this review will contain spoilers.

As I was driving home last night, the song, I miss me by Kelsea Ballerini came on and I realized how much that song fit this book. In the song, she talks about how she gave up her lipstick because he didn't like it, couldn't wear high heel shoes, and ended up losing all of her friends and the sense of who she was. Kate in the book definitely fit this same idea with her ex. She had accepted all of his comments about who she should be, what she should drink, and he had even deleted all of her friends from her contact list.

Now, fast forward to where Kate has left and started over. She has inherited a building in a small town and has made it into her home and a bookshop. The guy across the road also has a bookshop with lots of history and passion for that legacy. They fight, but the sexual tension is always there. They both have to heal from the past and be in touch with their own feelings to move forward.

I plan to share this title on my instagram on Monday, Jan 27th at www.instagram.com/robinashleyreads

A feel good small town enemies to lovers romance.
When Kate inherits a property in a small town from a Nan she didn’t know, she decides to follow her passion and open a bookshop. However this bookshop is right across the road from Sebastian’s bookshop (a family legacy in the town). Kates fun fictional reads and brightly coloured outfits are the complete opposite to Sebastian’s high brow educational reads and grumpy persona. When Sebastian relaunches the literary festival to bring in business, nothing is going to stop Kate from ensuring her place and with the added mystery of some old love letters can they succeed and get along to make this work.
This book was such a fun quick read with humour, romance and a bit of spice.

Main tropes
⭐️ Enemies to lovers
⭐️ Rival bookshop owners
⭐️ Small town
⭐️ Grumpy sunshine

If you enjoyed books like Book Lovers or films such as Letters to Juliet you will enjoy this book.

I really wanted to love this book—how could I not, with a story about rival bookshop owners? The whole setup sounded perfect: Kate and Sebastian, two people who run competing bookstores in a cozy little town. Add some tension and romance, and I was ready to dive in. But honestly? It just wasn’t for me.

Everything moved way too fast. Kate and Sebastian went from hating each other to hooking up in what felt like five seconds. Whiplash…. Right?!?!?
I love a good rivals-to-lovers romance, but there was no build-up, no emotional connection—just pure lust.

The writing was also a bit all over the place, and some of the drama felt totally unnecessary. And why was Sebastian embarrassed to be seen reading a non-literary book? Dude, you own a bookstore. Chill with the book snobbery.

There were some cute moments, and the setting was really cozy, so I can see why other people might enjoy it. But for me, it just didn’t hit the mark.

Thanks to NetGalley & Headline for the ARC!

After inheriting property in a small English village, Kate has left London and her job in publishing to pursue her dream of owning a bookstore. But now everyone is as excited about her new adventure. Kate’s shop just so happens to be directly across the street from the village’s long standing local bookstore and its broody owner, Sebastian. Which means they are now rivals in the small village-Kate’s popular, fun genre fiction and Sebastian’s high brow literary offerings. When the pair find themselves working together on the town's literary festival, their growing attraction becomes harder and harder to ignore. Professional rivalry aside, just one steamy kiss can't mean anything, can it?

I really enjoyed the first half and was surprised at the amount of open, honest communication between the main characters. But the second half really dragged on. It was too much self absorbed I love him but I can’t love him because my emotional scars have caused me to swear off men forever and I’ve loved her since the moment I saw her but my family is cursed at love, she’s better off without me because I can’t be the man she needs. It’s as if the characters suddenly became emotionally stunted and obtuse.
Rating: Just OK

I loved the setting and the competing bookshops. This is a grumpy sunshine, enemies to lovers romance that has some good moments. The small village community is lovely and all the bookshop events sound like a blast. The ex, Jasper, comes up far too often and Sebastian’s stubbornness is taken to unnecessary lengths. A fun, light romance overall. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

As someone who loves all things that have to do with bookstores and book lovers I was hoping this would be a really good rom-com read.

Sadly that was not the case. Plot did seem like a good deal - two bookstore owners on across from each other and you have a good recipe for enemies to lovers. However... This was so insta-love, well, no scratch that, insta-smut that I found myself rolling my eyes way too fast. I dislike insta-love in general, and insta-smut is even worse for me.

And I disliked Sebastian - he has some lines in this that - no. Sorry, but just no.

I’ve always loved books about books and this one was so good! Two bookstores, lots of book talk, a literary festival and a sweet romance, the best combination!

Book People is a super fun and spicy rom com! I loved it all. Sebastian and Kate are rival bookstore owners in a small town. Their banter is so great and their characters were so entertaining.

Although Sebastian is so grumpy I admired how straight up and honest he was. Although sometimes he could be so so frustrating! Kate is full of sunshine and instantly makes you happy!

I also thought Dan was a hit, what a fabulous best friend! “You’re about as emotionally open as a potato” was a favourite line of mine!

I really enjoyed the side story mystery of their past generations as well, but I won’t say too much about that.

Everyone has a story, everyone has had a difficult relationship in some way, giving your heart to someone is scary, feeling and caring hurts, emotional abuse hurts too. I love how much this book made me feel! It will be a favourite of 2025!

I highly recommend this bookstore rom com! Ebook available in Australia on 28 January as well!

Thank you so much @headlineeternal and @netgalley for sending me this early copy in exchange for my honest review.

As a book lover, I love books about bookstores and book people. Book People is the perfect title for this story set at a bookstore. Such a fun setting and back and forth of enemies to lovers.

Thank you Netgalley, Jackie Ashenden, Headline for the advance copy of Book People by Jackie Ashenden. The cover of the book is very vibrant and helps set the imaging of the small town book feel. I thought the characters always were flirty toward eachother so it was kinda predictable that they would have a lusty relationship. I enjoy the two people perspective because you can see there point of view towards eachother.

