Sunday, December 6, 2020

Review: The Shell Shop by Mia Alexander





Genre: 
Fiction 

Format: 
E-Book Release 

Date: 
September 2, 2020 








Synopsis from Goodreads

Never in a million years did Julia Montgomery think she’d be alone in middle age, running the family shell shop on her own. But when her husband dies in a tragic diving accident, that’s just where she finds herself. And now the Shell Shop is in danger, and along with it all of Julia’s precious family memories. 

Julia and her husband started the shell shop decades ago, before their now-grown children were born—he sold the rare shells he found on diving trips around the world and she got to raise their kids amongst the balmy breezes and waving palm trees. She left him to it—he had his own system and she knew nothing about shells. Her world was cooking, making sandcastles and snuggling with the kids. Their arrangement was perfect, until it wasn’t. 

Now that John’s gone, the bills are piling up and she can hardly bring herself to open the shop even though tourist season is fast approaching. Her eldest, Dillon, knows a bit about shells but doesn’t seem interested in stepping up to help. He prefers diving and surfing to having a proper job. Her daughter Aubrey is having an identity crisis and has her hands full with Julia’s beloved grandchildren. And the baby of the family, even in her mid-twenties, is struggling to make a go of it in a very difficult profession. 

With all of this on Julia’s mind, she has to dig deep to figure out a way to keep the shop—and her home—afloat. When a world-famous shell collector expects a rare shell that her husband promised to provide, can the Montgomery family rally and figure out the method to John’s madness and keep the shop in business? 

Escape into this feel-good beach series. You’ll fall in love with the Montgomery family while you visit the warm sunny beaches of the Florida Keys! 

 My Review 

When Julia Montgomery’s husband is killed in a car accident, Julia’s life is thrown upside down. Her husband managed their shell shop in the Florida Keys, but Julia had never taken an interest in it. So, she has no idea what to do. She decides to educate herself on the shells and keep the shop open. However, funds are running low so she’s not sure how long she can keep this up. 

Her three grown children have their own lives, but they do what they can to help her out. The Shell Shop is all in Julia’s hands and she’s panicking. A client of her husband’s stops by saying that her husband promised to sell him an expensive, rare shell. The sale would help Julia keep things afloat for a little while. Now, if she could only find where her husband kept his rare shells. 

This is a short, heartwarming read. The characters are all written realistically and placed in real life situations. They could be anyone’s next door neighbor.

It’s well written and a relaxing way to spend an afternoon. This is part of a six book series.  This is the first book and it looks as if they are meant to be read in order.  This one introduced us to all the players.  I'm guessing the next books will continue with this family's story.  It’s makes for a great beach read.

 
Disclosure: This one is from my own Kindle library collection. All opinions expressed are my own.

2 comments:

  1. This sounds so good! And I love mature main characters. I can really relate to them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks like the beginning of a good series to sit back and enjoy :)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my blog! I always love reading comments and getting to know my readers!

After some careful consideration, I've decided to become an award-free blog. Although I appreciate and am honored by each and every award I've received, your comments and friendship are enough award for me. Thank you all so much for your thoughtfulness.

Due to way too many spam comments, I disabled the Anonymous User comments. We'll see if this works, otherwise I'll have to go back to word verification.