Book Description:
She inherits the bookshop of her dreams . . . But she has to run it with the ex she vowed never to speak with again.
Shelby Thatcher adores working in the charming small-town bookshop her grandmother opened years ago. Since high school she’s helped Gram turn the shop into a community hub for book lovers in the lakeside town of Grandville, NC. When her beloved grandma passes away, Shelby inherits the bookstore. But to her shock, Gram leaves half ownership to Gray Briggs, the man who broke Shelby’s heart years ago.
Grandville residents have been vilifying Gray as long as he can remember. After graduating high school he couldn’t skip town fast enough, even though it meant leaving the girl he’d fallen deeply in love with and alienating her family once and for all. Now he’s back, the beneficiary of his elderly friend’s will. Facing the town’s animosity is difficult, but seeing Shelby again is sheer torture. No one could ever stir his heart the way she did.
As the adversaries are forced to work together, Gram’s beyond-the-grave scheme is working–Shelby’s old feelings for Gray begin to resurface. But the problems that destroyed their relationship before still remain, and a new one surfaces–one that threatens Gram’s beloved bookshop. Is their love doomed to fail again, or will they find a way to make it work this time around?
If you’re looking for an enemies-to-lovers, second-chance romance set in a cozy lakeside bookshop brimming with healing, heart, and Southern charm, The Second Story Bookshop is your perfect, feel-good escape. Let Shelby and Gray’s tender journey remind you that sometimes the path back to love starts at the front step of a bookstore.
Narelle’s Thoughts:
I enjoyed reading The Second Story Bookshop, a contemporary romance with a dual storyline set in a small North Carolina town. Shelby’s grieving the loss of her beloved grandmother and she’s worried about how she’ll cope managing her grandmother’s bookshop on her own.
Shelby is shocked to see Gray, her high school sweetheart who left town and abandoned her eleven years ago, at the funeral home. The biggest shock of all is from her matchmaking grandmother who’d always liked Gray and left the bookshop to Shelby and Gray in her will.
Gray is an accountant and project manager at a construction company in Riverbend Gap. He returns to his hometown for the funeral and has no plans to stay in a town that never welcomed or accepted him. The bookshop inheritance from Shelby’s grandmother is unexpected and creates a lot of problems for Gray.
A delightful dual timeline romance unfolds as we journey with Gray and Shelby during their final year at high school and in the present day. The inheritance situation sets them up as enemies and brings up all their issues from high school. Shelby and Gray had difficult childhoods for different reasons and they have a lot of emotional baggage to unpack during the story.
Small town politics add to the obstacles Shelby and Gray must overcome to rebuild their broken relationship. Town secrets are revealed and I appreciated how all the story threads from the past and present day were tied up in a satisfying story ending. The faith elements, including redemption and forgiveness themes, come across as light on the page but they’re an integral part of the fabric of the story.
I recommend The Second Story Bookshop to contemporary romance readers who like enemies to love and dual timeline second chance romances with high school sweethearts, forced proximity from an inheritance, bookish characters, family drama, and relevant faith elements in the story.
Many thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.
