I really enjoyed this book. It kept me engaged and it only took a few days to read. I think this is going to be a good book club option for several clubs. I plan recommending to my book friends and I look forward to reading more by this author.

I believe my resistance with third person narratives is to blame for the way I felt about this book.
Over all it was just hard for me to connect to the story and the characters, so my experience wasn’t the best!
I can still objectively say that the writing was good, and the story was well paced!

THE PINING!!! Oh how I loved this book and the story of Sebastian and Kate and their great-grandparents. I was not expecting to fall in love with these characters as much as I did nor was I expecting to cry from heartbreak or cry while having my heart stitched back together. A true story of overcoming one’s own fears and obstacles within life and relationships. Beautifully written! Hats off to you Jackie Ashenden you’ve become a favorite author with just one book.


*I received a free ARC from NetGalley*

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.
This book had great premise but fell a little flat for me. Not a lot of relationship building it was just kind of there all of a sudden.

received a ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Short version:
I struggled to get into this one, almost exclusively because of Sebastian’s attitude for the first 100+ pages. I was expecting more of a falling in love story.

Long version:
The premises of this book sounded super promising, two bookstore owners getting together over the course of putting together a book festival? Yes please! Unfortunately, for me personally, I found Sebastian very off putting. Sebastian basically walks around putting up a front that he is better than the Kate and a lot of other people. He doesn’t want to share ‘his’ book festival at all. Not until Kate dangles the potential of getting an award-winning author to ‘his’ book festival after the one he lined up bails. You know, the one he was convinced the success of the event would hinge on? Yeah, that one. That feels like the majority of the reason why he tolerates “Miss Jones.”

At first you think he’s just a wanker, but it turns out he’s behaving that badly because A) he’s deep in debt and hates Kate for stealing some his clients and B) he is physically attracted to her, so he sort of takes it out on her in an arguably passive aggressive way. But back to the clients of point A who would rather buy a book and read it now rather than go to him and have to wait while he orders it in because he would never dirty his shelves with frivolous reading material. He maintains he’s not against people’s reading preferences yet holds the double standard of never buying ‘fluff’ reads for stocking his shop. I’m sorry, but if you refuse to stock what people want to read, they are going to go elsewhere rather than dealing with you, Seb. You ARE being a book snob.

So when Sebastian gives in to his desire and kisses Kate, I wasn’t on board. The author did too good of a job making me dislike Sebastian and it didn’t matter in the slightest to me how nerd hot he appeared or how he suddenly was blowing hot for Kate after spending nearly 100 pages blowing cold at her. His poor elitist attitude just killed it for me. I also struggled with how fast their physical relationship seemed to build in comparison to their actual relationship status. The relationship felt like it was built on lust rather than the building up to a relationship built on love. The conflict ending, as a result, wasn’t a surprise. I do wish the author spent a little more time on the ending. Everything resolved and boom, the end.

Tropes: Rival bookshop owners, Enemies-to-lovers, Small-town setting, Grumpy-sunshine (though it feels more like A-hole-sunshine), Forced proximity (sorta).
Spice: There is spice. 0-50 level spice if you can make it though the first 100-ish pages.

I absolutely adored this book, the pining the longing eberything was the perfect romances story! I haven’t read any of this authors work before but I will definitely be looking out for her on the shops shelf’s!

this book just provided me with everything i wanted out of it. the angst between characters and seeing the enemies to lovers unfold was just the sweetest thing ever. first novel by this author and definitely hope it is not my last!

Wow, I love this book so much. It's the story of Kate, recently single and still mourning the loss of her month makes a change in her life and moves to a small town and opens a bookshop in the property she inherited. The one problem is Sebastian and his bookshop across the street. She sells romance and fantasy, he sells more literary titles and reference books. She can't figure out why he hates her. He can't figure out why he can only think about her all the time.

This grumpy/sunshine was a pure delight on all levels. I highly recommend it if you enjoy that sort of book. I definitely will re-read again down the line.

I loved this book so much! Omg. It gave me every single vibe that I am desperate to get when reading books about book shop owners, librarians, authors, etc. I loved how Sebastian and Kate came together through their own preconceptions of what they see as love and whether they feel they deserve it or not. The festival and book clubs were my favorite parts. Very low spice. I would say 2/5 there. Open door and really short spice scenes. I highly recommend. It’s super cozy and perfect for any time of the year!

Thank you NetGalley and Headline Publishing for the opportunity to give my honest review!

🌈 Opposites attract
🌈 Small Town
🌶️🌶️🌶️

If you’re looking for a cozy, sweet, and spicy contemporary romance, Book People by Jackie Ashenden might be right up your alley. Set in the charming (and possibly fictional) English village of Wychtree, this story brings together opposites-attract energy, small-town vibes, and plenty of bookish goodness.

Kate, the heroine, is the embodiment of sunshine—cheerful, determined, and eager to make her new bookstore, Portable Magic, a success. Specialising in romance, cozy mysteries, and fantasy, Kate’s shop feels like a warm hug for genre fiction lovers. Enter Sebastian, her love interest and the village grump, who owns a rival bookstore catering to literary nonfiction. While they technically aren’t direct competitors, their clashing personalities (and Sebastian’s prickly demeanor) create immediate friction.

