👍🏼 delightful enemies to lovers, small-town romance

Read this book for a fun escape into small town politics and forbidden love.

Y’all this book was so cute, if a little on the nose sometimes.

Hallie is the small town librarian, who thanks to a drunken birthday celebration with her friends, gets pitted in a race for mayor against Fitz Montgomery who is one of many, many of the rich (entitled) Montgomerys who have ruled over Swan Cove.

Hallie is frustrated by the entitlement of Fitz, he seriously has no qualifications or apparent desire to be mayor.

Fitz is frustrated by the pressure his parents put on him to serve as mayor after his uncle abruptly ran off to Florida.

But in order to win the mayoral race, Hallie has to overcome the town’s prejudices over the fact that she was born and raised on the other side of the tracks in Crow Harbor. Oh and the fact that a new development plan for Swan Cove wants to decimate the blue collar business of her hometown.

Hallie didn't dream that after her best friend has added her to a mayoral ballot that she would accept it and that her life would change so much. Fitz was the mayor because he had to be and because it was his family legacy. He also didn't count on his life to change and that he will fall for his opponent. A sweet funny read with interesting characters and a lovely love story,
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for NetGalley

Enemies to lovers is a good trope and I've enjoyed it over the years. I think at this point though, after reading so many. The book really has to be incredible to get a good rating. Nevertheless, while it wasn't fantastic, it was enjoyable. 3.5 stars

Great story! I really liked Hattie and Fitz. They were a fun couple. And as a reader myself, I liked that Hattie always wanted to use facts to prove her point, but that politics isn't like that.

I tried really hard to finish this but gave up less than halfway through.

The chemistry between the main characters are pretty non-existent (at least up to where I stopped reading) and I was, frankly, bored. I normally love the enemies to lovers trope and I had high hopes for this one.

Thank you to the publisher and author the the ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I am always game for a fun, 'don't take yourself too seriously' rom-com and this hit the mark! The story was entertaining, and featured one of my favourite tropes; enemies-to-lovers. There was lots of banter, and a mouthy FMC, not too mention the perfect amount of spice! I do think that the characters could have been developed a little more, and perhaps some work could be done on the pacing (there were parts that dragged on unnecessarily) but for the most part, this was a great and fun read!

Hottie on Her Shelf was a cute, small town romance. Hallie, the town librarian, gets ambitious and mouthy in a drunken state on her 30th birthday and vows to run for mayor. She has no recollection of it the next day, until her best friend announces she has entered her into the mayoral race. Hallie’s main problem besides not being a politician? Her opposition is Fitz Montgomery, the current mayor with a family legacy of serving as town mayor. When Hallie and Fitz begin their campaigns, Fitz is amused at Hallie’s lack of political prowess and offers to give her tips on how to get votes. As a friendship blooms between the two candidates, so does romance.

📖 Small Town Romance
📖 Rivals —> Friends —> Lovers
📖 Political Opponents

⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Hallie and Fitz have an adorable relationship, and their banter is entertaining

Thank-you to NetGalley and publisher for the chance to review this ARC.

This was a fun read once it really got going. It had it's low moments but overall I really enjoyed it.

I was so bored by this book and really struggled to get through it, honestly. There were just so many things about the story that made no sense. It's supposed to take place in a small town where the mayor has come from the same family for 200 years or something like that. Yet it's also a big enough town to have an opera house?! No thank you. It was a mess between trying to convince the reader that it's a small town romance but clearly not wanting to write about an actual small town. Also, how is it that Hallie's friend could just sign her up to be on the mayoral ballot without her knowledge/ signature/ presence, yet Hallie had to be the one to go in person to get herself off the ballot? THIS MAKES NO SENSE YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS!
I really felt no connection to any of the characters and really started skimming the book after about 30% when I realized I was actively avoiding it. I will say there is one pretty good steamy scene because yes please to a literary-themed B & B. Other than that, I was just glad to finish the book and move on with my life. It's certainly not the worst book I've ever read, but there needs to be at least one truly enjoyable character in order for me to like a book, which was not the case here.

I was a complete dummy with this one and didn’t get to it in time before it went to archive. I didn’t download it, therefore I have no review for this one. Lesson learned. But I am going to give 5 stars, just because I want to believe that it is a good book.

This was a great rom com. It was very entertaining, enemies to lovers story. Just the right amount of steam and back and forth banter. I felt like the book may have been a tad long but I did love the character romance development. If you love romcoms you’ll love this one.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book never perfectly hit the mark for me. The characters felt a bit too 'perfect' and inorganic. And the plot was sorta bland.

I loved quite a few things about this book. For one, the witty banter was entertaining. I love a good sassy remark! I found myself laughing quite often throughout, so that was definitely a plus in my book.

