Mia and Cricket grew up emulating their single mother's love for soccer.  Trained to be the best they could be, Mia is asked to take on a support role for her younger sister when Cricket shows potential to make it to the National team and beyond.  Mia dutifully obeys and becomes a second caretaker for Cricket. When tragedy strikes, Mia puts her life on hold to take care of Cricket and make sure that her soccer dreams are not dashed.  Pushed even more to succeed in soccer for her mother, Cricket puts all of her energy into the game, determined to be the best goalkeeper, no matter the cost.  As Mia settles into her life as caretaker, she builds a career and finds love, but is afraid to upset Cricket's progress as she climbs closer to her goal.  When both sisters are finally in a good place, Mia turns the tables and needs to ask Cricket for a life-changing favor.

Spectacular Things is an emotional story of the complex emotional bond of sisterhood.  Masterfully told, the story begins with the turning point in Mia and Cricket's relationship and then vaults back in time to help understand the depth and intricacies of their relationship.  Mia, Cricket and their mother, Liz are all deeply developed and realistic characters. I could feel their emotional toll as they dealt with sacrifice, grief, and what success should look like at different points in their life. Liz's strength and determination in the face of adversity was passed down to both Mia and Cricket along with her undying love for soccer.  Mia and Cricket had very different childhood experiences, Mia took on the role of a caretaker very early, believing sacrifice was how she showed love and was loved.  Cricket was very well cared for and believed excelling at soccer was her destiny and would protect and elevate her mother's memory.  Weaving together a rollercoaster of life events, Spectacular Things  tells an amazing story of relationships, family bonds and what we are willing to do for love. 
 
This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

Leah is returning to her childhood home in Chatham, Massachusetts after losing her dream job and breaking things off with her fiance. Upon her return, Leah impulsively decides to rent a dilapidated historic home in town and renovate it into a bookstore.  With a quick turnaround in order to catch the summer vacationers, Leah enlists a lot of help: Brad, a college student who is staying with his conservative grandmother for the summer, Lucy, whose sister, Ella is recovering from a critical car accident and wants a place to escape the constant worry, Eudora, a retired high school counselor who has trouble leaving her house after her husband passed and Luke, Leah's brother's friend from high school who owns a woodworking business.  

The Sandy Page Bookshop is a cozy beach read with all of the usual tropes.  The characters are what make this story come to life, they were all well rounded with developed storylines and full arcs. The writing switched between the points of view of Leah, Lucy, Eudora, Luke and Brad.   I felt invested in all of the characters and their stories.  While Leah's story was predictable, I enjoyed seeing her shop expand and her relationships grow.  Lucy's story is heartfelt, feeling the emotional depth of her sister's near tragic accident and dealing with her parent's emotions while navigating being a teenager herself.  Eudora shows enormous growth while learning a few lessons about living a public life again.  Brad is a bit of comedic relief and grounding while dealing with first love and generational constraints with his grandmother.  Luke is the obvious love interest; however, he and Leah's relationship takes a natural path and allows interest to grow.  The Sandy Page Bookshop itself is an amazing setting with the help of the characters, it shows the power of community.  Everyone's story wrapped up quietly at the end and I wish I could have seen how The Sandy Page fared after tourist season. 
 
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.