Maggie Banks finds herself in the small town of Bell River working in a bookshop for her best friend Rochelle while she is on maternity leave. The weird thing about this bookshop is that nothing has been published after the 1900s. The store only has the Classics. While she is not supposed to sell anything other than historical books, Maggie starts selling romance books on the down low in order to help her best friend's shop make some more money. Unfortunately her best friend's partner, Ralph, can never find out.

Ralph’s assistant, Malcolm, does all Ralph’s heavy lifting. He helps keep Maggie in check so that the bookstore runs as it is supposed to. But when Maggie and Malcolm start to connect on another level, Maggie begins to realize she has to keep her band books hidden from him. How long can Maggie keep this secret, and what is her plan for when her best friend comes back from maternity leave?

This was a really cute Romance even though it didn't really have that much chemistry. My favorite part was not the romance but how it really focused on books, and how everyone's reading preferences can be so diverse. Maggie's personality was definitely quirky and fun, but as a rule follower I had a little bit of a challenging time relating to her. But I definitely thought this book was a good quick read and recommended it!.

This will be posted on my Instagram account on 10/22/22
3.5---> rounded to 4!

This was a funny, quirky and honest tale of an up and coming young lady finding her way in life and stumbling upon her purpose. Maggie is a great main character, there is lots of growth in this story as she find her feet and her path through many trials, blockades and tribulations. This is certainly a feel good story with lots of world building and romance to boot.

A book about books? Yes, please! This was such a fun read, with a unique storyline. Imagine not being much of a reader (nearly impossible I know, but give it a shot), an extrovert, and working in a bookshop where the only books you are allowed to sell were either by one particular author or written prior to 1968. Sounds like torture! I loved the quirky characters and the humor infused throughout the story. I loved the chemistry between Maggie and Malcolm, and really between Maggie and almost everyone she met--she was definitely a force to be reckoned with. The one hold out would be Ralph--I had a hard time believing that Ralph would ever agree to anything Maggie suggested, which meant the ending was a bit too tidy for me. Other than that, it was fantastic.

Thank you to the author, Net Galley and publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks. I love stories around books, libraries, and bookstores. This one did not disappoint. I thought it was funny and easy to keep reading. I enjoyed getting to know Maggie and found myself wanting to tell her to talk to her friends. I felt like I knew the characters well. I also liked the quirky small town and all of its residents. Overall this was a sweet rom-com and I highly recommend it if you are looking for a fun, light, but engaging read.

This book was really cute! I was a bit skeptical at first but I wound up really enjoying it! Maggie was a very relatable character, trying to find her fit in the world. I loved her story and the little splash of romance that was involved too. Would recommend.

Bell river: Edward Bell. A town that reveres the author, where jobless Maggie has accepted her pregnant friend Rochelle’s offer to manage her bookstore.
A new her!
She meets the locals and withdrawn Vernon, who has an apartment in the bookstore, and is ready to settle in for a short time.
She finds Edward Bell’s son Ralph heavy-handed and restrictive, even to having Malcolm, an employee checking on her.
Ralph quickly makes a decision that will compromise the stability of the bookstore under her watch, and Rochelle’s management.
She conjures up an income-producing, customer-pleasing strategy for the bookstore hoping to hide it from Malcolm and Ralph, and from Rochelle.
She tells herself, “Foolproof plans have no need of guilt.”
As her book world expands, despite the Bell restraints, she is filled with ideas, clever sale ideas and connects with Malcolm, a book lover from his youth.
Books can lead to wonders and marvels. In this case, Maggie reaches out surreptitiously to the community, researches and finds lies and deceit that could lead to
a revised view of the Bell family story and broken relationships, or
a new bookstore community mindset and reality.
The journey Maggie and Malcolm and the Bell consortium start on prove that it’s the truth.

Pub date 11/1,
Genre: books about women
One sentence summary: Maggie heads to small town Bell River to help run her friend's bookstore, but when the store's classic offerings aren't engaging the town, she starts hosting secret book parties and ordering more modern selections.

This was such an interesting read! I loved seeing Maggie go toe to toe with Bell River's literary society and work to make the bookstore a place for everyone in the town, not just the traditionalists. There's a romance plot in the book, but it's second to Maggie's learning about herself/personal development - I love to see this kind of character development in a book.

