Not for me. It's giving Beach Read rip off but poorly done. I can't put my finger on what was missing, the plot certainly was quite weak but I've read and enjoyed books with a flimsier plot. It just didn't grab me, and there were no stakes or characters I really cared about and therefore the romance wasn't much of a pay off.

Actual rating 3.5 stars.

So there are many things I loved about this book. I loved the plot, I loved the dynamic between our main characters, and I especially loved the mystery of the secret letters. While the mystery was a bit predictable, it really helped to lift this book from mediocre to a gripping read. I read this book in one sitting I just couldn't get enough.

Now for what made it a 3.5 rating. There was unnecessary conflict between our main characters that really took away from the story. I also felt the transition from enemies to lovers was very disjointed and affected the flow of the story. It felt like the author added in sex scenes just because and not for the benefit of the story. I personally think this book would have been better as a slow burn.

I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was pleasantly surprised with this book. I went into not knowing much about it. It was very cute with the rival bookshops and window decorating competition. I especially liked how Kate wormed her way into Sebastian’s festival. The ending was very quick to me with how they wrapped up all the loose ends. Overall, I’d recommend to a friend.

This was a super quick and cute read based on the ‘enemies to lovers’ trope set in a small town in the English countryside and is centered around our favorite thing, BOOKS! The characters steer heavily into tropes, but the story is well written and feels like a hallmark movie in all the best ways. If that is your vibe, then this is a book for you!
My rating: 3.5 stars

I’d like to thank NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this ARC.

**Spoiler warning**

The thing that grabbed me the most in this story was the parallel storyline about their great grandparents and their secret note passing affair. I would absolutely love to read a novella based on their story.

I loved Kate and Sebastian’s common ground of using books as a form of escapism and healing during tough times in their lives, since let’s be honest, all of us here are book nerds and have chosen to lose ourselves in a book. At times, their story felt a little lustful and less romantic in how their attraction was described. I wish Sebastian’s earlier point of view focused more on aspects of Kate’s warm charismatic personality rather than the ground shifting love at first sight vibes. Sebastian was also a little too alpha male, ‘Neanderthal-like’ for my tastes, but again that’s a trope that we see over and over again so it’s not to say it’s a bad thing it’s just not for me.

The story also at times felt a bit redundant and overly focused on the deep parallels between the storylines of the great grandparents, down to even their names, but hey sometimes this is exactly the type of vacation read we want.

When Kate finds out she’s inherited a building in the English village of Wychtree, she’s so excited for the fresh start it can give her. She recently left her emotionally abusive boyfriend and can now follow her lifelong dream of opening a bookshop. Only there’s already a grumpy (and HOT) bookseller in town who’s none to pleased to see her.

Sebastian is the fourth-generation owner of Blackwood Books, and desperately trying to keep the shop afloat after his father ran it into the ground. The last thing he needs is sunshiney competition across the street to put the final nail in the bookshop coffin. Especially since he can’t seem to stay away from Kate… When they’re thrown together to plan a book festival and uncover a long-lost love story, the plot truly begins.

There are so many things to love about this book! The simmering tension between Kate and Sebastian, the love letters they discover, the small-town love and vibes, all the fun characters. I went back and forth on loving/hating each character—sometimes it went a bit too far with Sebastian’s so-called inability to love. I loved how they learned about their family histories and grew closer in the process. Without saying too much, how could they not have figured out the family mystery much earlier in the book? That was the only real complaint I had.

Overall, this was the perfect read for book lovers and coziness, with some steam too!

Sadly not for me, this one. The wrong choice on my part. It’s too cutesie and schmalzy, I couldn’t warm to either character, I felt they were like walking cliches.
I enjoy a good romcom that has a bit of ‘meat’ on the bones of the story, this one did not, it’s just too simplistic for my taste. I’m sure it will appeal to many readers, just not this one. A DNF sadly.
My thanks Netgalley and the publisher for my advance copy of this book.

This was cute and I got caught up in the story, but found it a bit repetitive at times especially with Kate’s backstory. Sebastian’s sections were also a little alpha male for my taste

I wanted to like this so bad, with it being about rival bookshop owners and all, but this was just not it for me.

Why is Sebastian’s character so inconsistent? His voice in text messages goes from being normal and a bit moody to saying the most random stuff that’s not in line with his character! He’s basically against the whole idea of a relationship and is hiding his feelings towards Kate, for the majority of the book and then he just says randomly straightforward things that don’t fit his character.

I also did not get why he was embarrassed to be seen reading a book that wasn’t lit fic in public? Sir, you literally own a bookshop. I just think I got annoyed because I hate when people look down on other genres. Reading is reading people!! Let’s stop judging people for their taste in books.

This did get a couple points for mentioning The Murderbot Diaries though.

This wasn’t as bad as I’m making it sound, it was pretty cute at times, but I think overall I felt like the writing was a little inconsistent! That being said, I did read an ARC and a couple of these things could be changed before publication.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a review!

