Who doesn't love a good enemies to lovers story? I know I do. Bookishly Ever After is a great concept by giving the main characters the same last names as classic authors and having them bookstore rivals that live in Washington DC, but making one American and the other British as a contrast to how different the cultures are.

The sex scenes were lacklustre but what I liked about it wasn't sprung on the reader. There was build up to it. I've read things in the past where there is no build up and its just sprung on you. Bookishly Ever After isn't like that and gives a warning well in advance as to where it is headed.

This was a good debut novel by Mia Page. It's obvious how much knowledge she has of the publishing industry. We need a sequel... STAT!

When I started reading "Bookishly Ever After," I had high hopes for a wild, enemies-to-lovers adventure but felt underwhelmed.

The story starts with Lexi Austen, the owner of a quaint little bookshop, facing a ton of drama. Her dating life's a hot mess, and to top it all off, she's got Sam Dickens, her rival bookshop owner, breathing down her neck, trying to steal all her customers. 

Initially, I was captivated by the unfolding drama. After all, who can resist the allure of an enemies-to-lovers narrative? Yet, as the story progressed, I couldn't help but feel uneasy. Lexi's tactics to win over Sam seemed dubious. Here was a man recovering from a painful breakup, and she was toying with his emotions. It just didn't sit right.

However, I understand that not everyone will share my perspective. If you're a fan of the enemies-to-lovers dynamic and relish a dose of drama, this book might just be your cup of tea. It could be the perfect indulgence for those seeking a guilty pleasure read.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t like writing bad reviews. And I really wanted to like this book more. An enemies to lovers story about rival bookshop owners? Couldn’t be more up my alley. But to be honest I found myself really disliking Lexi. It’s pretty rare for me to dislike a main character so much. I just…listen, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being proud to be British. But this book beat you over the head with it. Lexi’s character was so pretentious any time she compared Americans to Brits. For example, “Americans getting up early to ‘work out’ as they call it to feel ‘virtuous about life’.” I’m not a work out person myself, let alone a morning work out person, but people who do it aren’t trying to be virtuous. They’re probably trying to fit it in before working too many hours at their job. She mentions having the “sorry” trained out of her since being in the US and describes Americans being more direct compared to Brits; she uses examples like asking a question without preceding it with “can I ask a question,” emails with no “hope you’re doing well” or “don’t worry if it’s too much trouble.” Maybe I’m being an overly sensitive American but these are things I literally do always - apologize even if I didn’t do anything wrong, flower up my emails so they’re not too serious, and say “don’t worry if it’s not too much trouble” while simultaneously worrying that I’m asking too much of someone. Those are just the examples I took note of, I eventually had to stop or else I’d never get through the book. She even seemed pretentious about which part of DC she lives in vs where Sam lived. It would be one thing if it felt like good-natured ribbing. Hey I don’t mind being the butt of a joke. But that’s not how it felt to me.

There were points in the book where the characters would have lines of dialogue and then midway through there would be an unnecessary pause to summarize the conversation. For example when Sam is telling Lexi about Amanda and how she used him for his family/connections. The “summary” that happens between dialogue didn’t really do anything to save time because…well it was like 2 sentences of summary that could’ve just been 2 sentences of dialogue instead. It’s not like she was summarizing minutes or even hours of conversation and it ended up being annoying and distracting rather than helpful to move the plot forward.

I noticed a couple times, the author even used phrases that are not common for Americans. At one point Sam says “you’re not meant to be back here” which is not something I can picture an American saying really. They are more likely to phrase it “you’re not supposed to be back here.”

At times, it didn’t feel like the timelines were right. There was a point at which it’s meant to be Wednesday. The next chapter mentions a staff meeting “this week” and then the next chapter is “the next day” and it’s Wednesday but not a full week passes. There’s also the Tipsy Browsing event where she goes to the office to see how successful numbers are from Saturday’s event. Only to go on to refer to it having occurred on Friday.

Some of these things may be a bit nit-picky but they are things that I found to be distracting and impacted my enjoyment of the book. However, back to the characters and plot. While I found Lexi to be mostly unlikeable, I found Sam to be mostly likable. Even though he’s made out to be grumpy, this ends up being a misconception and he actually seems like a gentleman. However, I do agree with the assessment of one of the side characters that I think he was a bit self-sabotaging; then again so was Lexi. I do also feel like their “fights” were literally him overreacting and her not communicating and just accepting that it was over.

