Last Chance Books is a 2021 release that is perfect for book lovers everywhere, especially those who love enemy to lover stories. It’s a fun story full of determination, banter, and family and friend dynamics. While the plot is intriguing, I found the main characters, Madeline and Jasper, ages to be unrealistic. They are written as 18/19 year olds but talk as if they are much older and it seemed off to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperTeen for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

**3.5**

I really enjoyed this book! Very cute YA romance set around books? What's not to love honestly! I loved how real this felt when it came to Madeline's internal monologue, I really could see myself as her when I was younger! The only gripes I had with this book was that I felt like a lot of the conflicts were resolved VERY fast, maybe I just read the book too fast but! I also am always a little uncomfortable when there are sex scenes in books that are targeted towards teens, I know they aren't strangers to that kind of content but it does always make me feel a little off when I see it in YA novels.

Overall I would recommend this book if you're looking for a fun romance that involves prank wars, YouTube, and general book fan excitement!

Genre: YA Romance Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

What more could you ask out of a romance novel, other than romance? Well, Last Chance Books by Kelsey Rodkey has romance and so much more!

✔ Bookish nerdiness

✔ Breaking gender stereotypes

✔ Promoting growth through body positivity

✔ Emphasizing the importance of consent

On its surface, Last Chance Books is an adorable enemies-to-lovers novel about Madeline, who aspires to one day own her family’s indie bookstore, and Jasper whose family owns the chain bookstore across the street. When a prank war breaks out between Madeline and Jasper, Madeline is forced to ignore the attraction she felt towards Jasper in order to saved her family’s bookshop. This book is most certainly a feel-good romance, but it is also so much more than that, which truly makes it stand out from other romance novels.

First of all, my inner book nerd had many fan girl moments throughout the novel. Reading as a fellow book lover, Madeline’s love of books was so relatable and gave an intense emotional depth to the story. While some of the jokes in the novel might be a little dated, the bookish nerdiness left me wanting more!

While I did think the enemies part of the enemies-to-lovers trope was a little too much, I was definitely rooting for Jadeline by the end of the book (and I’ll admit that Jasper did make up for some of his deviousness)! The chemistry between Madeline and Jasper was definitely a slow burn, and had me yelling at the book and avoiding responsibilities just to find out what would happen.

Madeline’s character was just about perfect in my opinion. I adored her awkwardness and was annoyed by her immaturity and naiveté, but these very traits conveyed her age, and the stress that most teenagers go through, in a vividly genuine way. Honestly, the novel would not have been as compelling without Madeline’s character flaws, and seeing her grow throughout the novel added another interesting component on top of the cute romance.

For me, the novel really shined due to 3 minor aspects that Rodkey included: Body negativity that grew into acceptance, the subtle breaking of gender stereotypes, and the emphasis on consent. Throughout the novel, Madeline frequently makes comments about gaining weight and generally feeling uncomfortable in her body. At first, I was sincerely frustrated by this aspect of the book, but as the novel goes on, Madeline starts to become more accepting of her body. I really appreciated this aspect of the story because she didn’t go from a negative self-image to completely loving herself, but made small yet significant changes, which was more realistic.

Additionally, Rodkey wrote multiple instances in which she broke gender stereotypes. For instance, one of the cisgender, straight male characters aspires to be a fashion designer. At another point, a mother figure in the novel assures on of the characters that there will be other people that they could have a relationship with later in life. People, not boys or girls. Not only were these stereotypes broken, the response of the adults in the novel to the breaking of these stereotypes was typically acceptance, which I think, is so important for both adults and young adults to see.

Finally, Rodkey referenced consent multiple times throughout the novel. At one point, two characters were joking about a book, and one said that the woman on the cover was probably seducing the man, to which the other character replied something along the lines of, “consent or bust.” There were multiple implicit and explicit references to consent, which I think is such an essential concept to include in novels, especially YA Romance novels.

