A cute romance set in a bookstore. Could totally be a Hallmark movie!

Maxime is an actor with a bad boy attitude. Even his agent can't save him from jail this time...or can she? Teaming up with his old friend, Damien, they come up with a 2 month community service project -- helping Sarah repair her water-logged bookstore.

The supporting characters are great, Baptiste, Frederic, Anita, Elise, Simon, Mathilde, Damien and his daughter.

It's an easy read, a sweet romance, a bit predictable but enjoyable!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

I didn't particularly enjoy either of the main characters. Also, I felt like Maxime needed counseling or something to help with his anger management issues, and unless I missed it, I felt like he met Sarah and then he was just fine?

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

I’m not going to lie; I requested this book for review because it revolved around a bookstore. The Bookshop of Forgotten Dreams was a fairly straightforward romance with few surprises, but it was enjoyable. This novel was translated from French to English and there were a few issues with the translation, things that didn’t made sense but I was able to figure out by context. My biggest issue with this book, the overuse of exclamation points; I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many in one book and it felt as if the characters were constantly shouting at each other and the reader and I found it to be very distracting.
Max is a well known actor who resides in Paris and is known for his bad behavior often involving his fists, after one such row with a woman claiming sexual assault and her boyfriend in the hospital, he is given an ultimatum, jail time or he will return to the small town in which he was raised and work in a bookshop for a woman who needs help both labor and monetary and he’ll provide both. He isn’t happy these are his only choices; he’s always been given a slap on the wrist before. Furious he fires his agent, screams at his attorney, and wants to fight his best friend from childhood. Resigned he agrees to the two months in what he considers hell not realizing that time will change him forever.
Being abandoned by her parents and raised by her grandmother, Sarah has always lost herself in books. Books took her away from her life, gave her a wealth of information, showed her faraway places and have made her crave love like she’s read about. When the shop suffers a leak, Sarah faces the truth that she may have no choice but to sell the store and her apartment above it, she’s broke and not even the upcoming tourist season can save her. Then her neighbor Damien asks her to help with his friend and it’s the only way she can save her shop.
Max and Sarah don’t get off on the best foot mainly due to Max’s attitude, but Sarah also realizes there’s more to Max than his brusque behavior. I loved the way she peeled back his layers and it was interesting to see how much she made him think about this behavior, his life, and the people in it. Max made Sarah bolder, made her realize she didn’t want to just settle for mediocre, and that she wanted some excitement in her life even if her life was smaller than his. I think they were very good for one another and I also appreciate when characters grow during a story and they both showed quite a bit of growth throughout.
While I had some issues with this book, mainly things that should have been handled in editing, I enjoyed the story. The characters were interesting from the main ones to the supporting and while it was a bit predictable, it wasn’t filled with unnecessary angst which I appreciated.

Ever since Sarah was a young girl and her grandmother took her in she has been a bookworm. Finding comfort in the words and stories in which she devours. Taking over the bookshop her grandmother ran has been challenging but one that she couldn't see herself walking away from. Until a flood happens due to old pipework and she is left questioning how she will pay for the repairs that the insurance company won't cover, not to mention the fact that the company will no longer offer her cover.

Max left his hometown in France to become a film star after being discovered in a bar fight. Fighting is something that has followed him, whilst it is great in his movies, it causes no end of issues off the set too. With his latest fight potentially sending him to prison unless he agrees to community service back home at Sarah's bookshop. Something organised by his childhood friend Damien, hoping to help both Max and Sarah too.

A naturally nice and pleasing nature Sarah struggles to understand Max when he arrives to help fix her bookshop and work off his community service. Slowly he warms to her, realising that she is possibly one of the only people in his life that doesn't want anything from him except his friendship - and possibly love? But with two very different personalities and temperaments, this can only ever be a short term thing - right?

Is this an opposites attract romance or a second chance romance? It's certainly about second chances. Sarah inherited a bookshop in her small town in France but it very much needs work. She's a bibliophile who hasn't really lived a big life. Max on the other hand was discovered when he was working in a. grocers; he's risen to become a movie star. He's not however, a good person. Now he's been sentenced to Sarah's bookstore, to help her repairs and basically reform himself. While I can't imagine a judge actually doing this, it's an interesting set up. Read this knowing that it's light entertainment. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A beach book.

I really enjoyed this book. It was light, breezy, easy to read and it made me smile. The story was a bit predictable, but sometimes you need to read a book that doesn't require much thought but is entertaining and enjoyable to read. I found the Max character to be a bit annoying at first, and I was frustrated at how quickly and easily he changed into a happier person, but that is often the way of rom coms. Definitely recommend if you're looking for a beach read this summer.

