This book was everything you hope for in a romantic comedy - strong female lead, yummy male counterpart, witty banter, steamy love, and a happy ending.

Hallie, a self-proclaimed book nerd and the town librarian, finds herself placed on the mayoral ballot- something her best friend surprised her with. Not all surprises are happy ones, but when Hallie overhears some unsavory comments made by the hottie Mayor and his team- she finds herself ready and willing to fight for the role as Mayor. Fitz’s family has led the town for nearly two hundred years, but maybe Swan Cove is ready for a little shake up. What follows is an absolutely adorable enemies to lovers story, filled with some of the best banter I’ve seen in a long time.

I was immediately intrigued by Fitz. While his team is fine with bashing the competition, Fitz demands good sportsmanship. It would’ve been so easy for him to be a pompous ass, but he wouldn’t stoop so low. When the sparks began to fly, I found myself rooting for Fitz immediately.

Hallie was so relatable- we have either been her or know someone that is her. She’s is willing to fight for what she believes in, but understandably stumbles and questions her abilities from time to time. I appreciated the fact that she wasn’t just some fragile, weak character that needed her hand held- she needed support but she was willing to fight and fail if it came to it. Thank you to Christi Barth for giving us a female lead that felt so incredibly real!

My one gripe about the book is that the ending felt rushed, but overall- such an enjoyable read!

📌 Pub Date: July 11, 2022

I was given a copy of this story to read; but thoughts and opinions are all my own. Thank you to Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for the chance to read this book!

What a cute read!

After making some drunken comments about the current mayor of Swan Cove, Hallie's best friend puts her name on the mayoral ballot pitting her against Fitz, whose family has been in control over Swan Cove for over a hundred years! When she races to get herself removed from the ballot, she overhears some rude comments made by Fitz and his team, and decides to stick it to him. What ensues is probably one of the most hilarious enemies-to-lovers romances I've read in a while!

I honestly didn't think I would end up liking Fitz, but his character took me by surprise! Plus I really loved him and Hallie together. For complete opposites, they just work! The banter between them was *chef's kiss*, and their chemistry was so freaking steamy!!

This was a quick, fun read and I loved it so much! Thank you Netgalley and Entangled for the opportunity to read this early.

I absolutely LOVED this enemies to lovers, small town romance!! A librarian running for mayor against the man who comes from a long family of mayors?? It just screams the perfect set up for rom com fun and it did not disappoint!! Highly enjoyed this one and can't wait to read more by this new to me author. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance review copy!

Many thanks to the publisher for a gifted copy.

I've read this author in the past and enjoy her books. They are usually light and fluffy and perfect for the mood I'm in. This one wasn't any different but I do wish that there had been a better ending. We spend all this time in the midst of the mayoral race and then it ends immediately when the winner is announced. I also really needed more consequences for Fitz's parents.

Hallie and Fitz were cute together but secret romance isn't always my thing. Overall, the book was cute and easy to read, just not my favorite.

Hottie on Her Shelf was such a sweet story. I loved the the almost instant attraction, the banter, the steam and that both characters fed off of each other to find themselves and lift the other up to be their best selves. Hallie and Fitz come from much different backgrounds and at first feel that they are 2 different people living completely different lives but after getting to know each other fully they realize that they aren’t as different as their upbringings make them out to be.

I was gifted this ARC by Entangled Publishing, via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. The opinions reflected in this review are mine alone.

I really went back and forth on how to rate this book... I really wish there was a 3.5 star option, as I seem to land there, but following my guiding principle of "enjoyed it but had some problems" I've settled on 3 stars for this review. Most of my issues with this story were early on, primarily being told there is some sort of spark when really nothing in the writing shows that spark. It was hard to believe for the first 1/3 of the story that there was any spark between Hallie and Fitz. Additionally some of the things they bonded over were akin to someone saying "I like soda" and the other person feeling like they must have met their soul mate because they too like soda (ostensibly one of the most popular beverages in the country). Over time however, the connection between Hallie and Fitz became more genuine feeling and I did ultimately find myself looking forward to seeing how their story played out. It was a nice light read.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. I was really excited when I read the synopsis, but unfortunately this one wasn’t for me.

I didn’t really get attached to the characters, and the romance seemed forced and not natural. I don’t really know how to describe it, but I wouldn’t really say enemies to lovers because the enemies part for like 2 seconds. I feel like it needed to be longer overall to get into some of the depth this book was lacking for me.

The premise of this book was cute, but I wanted more from it in the end. As always, pick up a book if it sounds good to you because you never know, you may love it!

DNF about halfway through.

It was very cute to start, I love that Hallie is a librarian! I was invested in it, but I feel like Hallie and Fitz got together too early in the book. Sneaking around has never really been something that I have been into, so I am pretty picky with it, but I feel like the tension and slow burn would have fit the story better. I was all about the slow burn, but once the got together I basically lost all interest.

this was a cute read but not something I would rave about. it depends what someone is looking for if I would recommend.

Hallie wakes up from her thirtieth birthday celebration with a headache and hangover, but the last thing she expected to wake up to is her name being placed on a ballot to run for mayor.

This was a cute, quick read! I read it over a couple hours. Fitz and Hallie had some good banter here and there, but I found myself glazing over the mayoral-type bits. I didn't feel invested in all the extra plots bits outside of the two.

Thank you to Christi Barth, Entangled Publishing, and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Rating: 3 out of 5

3.5 ⭐️

This book was a cute and quick read! It’s a good small town romcom. I really liked the MCs, how the story evolved with the election campaign and how Hallie and Fitz were able to separate being enemy in the ballots from getting to know each other for who they truly are despite “titles”.

