Nevermore Bookstore tells the story of a sweet but struggling bookstore owner and her slightly odd relationship with a certain mysterious customer...and a mysterious drifter that happens to have quite a bit in common.

Reeling from the death of her aunt Cady is somewhat treading water, she's working hard to keep the family bookshop running but is struggling to come to terms with the loss of her beloved guardian and only family and deeper. When a break-in occurs at the shop swift changes occur in Cady's life that leaves her torn between her beloved Fox, a helpful drifter she names bob and the local copper.

All in all, this was a nice little read, it was enjoyable and I was interested to see how it would end but I don't think it'll be particularly memorable in the long run and it's not something I think I would ever reread. It's 365 pages but it somehow felt a lot longer, not necessarily slow but just felt long for a romance book. I liked the disability and PTSD rep and think it was executed fairly well however I think a little could've been done in terms of actively showing the process of coping with these realities.

It was interesting how ambivalent Cady seemed to be about books, she was obviously passionate about keeping the family store alive and had some classic lit references but "I don't know how anyone reads genre fiction" comment was super weird... like you run a book store in a small town I'm sure that's most of what she would've sold also she literally had a romance club? So we're left with this odd reality of Cady loving the shop, while also not being a regular reader herself but yet she still looks down on genre readers...

I did love the Ice Planet Barbarians and Twilight references made by the side characters though.

Thank you to Oliver Heber Books and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

i was so excited for this from the cover & burb, but i ended up DNF and it just fell flat for me personally

I'm a bit of a broken record about this, but I just really appreciate contemporary romance novels that include chronic illness/chronic pain representation. I have a rare autoimmune disease that causes me pain, fatigue, and lots of other issues, and for so long I didn't see my experiences reflected in fiction. I definitely saw myself in Cady, the female main character in this romance, who lives with ankylosing spondylitis and has to take lots of meds, deal with inconvenient and unpredictable pain, and live through frequent "bad body days." She's also dealing with the grief of missing her aunt, who partially raised her and left her in charge of their Poe-themed family business, Nevermore Bookstore, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. While she's been dealing with that grief and trying to figure out what the future of the store will be, she starts to get a regular weekly call-in order from Fox, a mysterious customer that Cady has a bit of a crush on based on voice alone. Fox, we learn, lives off the grid, plagued by such intense PTSD from his time in the military that he can barely stand to be indoors. During one of their calls, there's a break in at Cady's store and Fox makes the trek into own, posing as an itinerant worker and helping Cady with odd jobs without revealing his identity. I really liked the chronic illness rep, the small town setting (kind of Stars Hollow vibes now that I'm thinking about it), and the character development here. I haven't read anything else by Cynthia St. Aubin (and only historicals by Kerrigan Byrne), so I'll definitely check out more.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "You made sure there was an us, and now you want to pretend like it's fiction and that I'm the author." This was an absolute rollercoaster that was just so fun and unlike anything I've read before. This was my first read by the author, and I'll be sure to pick some more up in the future.

Every Thursday at 8pm, Cady gets a phone call. Cady owns a bookshop and each Thursday, the mysterious and allusive Fox, calls with his book requests and orders for the week. The two appear to have formed quite the bond, with Cady even revealing her love for monster romance novels. However, she does not know all too much about Fox, and Fox certainly would prefer it that way. For the time being. However, a break in and an accident involving Cady means Fox leaves hiding and all walls fall down between the two. Throw in a bit of mystery and a good cup of tea (and a sprinkle/ handful of spice, you're good to go.)

I loved the characters in this book. Cady just felt so sweet and wholesome (perhaps too trusting) but an amazing lead who stood up for herself and stood with little fear. She also had a chronic illness, which led to some great representation as you got to see how it affected her day to day life. At first, I was extremely confused about Fox. I just thought it was all so bizarre how he was introduced. Which I completely adored. He also suffered from PTSD and lives as a recluse. The phone calls between the two were very fun and hot to read about which is something that really kept me reading throughout.