Overall, Last Chance Books was a classic, cute YA Romance novel that incorporated important social issues that should be more prevalent in novels, especially YA novels. If you are looking for a light-hearted romance novel that also subtly tackles relevant problems in our world, then you should definitely pick up a copy of Last Chance Books, which comes out next Tuesday, May 18, 2021!

thank you so much to harperteen for this arc!

this lovely book gets a 4/5 stars from me!

this book is a breath of fresh air, i really liked the complexity of madeline’s character. it’s been a while since i’ve read a character that acknowledge her faults, and it really refreshing to see that. throughout the story you hate her and love her, there are moments that you are rooting for her and moments that you want to yell at her through the screen! then we welcome in jasper the perfect rival across the street who happens to also be very attracted to madeline & and very attractive in his own way. i feel like their relationship is very natural in the sense of its progression romantically. i really liked how that was depicted. i also very much enjoyed zelda‘s character as a whole, i feel like in the story if i was to place myself in a character i probably would be zelda so she was also nice to read about. all in all this book was a very easy nice read and i would recommend it!

This was fine. Cute enough. It's essentially a "You've Got Mail" for a younger generation who have no idea what that movie is. The main character is considerably less charming than Meg Ryan and I wasn't really inclined to root for her. The romance was meh, I didn't feel a lot of chemistry between the two. I liked the supporting characters significantly more.

While the premise of this title is creative and cute, the connections between the characters simply isn't there. Too much war at the start and not enough spark. Madeline comes across as whiny rather than deserving of our empathy; the family situation is confusing (at best) and makes it hard to follow the big picture storyline until well after most readers will give up. While the title feels Hallmark movie waiting to happen, it will only appeal to the most loyal rom-com seekers.

<i>"I insert my key the entire way into the lock before pulling it out just slightly and turning. The smell of books has long since faded into a distant memory, but the sight of shelf after shelf, books crammed into any available space, and the quiet -- except for the groan of the door shutting --feels magical."</i>

Plot Points: <i>You've Got Mail</i> in a contemporary YA romance setting; enemies-to-lovers trope; Madeline works at her family's indie bookstore (Books & Moore) and her main life-goal is to be the 3rd-generation woman to run the store. Her plans seem to be derailed when (1) her absent mother gives up on her failed acting career and decides to waltz back into her life and (2) the cute, fashionable boy (Jasper) who flirts with her while buying books turns out to be the son of the owners of the rival bookstore across the street. Highly childish (and questionably legal -- and immoral) pranks ensue while Madeline tries to save her family's legacy and navigate her feelings for her mother and Jasper.
Love Triangle: Nope! 👍🏻
Diversity: Yes...? I expand on this a bit more below, but I can't decide if (1) the diversity is just presented as "normal" or (2) the characters aren't developed enough for this to really matter: Madeline is curvy/fuller-figured; Jasper & his family are Japanese-American; Madeline's family is "modern" in that she and her half-brother live with her brother's bio-dad and their aunt; brother Benny is gay (bi? pan? It's not clear); Sterling (bio-dad) is Black (...I think? Again, he's not super developed so...); and BFF Zelda is Jewish.
<s>New</s> Favorite Characters: Hmmm. Madeline, at first, when she's being smart and capable and a go-getter -- not when she's drinking away her problems and waging childish pranks. Maybe...? I didn't really *love* any of them.
Slow Sequel Syndrome: N/A

Still can't decide if this a 3-star or 4-star read for me -- I'd say it's a solid 3.5, but Goodreads makes me round up or down so....indecision it is!

I wanted to love this book, I really did. It's basically <i>You've Got Mail</i> mashed up in a YA world with the enemies-to-lovers trope.
[Sidebar: this is my 3rd book in a row with that trope, so if the next ARC up has it, I may have to pause. It's getting a bit overplayed.]
But <i>You've Got Mail</i> is just so irresistibly charming, and a really high bar to compare a text too. Rodkey's story is...cute, but ultimately, Madeline and Jasper are no Kathleen and Joe.
And, perhaps this goes without saying, but they don't *need* to be -- I know this *isn't* <i>You've Got Mail</i>, but I think if I read a romance, I wanted something on that level.

Here's what didn't work for me:
✘ -- First, probably because I just finished the book, I felt like the Hamada's contrition came out of NOWHERE. They show up at the end, books in hand, and are all, "This is NOT how we raised our son" but...the dad literally sent Jasper out to spy on them AND the brother basically threatened Madeline with legal action, so I'm a bit confused. It just felt like it came out of nowhere, and kinda contradicted everything that had been set up.

