The concept was good and I like that both characters have a struggle (her AS and him PTSD) which provides representation, awareness, and allows readers with the same/similar illnesses to relate. I think the characterization of Cady is well done and she was a likable/easy to root for. I, however, did not care for Fox. He just seemed a little creepy. I can excuse some of his …quirks… as being remnant from his previous role or lingering effects of his PTSD, but watching her through binoculars/through her window was a bit much and made me uncomfortable. I like how the book ended and thought it was a good way to wrap up the story, but I struggled to get through parts of the book. I would still be interested to give these authors another shot, because truly the overarching story isn’t bad…I just think this wasn’t the right book for me.

This was honestly one of the worst books I have ever read. I don't say this lightly as I understand the hardship of writing novels and how much hard work goes into one.
However, given that this is a published book (or set to be as I got an arc from Netgalley), there was so much oversight on literally every aspect of this book.
The scenes were manic and extremely cringey. The plot was ?? I don't even know - I had so many questions and pushed myself to finish it, while still having so many questions at the end.
Not only does the main character, a 30 something army ranger, call his dick a pecker but he also is a stalker and she is into it? Granted, dark stalker romance is in right now.. but this was like a romcom's take on a stalker romance mixed in with trauma, small town stuff, looming disasters, a break in, and very confusing mysteries.
The start of their relationship is never talked about and the only thing comical was her misfit group of friends. There was extremely odd language used and randomly literary and nerd culture references, that in no way made the characters better or anything. I appreciated that the book spoke about PTSD and chronic illness, but it was so odd? Like this man has been dealing with nightmares, flashbacks, and hallucinations and constantly thinks about killing people and how much of a hardened criminal/ murderer he is?
I'm all for the "I can't be saved" trope but like ... I can't even put into words how utterly weird this was. He is supposedly a survivalist that can't be trapped indoors because of his trauma, dedicated to the woods and being alone. Yet, he is an avid reader and somewhere has a place for his weekly box of books from the last couple of months... this literally makes no sense.
More so, the plot is so garbled it is basically non existent and the dialogue between the characters (i.e. the sex scenes) are just so pretentious filled with words that come from a SAT study guide.

Thanks to Netgally for this ARC but I can honestly say that I do not recommend this and I hope the author can get someone to edit it further.

Kerrigan Byrne is one of my FAV historical romance authors so I had to read this one she co-wrote! There was a lot of mystery surrounding Fox and I kept trying to figure out his story! I adored Cady and the way that Fox & her interacted! Cady’s book club friends stole the show!! They were hysterical! Lots of funny moments surrounding some emotional/touching ones!

At first I wasn’t sure where this story was headed, and as I got into it more, I became fully immersed & was on board for the ending!!! I was rooting for Fox & Cady from day one! PS: I would love to get a story for Gemma, or for Ethan in the future!!!

Thx to Net Galley & the publisher for an ebook in exchange for an honest review!

FAV QUOTES:
“Because Cady was the sum of her pretty parts and the whole of his heart.” Fox

“But you’re not a serial killer, right?” He shrugged. “More of an oatmeal guy.” Cady & Fox <—-chuckled here!! :)

I was super excited when I saw this book. From the cover to blurb it seemed like the book for me. Sadly it didn't live up to my mental hype.

I enjoyed Fox and his love of books of all genres. Although, a cave? Really? The book let me down when it came to Cady. She was weak and a little too YA for my liking. Cady was naive and frustrating and Fox was a little weird sometimes.

The turns of phrase used were also odd. Some downright cheesy. Weiner roast? C'mon. I found myself skipping quite a bit and feeling bad for it.

The setting was interesting and the bookstore vibe had promise. Overall I didn't hate it but I can't see myself revisting Nevermore Bookstore. Thanks to the author and NetGalley for the ARC opportunity.

Thank you to Kerrigan Byrne, Cynthis St. Aubin, Oliver Heber Books, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Nevermore Bookstore comes out March 28, 2023.

Honestly I wasn't a huge fan of this book, which was very disappointing because I have loved Kerrigan Byrne's historical romances. I also was excited for the story line, Cady is a bookseller that always looks forward to when Fox calls to put in an order. I do think that the beginning was really cute when he made the first call we saw. I also thought the writing was funny and quick paced. I think what was hard for me the stalkerish behavior of Fox, like i just thought that in the romantic comedy setting some of the behaviors gave me the "ick." I still liked the writing style and I enjoyed Cady as a main female character. Also side note, even though it never said it would be, did anyone else expect it to be about a vampire recluse.

