Cute little rom com story with a head strong FMC (which I love) and a MMC that just can’t stay away

The circle of friends around the main character Cady were honestly the highlight, their banter and support of each other had me smiling throughout

The main characters were neither here nor there. The FMC was flirty with telephone guy and labour helper guy then found out they are the same guy, just felt a little forced and fake

I loved it! The cover gives cozy vibes but I was not prepared for the rollercoaster inside.

I very easily get annoyed by the protagonists but I thoroughly enjoyed Cady and Fox. Cady with her love of all things imperfect and Fox with his devotion and self awareness.

If you’re looking for a hot, slow burn, cozy read that you can’t put down; this book is it!

GENERAL INFO

Year Pub: 3/28/23

Book's cover: beautiful purple w/ Cady and Fox with the bookstore behind them

Format: e-ARC

Source: Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions are my own.

Setting: Townsend Harbor, MA-a seaport town

Genre: contemporary romance

Tropes: grumpy sunshine H/h, books about books, h has a chronic illness

Standalone/Cliffhanger/Part of a Series: Book 1 of 2

HEA/HFN ending: HEA

Epilogue Included: yes, Cady revamps the building and builds Fox a dome when he needs it

Character(s)POV Spoken: 3rd person

BOOK DESCRIPTION: Townspeople want the building for the historical society. Out to prove Cady didn't inherit it from her aunt. Mysterious Fox calls Cady every week, doesn't want to meet face to face, but comes to town disguised to keep tabs on her.

M/F-M/M-M/M/F-etc: M/F

Contains Cheating: no

Contains Children: no

Flashbacks: yes, Fox has PTSD, so he goes back to painful things that happened

Jealy/Possy/OTT H/h : Fox is extremely protective of Cady. He is jealous of Ethan and anyone who looks at Cady.

Amount of Sex In The Book: some dirty scenes. Loved the phone sex and sexy time in the wilderness.

Overall Smex Rating: 4

CHARACTER DESCRIPTION

Hero: Rowan Fawkes/Fox/Bob

Hero Description: Has a mountain hideaway with a hermit existence. Orders books from Cady and calls her every Thursday. They flirt and then he comes to town under different identity to keep an eye on her.

Hero Likability Rating: 5

Heroine: Cadence/Cady Bloomquist

Heroine Description: Worked at aunt's bookstore and takes over when she dies. She has been filling weekly book orders and receives calls from Fox, a mysterious book collector.

Heroine Likability Rating: 5

Secondary characters:
Gemma McKendrick-Cady's bff and town council member
Caryn Townsend-Ethan's mother, wealthy, entitled. also on the council
Fern-Cady's aunt who raised her since she was 16. Just died 3 weeks ago
Ethan Townsend- the town Sheriff and Cady's bf
Melvin Stewart-Deputy Mayor

H /h RELATIONSHIP INFO

OW/OM/Exes: Cady is "dating" Ethan and Fox has an ex-wife not in the picture.

Cheating Before/During/Outside H/h Relationship: no

CONTENT WARNINGS/TRIGGERS: h has chronic illness, PTSD, BFF has ADHD

AUTHOR OVERVIEW: Kerrigan Byrne and Cynthia St. Aubin

New or read before & any favorites: Kerrigan Byrne's Victorian Rebels series is great

PERSONAL OVERVIEW

Overall Rating: 4

Do You Recommend This Book: yes

Will You Re-read This Book: yes

Would You Read More Books by this Author: yes

COMMENTS/NOTES: Only problem I had was not much background on Cady's family. It was just 1 or 2 sentences about her parents' whereabouts, And it was at the end when she talked about it.
Same thing for Fox, it was like pulling teeth to get out who he was and what he did. I had this whole story in my head about Fox being a werewolf and he was afraid to be around Cady and the town for fear of harming someone I did a lot of guessing and making up my own story. I'll leave the writing to the professionals.

3.5⭐️2.5🌶
I’m honestly not sure how I feel about this one. I do want to first mention that one of the labels for this book was satire, and I could definitely see that throughout the book. Which is why a lot of the really out there, cringy things didn’t bother me too much. But it was a lot. A lot of made up cringy words, a lot of references to real life stuff that had me rolling my eyes because I’d rather not see that in books. Also, why was I expecting a paranormal romance? There is nothing paranormal in the book but I had that in my head for the first several chapters.
Now on to my feelings of the story and characters. I was definitely interested and invested in the story. It was a bit slow at times and I wish some things had been sped up and then ending drawn out a bit more. I wanted more from the ending and I didn’t feel completely satisfied when it was over.

As for the characters, I loved the chronic illness rep from Cady and I mostly liked her, she did make some decisions that weren’t the smartest and also kind of thoughtless to others. As for fox, I also mostly enjoyed his character but he also had some flaws. Like the stalking and lying.