✘ -- Jasper and Madeline being 19/18 felt..."off" to me. I get why they had to be those ages, logistically speaking, since one of the arcs of the story is Jasper and Madeline figuring out what they want to do with their lives, but they kinda didn't need to be 19/18? They both could have been aimless for a few years after high school: Jasper being a dilettante who didn't need school because they had the store and Madeline because she needed to earn money to go to college -- the story could have been the same.

✘ -- It also would have gotten rid of the need for the underage drinking. Maybe it's prudish of me, but I didn't feel it added anything to the story, except to show that Madeline "broke rules" and "wasn't perfect." But...she's also in a prank war with a rival bookstore so....perfection's not really on the table. Not that it has to be! But the underage drinking was just handled so casually -- like, her mother enables it (I get it, because she's trying to be The Cool Mom) but her aunt clearly knows and doesn't really say anything...? And Madeline doesn't underage drink responsibly, like the French, casually having a glass of wine with dinner -- she gets sloshed, and the story basically okays it. Not a fan of that part.

✘ -- The prank war also made me squirm at times. In the early chapters, I liked Madeline as a character, because she was witty and snarky and confident -- and I don't think her banter was "unrealistic" for a 17 year old. I thought it was the banter of a mature-for-her-age soul as well as the banter of someone who grew up loving books and reading voraciously. (Much like me. I don't think I spoke like a "typical" teenager and usually got along better with friends who were a few years older than me.) But it was at odds with the childishness of the pranks, and it just made me a bit uncomfortable at times.

✘ -- Finally, what bothered me the most may just be a hallmark of contemporary YA romance, which I admittedly don't read as much of. This book is told in 1st person POV, which means all we get is Madeline's thoughts. This was the case with <i>Meet Cute Diary</i>, but it just feels like all of the other characters are flat -- the romance between the 2 MCs is the sole focus. (But then I think of Casey McQuiston's <i>Red White and Royal Blue</i> and I know that it *can* be done!) None of the other characters feel like more than one-note additions to the story, each there to only further Madeline's story and "development": her absent mother, her Benedict-Arnold brother, her quirky best friend, her beaten-down Aunt....even Jasper, with his design aspirations, is relatively flat. It just feels like his interest in fashion (1) gives him an out at the bookstore business and (2) helps contextualize the Cosplay Contest.
Related Quibble: Madeline is...curvy? Definitely not a size-2-slim-and-"perfect" girl -- but...IDK. As a curvy girl myself....I wanted more? The references to Madeline's body issues are sprinkled throughout -- she's self-conscious during make-out sessions, she's aware of her body and clothes in the heat and the way fabric sticks to her -- but...it was just that: sprinkled in. I think I wanted more of a statement on body positivity, or more of her thoughts on her insecurity, or lack thereof....I'm sure it meant something to Rodkey, or she wouldn't have included it or made the decision to have her heroine be curvy, but even now, I'm not sure where Madeline falls....and I suppose it doesn't *really* matter if she's a size 8 or a size 16, but again. As someone who is definitely curvier and has some body dysmorphia issues, I would have liked to see Rodkey engage with it a bit more, rather than just have it seemingly randomly pop up now and again.

What I did like/appreciate:
✔︎ -- Body Image Vagueness aside, I did appreciate that Madeline was a curvy girl -- and I did appreciate her self-consciousness when Jasper put his his hands on her stomach rolls. (Again, I wish she had engaged with it more -- not that it needed to be a defining trait, but I wanted to know more.) I love that she eats carbs -- and enjoys them! That she eats burritos and chocolate chip muffins and cake and there isn't a negative stigma placed on eating those things; Madeline doesn't feel guilty or make toxic comments about how she shouldn't eat a grilled macaroni-and-cheese sandwich because she'll regret it later.
She's also self-confident and especially in her own sexuality, which, again, I appreciate. There's no stigma about purity and virginity and she doesn't shy away from her attraction to Jasper or demonize it. Her sexuality is presented as positive and healthy and more of that please.