There was some scenes where Fox was "watching" Cady that made me feel slightly uncomfortable, and at the start i was also confused about some of the characters and their relations to each other. I have been ridiculously busy at the moment so I shall put it down to that. There was a great aura of mystery throughout the book which I throughly enjoyed and meant that it was pretty easy to sink my teeth into.

I really do recommend this book if you're looking for a cosy, steamy, mystery. Thank you netgalley for the arc!

Nope. As soon as he got a boner by a fire and turned away to “avoid a wiener roast” I was done. I just can’t.

I just could not get into this book :(

I will say that the courtroom scene at the end was really riveting.

But the rest felt a little flat for me.

Thank you Net Galley for letting me read this ARC. It was a cut one and a good start to the Townsend Harbor series. looking forward to the next one.

I went into this book with high expectations, essentially believing this would be an amazing book and I'd love it, but sadly that was not the case.

The part of the book description that interested me the most was the part about the break in and Fox not being able to protect Cady and I was disappointed by the break in. It wasn't as dramatic as I'd hoped and I feel like there being more drama to it would have made the book better.

I liked Cady's character and I enjoyed her quirkiness. Fox's characters was okay but not great.
Some of the things he did while "protecting" Cady were a bit odd to me and maybe even a bit creepy.

I only gave this 2 stars because I kind of enjoyed some of the drama that happened at the end and the steamy scenes were well written.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

To begin with, I'm a long time fan of Kerrigan Bryne and I will read pretty much anything she writes (I mean, if she starts writing dry non-fiction, I may strongly reconsider) including her historical romances and the Fiona Mahoney Mysteries. So when I had the opportunity to read this book, I leapt at the chance (thanks, NetGalley, for the opportunity!)

This book is a departure from her other works - a contemporary - and I don't know that if I sat down to read "Nevermore Bookstore" immediately following, say, "The Earl on the Train", I would be able to say "Yep, this is the Kerrigan Byrne I know." Plus she's writing with a co-author, Cynthia St. Aubin, whom I'm less familiar with and will be checking out.

All that to say - I really liked it! I liked the fact that both of the lead characters had stuff to deal with (there are multiple trigger warnings, so your mileage may vary,) and it was REAL stuff, not some of the superficial, pseudo baggage that many romances toss out there as extremely mild bumps in the road to a HEA. The best friend, Gemma, and ancillary characters helped flesh out the depth of the characters, with the hilarious Bare-Naked Book Club being a real highlight.

What was extra fun was that I very much recognized the town that Townsend Harbor is based on! I've been there multiple times visiting family friends, and the descriptions put me right there in the town that inspired this one. From the name of the main drag to the fountain to the 4-story stairs to Uptown to the name of a favorite bar, I relived a lot of happy memories and got a bit more insight into the lives of the "townies" (even though I've got loved ones there.)

I would have really liked a bit more time after the denouement of the villain to see the fall out from that, and more of a settling-in of Cady and Fox, er Fawkes. There is an epilogue, but I could have used at least another chapter or two of the leads circling around each other before resolution.

This book had a little bit of everything and all of it was deliciously fun!

Cady’s life isn’t easy, especially since her aunt has passed away. The one bright spot is her Thursday evening calls with Fox. This premise alone was enough to intrigue me. By the time that call had ended, I was fully invested in Cady, Fox and not only their pasts, but their futures. I wanted to know all the things and the process of learning them kept me turning the pages.

I’ve only read a couple of “cozy mysteries” and I’m not sure if this is labeled as such, but it certainly felt that way but with so much more. It had the fun and quirky heroine, the mystery that kept me guessing (I never did guess right) and the wild cast of characters that added flair to the town and therefore the story. But it also had some serious steam between the hero and heroine without fading to black. We got the full deal and holy mother of all taxidermied animals, it was delicious!

I loved everything about this story and I can’t wait to get more in the series! This is going on my reread shelf.