I think the satire of this book made it harder for me to enjoy because I would’ve preferred not to read so much cringyness. I did really enjoy the spice though, it wasn’t without flaws but definitely better than some other books I’ve read.

I just have really mixed feelings about this overall. I started out really loving it and then it went a little downhill from there. It wasn’t bad, and I did really like it but I didn’t love it.
I’d still recommend you give it a try though!

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC for my honest review

I almost always give Byrne's books 4 or 5 stars, but unfortunately this one I am *rounding up* to a 3. The premise was very intriguing, and the first half or so kept me curious how things would play out, but overall it was a bit lame. The hero is Jason Bourne-esque, which- excellent, but the heroine was mostly just a mess. She had some moments of kindness that were admirable, but that was about all she had going for her. (Maybe that's supposed to make us feel better about ourselves? Like 'she can hardly function in any way but is hounded by men, so there's gotta be a chance for me!'?) I think the writing was trying for 'fun and light-hearted' but all the characters talked like they were 15. Saying 'OMG' in actual seriousness (multiple times), 'lady-boner', 'd*ckhole', '@sswaffle', 'c*cknugget', 'f*ck and its many variations (f*cktangle? f*cktw@t?) was used 176 times!, 'sh*t and its strange variations (sh*tballs?, sh*tsnacks?) another 82. *I don't even have a problem with cursing!*, just the excess of it made them seem kinda simple-headed. And it wasn't only one colorful character for laughs or something, apparently half the town talks like that, even the elderly. It was simply too silly-feeling for me, especially alternating with the hero's pretty serious past. This 100% won't turn me off Byrne's other writing, I'm a definite fan, but I think I will just skip over any future books in this particular series.

Finished ✔️ Nevermore Bookstore by Kerrigan Byrne & Cynthia St. Aubin

3 ⭐️‘s
Kindle Unlimited: Yes

I honestly just felt like this was book was lacking in some parts even though it was overall enjoyable.
There was just stuff missing in the book for me.
Yes, I’d recommend because others might like it better than me.

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DNF for me.

I didn't get where that was going and I read up to 25%. Wtf was happening there, idk, and it didn't get me interested enough to figure it out. Sorry, not for me.

I decided to request this one on NetGalley solely because of the cover and the title. It looks like a fun, spooky, and possibly paranormal read. Then I read the description and it said it was a romance and I was even more excited.

This a duel POV style book - which is my favorite in a romance. So we get to see both Cady and Fox's sides of the story. Cady is definitely an outspoken, no-filter type of character and it was fun to hear her side of the dialogue. Fox's side was a bit more boring for me since he was living out in the woods and we didn't know the reasoning at first. But this quickly changed after a certain development in the story that I won't mention because of spoilers. But I loved watching these two grow closer over their phone calls.

Nevermore Bookstore turned out to be spicier than I imagined it would be as well! Probably would say it has a 3-spice rating out of 5. There were a few scenes but not too many that took away the main plot of the book. The other townspeople were just as interesting and there was a slight love triangle element with Cady and the Sheriff.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and the characters. There were some things that I felt could have been done differently/explained better but the ending even had a twist I didn't expect or see coming. This one earned a 4-star rating from me. This seems to be the first in a series so I cannot wait to check out what else these two authors have to offer! I recommend this one for fans of romance with some spice.

Big thanks to Oliver Heuber Books, Kerrigan Byrne & Cynthia St. Aubin, and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions!

This book had such an interesting and creative story and an underlying layer of intrigue. I really enjoyed the story and found it very engrossing. The main characters both had so much depth and such foundation-shaking personal traumas and challenges. I really related to Cady’s struggles as I also have a difficult chronic disease. Both characters were so compelling. I rate and review based on story, characters, and writing. For those facets, this really is a great read. That being said, I do often comment on content and language just for the information of readers who look to reviews for that. (I don’t think it is fair to rate the quality of a book on that aspect…it’s too subjective and such a matter of personal preference.) I am generally, but not exclusively, a reader of varying levels of closed-door or sweet romances. I didn’t do my research on this book and didn’t quite realize how far from that this book is. There is significant harsh language throughout, as well as extensive unsubtle innuendo, and detailed intimacy. (Also, no mention of safety during intimacy, which is an unfortunate oversight.) So if you are uncomfortable with that content, this is not the book for you, but if you don’t mind it, or even prefer it, then this is a story worth your time. I was too interested in the story to not complete it, and it really was a good book in that respect.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Overall this was a fun, quirky read. Cady I'd an interesting character who really drives the sympathies of the story. She is fun, relatable, creepily optimistic and a bit airheads, which makes Fox a great match for her
I found Fox's sections of the book harder to read as they lacked a bit of character consistency. He makes for a good book boyfriend despite his anger issues but where he fell short was the genuine misogyn mixed in with the feminism. I think these are things that could have been edited a bit better.
There were, unfortunately, a lot of editing mistakes in spelling, grammar and fragmented sentences.
The story, however, is compelling, the romance and ridiculously unrealistic multiple meet cutes with the same man are very entertaining. The way the underlying 'mystery plays out also worked well in keeping the plot interesting.
As an aside I didn't realise Cady was 'plus-sized' in the book for a while, one because character descriptions come a bit late in the story, but also because the cover doesn't represent that body type well. I think the cover design should have represented this better.