What I was looking forward to in this story never happened. Admittedly, I did not finish the story because it was too young, too immature, too YA and too quirky for me. I thought it would be a hot, kink-positive, morally gray story but that is not what I got from what I read. The best part of the book was that Fox was a reader of everything, all genres (Nancy Drew made me laugh). I did not like Cady at all. Maybe things got more interesting and better as the story went on, but it was not a book for me. I think if you like really quirky characters then this might be the book for you. The reason I give this a three star rating is because I know Kerrigan is a fantastic writer. This story just went off the grid for me.

rating: 2.5
when I saw the blurb for this book I was very excited, I was expecting a paranormal romance but I ended up disappointed. and even though in the beginning of the book I was not liking it at all, I ended up enjoying it in general.

there were a lot of things that I didn’t enjoy in this book and some others I liked.

I liked the representation of PTSD and chronic pain even though I would liked to see it discussed more in the book.

I also like Cady and found her to be very funny (even though a few comments were a little bit off). regarding Fox, I think he would be very fitting in a dark romance instead of a rom-com. he is possessive, a little bit of stalker and a voyeur (for lack of a better word).

I didn’t enjoyed the fact that the book was written in 3rd person and for that it was harder for me to get into the story.

in the end, the second part of the book was much better than the first and I ended up finding the book enjoyable

thank you NetGalley for this ARC. the views expressed are my own, freely given.

This one is really difficult to review. I expected to love this because I love Kerrigan Byrne's historicals, particularly the way she writes a broken hero. There were things I liked about it, but it didn't quite work for me as a whole.
First, the good. I love the premise and all the little literary references throughout. Nevermore Bookstore is a dream and I want to go there immediately. Fox and Cady are lovely, complicated characters. The story offered great representation of chronic pain and mental illness. I just wish I'd gotten to see a deeper exploration of these two, as people and as a couple.
It all should have worked in theory, but it never quite got there. The writing style was a big factor in keeping me from really connecting to the story emotionally. Perhaps in an attempt to create a light, rom-com vibe, there was a lot of cutesy language and internet slang that constantly threw me out of the story. Characters (and even the narration) often said internet meme things like "I was today years old" that we see online but never hear actual people say, or made distractingly bizarre comments, like comparing her pubes to Colin Kaepernick's hair (??). It threw me out of the story every time.
Strange language choices aside, the pacing felt wrong too. I often felt like I had skipped a page or two because things would move foward suddenly, without sufficient explanation. It made the development of the relationship between the main characters fall flat because we don't actually see that development happen. The reader isn't brought along for the emotional process so much as told it has occurred.
Overall, I was disappointed in this one, though I truly expected to love it. But just because it wasn't for me, doesn't mean it can't be for you!

In Nevermore Bookstore, we find two unlikely main characters. Cady, a bookstore owner who deals with a chronic condition, and “Fox,” who is dealing with PTSD.

Cady receives weekly calls from Fox, who, we find out, is a recluse who camps out in the mountains. He keeps calling to order books, and she looks forward to his calls. She wants to meet, he is too scared, and then he feels the need to protect her.

Meanwhile, Cady is struggling with taking over her aunt’s bookstore and all it entails.

I liked the different types of main characters, and the sweetness and sexiness between “Fox” and Cady. I also liked how they dealt with their own personal struggles.

I’m not a fan of stalkerish behavior, voyeurism, and how “Fox” was around her without her knowing who he was. It wasn’t too crazy, but there were some “ick” moments for me.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and look forward to others in the series.

Thanks to Kerrigan Byrne, Cynthia St. Aubin, Oliver-Heber Books, and NetGalley for and ARC of this book.

this was a really fun read, but also a bit confusing in some times. i teetered between a 3.5/4 because I really enjoyed the romance aspect and protectiveness from Fox but got lost at times with the PTSD flashbacks and trying to understand the connections. The spice aspect was great and I did enjoy the connection between Fox and cady and really enjoyed them and their wittiness.

Quirky pop culture....

In a mash up of sorts...rom-com-y, cozy bookshop, with some light paranormal...
Cady is the Nevermore bookshop ovwer in the quirky town of Townsend Harbor filled with quirky names and plenty of pop culture (Jessica Wakefield, people). She has Ankylosing spondylitis or Astrid, as she and her best friend Gemma refer to her spinal disease. Her main highlight is ordering books on the phone for Fox.

Fox is Roman Fawkes, hiding out in the mountains. He has reason to keep away from the townsfolk, but he's fixated on Cady and keeping her safe. He does resort to lurking around the bookshop.