As a side note, not intended as author/book feedback, but the Kindle version of this was terribly formatted. Random sections were all right-aligned, the chapters had no space between them and the dialogue was sometimes hard to follow because of the way it was formatted. I did go between reading this directly from the NetGalley app and the Kindle app for this reason but found myself annoyed at the NetGalley version too as there was no table of contents and no option to read aloud which I sometimes like to do while doing household chores. I did, however, find there was at least one part of the book where there are two different versions of dialogue between Sam and Lexi which I found interesting.

I can’t state enough how I do not enjoy leaving bad reviews and I also know that I often write more about books I don’t like than I do about ones I like so if you made it this far I’m sorry. This book just wasn’t for me.

I do love a good bookish story.
This is an enemies-to-lovers story about rival book shop owners Lexi Austen and Sam Dickens, who vie for the most custom in their Washington, DC, book shops.
Both shops have coexisted fine over the years until Sam takes over Great Expectations, primarily a second-hand bookstore, and begins changing his offerings. This affects Lexi's business, a bookshop set up by her grandmother.
You have plenty of Britishisms, with Lexi's character originally having been from the UK, and comparisons. Obviously, there is a connection to two classic authors, given the names of our two main characters, but it was a bit predictable.
Yes, Lexi and Sam have chemistry, but ultimately, they come across as quite immature in handling situations, considering they are meant to be mature business-owning adults.
There's plenty of to-ing and fro-ing, will they, won't they situations, but it was a pretty long-winded read and could have been shorter.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for an ARC.

Enemies to lovers fun, Austen references galore, and frustrating will they won’t they moments. Bookishly Ever After is a bubbly, book loving romcom, which I really enjoyed. Great for fans of You’ve Got Mail.

Huge thanks to the author and publisher for the chance to read this ARC, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review..

“Two rival bookstore owners. One chance for a happily ever after…“

I love a good enemies to lovers with the added bookish vibes is even better!

This had serious You’ve got Mail vibes but with a twist. A book about books for book lovers, I loved the descriptions of the cozy bookshop. I did find it was a little predictable, but I still really enjoyed it.

If you’re going into this expecting a “You’ve Got Mail” type story, ehhhhhhh, sort of but not really (though it does give a nod to the movie so it knew what it wanted to be!). I couldn’t find my groove with this book. I didn’t super love either of the leads, but especially the female lead. Her attitude and motives were off putting to me. Additionally, I’m not usually a fan of 3rd person POV and this was not an exception. It was cute, but just didn’t grab me.

This book was a letdown. It was way too long and repetitive. The main character was annoyingly self-centered, and the male lead was bland.
The setup of warring bookstore owners had potential, but the pacing was off, the dialogue was unrealistic, and everything was over-explained. It could use some heavy editing. As it stands, it was a miss for me. Not sure I would recommend it.

I read this whilst driving to Italy. It was a very cute, summery read and one I am glad I read whilst on the road. I really enjoyed the enemies to lovers. Lexi and Sam were really suited and the stubbornness for their relationship made me want to clatter their heads together at times.

I did feel the story at times was quite childish with how the characters acted and some of the dialogue but who wouldn't love Lexi inheriting her Grandmothers book shop and making it her own whilst dealing with Sam - another bookshop owner - and he poaches her clientele.

I enjoyed it though. it was a quick, easy read. Thank you to Mia Page, Netgalley and Avon Books for allowing me access to this ARC.

This book wasn't for me. Maybe because my expectations were too high, I have no idea. The beginning was promising but overall it felt as if the plot just dragged and wasn't entertaining at all. I also had a hard time liking the characters, especially both main characters. I don't know, I expected something else..

Enemies to lovers? YES
Bookish vibes? YES

I love a book about books. I love enemies to lovers. This book delivered what it needed to keep me entertained and it is cute AF! I enjoyed this book for its predictable comfort and cute story.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book early!
I enjoyed the Austen references throughout the book. I do feel the book dragged just a bit, but it was still enjoyable.

The books own description says it is enemies to lovers but I think that is stretch...rivals to lovers sure. Small town....erm No, maybe I get that they're within a smaller community due to a indie shopping village / square type area....again bit of a strectch. Opposites attract...not sure they are opposites, they both own and run a bookstore!
The book is littered with reminders that our FMC is from the UK and living in the US, which is a little repetitive and felt like the author was trying to win over both sides of the pond with her knowledge and love of each country.
The concept that our FMC, Lexi is going to use Jane Austen type scenarios to get our MMC, Sam to fall in love with her is on a basic level manipulative and deceitful. However, taking into account many people and many books have done far sillier things to win someone over, I think ultimately the idea that Lexi plans to break Sam's heart is where I, as the reader could not forgive Lexi. The whole plan is a little deflated and Lexi owns up to it fairly quickly, at which point of course Sam is hurt and so cue our break up. There is some back and forth for these two and some growing for each character before they find a HEA but the story is pleasant enough for an easy read.

