This was super cute! Love bookish books, they just hit. Plus the small town, forced proximity? I knew I was gonna eat this up before I even started.

Jackie Ashenden is a new to me author and it was so lovely! I'm a sucker for a grumpy MMC but it has to be done right, they can't be too mean or standoffish or else it's just offputting. Sebastian was the perfect kind of grumpy MMC, the kind that makes you swoon. 4 stars for this book!

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Book 99/100: This book has everything I want in a book: literary references, enemies to lovers, family secrets, small town vibes, a book about books and bookshops! I loved it!

Thank you @netgalley for my copy!

#bookpeople #bookpeoplebook #portablemagicbookstore

This was a cute and enjoyable read, a lovely end to 2024! It was a nice romance with the grumpy x sunshine trope and although it took me a fair amount of time to read, it was still good.

The characters are well developed, for example the two main characters; Kate and Sebastian, each have their own backstories, motivations and reasons why they act as they do. Sebastian is the grumpy, broody, insufferable at first MMC we love. Kate is the cute, funny, happy FMC we love. This is a slow burn romance, and it is sloooow, which I get, but sometimes slow burn can be TOO slow.

I really liked the premise of the book, two people owning bookshops opposite each other, becoming rivals and have petty windows display wars. It’s a very cosy and cutesy read, a little predictable in some parts but still throughly enjoyable. There were moments that felt kind of slow, not the romance, just the story in general, I found myself skimming and having to go back to actually take in the words.

Overall, despite the minor pacing issues and the too slow romance, everything else was incredible. A good book if you love slow burn, grumpy x sunshine and small town romances.

"Book People" by Jackie Ashenden is a delightful enemies-to-lovers romance with a charming setting. The witty banter between Kate and Sebastian, the rival bookstore owners, is a highlight, and their slow-burn attraction keeps you hooked. The story is a heartwarming celebration of books and the communities they foster, making it a perfect read for book lovers.

I especially enjoyed the unexpected twist involving a shared family secret, which added an intriguing layer to their already captivating relationship.

Thank you NetGalley, Headline Eternal, and Jackie Ashenden for the early access copy of Book People.

Book People is a dual point-of-view romance told by the perspectives of Kate and Sebastian. Set in a small town, Kate returns home to her roots where she opens a genre based bookstore opposite Sebastian’s literary bookstore. With heated exchanges by rival bookshop owners, the two must figure out how to work together for an upcoming literary festival. With high tension, literary references, and a small town mystery, Book People was hard to put down.

Book People will be a great fit for those who are fans of:
Dual POV’s
Enemies-to-lovers
Small-town setting
Grumpy-sunshine dynamic
Forced proximity

This is a fun romcom for book lovers who enjoy cozy bookstores, romance, and family secrets. I recommend this book for those who enjoy the enemies-to-lovers trope. Thanks to Netgalley for the arc!

So cute. I love a book about books or a bookstore or writers. This book hit a couple of those. And it was a rom com. Cozy vibes and banter

Imagine a small village. It has a very traditional bookshop that has been in one family for generations. It prides itself on being serious and is run by a Darcy like owner.

Imagine that a new bookshop opens and that it is right across the street. It is run by an Elizabeth Bennett like young woman. She stocks all of the genre books that a reader might dream about. She also offers many types of meetings and activities.

Imagine also that there is going to be a book event that these two may need to both embrace. And…imagine sparks flying in what is justifiably described as a “spicy” romance title.

Add to all of this, a collection of love notes from the traditionalist’s great grandfather and a mystery woman. They refer to each other as H and C-Wuthering Heights anyone? They add some intrigue to the plot.

Mix all of thesetogether to find an enjoyable read that will appeal to its intended audience. There may not be suspense but there most definitely is fun in these pages.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Headline for this title. All opinions are my own.

I was drawn to this book because I love to read and I seem to be choosing books that are about book sellers, librarians and writers lately. I enjoyed the enemies to lovers troupe, with two book sellers as the main characters, at the beginning but then it just seemed to drag on a bit. It was much more complicated than a simple enemies to lovers but just went on too long in my opinion.

Thank you Net Galley, Jackie Ashenden and Headline Publishing for the opportunity to preview this title. The opinions shared are my own.

Book People is expected to be released on Jan. 28, 2025.

Something about this book just didn’t click with me. I loved the premise, a book about books but just found the main characters very two dimensional. I really didn’t like Sebastian and found Kate to be a bit of an airhead. I really enjoyed the small back story of the great grandparents but that wasn’t enough to save it for me.

I had a difficult time choosing between giving 3 or 4 stars, but overall, I just personally wasn't quite as into it as I'd have hoped. I didn't particularly warm to either Kate or Sebastian, although they are both likeable characters.

Having said that, this is a sweet romance (with a dash of spice) that will appeal to any fellow book lovers. I did really enjoy Ashenden's writing and look forward to reading more of her work.

If you like a small-town, bookish romance, then this is the book for you!