Looking forward to more stories from Townsend Harbor.

Ok, so this wasn't what I expected, but I didn't hate it either.

Okay, so...I was expecting a grumpy/sunshine, small town trope rom-com. What we got was a grumpy/sunshine dark romance with stalker/obsessive vibes and comedy mixed in. Even though it was different, I kind of liked it. It's full of spice and I loved the connection between Cady and Fox. I devoured this book in two days.

What bothered me was that it never really explained why Fox started calling Cady's bookstore in the first place. Just that he suffers from PTSD, can't be around people too long and gets anxious indoors or in tight spaces. He ends up living in the woods for months a few miles away, with nothing but a tent and things needed to hunt and survive. Yet he calls a bookstore one night, falls for Cady's voice and ends up calling every thursday at the same time for months to order books? He single handedly keeps her business afloat. Like, what??

It also seemed like the authors just threw a thesaurus around when writing this. It's a small town and the side characters are all friends of different ages and jobs, yet they all talk to each other in SAT terms. I felt it was distracting and really hurt the flow of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Xpresso Books for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I devoured this book in two days, and that's with 3 kids and playing soccer mom all weekend! This was such a cute and spicy read that I would recommend it to any romance readers, but like a little thrill and mystery as well!. I loved that the authors didn't use the stereotypical route in creating their characters; all seemed to have their issues. And they were issues that most of the real world would identify with. The minor characters, other shop owners, and the book club members made me laugh out loud and I wanted to be friends with people in this community. This isn't a book that will change your life, but it will make you laugh, cry and feel a few tingles in special places. Collabs with multiple authors can go wrong, but I think these two did a good job and I would read more. I would also be interested in reading more by each individual author as well.

Imagine if you put the plot of a dark romance into a rom-com… this would be it. He’s tortured, he’s a recluse, he watches her through her window at night, he gets physically sick seeing her with another man. He should be in a dark romance right? But no, this book was so light and funny, and I didn’t even know something like this could exist 😅 but it works!

I went into this read completely blind. The cover is what attracted me, so when I started reading, I was so shocked but excited at what was happening! The loved the plot of this book so much, and I really never knew what was coming next.

The only downfall for me was the repetitive pop culture references and mentions of social media. I personally don’t like that in the books I read. There were also a lot of phrases and insults used that was just a bit icky for me. I just like my reads to be a bit more serious and reading words like ‘Cock-nugget ‘ and ‘fuckboi’ just isn’t for me.

The backstory of our hero is unknown for a while, and I was so desperate to find out who he was and where he came from. It. Was. Killing. Me.

There was a lot of representation in this book with the heroine being chronically ill and the hero having his own personal battles too. Which was a bonus to the story and writing.

I personally feel like I would’ve loved this book a lot more if it was more serious, but I knew this was going to be more on the comedic side going into it, so that’s on me. I just wasn’t expecting so many weird phrases to come out of the mouth of this hero, considering how stoic and serious he’s portrayed.

The synopsis sounded nice, I was expecting a nice little romcom set in a bookstore, maybe with some paranormal elements because of the cover ? It was not. This book was not for me. I guess the story didn’t go the way I thought it might, mostly I did not like the writing and the characters could not save it for me either. The beginning was promising, but then everything went downhill after the store break-in, or perhaps it started from Fox (the MMC) first pov ? I did go through with it but there were far too many cringy things and other that did not make sense. Fox’s character was absolutely creepy and I could not with Cady either.

*This book will be published on the 28th of March 2023*

I would like to thank NetGalley, the authors and Oliver Heber Books for providing me with a free ARC of this book in return for my honest and personal opinions.

I was ecstatic when I received the notification that I was approved this ARC because the cover and book synopsis promised a cute and fluffy small town romance between a bookstore owner and a mysterious grump.
The book isn't that far off but I was DEFINITELY not expecting the male lead to be like that.

The Plot
This book had SO MUCH to offer but the plot fell really flat to me, so much that it felt like a chore to read this book. To me, it was very evident that this book was written by two authors because the writing was differing drastically from one chapter to another. I don't want to sound ridiculous but at a point in this book, there simply was no plot and only lust between the two main characters. I feel like this book would have been so so so much better if the male leads "circumstances" were different because it truly could have been a cute small town grumpy x sunshine romance. The book just seemed like the authors wanted the book to be different from other books but, to me, it just came out plain weird.

