![Bookshop by the Sea Back Porch Reads banner](https://melissawardwell.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Back-Porch-Reads-banner.jpg)
I have never felt so exposed, so seen.
I’m not sure I liked that, but the story itself was beautiful.
Bookshop by the Sea tells the story of Sophie Lawson, the eldest daughter in her family, who has put everything on hold for her family, including love. She has put aside her dreams, her opinions, and her boundaries so that her siblings feel as though they can count on her to be there for them. Now, any woman who is the oldest sibling might identify with Sophie on a deeper level than any other character. I know I did. We tend to put aside your own priorities to help a loved one–but we don’t have to. And when Aiden calls her out on her enabling behavior, she is hurt to the core, as many of us would be.
As Christians, we are called to set boundaries and keep them. It’s okay to tell our loved ones, “No, you need to figure this out,” and then pray them through it.
Now, to the rest of the book…
There were times I could almost hear the seagulls and smell the scent of the new books in the bookshop as Jessica Holtan told Sophie and Aiden’s story. Her alliteration, paired with Denise Hunter’s writing, seemed to be the perfect match as I was transported to the bookshop by the sea, the wedding of Sophie’s sister, and the beach house in the heart of a hurricane. I loved it all.
Thank you, Denise and Jessica, for the hours of listening enjoyment.
About the Book
Bookshop By The Sea
Author: Denise Hunter
Narrated by: Jessica Holtan
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Click here to purchase
Sophie Lawson should be enjoying her sister’s wedding day. But nothing could have prepared her to see the best man again.
After her mother became bedridden and her father bailed on the family, Sophie found herself serving as a second mother to her twin brother, Seth, and younger sister, Jenna. Sophie supported her siblings through their college years, putting aside her own dream of opening a bookshop in Piper’s Cove – the quaint North Carolina beach town they frequented as children.
Now it’s finally time for Sophie to follow her own pursuits. Seth has a new job, and Jenna is set to marry her college beau in Piper’s Cove. But the destination wedding reunites Sophie with best man Aiden Maddox, her high school sweetheart who left her without a backward glance.
When an advancing hurricane strands Aiden in Piper’s Cove after the wedding, he finds the hotels booked to capacity and has to ask Sophie to put him up until the storm passes. As the two ride out the weather, old feelings rise to the surface. The delay also leaves Sophie with mere days to get her bookshop up and running. Can she trust Aiden to stick around? And will he find the courage to risk his heart?
![Bookshop By The Sea](https://melissawardwell.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/a340c431-ab2b-4020-be25-1a4714e27089.__CR002910900_PT0_SX970_V1___.png.jpeg)
0 Comments