Book People gets off to a good start, but I didn’t feel like it offered anything new or especially interesting. This is a rivals to lovers story with some steaminess, but it didn’t do much for me.

I love book themed books. I love small town romance. So this one was a win for me! Cute banter and all. My first book by this author and I was impressed!

Hot, steamy and sensual! Book People is a smutty romance about two rival booksellers in a small village. We navigate their enemies to lovers journey as they work out how to plan and deliver a literary festival. Kate Jones is our sunshine character - bubbly, bright, and innovative who just can't understand why Sebastian Blackwood, the towns aloof and reclusive literary snob, doesn't like her.

I was hooked by the characters and the premise from the get go. I loved seeing how the main characters communicated and how their relationship changed across the book. The two ultimately complimented each other perfectly! My only gripe being the "alpha male" behaviour that Ashenden loves to write about gets ramped up too far at times in this. While it makes sense for one of the characters to be like this, it isn't really in character for the main lead.

A throughly engaging romance and a fantastic read!

Book People by Jackie Ashenden is both an enjoyable enemies to lovers romance and a love letter to books themselves.

Book People is the story of Kate and Sebastian, rival book sellers in a small town setting (already sounds good tight?!). Kate is looking for a fresh start after leaving her job and abusive ex in London, following the death of her mother. Despite everything she’s been through she’s strong and determined, very much the sunshine to the grumpy Sebastian, who feels himself cursed by the Blackwood name to live alone and so has chosen to close himself off. Yet the pair are forced to work together in the name of reviving the villages literature festival. In doing so they uncover a mystery that brings them closer together, and really can one steamy kiss really hurt?!

There are so many well known and well loved tropes going on in this one, we’ve got:
📖 small town setting - Wychtree is the type of village where everyone knows your business and gossip travels fast
📚 opposite attract/grumpy sunshine
📖 rival bookshop owners - their love of books flows through the pages
📚 enemies to lovers - though it’s clear they’ve each been attracted to one another from the start but fighting it
📖 (spoiler alert) the ex receiving a good punch from a very protective (though somewhat possessive MMC)
📚 a great romantic subplot with the discovery of some lost letters - this whole storyline was one of my favourite parts of the novel

I enjoyed this one and it was certainly a quick and easy read. The building chemistry between the MCs was good and worked well. I preferred Kate out the MCs, she felt more real and had more to her. Sebastian was a decent enough MMC but I found him to be a little more flat and more of a caricature, he was rather repetitive in his brooding; he worked better when with Kate than when on his own.

I really enjoyed the build up to the festival and how much Ashenden’s love of all things books shone through. Overall this was a solid read that I enjoyed.

Book store rivals.
Enemies to lovers.
Say no more.

Owning a bookstore is a dream, and to read a story of someone owning a bookstore is like eating an entire bag of candy. Really good candy, ok.
I enjoyed this one! It followed two bookstore rivals who have shops across from each other. Kate, owner of Portable Magic, is the sunshining neighbor to Sebastian, owner of Blackwood Books. Reluctantly, (on Sebastian's end) they both wind up working together in planning a book festival for their town. Along the way there is banter, angst, a mystery of love letters, and the enemies do become lovers.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a chance to read this arc. Above is my honest review, and will be posting it to Goodreads. See below for link.

Sadly, this book really did not do it for me. Trying to jump on the Emily Henry-Hypetrain of cosy, book-centered romance reads, this misses a lot. The story is predictable in a boring way, the characters are so cliché, the pace of their romance seems far too rushed and unnatural. Sad!

I loved this book! The story was very interesting and it kept my attention the whole time. And the banter and romance was very well done.

Book People sounded like an incredible book, but it ended up falling flat for me.

Kate needs a major life change and moves to the small town her mother is from and opens a book store. Her book store is modern and teeming with romance books, thrillers, fantasy, mysteries and sci fi. Across the street, Sebastian has another more traditional book store with literary fiction, poetry, and nonfiction books. Kate and Sebastian are set up to be rivals but slowly warm to each other as they plan a book festival together.

I like many others love books about books and writers and book stores. But this one lacked the character development that I wanted. Sebastian felt too broody and overly macho man protective of Kate who he just met. The grumpy sunshine just fell flat. Also, the letters plotline felt shoehorned in and was immensely predictable.

Tropes

* Grumpy Sunshine
* Small Town Romance
* Bookstore Owners
* Rivals to Lovers
* Love Letters

3 stars

Book people is a rom com about two rival bookstore owners that reluctantly work together to revive a book festival in their small town.

Kate just broke up with her toxic boyfriend and moves to her family's hometown that she hasnt been to since she was small. She opens a bookstore across the street from the rival bookstore to the dismay of the sexy and brooding owner.

I loved how both characters cared for one another while trying to heal from prior relationships. Sebastian was a little intense at the beginning, but mellowed out a tiny bit. I really enjoyed the background romance and bits at the beginning of each chapter.

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