Nevermore Bookstore is a story that follows Cady Bloomquist as she fights to keep her late Aunt Fern's bookstore. Every Thursday, she receives a call from a man who goes by the name of "Fox" - and she is enraptured by him. Desperate to not get too close, Fox keeps his distance and tells himself that he can never get too close to Cady. When their paths collide - sparks fly. This book is an amazing read. The plot, the spice, the dynamic between the townspeople is absolutely electric. Once I picked this book up, I could not put it down. Every character is so well written and flushed out that you can't help but get invested in their every thought and feeling. Have I mentioned the spice yet? Needless to say, it was good. Nevermore Bookstore is a book that keeps you captivated the whole time and the twists at the end? Keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I would like to thank NetGalley and both Kerrigan Byrne and Cynthia Sr. Aubin for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

📚song: Jackie and Wilson by Hozier
📚recommend to:
- people that want to dip their toes into a mystery and a romance
- people who are self proclaimed bookworms
- people who like a tragic back story
📚 summary: Cary is left to run and upkeep the Nervermore bookstore and historic building after the passing of her aunt. She loves the bookstore, but even more so she loves the mysterious customer that calls her to flirt and order every week. After her position at the bookstore is threatened by a break in during on of her calls, a newbie to town starts helping around the store. Caddy finds herself fighting to keep the bookstore and her budding romance.
📚thoughts: I’m really conflicted. I liked Gemma and Cady, but I really wasn’t feeling it with fox… he gave me the creeps and I was confused about his vibe for the whole first half before we got more of his back story. The spice level is good without being too much and losing the plot, but it was just missing something. Still, I whipped through this read in a day and I still wanted to know what happened in the end. I did enjoy the bookstore plot though so overall I’m just conflicted!

I don’t know what to think about this novel—or its genre to be honest. The cover tricks you into thinking it’s a romcom and the blurb adds a bit of mystery into the mix, but the content is also very graphic. It’s the first time I read these authors, so I have nothing to compare this to, I didn’t not like the characters but I didn’t connect with them, either. It’s funny (i.e. “Kevin Costner tried to re-circumcise me.” Now, that’s a line I never thought I’d ever read.) and well written. I think what I’m not entirely sold on is because Fox’s reasons for staying away didn’t convince me. But overall, it’s a quick and fun read.

The blurb and cover for this had me so excited to read, but unfortunately Nevermore Bookstore fell flat for me. I never really connected with the story, and skimmed most of it :(

DNF at 50%

This book didn't work for me. I think it's important to clearly set the right expectations for this one, because that's really what went wrong in my case. If you are looking for a light, fun rom-com, this is not it. This is a steamy romance tackling some heavy topics and featuring some questionable things.

We follow Cady, the owner of an independent bookstore in a small town, who is grieving and suffers from a chronic illness (ankylosing spondylitis). She is also a kind soul who is perhaps too trusting. We also follow Fox, a reclusive man suffering from severe PTSD and consequently avoids enclosed spaces and seems to live in the wild. Fox is a regular customer at the bookstore and from the outset of the book he and Cady speak weekly over the phone about books and life.

I went into this expecting more of a light-and-breezy reading experience, so much of my low rating is due to incorrect expectations. Regardless, there are a few things that further detracted from my enjoyment:
- the jump to dirty talk during their weekly phone calls was, in my opinion, too sudden and just started out of nowhere
- Fox constantly calling Cady "woman", both in his internal monologue and in dialogue
- Fox's approach to "protecting" Cady crossed a line for me and smacked of deception and violation (essentially voyeurism)

This might work better for people who enjoy more spice in their romance and who are looking for something with disability representation (AS, PTSD, ADHD) and who enjoy a heavy focus on these themes.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

2.75⭐️/5

What can I say about this book? It had so much potential, this book. The story's premise was perfect for a great book, but the writing and execution fell short in my opinion.

Cady inherits the Nevermore Bookstore, which belonged to her late aunt. One day, she gets a call from Fox, a mystery man, asking her to place a book order. Yet, what started as a casual call turned into ongoing conversations where the two got to know one another.

Even though she has only heard his seductive voice, Cady can't help but feel that he is the most attractive man alive and wants to get to know him. But, because Fox is a man with many secrets, including some traumas, he refuses.

