The premise is great, the beats are funny, the banter is witty. Hallie and Fitz are both fully fleshed out, interesting characters with that opposites attract, enemies to lovers goodness at play. I'm not 100% feeling the whole politics vibe in this political environment, which put a bit of a damper on the entire book for me, but I tried not to let it drag things down, haha. I was surprised by how much I liked Fitz!!

“You didn’t dip your toe into campaigning. It was more like being flung out of a helicopter in the middle of…whatever ocean had the most sharks.”

Swan Cove’s mayor race just got a little more interesting. When local librarian Hallie’s name get thrown into the mix as a candidate in the mayor race things get interesting. Now running against, the v cute incumbent and local family “royalty” Fitz Montgomery. After an epic fail at her first campaign meet, Fitz offers to help coach her, and the attraction between them grows. And then enter into their own secret fling. 😉

This is a cute, small town Rom-Com and I enjoyed reading Halle & Fitz’s story.

Hallie celebrated her 30th birthday with her best friend and a lot of alcohol. The next day she woke up with a massive hangover and news that her best friend put her on the mayoral ballot. Now she is in the running for the mayor against the current mayor Fitz Montgomery. Montgomerys are considered like royalty in the town and he is under a lot of pressure from his family to uphold the family name.

He wants a fair fight and genuinely likes to help her. They couldn't be more different, but spending time together, makes the sparks fly. But his parents don't like it and will do all they can to turn the favour in their's son's direction.

I read it in one sitting and had so much fun while reading it. :)

received the ARC from NetGalley, all thoughts and opinions are my own

This was a cute and enjoyable read. It took a minute to get into it but I loved the main character Fitz! I wish there was a bit more romance but that’s just my preference. Lots of discussion about the politics/election they are participating in. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

I unfortunately had to dnf this book at 40 %.
This is the second time I dnf a book from this author so I guess that we don’t vibe unfortunately.

There was a lot of apologizing for jokes that was misunderstood and explanations of these jokes before the other person laughed.
The stereotyping of a librarian was also very much represented.

Yeah this was just not for me.

I got this book from Entangled publishing and Netgalley and this is my honest opinion and my voluntary review.

I really enjoyed this story! It's a romantic comedy about two opposites running for mayor of a small community. It's packed with overcoming class differences, money differences and prejudice. Somehow these two manage to become friends and then lovers as they compete for who will be the next mayor.

Fitz Montgomery32, is the rich son of the Montgomery clan who basically own Swan Cove. The mayor has always been a Montgomery for the last 200 years! Fitz has always known it was his family legacy to be mayor, whether or not he wants to. He finds it frustrating and frankly draining but he can't fight his entitled parents. His Uncle Jeremiah was the previous mayor, suddenly quit his term two years ago and no one is saying why. There's a story there he later finds out his father hushed up. He's surprised to find the town's head librarian is running against him at the last minute.

Hallie Scott is a nerd who loves books, organization and knowledge. The morning after her 30th birthday celebration she discovers her best friend Megan put her name as a candidate on the mayoral ballot! She doesn't know how to be a mayor much less try to beat the Montgomery hottie, Fritz, in the race. Fitz is intrigued after talking to Hallie and decides to help her out to even out the race because he likes her. She's refreshing, and seems to be the opposite of him coming from the neighboring fishing community of Crow Harbor. Many in the town see she as an outsider. Things heat up between them as they find they have a lot in common.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The beginning started great! I love an enemies-to-lovers trope, but then it got to the point where it was too much hassle to win the competition. It got boring and had trouble finishing it.

Small town politics gets a spotlight in Hottie on Her Shelf, when local librarian Hallie is put on the ballot by a well-meaning friend to unseat the incumbent -- Fitz Montgomery. There's been a Montgomery in the mayor's seat forever, and Fitz is about to have some real competition from Hallie.

Hallie is just about to withdraw from the competition when she overhears Fitz and his campaign manager talking about the campaign and she gets irritated by their attitude. What I really liked about this story is that Fitz's attraction to Hallie is evident from the very start, but he's put in a precarious situation if he wants to get closer to her, seeing as they are now political rivals.

But he does find a way in by helping Hallie navigate the political climate and the campaign, as they fight and flirt and fall in love along the way. Fitz is terrific -- he's insightful and for the first time in his life seems to really look at what he wants in life. So there was a nice bit in this about finding yourself and what kind of person you want to be. Both Hallie and Fitz have a nice character arc her in this respect, as secrets unfold, and family drama could put a block on their relationship.