✔︎ -- Again, this might go without saying, but this is a book about books. And bookstore. Specifically Indie Bookstores and how wonderful they are.
Although, TBH, I'm still not sure if the Hamadas own an Indie Bookstore or not...there are references to Barnes & Noble, and both Prologue and Books & Moore seem to be competing with them....I know the Hamadas have 2 stores, but 2 stores is not a national chain; it just seems like an indie with 2 locations? And they sell used books, too, which I don't think B&N does...so, yeah. A bit confusing there.

✔︎ -- I really enjoyed Rodkey's writing style. This was an effortlessly easy and fast read, and as I noted above, the banter worked for me.

**Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for a honest review!

Last Chance Books was a super cute book that centered around books which is always fun to read.

Madeline works at Books and Moore, her family's book store. She's hoping to take over the store one day after college... the store isn't doing so hot in sales and to make matters worse a new book store, Prologue, moves in right across the street. As if that isn't bad enough, the hottie that's been coming into the store not only works at Prologue, but his family owns it.

This was a cute read, and I was definitely pulling for Madeline in more ways than one. This book has You've Got Mail written all over it - which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but also not super original. While reading the author's about me, I feel like (and this is 10000% my own opinion) this book may have stemmed from her own experiences if even in the smallest way. When I saw her picture, I realized that's what I was picturing Madeline to look like in my head!
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

This is a perfect summer read that absolutely has to be in your beach bag. I loved Kelsey's writing, characters, and fun story!

Madeline works at her family owned bookstore and she dreams of taking it over after college. She's devastated when she finds out that the bookstore isn't making money anymore and her aunt will have to close the business. Madeline is sure that the new bookstore across the street, and the super cute guy who works there, are to blame. She spends her summer before college planning hijinks and last minute plans to save the store!

This was just such a fun read that included so much banter, sweet moments, and lots of bookstore scenes. Madeline was so determined to save her family bookstore and she learned a lot along the way. I love any YA book that actually includes teen readers who geek out over their favorite books!

This book is also about what it means to be family. Madeline's mother has been mostly absent from her life and she's been raised by her aunt. Her mom comes back and wants to spend more time with her and her brother. Madeline has to wrestle with whether she wants a relationship with her mom and I really appreciated that the author makes it clear that Madeline doesn't owe her mother her time or affection. Madeline is allowed to explore her complicated feelings about her mom.

This book is perfect for fans of Recommended For You by Laura Silverman!

Madeline and her brother live with their aunt and help out at their aunt’s bookshop, Books & Moore. What started as her grandma’s bookshop should have gone from her aunt to Madeline one day. Alas, the online stores and the new bookstore across the street are reducing their sales, and their rent is about to rise at the end of the summer. They can no longer keep the store afloat, so it’s up to Madeline to save it. It’s her mission of the summer, derailed by none other than Jasper Hot-mada.

Madeline is aggressive (rude comments meant solely to tear down, actually physically pushing people, etc.), selfish, has unrealistic expectations, and blames everyone else when things go wrong. I would have enjoyed this book far more had she been assertive and more realistic. Her “redemption” at the end is too fast and overly forced.

I appreciate the diversity represented - a short overweight lead, an Asian love interest, a gay brother, Black friends and coworkers, and other minorities are represented throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperTeen for the ARC.

This was a cute book! The complicated family dynamic was one of my favorite parts of this book, by far. The Moore family had really fun vibes with the Guess Their Baggage Game and general fun and playful interactions with each other. Things definitely got more complicated between them when Madeline's mom comes back around and when Prologue moves across the street, but it was good to have some heavier, more emotional family conflicts mixed in with the lighter parts.

The characters were okay. I found Madeline to be kind of judgemental, rude, and quick to blow things out of proportion. Her negative qualities sometimes annoyed me but I also know that sometimes things can feel like too much and make us not act a little crazy, so I felt like most of these aspects of her personality came from panic and not knowing how to deal with ehr feelings. I did like Madeline's tenacity when it came to trying to save the bookstore. Jasper wasn't a super dynamic character, so he was fine but nothing to brag home about.