Grumpy vs. Sunshine, enemies to lovers, rival bookstore owners, family mysteries. What is not to love?

Kate opens a bookstore across the street from Sebastian, leading to instant disdain as well as attraction. As Kate weasels her way into planning a local literary festival, they find intriguing letters hinting at a long last romance.

This was a cute read. It's spicy, but not overly so. I loved the way the two main characters' stories mimicked their great grandparents and how their lives intertwined. I also appreciated the love letters at the beginning of each chapter.

This was a solid read overall, hitting many high points. I would have loved an epilogue and more of what happened after the festival. I'd love to see sequels from other village characters, such as Dr. Dan.

Thank you to netgalley and headline eternal for this advance reader copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This one was cute! And fun! I think my favorite part was the setting. The mmc is the grumpiest grump which isn’t always my fav but I know I’m in the minority there. I loved our FMC! This is for fans of book lovers by Emily Henry, which is oneof my favs.

If you enjoy the rivals to lovers trope and liked Emily Henry's Book People, I would give this a try.

It's cute, funny and the characters are in a cozy town for a book festival. It's fun and enjoyable, with plenty of humor and heart. The rivalry between the two and them figuring out the family feud was interesting. The characters are fully developed, though get in their own way a lot.

The writing is lovely and flows nicely.

Would recommend.

This was a cute contemporary fictional novel. I liked it because it's a popular thing in the groups to talk about "Book boyfriends". It's very cool to see the idea come alive with this authors book.

3.5 rounded up. There's a little too much back and forthing on the "but what shall we do about actually HAVING FEELINGS????" but otherwise this is very charming. Could see many of the plot twists coming but it was actually fairly reassuring and fun to learn the backstories. Would like to visit small town England, with all its rival bookstores, but that's pretty much a given.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley.

This fun, quirky rom com was a perfect pick me up. I found myself laughing with the characters and the story is beautifully written. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who loves You've Got Mail.

this cover? cute. the romance was good, i do feel the ending was a bit rushed but still good nonetheless. i would definitely read more from this author.

I enjoyed this lovely romance about two people who start off as business rivals, and working through a self discovery journey, they find much more than hate and anger in their hearts.

Because I recieved this as an arc copy there are a lot of formatting issues that should be resolved by the time it's released. I also struggled with some of the UK sayings, being from the US, but nothing terrible.

Overall I recommend for a quick romantic read with some spice. It was extremely cute and the banter was great.

Will propel you to your happy place. A must read!… Feel-good romance… Truly heart-warming… Such a cute read! I started and finished in one day – what can I say?

La mamá de Kate falleció y le heredó un local en su pueblo natal. Como nunca había escuchado nada acerca de la infancia de su madre, decidió mudarse y abrir una librería. El problema fue que, justo enfrente, ya existía una librería, y su dueño, Sebastián, no tomó nada bien la competencia. En cada oportunidad, le demostró que no era bienvenida.

Kate hará lo que sea necesario para que Sebastián la acepte. Cuando se ven obligados a trabajar juntos, ella ve esa situación como su oportunidad para demostrarle que no tiene malas intenciones y que su deseo no es afectar su librería. Sebastián no se lo pondrá fácil, pero pronto se dará cuenta de que ella solo busca echar raíces, enamorarse, vivir plenamente y ser feliz.






Spoilers ⚠️ ⚠️
No me gustó lo que hicieron Sebastián y Kate (los primeros/originales). Decidieron abandonar a sus hijos para estar juntos, lo que les arruinó la vida (a sus hijos), mientras ellos muy felices como si nada.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5

This was a super cute and quick book about rival bookshop owners! Isn't that premise just so cute? Well, it is. And it was lots of fun.

It reminded me a bit of Book Lovers by Emily Henry, so I would recommend this to you if you've read that and are craving something with a similar vibe and atmosphere.

The two main characters are rivals (to lovers) but they end up having to work together because the cozy little town they're in is having a book festival...and of course, that's what causes the real fun to begin!

This was super fun and enjoyable, but sometimes there were moments of conflict that didn't really feel like they needed to be there. They felt like they were there just for the sake of having a conflict (which I understand is the point of books, but it felt kind of weird sometimes).

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

This is a story about a woman who opens her dream bookstore in her inherited shop, in the town she was born in but has no memory of, across the street from another (four generations) bookshop. The rival bookstore situation sets up an enemies to lovers story with a mystery history.

There was potential in the idea of mystery love letters and unknown family history and the also village charm, but the FMC was so entitled at the beginning, I found it hard to get past. Also, the MMC hated her and then suddenly didn't with no depth whatsoever. The story continuity felt off (has she been there six months or two?), and a lot of the story gets rehashed in each perspective, which I ended up skimming.

If this hadn't been an eARC (thanks NetGalley), I would have put it on my DNF pile.