Women’s Fiction | Book Chatter

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.

Three Days in June
By Anne Tyler
Knopf, 9780593803486, February 11, 2025, 176 pp.

The Short of It:

Anne Tyler. Always a pleasure.

The Rest of It:

Gail Baines loses her job and then discovers that her bride-to-be daughter is in crisis mode. Something has happened to make her question her relationship. Because it’s the weekend of the wedding, Gail’s ex-husband Max is also in town and hits Gail up last minute for a place to crash, and he just happens to have a foster cat with him.

A wedding weekend filled with rehearsals and meals. The ex, well-liked but quirky and with a cat no less. Debbie. the bride-to-be, darting around busily as the wedding ensues. How can Gail rein this in? Can she? Is it even her place to do so?

Gail is a likable character. Not all that confident in her “mother-of-the-bride” status but she tries. She wants to do right by her daughter, and to remind her that if there are any doubts, that it’s okay to back out now. That it doesn’t matter that everyone has arrived for this thing. But then Gail is reminded of her own infidelity and how people can make mistakes and still be good people.

This is a whirlwind type of read. As a reader, you are invested in this story quickly and it’s tied up in much the same way, quickly. The writing is what earns stars here. Tyler’s characters always posses that quirky something-something that makes them interesting. I enjoyed it a lot. Almost felt it was too short.

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

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