The Sandy Page Bookshop by Hannah McKinnon

Genre misfires, heartwarming friendships, and the cozy charm of Cape Cod

I went into The Sandy Page Bookshop expecting a breezy romance—bookshop meet-cute, small-town magic, a bit of will-they-won’t-they charm. And while there is a romantic thread in the background, what Hannah McKinnon delivers is something much more layered: a character-driven story about grief, reinvention, and unexpected friendship that—frustratingly—isn’t being marketed that way at all.

The novel follows three women at very different, very vulnerable points in their lives. There’s Leah, newly dumped by both her fiancé and her publishing career, who flees to Cape Cod to figure out what’s next. Lucy, still reeling from her sister’s tragic car accident, trying to escape the sympathetic stares and the suffocating expectations of how she should be coping. And Eugenia, a widow whose world has shrunk to the four walls of her home, battling anxiety and borderline agoraphobia since her husband passed.

The thing tying them together? A charming little seaside bookshop that’s being resurrected—and with it, so are they.

This is a small-town summer novel through and through. Sand dunes, quiet streets, community gossip, second chances. There are twists (yes), emotional reckonings (many), and a warmth that builds chapter by chapter. If I hadn’t been primed to expect a romance, I probably would have enjoyed it more from the jump. But because the synopsis leans hard into Leah and Luke’s storyline—when really, he’s a subplot at best—it felt like the book was misrepresented. It’s not a love story between a woman and a man; it’s a love story between women and the lives they’re trying to rebuild.

Also, I listened to this one as an audiobook, and I have to say: the production was rough. At times, it sounded like completely different voices were spliced in to fix certain lines—or worse, like AI narration had been dropped in mid-sentence. It made for a jarring and disjointed listen that kept pulling me out of the story. Hopefully just a fluke, but it added an unintended layer of distraction.

That said, The Sandy Page Bookshop still worked for me in the end. It’s a cozy, heartfelt story about loss, resilience, and the way our lives can intersect when we least expect it. Not a romance, but something quieter and maybe more meaningful.

If you’re in the mood for a women-centered novel about finding purpose, opening yourself back up to life, and maybe building something beautiful out of the wreckage—this one’s for you. Just… don’t go in expecting swoon. Go in expecting heart.

RATING: 3/5 Stars