Fun, quick read. I know I can trust Brayden to deliver when it comes to lesbian romances, plus the plot is centered around books!

This novel was comfort food for my anxious soul. I enjoyed these characters and would love to see them again (even if it is as secondary characters) in a future book by Brayden.

I absolutely adored the two other Melissa Brayden books I've read. So I had high hopes for this one. But sadly I was disappointed. It took me months to finish it. I think my biggest problem was the structure of the relationship between Hannah and Parker. For the majority of the book they are apart. There is even a time in the book when both Hannah and Parker date other people. Most of the time they were telling themselves and others that there are too many obstacles between them, that it is not meant to be. And I actually agreed with them. I loved all the bookstore stuff though, so scenes with books and the bookstore were my favorite. I would still recommend this one, but so far for me this is my least favorite Melissa Brayden book.
Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed certain aspects of this novel. The romantic scenes and and the first smut scene were really well written. However, a lot of the plot focused on the couple breaking up, getting back together, breaking up, getting back together, etc. These plot points happened really easily and were too coincidental, in my opinion. I would have liked the time period to be expanded, as this happens over two years and they break up three times? And then they're engaged by the end of the book? I did really like Hannah's character and that she worked at a bookstore, but the novel focused on the "book within a book" trope towards the end and I'm personally not a huge fan of that. I also didn't have as clear a picture of Parker as I would have liked to and her backstory was just sort of dumped on us at one point. I did still like the romantic elements and the steamy scenes though, but that's about it.

I'll read anything Melissa Brayden writes for the rest of my life. Her writing, especially within the genre, is beyond what one could expect. She has an innate nature for writing women with complex identities and I fall for it every time. Would read a million times over.

This was my second Melissa Brayden book and I can officially say that I enjoy her works!
This book was amazing, with wonderful dialogue, and a brilliant plot. I adored the characters, and adored Parker specifically.
I need to get myself a physical copy of this one!

When the bookshop owner Hannah hosts a book signing for romance novelists Parker, sparks begin to fly. They begin to discover new things about themselves and one another. But when things get serious, they wonder if the spark is enough.

Similar to Hannah's opinions on romance novels, I'm not big on the stereotypical romance stories. However, like Parker, Melissa Brayden's writing captivated me to not put this book down. The story is different than most lesbian romances and brings the characters to life.

I usually love Melissa Brayden's books, but this was just an okay read. I liked the chemistry between th two main characters but I was missing more interaction between them.

This was a really cute romance! I loved the bookstore backdrop-- it's always fun to read about characters who love books as much as I do! The characters were sweet, if a little stereotypical and two dimensional. Overall, it was a fun time!

Melissa Brayden is back with another fabulous heart pounding romance with Back to September! The incorrigible Hannah, is a bookstore owner who has a tendency to roll her eyes at romance novels. But business is slacking off a bit lately so she petitions to have a famous romance author, Parker Bristow come in for a book signing to drum up some business. Parker and Hannah are complete opposites, they meet, sparks fly and... they turn to someone else. Won't say more here except, if you haven't read any of Brayden's novels, you are missing out! She's simply wonderful at bringing out the best in her characters and creating features of friends we all have. Must read and a delight!

Reading a Melissa Brayden novel is like cozying up by the fire, sipping wine and just...enjoy! She never disappoints with either her characters or the story itself. I could continue to read her novels endlessly. Five big hearts for Back to September!

*I received a free digital ARC via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

Romance not necessarily at its best

There were many brilliant moments inside this, but just as many terrible ones. To start with, a book about books should be exciting, especially with people who absolutely love books and reading, and share that as much as possible. All the geeky stuff, the shared knowledge to help people find their “perfect book match”. That was wonderful. It was the romance aspect that let this all down.

One thing I found difficult to handle was that there was more than one “high” point. We have everything going brilliantly, switching to things fading out, switching to things going fantastically brilliantly again (eked out so far that it became boring), up to things going dramatically badly, but ending with an HEA. I’m sure huge chunks of this could have been cut out, as it’s not the idea that the reader gets bored in the middle. So the dramatic part (which didn’t feel so dramatic), which is supposed to hit at two thirds, actually felt like it came late.

The HEA, once it finally did come (after we had a fake HEA before that) was a great ending. It’s just the journey to there that was far too messy for my tastes.

Final rating: ★★★☆☆ – Sort of liked/OK

Brayden has mastered the formula of lesbian romance fiction. In this novel, there's a variation which is refreshing for the reader.

I found the connection between Hannah and Parker quite superficial at the start and I wasn't overly engaged, but Brayden slowly delivered the feels and unwrapped a full-blooded love story.