Read if: you're from a small town, Gilmore Girls is your fave TV show, you love feminist retellings of classics, you want to own a bookstore, you loved THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL and THE READING LIST!

Thanks @bookmarked for my e-ARC.

So much fun! This book was in the style of Sophie Kinsella-- there's action, romance, and of course a happy ending! I love that there are several characters whose lives intertwine and the reader tries to figure out how they're connected and all is revealed at the end. It's a quick and enjoyable read. Highly recommend if you like books about books, books about strong female characters or romcom type stories.

To help save the store, Maggie starts an underground book club, running a series of events celebrating the books readers actually love. But keeping the club quiet, selling forbidden books, and dodging the literary society is nearly impossible. Especially when Maggie unearths a town secret that could upend everything.

Maggie will have to decide what's more important: the books that formed a small town's history, or the stories poised to change it all.

This was such a fun read! If I would have started sooner in the day when I did start it would have easily been a one-sit read.

The book is told from one point-of-view and it comes from Maggie. She is trying to figure out what to do with her life as of currently she is living with her parents and doesn’t have a job. Opportunity knocks when her friend, Rochelle, calls to ask if she would be interested in taking over her bookstore when she is on maternity leave. From that point on, things get quite interesting when she arrives in Bell River and the town will never be the same.

Maggie was a great character. I think we have all been there in wondering what is next in life. We see our friends on social media and have doubts about our future. Maggie is trying to find a job that isn’t just a job. She wants something that will be fun in some ways and keeps her occupied as she has tried many things before but never stuck to it. It was easy to understand her. Plus, she is quite humorous with her jokes, especially when she talks to Malcolm.

I wouldn’t say this is specifically a romance but Maggie does find herself going after a certain someone in the book. It is very much a slow-burn but it’s cute and had me rooting for them from the beginning. She is the shine to his grump! I liked that they both pushed each other to venture out of their comfort zone.

All of the other characters in the book were great as well. Some had bigger roles than others, but they all felt like they had a purpose. I even liked learning about Edward Bell and the secrets that could be hiding in the closet.

The plot has a little bit of everything. There is some romance, secrets, drama, and finding one’s self. It is fast-paced but not too fast where you feel like it is missing information. The town was a fun setting and I liked learning about the people who lived there and what is up with the addiction to Edward Bell.

Overall, this was a great read! I enjoy a book about books and this was no different.

Four and a half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒
The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks by Shauna Robinson is a fun, bookish book, set in a small town with interesting, relatable characters. I read this book with a big smile on my face.

Story Recap:
Maggie Banks hasn’t figured out her life yet, she jumps from job to job and finds herself still living with her parents. So when her friend invites her to Bell River to run her little bookshop, Maggie jumps at the chance to take some time to figure out her life. She expects to sell modern books to the residents of Bell River, but when she gets there, she finds out she can only sell books published prior to this century.

The bookstore is already having financial issues before she gets there, and then when she makes some mistakes, she puts the bookstore on the road to financial ruin. She doesn’t want to disappoint her friend who is on maternity leave, so she finds some creative ways to sell more modern books to the good residents of Bell River. But, selling banned books under the nose of the strict town historian is a recipe for disaster.

My Thoughts:
I read the previous book by Shauna Robinson, Must Love Book, and while I enjoyed it, I didn’t love it. But, I loved this second book. It’s everything I want in a bookish book. A cute bookstore, with a book-loving main character, a handsome love interest who also loves books, and a small town full of book lovers.

Maggie is a bit of a mess, but also adorable. She has no idea of the power she has in bringing people together and she’s convinced herself that she’s not a success. I loved her energy, her wit, and her courage. She’s someone I could be best friends with. Malcolm, her love interest is the opposite. He’s a rule follower, and a bit shy, but, together they make a wonderful match. She brings out his fun side, and he keeps her grounded and gives her the support and encouragement she needs.

Recommendation:
I highly recommend The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks to anyone who enjoys romantic comedy. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Maggie is floundering. She’s unemployed and worse, she is living with her parents, so she goes to stay with her friend, Rochelle. Rochelle is about to have a baby and needs help in her bookshop while she takes maternity leave. The small, quiet town of Bell River, which is actually nowhere near a river, is obsessed with its hometown hero, and author, Edward Bell. Maggie, not really a huge reader, decides working at the bookstore and staying with Rochelle and her family is just what she needs to give her life a fresh beginning. .