I did like the author's inclusion of internalized and challenged fatphobia and the intimate scene between Madeline and Jasper. I just love when authors write about sex in YA books in ways that don't make it seem bad or like something you feel ashamed of. I think that Madeline and Jasper approached it very maturely and healthily. The fatphobia included in the book wasn't made to be something Madeline needed to be "cured" of. You know? Like it wasn't something she was talked out of feeling, because you can't help how you feel and you can't be told by someone else how to feel. I liked how Madeline coped with her feelings and thought through them.

I found the plot to be predictable and not super exciting. The feud between Madeline and Jaspe could have been a little more drawn out without getting so extreme so quickly and that would have made it more interesting. I just couldn't get really invested in the story when I was sure I knew how it would end (and I was right). It wasn't bad, necessarily, just too predictable to be really enjoyable.

This book definitely has it's great moments but I wasn't super impressed with the writing, the plot, or characters. There were some great messages and family aspects but overall it wasn't my favorite. I would read more from this author but she hasn't gone into my mental "read immediately" list.

I loved this so much. I love how the characters all felt so real. The writing was amazing and sucked me in so quickly. I finished this in two days. I really hope Kelsey writes more books because I am absolutely in love with this one. I wish we got to know Benny more. I love the way the different relationships developed in this book. I loved Jasper.

Last Chance Books

Such a cute YA version of You’ve Got Mail

The Moore family have owned a bookstore, Books and Moore,for a couple of generations, and it’s Madeline’s dream to run it...and then Prologue moves in across the street... and Madeline needs to figure out how to keep the store from closing...but that super cute frequent shopper turns out to be Prologues Manager! Flirting, prank wars, and some good pastries and you have an adorable romcom!

This was such a cute story, but it had some hidden depth that I honestly did not see common. Madeline’s mom is a flaky young single mon who dumped her and her brother to me raised but their Aunt, and whenever she visits chaos and insecurities bubbly up. Add in college stress, sibling jealousy, you have a whole lot of secret layers!

Madeleine did get on my nerves with the way she treated her mom, but I also think the way she handled a lot of the situations were very realistic, and young readers would relate, so can’t really hold it against her. I do think she was a little harsh on her family though, especially with how she treated them over their reactions to the store closing. As well as weird separation issues with the bookstore.

If you need a fun, light read, with a few good pranks, I would recommend this!


Thank you NetGalley and Harper Teen for this advance copy in exchange for an honest review. This book will be out May 18th.

Kelsey Rodkey's debut is a teen You've Got Mail. Madeline Moore works at her family's indie bookstore, Books & Moore, and has aspirations to be its manager once she graduates from college. She's got a crush on a cute guy, Jasper, and is looking forward to going to college.

But then, after her first time actually flirting with Jasper and exchanging phone numbers, she discovers he works for the enemy - Prologue, the wanna-be-Barnes-and-Noble across the street. Then her aunt Astrid tells her that her mother, Dahlia, is returning home, this time, she says, for good.

Madeline's relationship with her mother isn't good - Astrid raised both her and her half-brother Benny with the help of Benny's dad, Sterling - and she's sure her mother will disappear like she always does. And the biggest baddest news of all - the rent is going up on the bookstore, and Astrid says they're going to close.

This inciting incident propels Madeline to do everything in her power to keep her store afloat, including trying to sabotage Prologue. Jasper gives as good as he gets, though, and the prank wars escalate.

Rodkey's characters are well-developed and fun, and the plot was light and paced well. I look forward to what comes next from this debut author!

This book was funny, sweet, and heartwarming. The characters were relatable and you could feel their chemistry through the pages. I would highly recommend this to readers looking for a young adult romance that has some heart.

Now that bookworm Madeline Moore has graduated high school, she's on track for her plan to begrudgingly go to college for four years and return to run her aunt's bookstore, Books & Moore. This simple dream comes crashing down when Madeline finds that Prologue, a chain bookstore run by another family, has moved in across the street and drawn many of B&M's customers away. She soon clashes with Jasper Hamada; a customer-turned-traitor, Prologue employee, and an unfortunately cute boy. Caught in a prank war to thwart her competition, Madeline has to figure out how to save her future without letting Jasper get in her way.

