"Planning, hiring, and birthing: three things I'd never been adult enough to do." ~ The Secret Book Club

Maggie Banks is a relatably burnout and apathetic protagonist looking to gain her footing after college. Like most of us younger millennials, Maggie feels overwhelmed by adulthood and all that comes with it. When her friend Rochelle goes on maternity leave, Maggie is offered a position managing her bookstore. What follows is a journey of self-discovery, independence, and lots and lots of reading! This is an ideal book for booklovers (especially those who enjoy stories set in bookstores!)

My one critique of this book was the way it was described in the blurbs/summaries. The first sentence I was seeing in all the blurbs was "Maggie Banks loves books.," which was the sentence that immediately hooked me. I was so excited to read about a fellow bookworm, but Maggie isn't one. To be fair, she is experiencing burnout when the novel begins, but the quote that really caught me off guard was: "one of [Rochelle's] impassioned speeches about how I would love reading if I only gave it a chance." This miscommunication didn't deter me from reading - if anything, I kept reading to see what books would end up attracting Maggie's interest - but I do think the blurbs are misleading. I think calling Maggie a "reluctant bookworm" or a "bookworm-in-waiting" would be more apt.

Maggie moves to a small town to help her best friend run her bookshop while she goes on maternity leave. Maggie isn't really into books but is using the opportunity to gain some space and think about what she wants to do as a career after a series of not-great jobs. The town is pretty well all run in homage to an author who died in the 1960s; Ralph, the chair of the society that runs almost everything won't let them stock anything but classics that were in print when the author was alive, including any Black-authored books being slave narratives. Maggie thinks this is awful and starts an underground book club, gradually realising what she really loves doing in the process. She also comes up against Malcolm, Ralph's enforcer, who has to keep an eye on her work although of course they also fall for each other. I did like their challenge - Maggie is forced to read books and Malcolm has to go outside his comfort zone, and the book jokes are fun. I also liked the variety of characters, older men and women being part of the plot and strong characters themselves.

Review published 11 Feb 2024 https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2024/02/11/three-netgalley-reads-two-diverse-romances-and-a-how-to-guide/

I’m a total sucker for a book with “book” in the title. So this was such a win when I was accepted on NetGalley to read it. I loved the book but would have liked a bit more romance in it. Have spotted the authors other “book” books so will add them to my list.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins UK: One More Chapter for the ARC of this book in exchange for a review. The premise seemed like a really cute one but unfortunately it really fell flat for me. I kept thinking it would get more interesting and it just never made it there for me. Maggie moves to the small town of Bell River to help her best friend run the "Classics only" bookstore while she is on maternity leave. While running it, she decides to run a secret book club that turns classics into more entertaining books. For me, the characters were not really interesting at all and I was just generally bored. I appreciate the opportunity to review it, even though this one just was not for me.

this was a really fun bookish book absolutely perfect for any book lover! Maggie was such a loveable character and getting to watch her go through this journey of falling in love with books and reading really enjoyable! Would love to read more from this author! X
Thank you #ShaunaRobinson and #NetGalley for this lovely arc!

An e-book about books, book clubs and secrets. Maggie moves to a small town of Bell River to help her friend Rochelle run a bookstore. Maggie is left in charge when Rochelle who is pregnant needs to stay at home and rest.

Ralph Bell owns the bookstore and many other businesses in the town. Ralph insists that that the bookstore only sells books that he approves.

When book sales drop off, Maggie starts a secret book club secretly sells books that the customers want.

This was a fun book. I liked the way the characters interacted. There were some interesting twists in the story. This was about reading, secrets and friendships.

Thank you NetGalley and One More Chapter for a chance to read this book.

I read this as part of a One More Chapter readalong and enjoyed it.
Maggie Banks is asked by her best friend from uni to run her boo store whilst she takes maternity leave. However, this is no ordinary bookstore it’s part of the Bell River community and hosts a shrine to a famous author of the town. The store and many other businesses are part owned by the grandson of the author and he has rules about what can and cannot be sold, in the case of the bookstore this is anything that was published after the life of his grandfather. Maggie is a maverick and hates the rules and what ensues is a result of this. Loved Maggie she was a very likeable character and although not the type of book I normally read I really enjoyed it.

"Books about books" is a great genre, and this book gives it an interesting twist: the main character is the one who is not into books, and the love interest is a huge book nerd. The setting of the book is a fictional small town that feels real and liveable, with a cast of sympathetic side characters. The actual plot takes a bit of suspension of disbelief for light comedy's sake - the book shop sells only classics with super strict rules (what a terrible business idea), and Maggie's actions are completely irresponsible and downright ruinous.

But the romance ends up the saving factor - it's actually quite sweet and heartfelt.

I read Must Love Books and loved it and wanted to read this too and it did not disappoint.
Maggie Banks helps her best friend run her
book store, whilst she decides what to do with her life, especially being a grown up but not knowing where she’s heading!
Whilst there she finds her niche and fits in but gets involved in things she shouldn’t and secrets are revealed but at a cost!
Kept me hooked from the start, set in an idyllic community with a bit of romance too!

