Book Review for A Novel Summer by Jamie Brenner

 A Novel Summer by Jamie Brenner

Published July 16, 2024 by Park Row

Genre:  Romance, Adult Fiction, Chick Lit, Books about Books

 

Taken from Goodreads:  A bestselling author finds love and second chances in the stacks of a quaint beach town bookshop

Author Shelby Archer found inspiration for her first novel while living on the picturesque shores of Provincetown on Cape Cod. When she comes to the town to celebrate her new bestseller, she is expecting a warm homecoming. But instead she is confronted with the cold shoulders of friends and neighbors who feel exposed and betrayed.

Heartbroken, Shelby tries to move on and focus on her next novel. But then an unexpected call comes: her dear friend who owns the beloved Land's End bookshop needs help for the summer. Shelby reluctantly returns to the Cape to manage the store.

Back at the beach, Shelby sets her focus on the tiny seaside shop, getting lost in the shelves of steamy romance novels and dusty classics and trying to right the wrongs of her past. With every page turned and every customer served, Shelby comes closer to gaining back the trust of those she hurt. But as her manuscript deadline nears, she is again forced to choose between her own success and a second chance at love and belonging.

 

My Thoughts:  I love the setting of Ptown.   It is a place that I dream of visiting and A Novel Summer took me right into the town.  I could picture the quaint town with the shops with their doors open.  Land’s End sounds like the perfect bookstore to find a cozy corner and lose yourself for hours within the bookshelves. 

 

The characters of Shelby, Colleen, and Hunter as friends was a challenge at time for me.  Hunter held a grudge for a silly reason and did not want to talk about it, Colleen refused to accept help and Shelby was floundering in her life and career.   While they were friends, they did not seem to trust each other enough to talk to each other.   I struggled with how best of friends could be that way.   I wanted inside jokes, late night chats, and that fierceness that best friends have for each other.  

 

A Novel Summer is easy to read and I did enjoy it.  I liked that author events held at Land’s End and the way customers could come in and ask for a Green Book and would walk out with the Green Book they wanted.  

 

This is my first book from Jamie Brenner and I will look for more from her.   

Thank you Harlequin for a copy of the book via NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

 

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Meet Jamie Brenner (taken from her website):  Jamie Brenner is the bestselling author of eight novels including The Forever Summer and Blush. She grew up in suburban Philadelphia on a steady diet of books and daytime dramas, then moved to New York City for a career in publishing before becoming an author at age forty. After raising two daughters in Manhattan, Jamie has returned to her hometown and spends her summers visiting the beaches that inspire her novels. Her new book, A NOVEL SUMMER, is coming on July 16, 2024 with Park Row Books.