The Characters
Cady
Cady annoyed me SO MUCH in this book! She seemed to be one of those people who would bring herself down just to receive compliments from others She was so freaking naïve and ignorant. She's 22 not 10 for god's sake. If we were all in a war, she'd be the one to give a hug to the missel. The more I read, the more she got on my nerves.If I was her I would happily file a restraining order against the cave man. People like her are the reason why scammers are still in business.

Fox
This man is the literal meaning of pervert. If you search it up in the dictionary, you will find his name in bold I promise you. He seemed so manipulative to me for some reason. His living circumstances were the weirdest thing out of the entire book I promise you. It is not normal to live in the mountains, in a tent at that, and (especially) spy through someone's room, using binoculars.
The way I would have filed that restraining order in 5 seconds when I found out. I also can not get past the fact that he is one of those die hard survival in the wilderness type of people. There's nothing wrong with that but, throughout the entire book, this is what I was imagining him to be like Taylor Lautner sprinting in the woods meme. And whenever I see that meme, I cackle out loud • Every time he was describing her it was either her" curvy BUT round ass" Or her "jiggly boobs" and every single time, I wanted to run in the middle of the street to be saved by this eye sore.

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In conclusion, I don't recommend this book. Again, it could have been so much better without the entire caveman vibes and mostly illegal things but it does definitely give off the grumpy × sunshine and small town tropes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oliver Heber Books for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Cady Bloomquist has taken over Nevermore Books after the unexpected passing of her aunt, who owned the store previously. She’s having some problems proving that her aunt actually owns the building to the city’s official - lead by Caryn Townsend. Which is interesting, because Cady is kind of maybe dating Caryn’s son. But she can’t get Fox out of her head. He’s her best customer with a standing phone appointment on Thursdays. The only thing is, she’s never met him.

After a break in at the bookstore while Fox was on the phone, things shifted between them and became a lot more than just a weekly phone call. Can Cady get her life back together, and figure out who the mysterious Fox is?

This was a weird one. The book tried to be a lot of things, some were more successful than others. I liked Cady as the heroine, but I really disliked Fox. He was just kind of creepy, with a bit of a stalker fetish. I am over stubborn men in books. Seriously, let’s have one soft man. I will say that as weird as this was, I absolutely could not put it down. Probably because I just needed to figure out where the heck it was going.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, although there were a number of aspects that detracted from the overall experience.

To begin with, I found FOX's narration to be unconvincing. Although I appreciate the "obsessed man" theme, it was overdone in this book and at times felt unrealistic. For instance, there were moments when FOX's behavior seemed too contrived, and his internal monologue didn't really match the personality that was described in the rest of the book.

Moreover, I was disappointed by the lack of explanation for Fox's PTSD in the first half of the book, despite having access to his thoughts and feelings. While it's true that the author provided some hints as to what might have caused his trauma, I felt that these were too vague and didn't really do justice to the complexity of the issue. It would have been nice to see some more exploration of this topic in the earlier parts of the book.

However, I appreciated the book's premise and the way the plot unfolded. The spicy scenes were integrated seamlessly and added to the story's depth. In particular, I liked how the author avoided the cliches that often plague books of this genre, and managed to create a genuinely engaging narrative that kept me hooked until the very end.

In summary, while the book wasn't perfect, I found it to be a delightful read despite its flaws. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun, engaging read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Xpresso Books for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I love books with this theme of inheriting a bookstore, because that's my dream, in addition to all that small town aura, which I find charming. Also, this question of a secret caller is motivated, as we put ourselves in Cady's shoes and fall in love with her. I loved the construction of the female character, who, despite having common dramas and suffering from them, is a sweetheart, very attentive to everyone and super kind. What prevents me from giving this book five stars was the male character, Fox, as he has a stalker and very obsessive behavior, which can even trigger triggers in people who have experienced this in real life.

I have never read a book that could be described as 'suspenseful' and 'cozy' at the same time. The atmosphere of the small town of Townsend Harbor offered the perfect setting for our fun loving heroine to explore relationships - whether those be romantic or otherwise - in a deliciously comfoting way. Cady is a curvy bookstore owner with a disability, but the author never fell into the trap of making her 'inspriation porn' like so many authorfind themselves doing. Fox was gruff, hot, and had challenges of his own that he was working through. Even though at times I found him a little creepy in the way Edward Cullen was, he was sweet and endearing when he needed to me. As for the mystery and town gossip surrounding Cady's beloved bookstore that was passed down from her aunt, it was perfectly catty and captured what a small town really looks like and how they treat the unknown. Overall, this book had so many fun characters, which I am hoping to see more of as the series continues!