Kate needs to start over, and thankfully she inherited a building in a cute little town, the perfect place to make her dream of owning a bookshop come true. Except the long standing book shop across the street is run by handsome, brooding Sebastian, who thwarts all her attempts to connect. That is until someone lets slip that he's planning to restart a book festival and Kate takes the opportunity to squeeze her ideas into the festival as well. Will their close proximity lead to more sparks between the two? Will the town be big enough for two bookstores? Will Sebastian be able to admit to his feelings?
Although I appreciated the concept of this book, it definitely felt like some tropes were pushed too hard and it threw in some spice for spice sake ("because we just can't control ourselves!" 😒) I didn't feel the connection between Kate and Sebastian. He was a little TOO broody and disconnected from his feelings. I needed more depth and connection between the two to really believe the story.
I do think there is a place for this type of book, but it just wasn't what I wanted. It is set to be published 28 Jan 25, so if it sounds like something you'd be interested in, add it to your TBR!
Thank you to @netgalley for providing me a free advanced copy in exchange for my review!
#NetGalley #BookPeople

I have enjoyed many reads from this author, so when this became available on Netgalley, I grabbed it!

I really enjoyed the dynamic of Sunshine and Grump energy between these two. The rivalry between the booksellers in the small town is an intriguing premise, but it’s soon revealed that there’s a more substantial problem underlying their initial disagreement. The story’s engaging and addictive nature comes from the interwoven, unsettling events that impact both Kate and Sebastian’s lineage and themselves, and the undeniable chemistry and attraction to each other.

I really enjoyed this author’s portrayal of a brooding, damaged alpha male. The mystery of C and H and Sebastian’s struggle with happiness were both fascinating to unravel.

The story’s many twists and turns were thoroughly entertaining, and I adored the happy ending. I recommend this book, and other works from this talented author. I received a free ARC and happily leave my review.

A Hallmark kind of story with a bit of spice!

This book had a lot of tropes - rival bookstore owners, grumpy/sunshine, friends to lovers, slow burn romance. But the story is fun - newcomer Kate opens a cozy, fun bookstore across the street from serious Sebastian's generationally owned bookstore. They both have difficult family history. Kate is trying to learn more about her mother's family and Sebastian is trying to keep away from his father's family story. There is a literary event that Sebastian is planning in hopes of bringing attention to his bookstore. Kate finds out and is hurt she wasn't invited to participate. In the end, they work together and have a fantastic event. And then there is letters they're trying to find out who C and H are and how their story ended so it's like two stories in one. The characters are created so cleverly and the storylines keep you interested. It was a fun book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

DNF @ 21%.

This was so boring. There’s barely any conflict and it’s contrived and half solved by some deus ex machina a fifth of the way in. The characters have no personality outside of the rudimentary grumpy/sunshine trope and the FMC couldn’t POSSIBLY understand why someone wouldn’t like her. Maybe because she’s vapid and annoying? There’s just no way this book gets better at this point.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline Books for the ARC.

Very hard for me to get into a book that takes so long to get into the main plot. If you're okay with waiting until nearly 30% of the way through the book for the plot to get started, this one may be for you. If you like men who ignore the FMC and treat them like dirt because they like them, you also may like this one. And of course, if you like chapters that are at least 10 pages long that drag on and on, you'll definitely love this one. The only thing that kept me going was the mysterious correspondences from "C" and "H" at the top of each chapter.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc! it was a fun read & I enjoyed Kate and Sebastian's banter plus the fact that Sebastian was down bad everytime lol... if u like a sunshine fmc and grumpy mmc then this one's for you!

Book People by Jackie Ashenden

Kate opens a bookshop specialising in genre fiction opposite Sebastian's traditional bookshop, which has been in his family for years and has a more highbrow clientele. To her surprise he takes an immediate dislike to her, despite them catering for very different customers. Will a book festival in the town give Kate and Sebastian the opportunity to work together or push them further apart?

The bookshop setting attracted me to this ARC, although I'm not usually a romance reader, and it didn't disappoint. Enemies to lovers and the usual tropes but done in a very appealing way and avoiding cliched characters. I wasn't sure about being in Sebastian's viewpoint sometimes but it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the story. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Book People by Jackie is the perfect book lovers/ enemies to lovers rom-com. Our main male lead is grumpy and other female main character Kate is the perfect amount of sunshine that our grumpy Sebastian needs to finally open up and let someone in.

You can tell this author really loves her books and rom-coms by the writing and details and it was truly just such a comforting read!