Let me start by saying that this is a very sweet and gentle book that I did not finish. For me, it was too gentle at times, but I’ll get to that in a minute. Hannah seems like such a nice person to know, and she is so sincere and earnest with her bookselling business (strangely enough, as a librarian, I found her book worship a little over the top… but I guess my books are used and hers are new... you don’t really want to pat your books when you know they’ve been checked out 50 times and have mystery stains on them). I did identify with her change of attitude towards romance novels. I used to participate in some of that snobbery, I admit it, but now it’s my favorite genre. A good romance novel can smack you in the face with emotion in a way that other genres just don’t.

Sadly, this book did not emotion-smack me. It lacked tension. It took me a long time to really feel the connection between Parker and Hannah. Part of it could be the distance between them, but I don’t think so. It didn’t feel like there was any real longing between them. The build up could certainly have been stronger. They connect a little here, a little there. Do some deeds. But I didn’t feel it. Hannah narrates the book, and I think her narration contributes to the sense of not enough tension. She is a gentle person, I daresay even a bit boring. A boring narrator makes for a boring book. Also, at times there was not enough sentence variety. Every sentence would start with an I. This makes sense because this is how people think, but it doesn’t make for my favorite reading experience.

I think this book would have been better had the heat and tension been kicked up a couple notches. Possibly it did, and I just missed it because I gave up about 70% through. Still, it makes for a cozy, lady-lovin’ read, and if that is your jam, then this book is for you.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3058463287?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

There's no question about the fact that Melissa Brayden is a good writer. I always enjoy her books, but lately they'd been getting a little too formulaic and I always found her style of dialogue a little too hipster-y. I'm pleased to say she's gone in a completely different direction with this book, breaking the boundaries of lesbian romance and outdoing herself in the process. The plot was very unexpected and so different from the usual romance formula. The characters were both incredibly well developed, the dialogue was fantastic, the angst was so well written I was reduced to tears several times. I'm not normally a fan of first-person narratives but it really worked here, and I was still able to get a clear understanding of Parker's feelings even though the book was written from Hannah's perspective. I prefer this new side of the author to her previous feel-good style and I hope she keeps this going!

To be honest I'm not a fan of books written and narrated as the first person, so I was a bit dubious about reading 'Back to September' add to the mix that this book was slightly different to the other books that I have read by Melissa Brayden, but I can honestly say hand on heart I loved it and MB has done it again. She has a good one here.

Hannah and Parker are great characters with an instant attraction, but the story isn't that straightforward, there are quite a few twists in their path.

Would I recommend: Yes a great story with some hot romance going on

Melissa Brayden has a way of developing characters that as a reader you get a real feel for who these women are. The same is true in this story only we get to know Hannah, a local independent book shop owner who is very comfortable and happy in her life. She has a problem in that the bookshop is not making enough money and she may lose it. Along comes nationally known romance writer Parker who does a reading at the shop and gets the shop moving in a positive light financially. It is clear that there was an initial connection between the two women but neither was looking for a relationship. What happens from this point unto The very end of the novel took me on a remarkable roller coaster of emotions. Because I felt so much for the two lead characters but what they went through truly had me on the verge of tears and on the verge of laughter. I love when an author has the ability to take me on an adventure that ends at the very end of the book. If this is your cup of tea, this book really is for you.

This felt different from the last few Brayden novels I’ve read and it’s a good difference. I loved it. Hannah Shephard runs her quiet bookshop in Providence the same way she lives her life. She doesn’t take risks or live wildly but she has to do something about her shop if she wants to keep it. On the suggestion of one of her employees she sends a request for a romance writer to do a book signing in her shop. Although Hannah isn’t a romance reader, Parker Bristow as a person is hard to resist.

Hannah is described as a person who can match a person with the perfect book and it’s the only part that I wasn’t overly enthralled by but Brayden managed to do it with a little bit of difference even though it’s a common theme for indi bookshop owners. I loved everything else about this novel. There’s great angst, lots of chemistry and steamy scenes as well as well-written characters.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this story. I loved the meta premise of a bookstore owner and romance writer falling in love.

At times it felt like there was a bit too much going on in terms of plot - the cabin bit with the girlfriends felt unnecessary and like it bogged down the story. Parker's trust issues were enough of a hurdle for our couple to overcome, and their romance might have been better served if that had been the main conflict.

When I finished "Back to September", I started reading it again and was 60 pages in before I made myself move on to other half-read books in my TBR. I love the set up phase of a romance novel so much, and this one was set up perfectly. I will definitely be reading more books by Melissa Brayden!

This was my first (but not my last) book by this author. Definitely different than any other romance novel I read. I loved the main character.

Brayden is a fantastic romance writer. While I enjoy all of her books, some I love and this is one of them. I loved Hannah and the entire time I was rooting for her to win. While I read several of them, books with a famous character are typically not favorites of mine. This one was different though. It was better. Parker, I didn't love in the beginning but as the book went she grew on me. By the end, I thought she was perfect for Hannah. I think this is one of Brayden's better books. Brayden never disappoints but this one I will be rereading over and over. Going to also pick up the audiobook of this one.