Last Chance Books is the perfect funny, fluffy romance for a summer read. Kelsey Rodkey's debut novel takes the enemies-to-lovers trope for a new spin in this bookstore vs bookstore saga, where the tension between our two leads never falters for a moment. Madeline Moore is a dynamic protagonist whose passion for her family's store (and for destroying Jasper) had me unable to put the book down. I loved reading through each of her new ideas for bringing in money to the store, and the event she puts together at the end of the book beautifully ties all her previous successes and losses together. The romance which develops between Madeline and Jasper is at times awkward and tumultuous, yet it has the giddy, youthful feeling of a teen's summer fling. If you're looking for something warm, light, and all about books, read Last Chance Books this coming summer.

I only made it through 5% of Last Chance Books. This sounded like a very cute concept. The fact that the main character said "shit" five times in 5% was what made me put it down. I feel like this is lazy writing and crude for a young adult book. Also the main character was just negative all round. it's one thing to be a cynical character but once that's your overwhelming personality trait it becomes annoying to read. I will not be recommending this book.

3.5/5 stars
“Get ready to call your store Epilouge, because this is going to be its last chapter.”

Enemies to lovers AND they work at rival bookstores?!? What more could you ask for?
Madeline works for Books and Moore and Jasper works for Prolouge, the bookstore across the street that is a “wannabe Barnes and Nobles”. Money problems arise and Madeline’s bookstore is on the verge of being shut down. Madeline blames this on Prolouge and a game of pranks begins between her and the owner’s son, Jasper. One thing leads to the next and they begin to develop feelings for each other. Of course there are bumps and roadblocks in their relationship that they have to work through as well.

I truly admire Madeline’s determination towards keeping the store open. She essentially spent every waking moment trying to think of ideas to keep the store open so she could take over after she returned from college.

I do feel like the interactions between her and Jasper were a bit mundane, I was hoping for more, especially more bickering and witty banter. Their relationship did progress a bit faster than I hoped considering they hardly knew each prior to when the book began (other than the fact that they went to the same school but were in different grade levels).

4.5 Stars

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Teen for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Dessen!

The minute I heard enemies to lovers but make it rival bookstore workers, I knew I was in for it. And Kelsey Rodkey's debut did not disappoint. I read this book in one sitting. I fell head over heels for Madeline and Jasper (Jadeline!) in this witty post-high school young adult coming of age novel about second chances and accepting that the future that you planned for isn't always the one you get.

"...no murder, just the premeditated stuff." The number of times I LOL'd while reading this book is borderline embarrassing. Rodkey's writing is easy to read without feeling elementary. The characters were lovable, and while they made questionable - sometimes cringey - decisions, you couldn't help but root for them. Especially when they ADMITTED that they made mistakes, nothing irks me more than miscommunication that doesn't get resolved and Kelsey made sure that didn't happen here. Jasper and Madeline are so cute and witnessing them grow into themselves and their passions, outside the bookstores, was so refreshing to see. A character that doesn't know what they're going to major in? Another who pursues their dreams no matter the outcome? This was a story I needed when I was 17 going on 18 and I am so glad it exists now. `

**I received a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley.

Last Chance Books follows Madeline Moore as she tries to save her aunt Astrid's bookstore from closing. The store just isn't making enough revenue to keep up with others like Prologue across the street. In the beginning of the book we meet Jasper who works at the rival store. Madeline makes it her duty to save the store from closing all while pranking Jasper and Prologue along the way.

I always enjoy a good enemies to lovers romance. This didn't quite deliver on that aspect, but I did enjoy it. The enemies portion felt very long and the switch to "lovers" came almost instantaneously.While I liked the content of the book, it just took a long time for me to feel anything towards the main characters. Madeline was very passionate about the store, but I found her lacking in empathy and I thought she found ways to make everything about her. While this could be a character trait given to her by the author, it made it very hard to like Madeline. Jasper felt one dimensional to me as well. I liked that he loved cosplay and creating costumes and I wish it was further explored in the book without it just being a quick plot point.

The side characters were my favorite. Zelda and Benny were wonderfully made and I wish I saw more of them throughout the book. While it didn't leave me wanting more, I did enjoy this book and think others that love fandom, bookstores, and non traditional YA (18+ characters) will enjoy this.