Finding it hard to get into the story after reading quite a few chapters so have put it on pause. Am willing to try pick it up again in future to see if that changes but currently am not grasped by it.

Cady Bloomquist runs and lives in the Nevermore bookstore from her Aunt Fern. She looks forward to her weekly phone calls with her recluse of a a customer on Thursday nights. They talk about more then just his book orders.

Fox, lives a lonely life in the mountains in the PNW. He camps outdoors because of the stressors of daily life. He looks forward to one thing in his lonely life, Thursday calls with the Cady.

A break in while Cady is on the phone with Fox brings him out of his secluded life to make sure she is not harmed.

Will Cady ever find out who Fox is in real life? Does the bookstore truly belong to Cady? Can you fall in love with someone you’ve never met?

All these questions are answered in this cute book about two people looking for love in the most unconventional of ways. I would recommend this book.

Nevermore Bookstore was truly a treat to read! Cady, running a bookstore in what seems to be a quaint and proper town, brings so much fun and joy to the page, even as she struggles through chronic illness. Her banter with mysterious bookstore patron, Fox, is cute, sexy, and honestly pretty relatable. Though she has never met Fox in person, only talked with him over the phone, she is rightfully intrigued by him. The mystery of who Fox is kept me hooked the entire book. As mysterious things start to happen around her bookstore, and a mysterious stranger shows up to help her, Cady has no idea what is going on behind the scenes in town. I cannot wait to read more stories from Townsend Harbor!!

This was....fine. Attempted at being quirky but the narrative was hit and miss for me. It seemed the duet hasn't really found their collective voice yet. I'll continue with the series, but it's not urgent.

Perhaps I misread the description but I expected this book to have some spooky aspects. As it was, the behavior in the love story was very questionable. I don't find controlling behavior or stalking appealing. This was a flop for me.

Where do I even start?! I couldn’t stop smiling and giggle throughout this book! This gave me butterflies and natural rosy cheeks. It was kind of hard to stick through at first but it’s worth it in my opinion to get further into the book where the good stuff is. I will definitely read another book from this author because this was a chef’s kiss!

I was excited about this book based on the description, title, and cover. I loved the concept of a mystery romance set in a quirky bookstore. I think the plot had the potential to be phenomenal. I liked the idea of Cady and Fox's characters showcasing different illnesses and abilities.
However, the pacing and writing took me out of the story. I don't feel like enough research was done to portray Fox's PTSD accurately, and it seemed like stereotypical PTSD was an excuse for his behavior. I don't think this book gave enough attention to describe PTSD and Fox's difficulties with treatment options. I believe he comes across as too dismissive of therapy and medication, and his reason behind those not working for him is cringey. Also, his past relationship[ was brought up very weirdly and randomly. Are they divorced? Did she leave him? His ex is used as a semi=plot device and very poorly at that.
Cady's illness, I feel, is also used as a personality trait and plot device when it is convenient, and then at other times, she is "fine and functional;." feel that the authors could have portrayed the aspect of "bad days" with chronic illness better to seem more real and less as a convenient plot device.
Speaking of the plot: I like the idea, but the pacing was weird and the "romance" aspect of the book seemed to be forced. I would have liked more events at the bookstore to do with the mystery to help with pacing. The bookstore is broken into at the beginning, and nothing happens again until the end? While the middle is poorly written character chemistry. The ending was wild and, while somewhat entertaining, poorly executed. Fox being away to seek treatment to save the day felt like the authors trying to undo what they had Fox think about treatment earlier in the book, and seemed like a miracle pill. I don't think historical society hearings work like that, but I could be wrong. It seemed like reality show forced drama for me.
If you don't think about it too much, this is an ok romance read. Make sure to check for triggers before reading!

This book was nice, but some parts of it were really weird and cringe. It got better in the second half though

I was excited about the premise of this book but was just unable to finish. I didn't feel connected to any of the characters or the story line. I don't think I jive with the author's writting style. Thank you for the opportunity to check it out though!

It was great. Took at least 3 chapters to really get into the story. The sentences were a bit wordy, I think that was the hold up for me to get into the story. But once I did I could not put it down. The PTSD and AD rep was well described/explained. Fox’s character was a bit of a mystery, we didn’t get any info on him until the very end when Cady learned who he was.