Last Chance Books drew me in with the cover and the premise of two competing bookstores, where enemies become lovers.

I enjoyed watching Madeline and Jasper go from flirty glances to rivals and playing pranks on each other to stolen kisses. This was a quick, fun, heartwarming read. Kelsey Rodney did a great job showing depth in the characters and handled the reality check of growing up.

If you’re looking for a cute enemies to lovers romance that’s a book lovers dream, check this out.

I really enjoyed this YA book as it had all things I love in a romcom. I really liked how the characters were a bit older (end of high school age). I feel as though I don’t read as many of those stories and it was refreshing. This book reminded me so much of you got mail and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoyed tweet cute! At times the plot was a bit slow but I found myself appreciating the banter between characters and jokes. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. Thank you netgalley and publisher for the advanced read.

This was such a fresh, fun YA romcom! Rodkey’s voice felt so authentically young and had a wonderfully dry humor. This story had a full cast of well developed characters and relationships, familial, friendly, and romantic. It deftly tackled some more difficult issues of complex families and figuring out who you are as a teen while also having a fun, banter-y central love story. I really look forward to whatever Rodkey writes next!

This was a really cute book! It was a quick read, but it automatically pulled me in. I loved the banter and the competition between Madeline and Jasper. A spin on the usual trope of enemies to lovers, but I never felt like it was overdone, or poorly done. It was a bit sweet since it's YA, but I felt like the characters and the drama were fully engaging!

"Last Chance Books" is a modern "You"ve Got Mail" for teens. The escalating prank war between two rival bookstore workers will keep you glued to the page. There's great representation of mixed and untraditional family dynamics and an interesting take on the impacts our relationships with our parents have on our relationships with others. This book would be a great recommendation for lovers of Emma Lord's "Tweet Cute."

Rating: 3/5

Last Chance Books is about two rival bookstore employees pulling pranks on each other to get rid of the other, which in and of itself sounds really cool, but I think this book tried doing too much with all of the side plots.

I loved the banter and the pranks between the two main characters, but their relationship with each other kind of fell flat. I also really enjoyed the family aspects that go on throughout this book, but I also feel like some of these aspects fell flat. In the end, I was left feeling kinda disappointed because this book deals with lots of interesting things but all of them just didn't live up to their full potential, or (more concerning the side plots), they ended kinda abruptly and didn't seem to end naturally.

In the end, I am glad to have read this book but it didn't do as much I as was hoping it would.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really wanted to like this book, cheesy romcoms in book for are just my type, but I did not.
I could not find the chemistry between Madeline and Jasper. Madeline was immature and self absorbed, which while somewhat accurate for a 17 year old, doesn't make for good reading.

I understand that her need to save the bookstore probably stems from her abandonment issues, but her refusal to listen to adults who actually have experience running a business is ridiculous.

I did like the relationship between Benny and Madeline though.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this eARC.

I really appreciated the opportunity to read this book. I like that it was a good read and that it was funny and it made me forget about the day to day problems. The characters were interesting sometimes I did not know if I wanted to hug or strangle the protagonist. However everything came together at the end to make this a good story of enemy book stores where the characters fell in love. It reminded me a lot of “You got mail”

Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this book. I am sadly having an issue connecting with the plot and characters for this book. I have decided not to finish reading this book at this time. I will not be posting any review because of this.

Kind regards and thanks.

This was a fun enough read, and I appreciated the way the novel brought in non-traditional families (with the main character being raised by her aunt and her brother's father) and the problem of forgiving family (with the main character's mother). However, it wasn't as immersive as I'd hoped, and I didn't really enjoy the main character or, therefore, her point of view. I also wish more novels dealing with indie bookstores had a more uplifting/wish fulfillment element with regard to such stores thriving, even if it's not that realistic. (After all, 'You've got mail' isn't a particularly realistic premise in any case.)

Last chance books was an incredible read for me. I really enjoyed how we followed a young woman on her summer before college and dealing with the crisis of her beloved family bookstore potentially closing its doors forever. I also enjoyed that embedded in the story there was complicated family dynamics at play. I also enjoyed the banter between the two characters Madeline and Jasper and even gasping during some of their major moments in the book. Overall this books shows the protagonist dealing with the fear of letting go of the past and embracing. a new future.

I really enjoyed this charming YA romcom! It's sweet, full of quirky characters, and offers a cute twist on the rivals to love trope that made for a fast and fun read!

This book was cute. Reminiscing on "You've got mail". The enemies to lovers was cute but Madeline was a bit much sometimes. Over controlling and emotionally charged. Would have been a solid 3 star read for me if she hadn't been so much.

