The Boardwalk Bookshop by Susan Mallery takes us to a store on the beach that houses a bookshop, gift shop, and muffin shop. Three women have come together to lease the space. You can pick up a snack, a book, and beach towel plus a cute tote bag to hold everything all in one charming shop. We get to meet Bree, Ashley, and Mikki. I enjoyed the descriptions of the lady’s unique store. They each managed to put their own spin on their spaces while making it cohesive as a whole. I found the book to move along at snail’s pace and I thought the book was way too long (the story could have easily lost over a hundred pages). The transitions were jarring as we jumped between the three women (go from woman to woman in the same chapter). I got tired of Bree and her issues early on. I found many details to be repetitive (about all three women). I did not find the characters to be unique. They are similar to other Susan Mallery characters. There is foul language as well an intimate situations in the book including references to women’s personal pleasure devices (I do not wish to read about women naming their devices or their bedroom antics). The ending is nice, but I wish there had been an epilogue so we could see how the characters are faring in the future. It was interesting learning about the different champagnes and sparkling wines. The three women tried something different each Friday after work as they enjoyed watching the sunset on the beach. There is a recipe for red, white, and blue muffins at the end of the book along with discussion questions and a preview of Home Sweet Christmas (Susan Mallery’s next book). The Boardwalk Bookshop is beach book with a busy bookshop, mouthwatering muffins, an attractive author, chilled champagne, a sad sack, firm friends, and relationship woes.

A decent story line. I was sidelined by some explicit sexual content that could have been left to the imagination. Overall it showed how relationships are tricky. And that being upfront and having the hard conversations are better in the end.

Random pick. Fluff but enjoyable. Good summer read.