This was a nice change of characters and place and now I really want to visit the bookshop and village myself. The story was sweet and I really loved that this is a romance that takes place in a bookshop. This is a gentle story, there is drama and strife but very sympathetically described. There are sizzling moments, but just enough. The characters are believable and faults and flaws are present. The characters have you rooting for them to get together...even though Max is a cad at first. I loved the chemistry between the two main characters as well as between the other villagers in the story. This is an excellent pick for a quick pick me up.

The Bookshop of Forgotten Dreams is enjoyable and engaging, following the story's of Sarah and Maxime. I would have liked more involvement and depth from some of the other characters such as Damien but overall a good read.

Contemporary romance set in France. Max is a up and coming movie star with a bad boy temper. When his latest fight lands him in legal trouble a friend steps in and has him serve house arrest time in a small village. The friend knows Sarah, the owner of a used bookshop. Sarah's shop needs repairs and money that will come from Max in exchange for him living and working in her shop.

Sarah is a delightful introvert who lives for reading books. She romanticizes life and wants her world to be like the books she reads. Max is really obnoxious. His behavior is brooding and angry. The story is okay and there is some background for Max's behavior . But there wasn't enough plot to make me invest or believe in their romance. Max goes from angry to lover without the attraction building up. This might be a case where the cover is cuter than the story itself. (2.5 stars). Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a quiet surprise. It's a redemption story, it's a love story, it's an homage to books and booksellers and was a lovely way to spend the day.

The author is French, but the translation was done very well and except for towns, character names and a very few turns of phrase you wouldn't know that it wasn't English originally.

Sarah is the owner of a used book shop 5 hours from Paris. The town itself has a few tourists in the summer but is pretty quiet. She inherited the store and the apartment above from her Grandmother. She is in financial straits and things are only getting worse as the building needs some major repairs. She is very sweet and innocent and the townsfolk love her.

Maxime is a movie star, but he is a bad boy. He has a pretty uncontrollable rage that gets him into all kinds of scrapes because he likes to assuage that rage by punching people. His latest mishap has landed him in jail with the possibility of prison. His agent, his attorney and one of his oldest friends come up with a potential solution. He will be under house arrest for 2 months in Sarah's building with 2 hours of freedom a day. He will pay her a huge fee for this inconvenience and he will help her with repairs and anything else the building might need. If he doesn't take the deal, off to prison he goes and with it, probably his career.

Both reluctant to be in the situation, the meeting between Sarah and Maxime doesn't go well. They are vastly different people and Maxime has a chip on his shoulder for being back in the town where he grew up with no good memories. Living together and spending 22 hours a day with someone forces them closer than expected. They both learn that their pasts have more in common than originally thought, bonding them further.

Once the two characters come together, their romance is achingly sweet. Is the story perfect? No. I felt like the characters backstories could have been explored in more depth, so we would have a better understanding of them. It didn't take away from what was a lovely read. Perfect for summer!

I really wanted to like this book, but I could not get over what an unlikable character Max was! He's disgusting in the beginning and it really put a bad taste in my mouth for him. I don't feel like he did a good job of redeeming himself throughout the story. It really made the whole story a struggle for me.

A cute story about bad boy actor Maxime and timid second-hand bookseller Sarah. Maxime is finally in trouble and he cannot use his status as a well-known actor to get him out of it. He is required to return to his hometown and help a local in her struggling book store to avoid jail time. Maxime is resentful and Sarah is not sure how to act around her brooding cohabitant.

Overall a cute novel. As many have said, Sarah characters is well developed. Maxime grows on you, he’s rather narcissistic and arrogant. The romance develops pretty quickly, Sarah is willing to give up her shyness and fear of relationships pretty quickly for him. In the end, it’s still sweet.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for this ARC. A cute romance novel, filled with a woman who’s knowledge of relationships stems from books and a bad boy who breaks through her hesitancy and grows into a “nicer guy” in the process. Could be a possible read for books club.

Thank you Net Galley for an ARC of The Bookshop of Forgotten Dreams by Emily Blaine. When I started reading, I thought I wasn't going to like this book, but that quickly changed. I devoured this book! This book but into my sleep time because I couldn't stop reading. If you love romances with a tortured main character, you'll love this! Highly recommend!

This novel has all the right ingredients for a perfect summer read: a romance between a bad-boy celebrity and a shy loner, a bookshop, and a setting in a French village and in Paris. The two main characters are believable and have compelling backstories, and the rest of the cast comprises several eccentric yet oddly endearing characters who act as their foils. How Max and Sarah overcome their vast differences to find friendship and love makes an entertaining story. The bookshop setting adds to the appeal of the narrative: he's confined to the bookshop and the flat above it with an ankle bracelet because of a court-ordered community service sentence for his part in a drunken brawl and she's the financially struggling shop owner who needs him to carry out improvements to her premises. The Bookshop of Forgotten Dreams is a well-written and entertaining light read for the summer months.