Hottie On Her Shelf is really a cute story with a very contemporary theme. It's a very nice marriage of politics and romance, which especially in today's climate isn't an easy task. This book was fun, and it left me with a smile. Even though Hallie could be a bit irritating, I loved them together. This is a feel good story that entertained me from start to finish.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I was excited for this one especially since I picked it up during a local election season, oddly enough! My biggest complaint on this book is that I felt that I got a little more career/political story than romance.

Overall though, it was a cute story and an easy read.

4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hallie is Sean Cove’s town librarian. Fitz is the town mayor, with these two meeting when Hallie (reluctantly) runs for the mayor position against him. Town politics meets values and right and wrong with a love affair brewing along the way!
Will Hallie bring change to the town of Swan Cove against the Montgomery family’s wishes? The girl from the wrong side of the tracks may be just what Aswan Cove needs.
Humour, steam and a fun story.

Hottie on Her Shelf by Christi Barth was a fun opposites attract read. Hallie celebrated her birthday and expected things to be the same. She is a librarian and I loved her determination/ She never intended to run for town mayor, but now she hopes to instill change for the better. There has always been a Montgomery in the Mayor’s office, so Fitz was not happy when Hallie decides to run against him. But there is no way she could win, right? I loved Fitz so much. He was a good man and wanted to me than what people saw.

I loved their back and forth so much. They each wanted the best for the town, but came at it differently. Even though Fitz was determined to win, I loved how caring he was with Hallie. This was such a fun and charming read.

Happy reading!

Cute romantic comedy! After hitting a milestone birthday and having a wild night out with her friends, Hallie wakes up to realize that she made a huge mistake while intoxicated when her friend informs her, she’s signed her up to run in the town’s mayoral race. Fitz is the current mayor, and his entire family has been in the mayor seat for decades and has never had competition to run against. As Hallie comes to her senses, she realizes this might be a good thing, as she is very informed being the town’s librarian, but the town is resistant and unwilling to accept her spot in the race. Fitz realizes that he’s only become mayor for his family and decides to help Hallie on the down-low with her campaign and educate her about running for mayor, and as they get to know each other the instant chemistry turns into feelings. This was a cute read from Christi that kept me giggling throughout the read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

It was cute, it was fluffy, it was average.

Hallie and Fitz are on opposite sides of a mayor ticket and it provided with a slight enemies-to-lovers romcom which was adorable but not really much more than that. Fitz comes from a family that produced all the mayors of the small town they live in. He loves the city but does not love the job. Hallie is the librarian who finds herself on the ballot after a drunken night.

I liked the contrasting backgrounds the characters came from, with Hallie being a lower class citizen and having insecurities about how people would perceive her and Fitz being the image of aristocracy all the while suffering at the hands of his horrible family.

Thank you NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I LOVED this title. Such a fun twist on a contemporary romance that I have yet to read. A powerful, intelligent, mysterious librarian and a mayor who everyone thinks lives this glamorous life under daddy's thumb but yet has so much more to offer!

A cute, enemies-to-lovers romcom
4 stars

I was obsessed with this book from reading the blurb - an enemies-to-lovers, opposites attract, small-town romcom with a librarian heroine? Count me in.

Hallie accidentally finds herself running for mayor of the small town where she’s the librarian. She’s about to pull out when she stumbles across the current mayor - and her rival - badmouthing her and her chances of winning. Her competitive fire lit, Hallie prepares for battle against the arrogant, privileged and disgustingly hot and kind Fitz.

Hallie is a bit of contradiction and at times I wasn’t sure what I felt about her. She was in many ways your stereotypical librarian (which is not a criticism) but in other ways, she felt about as far from a stereotypical librarian as you could get. Neither is wrong but sometimes her character traits didn’t quite mesh together. But all in all, I was still rooting for her, even if I personally would be out of that mayoral race quicker than I could rip up the sign-up sheet.

Fitz wasn’t quite the person I thought he would be. He was sweet, funny, hid his emotions with a joke and I really fell for him. Plus he was a hottie in a suit. Yu-um! But I also felt a bit bad for him at times. Sure he was rich and privileged but I felt a loneliness in him that made me frown.