The premise of this book was so cute, and I was so excited to get a copy from Netgalley and the publisher. This book started off so strong. It gave me The Hating Game vibes, but with rival bookshop owners. However, the romance hit too quickly for me and never fully developed. They went from hating each other to immediately sleeping together and then falling in love extremely fast, and I just had a hard time investing in their relationship. They had the same fight over and over and Sebastian was so stubborn. I’m glad they were able to work it out in the end for their happy ending, and I loved the storytelling through the letters, but I would have loved a little more development to fully live this.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for a review!

I had very high hopes for this book, but ultimately I was let down. The premise was promising. Who doesn't love a good grumpy vs sunshine that revolves around books? I thought I would be blown away but after I finished, I couldn't remember the names of the main characters.

I liked the idea of love letters from the past, but for it to be more compelling than the main characters, that's a flaw indeed.

So much potential, but ultimately it didn't hit.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Headline | Headline Eternal for the arc, all opinions are my own.

I requested Jackie Ashenden's Book People from NetGalley because of it's super cute cover and because I am an absolute sucker for books that take place in bookshops or with book people as the characters. In fact, I think this is my tenth book this year that was about people in the book or book selling industry!

There are parts of this story that I loved- the community, the bookshops (both of them), and at times the characters. They had wonderfully, witty banter and sometimes their relationship was cute. Kate, as the books states, is sunshine in human form; friendly, outgoing and a joy to be around. Sebastian was the exact opposite; reserved, introverted, downright grumpy and off-putting. I was most put off by his unending emotional constipation as he would swing wildly from loving and supporting to unable to communicate any sort of feelings to freakishly obsessive and angry. I kept waiting for him to say, "you won't like me when I'm angry" & grow into a giant green Hulk.

There is a mysterious box of love letters for the two of them to unravel together (the answer was stunningly obvious in my opinion, but still one of the sweeter parts of the novel), a festival to plan and of course, a decision about whether or not they will figure out themselves enough to have any sort of relationship.

This was a fun quick read, but if you're turned off by obsessive love, maybe skip it.

Thanks to Headline publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. Book People will be published on January 28, 2025.

4.5 stars

After having only read fantasy books for the past couple of days, reading Book People was like a breath of fresh hair. A light hearted yet at the same time, emotional romcom, this is the story of two rival booksellers - Kate, who loves everything romance, fantasy and basically genre fiction and Sebastian who is one of those literary fiction aficionados. At the start they do not get along - both of them are stubborn, but also Sebastian is a tad bit rude. I did not like him at first, but he did grow on me (and also, he is kind of exactly my type lmao).

It is through their rivalry, you get to see the intense chemistry and what they could eventually share. Forced to organize a literary festival and work together to see its success, Kate and Sebastian have to put aside their differences. I think one of the reasons that I enjoyed this book because I could see parts of myself reflected in the pages. I am a bit like Kate, but also like Sebastian. I know what I want and I can fight for it, but I get scared too. And that is what endeared me to both of them.

Their relationship progresses quite nicely, and I loved their first kiss - it was definitely hot. I also loved how their relationship is kind of a mirror to what happened in their families. No spoilers, but there are some beautifully sad letters involved. But Kate and Sebastian together learn one lesson - you cannot escape the feeling of love. This would have easily gotten five stars from me, but I felt the ending was a little too abrupt and we could have at least a chapter or an epilogue to show how things are with them and their bookshops.

But, Book People was a delightfully charming read and I cannot wait to read more of what Jackie Ashenden writes!

Book People is perfect for romance lovers. It’s a nice easy read and it moves along quite quickly. While I didn’t love it, it was still a cosy little love story.

this was sooooo good that I’m upset it was an ARC and that i can’t make everyone i know read this right now. i didn’t realize how much depth there would be in this story, and how much would intertwine but i loved it. I loved the characters, and was glad we had a dual pov bc i honestly would have probably hated Sebastian otherwise but the author made you love him. A beautiful story!! Add to your TBR & please read when this is released !

I think this book had a great premise but sadly for me it fell a little flat. I immediately got the ick from the MMC Sebastian and I felt like he was whiny and elitist. I also didn't really feel the connection between these two and I felt like their intimate relationship moved really fast despite not having much of a relationship in between their intimate moments.

The story itself was fine but I just felt like there was something missing for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline | Headline Eternal for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

The premise of this book sounded so cute that I just had to read this! And it did deliver on some points. I loved the setting of the two competing bookshops, the small town vibes and Kate with her amazing bookstore. The story behind the little notes the main characters found was also really cute.