Fox finds it impossible to avoid her after Cady's bookstore is robbed during one of her calls; he must see her and, more importantly, he wants to shield her from all threats. Despite his efforts to remain anonymous and keep his name a secret, his feelings for Cady are stronger, and eventually, things come out.

This book's representation of everything from mental illness to health issues was great. It was done successfully, in my opinion.

Undoubtedly there was chemistry between Cady and Fox. And the scene with ✨phone sex✨ was HOT 🥵. I also adored how absolutely devoted Fox was to Cady, going so far as to sacrifice their love to keep her safe.

The fact that the story began when they already had excellent chemistry and didn't give us access to how they got to know one another and began to form a relationship bothered me. I wished their story had been developed more. In particular, I found the book's ending to be "half questionable," as it didn't feel like a really heartwarming HEA to me.

I wasn't too interested in the plot overall, and I frequently found myself skimming certain parts. I should also mention that the book is written in the third POV.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars for the excellent writing style and inclusion of autoimmune illness rep and explicit (rather than implicit and skated around) CPTSD representation. I don't have any experience with these myself but reading it felt very well done and beautifully represented as well as their talks about mental health and interpersonal interaction while living with these conditions.

The FMC was a delight, she's a rare sunshine character that didn't piss me off. Some authors write sunshine as overly saccharine and immature but Cady was perfect, she was sunshine but she was realistic and in pain and sad and angry and expressed herself as needed.

The MMC was also a great grump, he was a bit of a stalker but I like dark romance books so I wasn't all that bothered by the gentle stalking in this Contemporary Romance/Mystery Romance.

I will say I thought this would be a PNR Romance just based on the title, cover, and first ~5 chapters of the book. I swear I looked up reviews and tags just to triple check whether it was a PNR or not because the MMC read as 'Other' but turns out he's just reclusive and suffering from a complex medical condition, not a werewolf. To that I ask why couldn't he just be both? I'm a little disappointed it wasn't PNR but even despite that little letdown this was still an amazing book that is definitely worth picking up.

I received a copy of Nevermore Bookstore (Townsend Harbor Book 1) by Kerrigan Byrne & Cynthia St. Aubin from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This novel was okay, but I was not captivated and felt no connection to the characters or the plot. The summary seemed interesting, but the novel’s pacing was uneven and the characters were kind of flat. Just not my cup of tea.

The blurb for this sounded really cute...

Cadence "Cady" Bloomquist knows two things for sure: First, shelving books at her shop, Nevermore Bookstore, totally counts as cardio. Second, staying late every Thursday night to take a certain mysterious customer's order is not the same as waiting by the phone for some man.

Until.

Until her calls with the man who identifies himself only as "Fox" become the highlight of her week. Which leaves her to wonder, if his jagged velvet voice can kindle her fire over the phone, what sort of alchemy might it inspire if they met in person?

There's nothing Roman Fawkes wants more than the brilliant, beautiful bookstore owner, but as a reclusive survivalist, he knows it can never happen. Secreted in his mountain hideaway high above sleepy little Townsend Harbor, his solitary existence shields him-and those around him-from the pain of his past.

Until.

Until one of their weekly calls is interrupted by a break-in, and Fawkes is powerless to protect the woman who has become his one link to the world. Orchestrating a trap for the fool who dared harm her, Fawkes finds himself not just ensnared, but beguiled by her. Now so close to Cady, he discovers she's fallen for "Fox", and yet he's unable to reveal her heart's desire is closer than she thinks.

Can Fawkes resist the temptation to get between Cady's covers, knowing they'll never have a happily ever after?

Sadly, it failed to deliver.

The descriptions were largely told not shown, and there was a lot of wordiness going on. That on its own would have been fine, but, and I cannot believe I am saying this, but there was too much spice, so much that it distracted from the actual plot.

Still, if major spice and less plot are your jam, then you might want to grab yourself a copy.

Thank you to @netgalley for a copy of this book in return for my honest review.

#romance #bookreview #bookstagram #contemporaryromance #netgalley #steamyromance

Even though the story was hard to follow at the beginning, the story quickly picked up with suspense driven page turning though each chapter. This story wasn’t as predictable as I initially assumed.