As a couple, Hallie and Fitz worked well - for the most part. There were times that I wanted to tell Hallie to stop being so frustratingly stubborn about Fitz and to realise he was coming from a good place. That aside, they had some nice heat and I was definitely rooting for them as a couple.

This is actually my first Christi Barth novel and I enjoyed her writing style and the way she told the story and brought this romance to life. If I had one complaint, it would be that I wish she pushed things just a little bit further. The banter and laughs were great but I wanted just a little bit more with each encounter. I felt like the writer - and so the characters - were holding back some, which is always frustrating.

While I loved the premise, the story itself just didn’t quite live up to my expectations. This was still a hugely enjoyable, cute and original romance and I will definitely look out for more of her stories in the future. 4 stars.

I thought that this was a pretty fun read. The storyline was amusing and the banter sharp and clever. Fitz was a winner. I found him super easy to like and quite charming. I wish I could say the same for Hallie. Sadly, I can't say I clicked with her, and honestly, I found her annoying and frustrating way too often.

This review may contain spoilers!!

I don’t really know how to explain it best, but to me it seemed like this book wanted to throw at me everything I was supposed to learn by reading between the lines. So many emotions weren’t as subtle or “hidden” as I usually like them to be, they popped up here and there, forcing me to instantly get to know the characters’ intentions instead of letting me discover them bit by bit.
Sometimes the sentences were a little pretentious but, thankfully, other times the language was really easy to comprehend. I like it when it’s simpler because I’m a non-native English speaker and it’s really nice when the writing style is fluid and enjoyable for those who don’t speak English as a first language, but at the same time the author used a bit too many refined expressions whenever Hallie and Fitz talked and that threw me off a little.
It seemed like Fitz always had to prove how educated and smart he was (to Hallie, to his parents…) but eventually he learned how to shine by only showing how kind he was and I really liked that about him.
I also didn’t like how Hallie was so haughty at the very beginning, but I liked that she had a huge character development, too.
I must add that the relationship between the two of them felt a bit rushed. Even though I liked the banter and the way they learned to communicate, I believe that they fell for each other a little too quickly.
Last but not least, the story was unnecessarily slow and long. I believe that less parts about politics and more parts about the love story would have been better because I actually rooted for Hallie and Fitz for the entirety of the story. They are a good match and I enjoyed seeing them grow together.

Overall I didn’t dislike this story, it was a pleasant reading and I liked how the characters learned from their past mistakes.

A great romcom with a political twist. The mayor of swan cove has only ever been someone with the last name of Montgomery. Hallie the town librarian has decided to run against him even if she doesn’t win but maybe with some luck can change the views of the people.
I loved the relationship between hallie and futz and how even with their backgrounds they are more alike than you would think.

Hallie Scott wakes up hungover the morning after her 30th birthday celebration to discover her best friend has entered her in the local mayoral campaign as a birthday surprise. Her opponent? The incredibly handsome Fitz Montgomery, whose family owns the majority of Swan Cove and has held the mayoral seat for decades.
Hallie must overcome her quiet, bookish nature and stand up for herself against the Montgomery family and the town who thinks she’s not up to the task simply because she grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. Although, this would be a lot easier if she didn’t have feelings for her opponent.
Hottie on Her Shelf is a classic rivals to lovers romantic comedy, complete with secret dalliances and a cast of charming side characters, as well as an idyllic New England town that any fan of Gilmore Girls would want to live in.
Given the love interests’ status as political opponents, I craved a bit more tension and pining. I felt they came together too quickly, and yet there was not enough of their relationship on the page. More focus was given to the campaign itself rather than the romance. I also was confused by the amount of time dedicated to both grown adults arguing with their parents. The dynamics of the relationship felt unrealistic, and by the end of the books I still wasn’t sure who Hallie and Fitz were, other than Hallie being a librarian and Fitz being a nice guy with rich parents.
Overall, I found the premise to be really intriguing, but ultimately craved more of the romance and far less of the details of the campaign.

Hottie on Her Shelf was a fun RomCom read but I'd welcomed a bit more spark with the romance. Fitz was brooding, sexy and checked all the boxes for a romance. Hallie's, on the other hand, nativity was a bit unbelievable especially at the age of 30. It is a cute story with likable characters.

Like the pun of the title and Hallie's role as the local librarian.

Thank you Entangled Publishing for the advance reader copy.