The quirky characters in this story make for a truly fun read. Ralph, the antagonist, is pompous and small-minded. You will take quite offense to his thoughts on books. He allows no book in just in his store that was published after 1968 making it more of a museum than bookseller. Malcolm is great with the ways he and Maggie step out of their comfort zones to try new things, with a bit of romance tossed into the mix.

Rochele is put on bedrest shortly after Maggie arrives so she is thrust into management with little indoctrination. For this reason, a series of mishaps suddenly head the bookstore toward financial ruin. Rochelle has confided to Maggie her concern about finances since her husband is in nursing school and the family’s pretty dependent on the income from the bookshop. Not wanting to concern her pregnant friend with the plight she has put the shop in, Maggie has to get creative to keep the shop afloat.

As you come to know Maggie, you learn she believes rules are made to be broken and this she does!
To help save the store, Maggie starts an underground book club, running a series of events celebrating the books readers actually love. Attendees are told to keep the club very secretive, which we know is nearly impossible. All the while, Maggie under cloak and dagger, is selling current books out of a box. . Big Twist: Maggie unearths a town secret that could upend everything, where she will have to decide what’s more important, : the books that formed a small town’s history, or the stories that can change everything.

This is a cute story with a unique plot. A good one for book lovers

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book*

Maggie is unemployed and quite thrilled at the prospect of taking over the small town bookshop her heavily pregnant friend from university usually runs. When she discovers that she is only allowed to sell classics and books by Edward Bell, prized writer and born in this town, who used to write books in the very bookshop Maggie now works in, she knows that something is wrong.

This was a totally predictable romcom and while there are books where the bookseller changes town trope works, it does not work in this book. Maggie is not a reader, she barely knows any books, and she often falls prey to being stubborn, short tempered, and talking before thinking.

Parts of the novel were fun, but the majority was just dragging along. I'm sorry but it really doesn't work...

3 stars

I love books with a bookish element, so of course I couldn't resist adding The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks to my shelves straight away. I really liked the sound of the town with its bookish history, the bookstore not being able to sell newer books and the main character breaking the rules to keep the bookstore afloat. In the end this story turned out to be an entertaining and mainly uplifting contemporary romance; there were a few things that didn't work as well for me, but as a whole it was still a solid read.

I think it was mainly the many different bookish elements that turned this story into a success for me. Not only do we have the Bell River town setting with its bookish history, but the story also mainly takes place inside a bookstore. Then we have the author the town is named after and Bell River now uses to attract tourists, reading in general, bookish events, a secret book club, selling forbidden books etc etc. Oh yes, you will find a lot of bookish content in The Banned Bookshop Of Maggie Banks, and it was one of the highlights of this story for me.

I initially liked the fact that the main character Maggie wasn't exactly a reader. It came as a surprise, as most bookish contemporaries tend to have true bookworms as main characters... It was interesting to see her discover books and slowly enjoy reading more and more; that said, her behavior, opinion and actions did start to bother me after a while. I don't think the plot is actually credible; it's such a small town and I just don't think things could be kept secret in the way the plot describes. Maggie also didn't seem to care about the fate of others all that much; instead doing whatever she wants without thinking about the possible consequences for others.

I wasn't too sure what to make of the romance either. I didn't feel the chemistry between Malcolm and Maggie at all, and their 'connection' in general felt forced. The switch between so-called workfriends and something more also didn't feel natural and rushed, and I simply never found myself rooting for them. I much preferred spending more time with some of the other characters, and I would have loved to be able to join one of those secret book club meetings. The ending also felt a bit too convenient and not at all plausible... But that might just have been me being annoyed by Maggie in general by that point.

All in all there were things that I loved and other elements that didn't work as well for me, but as a whole The Banned Bookshop Of Maggie Banks is still an entertaining read that fans of bookish contemporaries will most likely enjoy.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark, I was provided an ARC of The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks by Shauna Robinson via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

***November 1, 2022***

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Do you enjoy books that are about bookstores located in a small town with quirky characters?