I received this e-book as an ARC through NetGalley. This is my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The story follows two rival bookstore owners Lexi and Sam who are locked in a fierce rivalry. Lexi turns to tried and tested book techniques to get her rival to fall in love with her but it’s not just the business at stake but her heart too.

Overall I think I enjoyed it, the mechanics not so much as it was obvious quite clearly it wouldn’t be fair to play mind games on Sam given what he had been through (and she didn’t need to!). It was a little slow and disjointed in places with the viewpoints.

The plot reminded me of the movie, You've Got Mail with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks.

Tropes:
- Rivals-to-lovers
- slow burn
- closed door (slammed the door in my face) romance

The other reviews were right: this book could have been a LOT shorter. I thought that there was just too much on Lexi's woes of being the only single woman left in her friend group and how she was so lonely combined with too many in-depth descriptions on the intricacies of running a small business bookstore and her passion for reading books. It was all very "woe is me." I felt like more time could have been put on showcasing the chemistry between Lexi and Sam instead, which could have been more in the beginning.

I did find Lexi to be kind of living in her own world (or literary world) in which she thinks the way to seduce a guy is by getting him to go dancing (like at a ball) and playing the piano. But I guess in this case, it worked for her. She also lusted over Sam pretty much immediately, like noo, stay strong for at least a few chapters.

I felt like there was some implied unresolved tension between Erin and Lexi that was never explored. Although the ending seemed a little rushed, I did enjoy it - it wrapped everything up pretty nicely.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

i really really wanted to love this one but personally it just wasn’t for me. LOVE the jane austen quotes but honestly idk if the author is english or not but it really felt like an american had created this caricature of a british person for the female main character and didn’t really expand on it. the book goes on and on about the main characters ‘british teeth’ for some reason? and idk it all just felt a little forced, it felt like there was a mention of her being quirky and english and tea obsessed every 3 paragraphs. i did really like the writing style though, very descriptive and the setting was lovely, just didn’t feel right for me :) that’s not to say you won’t love it, definitely give it a go if you like bookish books because the references and themes throughout were super fun.
thank you to team avon and mia page for the arc 💓 xo

Lexi Austen and Sam Dickens, rival booksellers in DC. Lexi loves her shop, inherited from her grandmother. Unfortunately it’s not doing as well as it was, not since Sam bought the second hand bookstore and started selling new books. So Lexi comes up with a plan, straight out of the pages of the books she loves. She’ll charm Sam, an enemies to lovers tale, that he’ll be so distracted he won’t be able to concentrate on selling books.

Being a bookseller is tough. I wanted to like this book but I found myself skimming passages. For example conversations took so long as we get descriptions or segues or other distractions in-between. There’s overly long sections that don’t move the plot on throughout. Did I mention being a seller of books is hard. Lexi is single, the only single person in her friendship group, which is apparently the worst possible thing. This really annoyed me, I’m a fan of romance novels but not of outdated ideas like being a single woman is unbearable. I really wanted to like this story as I liked the premise but it just dragged. What I did learn was how difficult it is being a book seller. I learnt this multiple times.

A cute rom-com that's perfect for book lovers! If you enjoy a good rivals to lovers trope, then this one is for you. I did find parts quite repetitive, and although I did like Lexi, I personally didn't find her super relatable - hence why it dropped a couple of stars for me.

Nonetheless, this is a really sweet, enjoyable rom-com - definitely one to add to your summer TBR.

Thank you to NetGalley/the publisher for my e-ARC!

The blurb of this book sounded really appealing, it certainly gave off "You've Got Mail" vibes. Sadly however the two do not compare. This book started off well with the set up of two warring bookstore owners however the pacing was off, the dialogue unrealistic and it was repetitive. The book was way too long for the story we get and much of that is the over-explanation of what was going on. Every little thing the main character does is spelled out and too much effort is giving too unnecessary details. With some serious cutting this book may be good but as it stands it is a definite miss.
I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked it but it also was a kind of book that I had to make myself read. It is quite slow and there’s not a lot of plot sadly. The characters are lovely and the story is cute though don’t get me wrong. I just had higher hopes for this book. It’s a light read though if you enjoy slow burn romance.