The idea and overall plot of Book People is charming and holds potential; however, it felt somewhat lackluster to me, leading me to skim through the last 30% just to finish. Kate, the main female character, was likable and full of energy, but Sebastian, the main male character, lacked appeal. I found some of his chapters quite challenging to get through. While the story had an element of mystery, it was predictable yet still charming, adding an extra layer to the narrative.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3 stars. Book Lovers brings together two bookshop owners with opposing visions for what literature should be. Kate is an enthusiastic bookseller with a love for popular, genre fiction. Across the street, Sebastian runs a highbrow, traditional bookshop, and he’s less than thrilled by Kate’s arrival. The plot centers on their professional rivalry, which turns to a sparking romance when they are forced to collaborate on the town’s literary festival.

While I loved the premise of the book, I found it to be a bit repetitive and there were some continuity errors that took me out of the story a few times. I also felt that the characters were insufferable at times and they lacked any sort of chemistry. Overall the book just wasn’t for me.

ARC provided by NetGalley

I thought I was going to love this, as an avid book reader but it didn't have enough about books. It was ok and I liked it but I didn't love it. It was like it couldn't decide what it was going to be? Is this enemies to lovers or not? I'm not sure how I overall felt.

Book People come in many different shapes, forms and convictions - in this cute romance we meet two of those from vastly different ends of the spectrum: Kate, the cozy fiction lover with themed bookshop windows and Sebastian, the literary lover with somewhat of an upturned nose against genre books - or so it seems. Both of these own bookshops that are as different from each other as their owners are but share the same road, as they are right across from each other. Cue a love story between two characters that should not get along.
I really enjoyed the bookish theme of this romance. Book People plays with the fact that even if two people love and live by books, there's still so much variety that they can be completely different at the same time. Both characters bring their baggage and own struggles, so they have some stuff to get over. However, the way it is done in this book, especially with a backwards glance into the historic past of the town's shops, is easily consumable and makes for a quick, cute and funny read.
This is a book for book lovers who can't get enough of their love stories and books at the same time. I highly recommend!


📚Rival bookshop owners
📚Enemies-to-lovers
📚Small-town setting
📚Grumpy-sunshine
📚Forced proximity

As a book lover, there is nothing I love more than books about books and book lovers. Unfortunately, this book was a miss for me. I didn’t connect with either main character, and felt the romance went zero to 10000%.

I do think that people who really enjoy smut above a plotline will enjoy this book.

I LOVE a good book about people who love books.

And this does not disappoint! How many of us dream of opening a quaint little bookstore - but best not to do it across the street from a well established family bookstore! Is there room for two book stores in the same village, let alone the same street? Kate and Sebastian could not be more different and this fun cosy romance just hits the spot for a Sunday afternoon!

Rivals to lovers, Cosy Small Town Romance, and a bit of grumpy sunshine dynamic.

Rated 3.5/4

The writing was good with heartfelt moments. There were quite a few emotional parts and spicy parts, with lots of little things going on to keep you on your toes.

The chapters were fairly long, opening with anonymous love letters. You therefore got a good chunk of the story before moving on. There was an interesting flow between the chapters, created by the inclusion of the love letters. I enjoyed reading them and thought that it was a lovely way to start the chapter. They cleverly hinted at what might happen in the chapter that you were about to read.

There was a good pace to the book. It was slowed down by the character's hesitations, indecisions and will they, won't they actions.

The characters were excellent. I loved how different the main characters were, yet they somehow worked well together. It certainly kept the story on it's toes. What I particularly enjoyed was the fact that each main character had their own alternating chapter. It was nice to see what each character was thinking and to see the story from both sides. It gave a well rounded feel and it explained what was going on behind each character's façade.

Both the main characters had had a difficult past and it was interesting to see how that had an impact on what they were like now. I enjoyed being on their journey.

Lastly the settings. I loved the village setting and any book set in a bookshop gets my attention! The descriptions were light as it was a character focused story, but you got a good grounding and it balanced well with what the characters were doing.

Overall a lovely story, with quite a lot of spice.

3.5/5 Stars rounded up to 4 for the rating system.

Book People by Jackie Ashenden is a cute and fluffy romance that offers a delightful escape into the charming world of battling bookshop owners. The concept of two rival bookshop owners, Kate and Sebastian, is wonderfully executed, providing a fun and engaging backdrop for the story.

The chemistry between Kate and Sebastian, while a bit slow to develop at the start, eventually blossoms into a compelling and heartwarming relationship. The initial interactions felt slightly off and hard to engage with, but as the story progressed, their connection deepened and became one of the highlights of the book.

Overall, Book People is a super cute and easy read, perfect for those who enjoy lighthearted romance with a literary twist. It's an enjoyable story that celebrates love, books, and the unexpected journeys life can take us on.

Kate inherited a shop in her mother’s hometown and decided to open a bookstore with modern and fun titles. The problem? It turns out there’s already another bookstore across the street, and it’s the town’s favorite. What’s more, Sebastian, the owner, isn’t too happy about the competition, and at every chance he gets, he makes sure Kate knows she’s not welcome. 🥺

Both are forced to work together during the town’s literary festival, and as they start to get along a little, a shocking family secret that ties their pasts together comes to light…

It’s a pretty quick read, with some cute moments, and honestly, I hated the protagonists’ parents—the decisions they made were terrible.

I was expecting something different, but it wasn’t too bad either. It turned out to be a fairly entertaining read.

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

This was a sweet romance book. Whilst it wasn't for me, I understand why it's gotten so many five star reviews.

I have never read a book by this author and thought it was going to be just a cutsey little bookstore romance but the smut was unreal!