Madeline and Jasper work at rival bookstores across the street from one another. Madeline, desperate to save her floundering indie bookstore, begins pranking Jasper and his store. While she calls him her enemy, it is clear that she’s not exactly over the crush she had on him before she knew who he was, making their relatively quick transition from enemies to lovers believable. Madeline begins to plan events and try to raise money to keep the bookstore afloat, while also dealing with family issues, as her mom comes back into her life and her brother seems to disappear.

The book is laugh out loud funny from page one! I loved the representation of a complex family dealing with complex situations and feelings. Kelsey did a great job developing characters and giving them their own quirks. However, I do wish I felt like I knew Jasper a bit better. Because an entire half of the book was spent as “enemies”, I didn’t feel like I got enough of him early enough. I would have loved more build up of the romance part. Having said that, their argument after she finds out what he did had my stomach in knots because I was so invested in their relationship by that point. Also, I loved how she tied things from the beginning of the book into the end, making everything come full circle (trying to avoid giving too much away here). Overall, very cute, very fun book!

I am the biggest You've Got Mail fan, so I was really excited to read this contemporary YA that had a similar concept. It's a really great idea, but sadly, it fell pretty flat. It was still a fun read, but it had some issues for me.

I couldn't get invested in the characters and it just felt like there was entirely too much going on, so elements of the plot couldn't get the depth they deserved. It wasn't cohesive. It was a bit weird and disjointed in parts, and the writing didn't wow me like I'd hoped. Overall, it was just a bit forgettable. And I'm so sad about that! I love reading YA, and I commend Kelsey for getting this book out into the world. I know how much blood, sweat, and tears must go into creating something you're proud of. So bravo, Kelsey! I'll try your next one.

Last Chance Books by Kelsey Rodkey
Rating - 3/5 Stars
Publication Date - 5/18/2021

Thanks to Netgalley, Harperteen, and of course, Kelsey Rodkey for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book had me at rival bookshops! oh goodness, I loved it from the first mention of an indie store and chain store. I am a sucker for enemies to lovers but include my love of bookstores and I'm done! oof, I gotta say - that is where my love for Madeline and Jasper ends. Their pranks are childish - which I mean, obviously, they are young so that is understandable, but it was just kind of annoying. I also found the beginning, where Madeline was completely drooling over Jasper and then suddenly she hates him, to be a very quick jump. I understand hating the competition, but she was drooling over him mere seconds ago! They also abruptly go from enemies to lovers. There wasn't much evolution to these two and each change was very quick and weird to me.

Beyond all of this, I really did enjoy the book. It wasn't a horrible read and it did live up to my wants from a rivalry between bookshops!

Madeline Moore loves books. The book store, Books & Moore has been int he family for generations, and it is where she feels most herself. However, a chain bookstore called Prologue opens across the street and threatens to shut them down. Madeline is dead-set on demolishing Prologue, but the owner of Prologues' son, Jasper, just happens to be extremely cute.

Jasper is the enemy, and if it's up to Madeline, will be destroyed. But, is it enough to save her beloved store? Will her heart get in the way?

This book was cute and predictable, but still enjoyable to read. Overall, as a middle grades teacher, I would not put it in my classroom library due to language and the description of the physical romance, but I enjoyed the novel! A cute, cheesy, Rom-Com with "You've Got Mail" vibes.

OKAY WOW THIS WAS CUTE. As an employee of an indie bookstore, I am very disappointed no Jaspers have pranked me, ugh.

Last Chance Books was HILARIOUS. The one-liners were amazing, and I was laughing the entire time. My favorite was when Madeline said that Jasper's family store, Prologue, should change their name to Epilogue because this'll be their last chapter. Amazing!

I am so down for an enemies to lovers YA contemporary romance, and one that features rival bookstores? PERFECT.

The entire time I was rooting for Madeline as she tried to save her family's indie bookstore, Books And Moore. And I was so rooting for Jasper as he flirted with Madeline! But more than that, I was rooting for Madeline as she figured out how to have a relationship with her mom and how to let her aunt move on from the bookstore.

Overall, Last Chance Books was super cute and surprisingly deep! This is the perfect read if you're looking for something witty and if you want to feel like you're surrounded by fellow book lovers!

I was a former indie bookseller so the setting and premise of this charming story really resounded in me. And two dueling, rival booksellers falling in love? Count me in!
This book won't blow your mind, but then that's not really what it's for. It's a solid story with two likable main characters, and a parent-child story arc that adds layers to an already engaging plot. I'll happily recommend this to book lovers who love the enemies-to-lovers trope!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins Children's Books for providing an e-arc for me to read and review.

God, I am obsessed with LAST CHANCE BOOKS. It feels like a physical manifestation of my most bookwormish dreams crossed with a fluffy rivals-to-lovers trope that makes me gush. I need to go preorder my copy now from my local indie!