What I missed from it was just more swooning moments and that romance that sweeps you of your feet. I think a lot of chapters were spent in giving background information, which I can appreciate, but I wanted more interaction and more burning desire for each from the MCs.

Nonetheless, if you want a light read, small town romcom with strong female character and a honest and “hottie” male character, you should pick this up!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Well, as a librarian and avid romance genre reader, you know I had to check this book out! It was very cute, and I really like how the author used the librarian stereotypes and cliches without over-doing it. It was a fun read!

Fascinating look into a small town romance. cute and what i needed. 10/10 recommend! very cute very sweet.

I DNF'd this book at 54% and it was a little bit of a struggle to even reach there. I found myself skipping over parts just to find dialog to see if there was anything interesting happening. I didn't see a real connection between the 2 main characters. I gave it 2 stars because there was some good banter at times but over all I was very bored with this book.

I have to say, Hallie is one of my favorite characters I’ve read about. She’s bookish, intelligent, assertive, and independent. Hallie and Fitz were forbidden, but they developed an intimate relationship despite all the obstacles in their way. I enjoyed this book, however I feel like it fell a little flat for me. I would have loved to read more about the campaign events and how things were going with the campaign within the community.

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

Thank you to Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for a requested advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

First of all, this is a fun romantic comedy, what started off as rivalry ended up with sexy times. I supposed there was the opportunity for enemies to lovers trope, but it was missed. This was more rivals to lovers, and there weren't that much angst during the relationship build-up.

Both leads were fun and interesting to me. It's not often I'm intrigued with political themes in contemporary romance, but reading the blurb (see what I did there, Hallie?) piqued my interest, and I wasn't let down. I love the heroine and how she was written. In my mind (and perhaps the stereotype) I'd always thought a librarian as a boring old lady, but somehow this book represented a different side to it and I love it, I love Hallie.

And then there was Fitz. He's like... he didn't have any faults, actually. He was a gentleman since the beginning. However, maybe because he was too nice there was not really much development in his character. In all honesty, I think his character was a bit flat. No real growth. He was still good, though.

All in all, it was sort of a fast romance. There was not really a big blow out or anything (although there was a hint at that, another missed opportunity). Fitz and Hallie were cute together, ugh he was so far gone for her!

This was a moderately okay read, I did enjoy myself on a few occasion. 3.5 stars! :)

Small town librarian and mayor pitted against each other in the mayoral race; Hallie and Fitz. She’s the girl from the “wrong town” and he’s the town’s “darling”—well, his family is. Montgomery’s have always been mayor, Fitz has always run unopposed—until a drunken birthday party (and an over-eager bestie) changes everything and challenges both Hallie’s and Fitz’s perspective on their town, each other and themselves.

*Hottie* is a fast read, with characters I quickly loved and was immediately invested in. I really liked the way I felt like I knew what was going to happen but couldn’t guess the actual “what” or “how”.

My only sadness is there currently being no epilogue. When (notice I didn’t say “if”?) you’ll see why.

This was my first book by this author, so I did not know what to expect. I was intrigued by a librarian running for mayor. It was a fun read with a smidge of mystery, and, of course, a HEA. I would be interested to potentially get Fitz’s sister’s story- the town is too cute for just one book!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Hottie on Her Shelf is a stellar small town romcom with excellent banter, loveable characters and an exciting mayoral election plot line.

Hallie is a librarian for Swan Cove, who’s friend puts her on the local mayoral election ballot after a night of drinking and complaining about the current mayor. Panicking, Hallie rushes to city hall the next day, determined to remove herself from the race. Instead, she overheard some trash talk from the mayor and his campaign manager and instead digs in her heels to declare she will run after all. Fitz is a Montgomery, the family that basically owns Swan Cove. They’re family has been in power as mayor for over 100 years. He’s served 2 terms and has never had opposition until now. He wants to earn the vote, not just win because of his name. And an unlikely partnership grows out of their race.

Fitz is a wonderful human in my opinion. He’s caring, understanding and really wants to help people. He does not want to simply get by on the coattails of his family name. He is very vocal in his desire to genuinely do good and help people. And he backs up his words. He is definitely not the trust fund baby that you’d expect him to be. Hallie, while also a good person, does have a bit of a complex in my opinion. She is genuinely nice and sweet and extremely well read. However, I do think she suffered from reverse snobbery a bit too much. And I wish she’d be more comfortable asking for help. Going it alone is admirable, but biting a hand that offers assistance isn’t a good look.

That said, the chemistry between them was great! Not insta-love, it definitely grows over time. And there is respect and friendship as a baseline which is wonderful. I also applaud the author for ensuring there is a condom involved in basically every sex scene. We love safe sex in this house.

One thing I wish is that we got more time spent on the campaign trail. The campaigning was supposed to be 1-2 months and we only saw maybe 3 scenes? I wish we’d seen Hallie’s progression from a librarian to a fully fledged mayoral candidate fleshed out a bit more. The story followed the romantic interactions more, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but again I just wish we’d seen more of the political part.

All in all this was a cute rivals to lovers story with themes of family heritage, wealth disparity and being your own person. It’d make an excellent read for a weekend getaway or for any day where you’d like a cute premise and great characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

The main character, Hallie, is the town librarian so you know I jumped all over this one.

This is my first book by this author, and it was a great vacation read. I was glad that I brought it along, and the easy fun read was worth it. The chemistry and banter between Fitz and Hallie made me smile so much, but the way that they both supported each other and the surprising depth that happened in this read made it better. The meet cute was priceless and then the continued off kilter meetings kept this book going.