The story takes off when Kate discovers that Sebastian is reviving the village’s old book festival and hasn’t bothered to include her. Cue the reluctant partnership that forces them to work together—and brings their undeniable chemistry to the forefront.

The plot is light and predictable in places, with some familiar romance tropes (sunshine vs. grump, enemies-to-lovers vibes). However, the charm of a family mystery, Kate’s infectious optimism, and the slow thaw of Sebastian’s exterior make this a joy to read. Their romance has its complications, especially Sebastian’s baggage about his family’s supposed curse on happy relationships, which at times feels a bit overdone. But their connection is undeniable, and the eventual happy ending is satisfying.

This isn’t a groundbreaking romance, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s fun, heartfelt, and sprinkled with enough spice to keep things lively. If you’re a fan of bookish settings, sweet characters, and opposites-attract romances, Book People is worth a read. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on Jackie Ashenden’s future works.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I think all of us book obsessed people love books about books... that is why I was drawn to this book at first. Sadly, it wasn't for me. Hope all of you will enjoy it more.

Thanks to Netgalley for the copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

I did find it a little slow to begin with BUT once I got into it, I looooved it! I was literally hooked and couldn't put it down. Would definitely recommend!

Want to escape from reality for a while? This is the perfect, easy read. The perfect enemies to lovers rom com that is honestly laugh out loud funny. A grumpy main male character and a ray of sunshine female main character makes the perfect combination. Would recommend this book to anyone.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was slow at first but once I got into it I really enjoyed. If you are into romance with FMC & MMC don’t want to fall but end of falling this is the book for you.

Who doesn't love a book about books?

Book People is a delightful, feel-good read that pulls you in from page one. The story is easy to follow and laid out well, making it a perfect light read. Kate is a charming protagonist, and I loved the bookshop setting—who wouldn't want to visit a cozy store full of genre fiction? That said, I couldn’t quite warm up to Sebastian. His constant use of "Miss Jones" felt overly formal and irritating, and at times, he came across as an entitled, whiny character. Despite that, the chemistry between Kate and Sebastian kept me hooked, and the story had just the right amount of spice.

Overall, an enjoyable read with a satisfying, feel-good vibe!

Thank you to Net Galley and Headline Publishing for the ARC in return for my honest review.

Book people by Jackie Ashenden is a delightful romance set in a charming small-town, focusing on two very different booksellers with undeniable chemistry.
While book is marketed as an enemies-to-lovers story, it feels more like a gentle rivalry rather than actual enmity. Kate and Sebastian clearly like each other from the moment they meet, and their dynamic is more about navigating differences in personality and outlook than overcoming true animosity.
Sebastian, the male lead, was a bit insufferable at first. He came across as more frustrating than charming, but his character evolves nicely as the story progresses.
One of the most memorable elements of the book is the inclusion of secret love letters, which added depth to the narrative. These letters felt like love stories within the love story. They elevated the romance.
Though it doesn’t quite live up to its enemies-to-lovers billing, Book People is still an enjoyable and heartwarming read. All in all, it was a fun, easy read.
Thank you netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book early!

I love books about books. Specially when book lovers fell in love and the book plays a good rule.

And book related romance are my favorite. It's like fiction inside fiction. And even though it was a typical romance book, i enjoyed reading it.

Some issues but worth the read.

At first I was frustrated with our FMC cause she kept saying her last relationship ended, when really he was abusive and she fled. Not calling it abusive was really annoying me. Eventually I realised this was on purpose because she did not want to admit it. I did struggle because I feel like as a reader that should've been clearer to us.

This is a sweet, if tad bit frustrating, rivals to lovers, where he definitely fell first. But our MMC seemed abruptly ride for no reason, even after getting his side, his actions don't really make sense to me. Until half way through the book and you realise he's emotionally constipated. Overall the only criticism that held throughout the book for me, was that the FMC seemed like a manic pixie dream girl. Yes, she quirky and kind and sunlight incarnate and eternally optimistic, but there didn't seem to be anything other to her but that. It was a fun story to see the two of them get together, to see Kate find her family history and her strength, and Bash to get it through his thick head that maybe he's not cursed, maybe his actions caused his problems, as did the actions of those before him.

There were a few aspects that fell flat, or that probably should've been dealt with earlier. The plot twist while never stated outright until the end was obvious to readers. But overall I did enjoy reading this, and it was well written sans the above.

Really enjoyed this book, but I will say I needed more, like more from the characters, more from the story. I missed the the depth in the characters, the story sounded great but it feel short writing wise, some of the cringe chapters were just not easy to read, but again there was so much potential for this book to be more. The mental health rep could've been done so much better and more of! I loved the side characters, they were pretty fun to read about, and the added the oomph this book needed‼️
3.5 stars for the fluff factor of this book!!

Sometimes it seems that opposites attract and Kate and Sebastian take an instant dislike to each other as rival booksellers but also can’t help being fascinated. Book People lives up to its name with both characters reluctantly working together on revamping the town’s book festival. I found it a book that was easy to get swept along and was really sweet.