I received an advance copy of, The Bookshop of Forgotten Dreams, by Emily Blaine. I did not like this book at all, especially Max, the way he treated women was ridiculous.

The Bookshop of Forgotten Dreams by Emily Blaine, translated by Wendeline A. Hardenberg #fortyseventhbookof2021 #arc #romcom #booksaboutbooks

CW: suicide, fistfights

This story follows the alternating perspectives of Maxime, an actor, and Sarah, a bookshop owner who allows him to serve out community service working for her. I enjoyed that his perspective opened the book, and although his character was largely unlikable at first, I found myself drawn to the story. I love books that have to do with bookstores, and this one has a good bit of steam to it too. I could see how the book would play out quite easily, but sometimes you just want something comforting and familiar. Enjoyable.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #OneMoreChapter for the advance copy. (Pub date 6/18/21)

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Bookshop of Forgotten Dreams by Emily Blaine is a delightful rom-com that will appeal to anyone who has ever dreamed about falling in love in a bookshop. (As a sidenote, I believe this book was translated from French into English, but the translation is perfect and in natural English. If it weren't for the names and location, I wouldn't know that it takes place in France.) The story revolves around Sarah, the shy owner of a bookshop that has suffered a recent flood, and Max, a bad-boy actor who has to help Sarah around the shop as part of his community service. As they get to know each other, will sparks fly? Will opposites attract? And can Sarah reform a "bad boy" into a decent boyfriend?

Here is an excerpt from Chapter 2, which is from Sarah's point of view:
"Buying second-hand books in bulk was cheaper, and I felt like I was doing a good deed by saving them from the bin. I would sort them, repair them, display them in the shop window, and sometimes include them in theme nights for the book club.
But my favorite part was this one: the moment of discovery, when the books and I made our acquaintance and I tried to imagine whose hands they’d passed through. I’d breathe their scent, stroke the paper, and get lost looking at the covers.
I’d never had the opportunity to travel. But I read, and it was almost the same – minus the jet-lag, plus the comfort of my sofa."

Overall, The Bookshop of Forgotten Dreams is a light summer read that is perfect for anyone who loves book-based romances like Beach Read or Plot Twist. It was both funny and romantic, which is all that I want from a rom-com. If I had to complain about one thing, I would say that I didn't enjoy the early chapters from Max's perspective. He is a "bad boy" who has no qualms with acting misogynistic with women and violent with their boyfriends. While some people might be into that, I was not a fan of his character in the beginning of the book. In addition, there was a lot more spice than I was expecting. Let's just say the "shy bookworm" doesn't stay shy for long. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above or if you're a fan of rom-coms in general, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in June!

This novel is one of those cute romances that go straight onto my list of "cozy reads". Quick and fun but it still manages to cover some important topics, such as self-growth.

While we have a story that has been told many times before, there is a uniqueness in this story that I appreciate. It wasn't just a "bad boy meets good girl and she changes him", it was both of them realizing their lives needed a change and growing on their own with the help of each other's influence. But they did it for themselves, not for anyone else.

As a shy bookworm, I could relate to Sarah in many instances, which is always nice when reading a book. In general, the way books were included in this novel was very cute and funny at times.

Overall, this book is a pageturner with really nice writing, interesting nuanced characters and quite a good ending. Romance endings are very hit or miss for me, but this one I'm happy with. I could have done without the epilogue, which usually happens to me, but I didn't mind it too much.

The Bookshop of Forgotten Dreams is an adorable and steamy enemies to lovers story about Sarah and Maxime. Sarah is a bookshop owner in a small town struggling to make ends meet after an untimely flood. Maxime is the quintessential bad boy actor who always seems to find trouble. His troubles have finally caught up to him and the only way to lessen the damage is community service helping Sarah repair her bookshop. In true enemies to lovers form, Sarah and Maxime have a really rough start but eventually both their walls come down until the inevitable happens and threatens the progress they’ve made.

There’s so much more to people then what meets the eye and finding the right person to break down those walls and truly see you is a remarkable thing. Can Sarah be that person for Maxime? And can Sarah finally learn to actually live her life and not live vicariously through her books?

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Sweet, fairly enjoyable book about a shy bookshop owner and an actor. I liked the premise and the characters. The chemistry between the two leads Sarah and Max was sweet once the story got going, although at times the relationship did feel a bit rushed. Overall 3.5 stars.