I love the fact that this was an enemies-to-lovers as this is my favorite trope! Throw in some opposites attract and you’ve sold me HARD. Fitz and Hallie were as opposite as you can find. But they worked so well together. Their relationship was so entertaining to see unfold!

Hallie did not expect her best friend to add her to the mayoral ballot. She now has to run against the town's prince, Fitz, who is determined to prove himself.
This romance is a fun and witty read, quick, with good character development. The ending felt a bit rushed, but the book conveyed great messages about friendship and honor.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The premise of this book had so much potential and I wanted to love it but I just didn't FEEL what I was hoping to. I wanted more angst and tension between Hallie and Fitz, but it never hit that sweet spot. Also, I had to stop and look up so many words that Hallie used - her need to show how intelligent she was got a little old.

The story is about Fitz and Hallie. Hallie is the town librarian. Pretty and introverted BUT super smart and big on words. Though she usually prefers to keep a low profile, she does have a strong opinion on a lot of stuff including how things are going in Swan Cove, where she currently resides and works. On her birthday, her friend signed her up to run for Mayor of Swan Cove, a town that has been governed by the Montgomerys for years and years. Enter the current super hot Mayor, Fitz Montgomery. Not only is he good-looking, but he also has a good heart. A charming mayor who wants to give only the best to the people of Swan Cove. He finds Hallie very attractive but he has to protect his family's legacy.

A fun romance novel. If you're looking for a light read and into the enemies-to-lovers trope with some spice, this book is for you. This is definitely a solid 4-star read for me. You might need your dictionary for this if you're like an average like me when it comes to the English language cos there are some big English words here (a few are even tongue twisters 😅).

What I liked about this book:

✅ Small town romance
✅ Enemies-to-lovers trope
✅ Funny banters between the characters
✅ New vocabulary words I can use to become better in English 😁

However, I wish the issue with Fitz's parents was elaborated more. I was hoping for a dramatic confrontation. 😅

Big thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC, Entangled: Amara for giving me access to the eARC of Hottie on Her Shelf by Christi Barth in exchange for an honest review.

A bookish romance set in a small seaside town in Maine? Yes, please! Add in the fact that the main character is the town librarian, and you have a winner in my book. See what I did there? As a librarian myself, I could really identify with Hallie's character, whether it be the misconceptions about our career or the feeling of accomplishment in a field many do not take seriously. On a whim, Hallie's best friend Megan throws Hallie's name to run for Mayor in the town of Swan Cove. Hallie, who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, so to speak, in a neighboring town full of fisherman, would rather just mind her business in the library and keep out of the political spotlight, as well as the crosshairs of the uber-wealthy Montgomery family, who have been basically running the town of Swan Cove and most of its businesses for decades. I too live in a very small town where certain families remind me a lot of the Montgomery family with their single-mindedness and better than thou attitudes that keeps going through the generations. At first, Hallie wants nothing to do with running for Mayor against the current Mayor, Fitz Montgomery. But after meeting Fitz and getting to know him better, she realizes that she may be just what the town needs to grow and knock the untouchable Montgomerys (namely Fitz's parents) off of their self-made pedestal. Even more intriguing to Hallie is that Fitz is not who she expected at all...in a good way. He takes an interest in her immediately, and Hallie finds herself really enjoying his company. This is a fun enemies to lovers, small town romance with plenty of banter and plenty of steam. Along with Hallie's best friend Megan being a great side character, Fitz's best friend Everett makes for an interesting side character as well. I do hope the author writes more books that take place in Swan Cove, Maine. Thank you to the publisher for the early review copy of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

This book was cute. It was a three star review. I liked the spark between the two characters. There were some slow spots but I did like most of the book.

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for allowing me the chance to read and review.

{3.5 ☆} This small town rom-com was such a fun read, I really liked it. There were some things that weren’t the best, but other than that, there wasn’t anything I didn’t like.

Hottie on Her Shelf is about newly 30 year old librarian Hallie Scott whose best friend signed her up to be the new town mayor. In order to become Swan Cove’s next mayor, Hallie has to beat out Fitz Montgomery, the descendant of every mayor the town has ever had.

I really liked Hallie at the beginning of the novel. I loved her dedication to bring a change to the town, but as the story went on I started to like her less and less. I don’t know what it was but the more I kept reading, the more she annoyed me. Fitz, who I liked way more, really took me by surprise. He was an absolute sweetheart and I loved his character so much.

I would have much preferred if the ending wasn’t as rushed as it was, but there’s nothing that can be done about it now.

All in all, this book was good but it would have been better if the fmc behaved differently and if the ending wasn’t as rushed.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for this arc. I apologize for the late review.

A quick and fun read.
Enemies to lovers, two people both running for Mayor!
These characters were well written & kepts me interested for the most part.
If it wasn’t for the free ARC copy, I probably wouldnt have picked this one up myself.
I love how they could challenge one another but still respect each others differences at the same time.