion.

My book club chose this book for January’s meeting. I really liked that first half but it left me a little frustrated by the end. I looked back at another book by this author, Luckiest Girl Alive, and felt the same way.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

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