Palms on the Cape

Palms on the Cape

by Jenn Bouchard

Released July 2, 2026

After a tumultuous childhood with a mother she describes as "a train wreck compounded by a dumpster fire that smelled like cheap perfume," Rachel Sinclair has made a life for herself. On the verge of turning forty, her upscale beach bar-Palms on the Cape-is packed with vacationers and regulars throughout the busy Cape Cod summer season. She has surrounded herself with a chosen family of devoted staff and great friends, including her best friend, Carlos...who she might be in love with.

When a visiting study group from a Vermont business school, known as the A-List, descends on Rachel's bar in late August, she gets pulled in by the charms of their leader, Tripper, a younger man with good looks, access, and tremendous connections in the restaurant industry.

But when Rachel learns of the A-List's plans to take over her business, she must decide if it's worth the gamble to join forces with an unlikely ally or risk losing everything she has worked for.

Jenn Bouchard is the award-winning author of Palms on the Cape, Considering Us, and First Course, as well as several published short stories. She has been teaching high school social studies for twenty-six years and also teaches short story classes to adults in her community. An avid cook and volunteer for good causes, she is a devoted Red Sox fan. A graduate of Bates College and Tufts University, she lives in the Boston suburbs with her husband and two teenage children.