Maggie was at a standstill in her life. She didn’t have a job and was living with her parents, so it was not ideal situation. Rochelle, her best friend from college, invited Maggie to come and manage her bookstore in Bell River, from August to December, while she is out on maternity leave. Rochelle even offered for her to stay with her, so she could finally figure out her next steps in life. Maggie reluctantly agrees. Will this give Maggie the push to figure out her life?

Ralph Bell is the grandson of Edward Bell who is revered in Bell River. Ralph has invested in the bookshop, so he stipulates the bookstore can only sell Edward Bell’s books and Classics, so it’s more of a tourist attraction. With a town that celebrates Edward Bell, it’s only fitting to have a bookstore that does the same. But when Maggie finds out the bookstore is losing profits, can she break the rules of the bookstore in order to save it? How will Ralph and Rochelle take it? Will they embrace it or will they tell her to move on?

A fun and entertaining book that will have you cheering on Maggie as she tries to save the book store.

I love how this author chose to center this book around a bookstore with strict rules and that only sold Classics. It just highlights the problems around only selling one type of book and implications that come with it!

A sweet, fun story about a woman trying to find her purpose in life. Maggie has coasted from job to job since college without settling down. When her best friend needs help with her small bookstore while she has a baby, she asks Maggie to help out for a few months. But the store is heavily controlled by a historical society member who is committed to focusing all tourist attention on their small town’s famous author who died decades ago. Maggie fumbles her first impressions and things at the bookstore get limited even more. To keep the store afloat she gets creative and secretly breaks all the rules to help bring in more sales. As she finds success with the shop, Maggie also starts to find her way until her secret comes out and everything starts to fall apart again. You can’t help rooting for Maggie and the delightful cast of supporting characters who make this story so engaging.

“When Maggie Banks arrives in Bell River to run her best friend’s struggling bookstore, she expects to sell bestsellers to her small-town clientele. But running a bookstore in a town with a famously bookish history isn’t easy. Bell River’s literary society insists on keeping the bookstore stuck in the past, and Maggie is banned from selling anything written this century. So, when a series of mishaps suddenly tip the bookstore toward ruin, Maggie will have to get creative to keep the shop afloat.

And in Maggie’s world, book rules are made to be broken.”

I’m always so pleasantly surprised when fun, seemingly frivolous books have hidden depths.

Not only did this work talk books, bookshops, friendships, and romance, it delved into racism, censorship, and the erasure of women.

I loved the discussions concerning the sainting of heroes, and how best to enact change. Slow and stead? Or bull in china shop?

Not bad for 336 pages.

My favourite quote:

“[Famous Author] TJ Holt had replied to my email.
TJ Holt was thinking of coming to my event.
TJ Holt and I are basically best friends now.”

Every time an author likes my review, I’m basically planning girls-only retreats, where they write, and I knit. Much fun is had, and much wine is drunk. I’m lookin’ at you, Laurie Albanese.

8.5/10

Thanks to NetGalley, OrangeSky Audio, and SourceBooks Landmark for this chock-a-block ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Shauna Robinson's last book and had high hopes for this one. The characters were alright - a wide range of personality types. The story read like a Hallmark movie and I don't know how I feel about it. I really really really don't like when female protagonists are portrayed as clueless, helpless, or naive. Maggie made a lot of really stupid mistakes that were very cringe worthy. Overall a book that is somewhat enjoyable that doesn't require a lot of thought to read.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks, Shauna Robinson
Sourcebooks Landmark, November 1, 2022

I recieved this book Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is basically a love letter to the power of books, with a splash of romance and female empowerment thrown in. Maggie Banks agrees to takeover her friend's bookshop while her friend, Rochelle, was on maternity leave. Maggie has been aimless since college and really doesn't know what she wants to do when she grows up. While in the quirky town of Bell River, Maryland, Maggie meets a colorful cast of characters, learns to love reading and transforms the readers in the community -- all the while bringing down the patriarchy!

What's not to love? This book celebrates that there are "just right" books for everyone, and this was one for me!

#netgalley @shauna.robs #arc @bookmarked #thebannedbookshopofmaggiebanks #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #chicklit

I think there is a rule that you need to read any book about a librarian or bookseller, if that’s the field you work in. This book stands out in the genre. Not only were the characters well written and relatable, the journey of self discovery (including a love for books!) was incredibly satisfying.