3.25/5 stars! I'm not really sure what to say about this book. As a former foster child and hopeful future bookbinder, I had a lot of expectations heading into this story...expectations that it didn't quite live up to. It works as an enemies-to-lover type story and there was a magical element to the tale. It just felt kind of like a mash-up of ideas, rather than something original.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

I adored this romance between a journal maker and a book restorer. Serafina and Wes support each other in grief and grow their relationship from colleagues-with-benefits to a deep romantic connection.
‘The Bookbinder’s Guide’ is a remarkably tender book - the characters all care about each other, a care which provides the core, beating heart of the story. I loved Sera’s friendships with Liberty and Poppy, how unwavering their devotion to each other was.
Emotional but not angsty, this is a genuinely charming romance about love in all its forms.

I wanted to love this book. Witchy vibes, small town romance, books and bookbinding - all the good stuff.

Unfortunately, it didn’t quite come together for me. The romance was too insensé, too quickly to be realistic. The conflict / barrier towards the end felt forced and thrown in because you “need” a moment of peril before the happy ending, and I’m not sure having two characters that were quite so in their head worked well.

I preferred both Liberty and Poppy to Sera, and I suspect I’d enjoy future books with those characters more. It’s a shame they weren’t fleshed out a bit more fully. Sera on the other hand felt a bit cliched.

The sex is decent, which is refreshing. I wish there’d been a bit more magic. And it would have been nice to have some genuinely conflict, it felt like it was trying to be like Freya North, but just didn’t have the depth.

All that said, it’s not an awful read by any means. It’s quick, fun in places, and there are some nice ideas (I loved the opening sequence with the pop star).

Just not for me I’m afraid.

Thank you to Mills & Boon and Katherine Garbera for a copy of the Bookbinder's Guide to Love in exchange for a honest review.

This was a quick, cosy and enjoyable read with some great dialogue, fun dynamics between characters and a dash of spice. I enjoyed the cozy, supportive friendships between the core cast of supporting characters. I liked the witchy vibe and bookish nods in the story. The characters are all likeable and mostly relatable, though I thought the emotions felt a bit rushed at critical points of the story and would build more connection with character with a little more insights to their character growth.

I thought romance was a little underdone for my tastes, I felt this was a happy for right now type of ending between Sera and Wes. The spark didn't catch for me, they seemed to fall into lust and then go to 100 mph into love in a melting pot of emotions, which left me feeling a little troubled about the happy ever after of the story. I would have little to seen a bit more foundation established given the story has a number of weeks duration for a firmer relationship basis to be laid.

First things first, thank you to NetGalley, Afterglow Books, and Katherine Garbera for a galley of The Bookbinder's Guide to Love in return for an honest review!

I am a sucker for books about books, and emotionally intelligent romcoms, and this ticked every box! Sera and Wes were two of the most communicative, emotionally aware romantic leads I have ever had the pleasure to read. Their introspection became a little repetitive, as they both came to terms with, but then couldn't push past, their issues. That being said, it was really refreshing to read them not only admit to themselves what was wrong, but communicate that so clearly with each other. For such a short book, it also felt like their relationship developed at a pretty sensible pace. I think in compact romcoms like this it can sometimes feel like the leads go from strangers to soulmates, Garbera gave herself the room to show genuine growth, and I think she did it so elegantly.

As well as the romance in this book there is a really strong found family element, I loved the vibe of the WiCKed Sisters, and their satellites (Merle especially.) You could really feel the warmth in every interaction between Sera, Poppy and Liberty. It was such an honest and yet deeply felt portrait of female friendship. I adored the way Gabera wrote them. I will absolutely be following this series, as it was going I was trying to guess at which sister might be next up.

On top of everything else I loved watching Sera and Wes interact with books, I work in an archive, and so seeing them talk about and appreciate old tomes just really warmed my heart. It was such a core facet of their relationship, and of Sera's relationship with Ford. I think it seeing them bond over something they both considered so important really helped to understand how their relationship could grow so quickly.

I have so many good things to say about this book, but I should say here I had a couple of small problems with it. In places the writing felt awkward, and some of the interactions just didn't add up. Like, physically the way people were moving or sitting read awkwardly. But I think that's a small things and it was easy to get over!

All in all I think this was a solid read, and of the two Afterglow books I've read this month this was by far my favourite.

The title says it all. A real emotional journey with a pinch of witchcraft thrown in the mix. Sera is great. She is strong, passionate and knows her books, however under it all she carries the pain of being unloved, or feeling unloved as she bounced through foster care. Wes comes from a cold, unemotional family and whilst he is loved, he struggles to give his all to Sera. There relationship bumbles along until they hit a bump in the road, a book that throws them a curveball
This book is delicious, enough tenderness to keep me happy, and enough spark to keep it fresh and interesting.

The Bookbinder's guide to Love is a witchy Romance novel by Katherine Garbera.
This was an enjoyable and easy to follow novel with a witchy story line and a great cast of characters. If you like your novels spicy, then this is the book for you. An enjoyable novel that I highly recommend.
❤️Thank you to netgalley, Mills and Boon and the author, Katherine Garbera for my arc ebook copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The Bookbinder’s Guide to Love centres around Sera and Wes who strike a deal in which Wes will bind journals for Sera’s shop in exchange for stories about his estranged grandfather, Ford, who was Sera’s friend and had recently passed away.

I really enjoyed the witchy vibes and the setting of a bookshop was really fun. The commentary on friendships, family relationships and grief was very poignant and realistic. I particularly loved the friendship between Sera, Liberty and Poppy and the way the book explores navigating friendships as an adult.

However I really didn’t warm to Wes so I found the relationship hard to root for, especially as it develops so quickly. Additionally, the miscommunication happened so late in the book that I found the resolution too rushed and the ending not very satisfying. Personally I found the spicy scenes slightly cringy and wish that there were less of them or that they had faded to black instead.

Overall this was a fun, quick read and I would recommend this if you're looking for a book with witchy vibes, great friendships and lots of books!

I loved this enemies to lovers steamy romance.

Serafina Conte makes journals with an intention she embosses it into the cover of the book. You fill out the journal, and when it’s full, the intention becomes real. After being endorsed by a social media influencer, she's run of her feet with orders.

Ford had been a bookbinder and taught Sera all he knows when he dies his grandson, Wesley Sitwell, bans her from the funeral.

I enjoyed this glimpse in the lives of the WiCKed Sisters. Three witches who run a shop, each bringing something different to the store. I loved the build-up of the romance of Sera and Will from enemies to friends who have sex and eventually lovers.

If you like found family, enemies to lovers and dual pov then you will find this books ticks all your boxes. Sera, and her two best friends own a book/witchy shop, that became popular through a famous musician purchasing one of Sera’s personalised journals. Through Sera’s love of books she met a charming old man, Ford, who recently passed away and left her a box of old books in his will. Along comes Wes, Fords grandson, who is equally suspicious and intrigued by Sera and her connection to his grandfather. Through Sera’s attachment and Wes estrangement to Ford, the two of them bond and their relationship develops!

Personally for me, it was a little too, HEAVY on the “witchy vibe”. It’s still a vibe if you don’t explicitly mention witches or associated terms, for what feels like every paragraph. I think this just made it feel a bit more YA. Apart from that I enjoyed the character development and the pace. I also loved Sera’s fashion too.