However, I wasn't the biggest fan of the MMC, Sebastian, and the relationship between him and the Kate. At first I was rooting for them, but after a while I got tired of him being so stubborn. They also kept having the same discussion over and over. Then the resolution of their conflict was wrapped up so quickly that I felt it was just too rushed.
One other, small, thing that bothered me was the use of male and female to describe things. To me, that's just too vague and just kinda weird to do??

Overall, this book was still quite a cute and quick read. I did enjoy it for the most part, so I would still recommend it.

A grumpy hero and a heroine with scars of her own trying to rediscover joy meet in “Book People”, by Jackie Ashenden, finding more affinities than the shared passion for books.
I loved the leads’ personalities and the clash between Sebastian’s grumpiness and apparent coldness and Kate’s optimism and openness.
They both have emotional wounds and react differently.
Jackie Ashenden’s talent at writing intense, fierce and deeply devoted heroes is shown through Sebastian’s character.
His intensity and honesty are fascinating.
The apparently fragile heroine turns out to be a strong individual fighting for her dreams after a period of loss and heartache.
I liked the balance, the dialogue between the two bookshops and the owners’ personalities in the small community, and how they cooperated in the end.
The secret love story in the past was intriguing and also very endearing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for giving me access to an eARC of this book.

This could’ve been so good but it sadly fell flat for me.

We have two, hot, rivaling bookstore owners who hates each other (or at least dislikes each other a little bit). Just there we have a recipe for a great love story. Instead we got smut. Which isn’t a bad thing but in this book it just feels like… eh…

The relationship between these two people move from hate to sex real fast. A bit too fast if you ask me. There’s nothing wrong with two consenting adults engaging in sexual activity because of lust. I just feel like their whole relationship is built upon that lust and nothing more.

And let me just write out how “alpha male” this male character is. Dude, this isn’t a werewolf romance book, you’re 30 years old please act like it. Stop being so creepily territorial of a woman you barely know. And when you’re at it please contact a psychiatrist, your friend obviously knows someone.

Overall it was a book I don’t regret reading but one that will not stay with me. I do think some of my friends would LOVE it. Because of the smut.

I didn't like it. I like a brooding and moody guy, don't get me wrong. But I don't like a brooding and moody guy who judges the MC for reading science fiction, thrillers, fantasies, or romance because it's 'not real literature' while also reading those genres himself and knowing full well he's being a hypocrite. Now, it could have been pulled off if there was a genuine exploration into the characters mental states instead of remaining surface level focused. But this book did not do that for me. Also, the twist wasn't a twist. I don't know if it was supposed to come across as one, but there's one line in particular that irritated me. Sebastien and Kate are trying to figure out who his great-grandfather's lover was - spoilers, it was Kate (Kate's great-grandmother). They spend some time through the book trying to consider it. And then Kate learns who it was and her immediate thought is 'I probably should have guessed it, but I didn't.' It felt lazy and underwritten.

This is an adorable story – very nicely tuned to appeal to book lovers! Misses being very memorable – my review will hopefully explain that.

Kate, has moved to the village of Wychtree and launched her bookshop “Portable Magic”. This was always her dream and she decides to use the property left to her by her mother who passed away 2.5 years back. Opposite her shop is “Blackwood Books”, run by Sebastian Blackwood. Thankfully the genres they cater to are different – she stocks romance, cozy mysteries, thrillers, escapist reads and some non-fiction such as cookbooks & biographies. He concentrates on mainstream novels including Booker prize winners and some true crime. Kate tries to strike up a conversation with Sebastian but he is terse and avoids speaking to her. Both of them have business challenges and are keen to get their bookshops to be successful. Sebastian has planned a literary festival and very reluctantly agrees to include Kate in the planning & hosting of the event. As they work with each other, they learn more about each other and their families. Kate has broken off with her boyfriend Jasper, who was very controlling. Both of them find the other attractive, but are not seeking another relationship.

The portrayal of Kate and Sebastian as two very different personality types is brilliant – he is circumspect & brooding (many issues constantly preying on his mind) while she is open, social & great with bonding with others. I loved the initial tensions between the two and the banter they engage in. There are nice, cozy backstories of both of their families. The only real disappointment for me was the stale descriptions of the sexual tension & attraction between the two. This really detracts from a very good story & excellent loveable characters.

A book I much recommend – it is brilliant for the most part and the characters are charming.

My rating: 4.25 / 5.