The Second Story Bookshop by Denise Hunter: Book Review

 **ARC received via Netgalley for consideration. All opinions are my own. 

The Book

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 Granville, 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.

Granville 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?

The Author

Denise Hunter is the internationally-published bestselling author of more than forty novels, three of which have been adapted into Hallmark movies. She has appeared on the The 700 Club and been featured in Southern Living and Woman's World.

Denise writes heartwarming, small-town love stories, peopled with layered characters who have real-life issues. Her readers enjoy the vicarious thrill of falling in love and the promise of a happily-ever-after sigh as they savor the final pages of her books.

In 1996, inspired by the death of her grandfather, Denise began her first book, writing while her children napped. Two years later it was published, and she's been writing ever since. Her husband says he inspires all her romantic stories, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too!

When Denise isn't orchestrating love lives on the written page, she enjoys traveling, drinking chai lattes, hiking, and playing drums. Denise makes her home in Indiana where she and her husband raised three boys and are currently enjoying an empty nest and four beautiful grandchildren.

You can learn more about Denise through her website.

Book Review

Wow, what a book! I love anything that Denise Hunter writes--- her stories are always the perfect blend of romance, heart and small-town charm. In this particular story though, we get to see some of the downsides of living in a small-town: like what happens when you're an outcast in that town. Gray and Shelby had such a beautiful romance... though certainly not one without its challenges. They were unlikely high school sweethearts, with him being judged by the town by his father's reputation, but things ended badly when he left town after graduation. Years later, when they have to work together to save the bookshop that Shelby's grandmother unexpected left to both of them, all of those old feelings start to resurface... right along with the old challenges. I really love a good second chance romance, and this one was done so well. The story alternates between their high school romance and the present day, and I loved seeing them fall in love for the first time but also seeing their personal growth as well. I couldn't help but feel for Gray and all that he'd gone through... it made seeing them get this second chance at a happily ever after all that much sweeter. If you love a Christian romance with small-town drama, fantastic chemistry, and a hard fought happily ever after, this is absolutely one not to be missed. 


You can purchase your copy here: https://amzn.to/42ZOKcp