Maggie Banks agreed to run her best friend's struggling small-town bookstore in Bell River. She didn't expect to be at odds with the town's literary society which insisted on only selling classics. A series of mishaps threatened to ruin everything, but Maggie decided to get creative. What better way than to start an underground book club?🤷🏾‍♀️

It wasnt exactly easy though. Having a series of events celebrating books that the town's readers actually loved, selling forbidden books and dodging the literary society with its random check-ins was daunting. It didn't help that Malcolm, the guy she was also starting to fall for, was part of the very same society even though he wanted things done differently.

Still, I loved that she created a safe space for the town's avid readers and discovered a love of reading in the process. She wasn't also sure about what to do with her life so seeing her figure it out as well was beautiful.

The element of mystery in the story was intriguing with Maggie unearthing a secret that could upend everything but at the same time bring about the change the town needed. I didn't know what to expect with this but I enjoyed it! Also, I totally relate with Malcolm in that locs are easier to deal with tied up than down 😂💆🏾‍♀️

Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

Pippa loves her life she has a successful farm business with the love of her life, she absolutely adores her little country town and is expecting a marriage proposal any day. Poor Pippa is shell shocked at what happens next, she has no job, no home and no boyfriend and is forced to be a house sitter for the unofficial lord of the Manor the very handsome but unlikeable Wolfie Squires. This is a delightful easy well written romantic novel , so read and enjoy

A great story about books and a bookshop , my kind of heaven. This bookshop only sold dusty old tomes and not any of the other genres and was losing money in the process. A lovely story, full of funny moments and some sad. But a great ending. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Must.Love Books by this author was pretty middle-of-the-road for me, and it turns out this one is too. It's a fun romcom, and I loved that the romance was more central than in Must Love Books. The plot was on the silly side though, as was the main character, and I never felt like I got to know her super well. We start the book off with her saying the jobs she's had don't reflect her interests, and then for the entire book, we mainly follow her new job. I would have liked to see more of her life and personality outside of this. I did however have a good time with this, and I think it would work really well as a movie!

THE SECRET BOOK CLUB - SHAUNA ROBINSON

3.5⭐

I loved the premise of the book. I enjoyed the methods which Maggie employed to revive the book club..the ideas were cool and showed so much promise.
The end also was quite enjoyable.
I however would have enjoyed a bit more romance.

Maggie is drifting along in life so when she gets to help out her best friend run a bookstore she jumps at the chance. Maggie can’t help jumping in with both feet but those around her aren’t ready for the change she brings.

This was a quick entertaining read. It’s quite light so if you fancy a bit of escapism it’s fine but there is not a lot of substance.

What a great book. It was light-hearted and fun to read. I love reading books that are about books but add in a wonderful story with colourful characters and it will be a winner. Highly recommend

“I want us to have open minds and come away feeling excited about books we might never have appreciated. How does that sound?”

There are some author books that catch you completely by surprise. The ones you were not expecting to love but upon completion come to realise just how refreshing it was. Shauna Robinson (take note of this author’s name - I think we will be hearing a lot more from her) is reportedly a young introverted woman with a charming writing style mostly concerned with … books! I read and loved her, Must Love Books (HERE) and eagerly anticipated her latest offering, The Secret Book Club. It was great! The more I read, the more I fell in love with it - especially the lead character, Maggie.

“I’m not a big people person, I guess you could say.” ... “Why?” “I prefer to be left to my own devices.” “You mean books?” “Books are my primary devices, yes.”

All up this is a quick and fun read. It was just delightful to watch Maggie turn into a reader and pursue what she felt deep down to be her calling in life. If you love small-town dynamics with quirky characters, laughter and a sweet romance then this is the book for you. I loved all the friendships that were formed in the book, especially Maggie's friendship with Vernon - their interactions brought a smile to my face. I loved Maggie and Malcolm’s relationship - a romance that did not dominate the story and the challenges they set each other were terrific. There is just loads more to love about this book - the discussions about the romance genre; culturally relevant and silenced voices in literature; the secret book club meetings and, not feeling bad about no set plan for life. You don’t have to have it all together from the start.

‘No wistful nostalgia for century-old books. No assumption that one type of book mattered more than another. Only excitement about new stories waiting to be discovered.’

There is just so much to love about The Secret Book Club! If you love books about books, small town dynamics, the plight of small town communities (I especially loved Maggie’s book events where famed authors presented a twist of a classic tale) and a cast of relatable and lovable characters (yes! That’s you Vernon!) then I recommend to all lovers of romantic comedy Shauna’s latest offering. Can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

‘I’d just been supposed to work quietly at the bookstore for a few months, enjoy a reprieve from living with my parents, and use the time to figure out my next steps. Instead, I’d founded a secret community, incited a rebellion, and gotten people fired.’

A fun read. In need of a job, Maggie is helping run a book store for her friend, but it is not just any book store, and what they can sell is limited. Feeling this is wrong, Maggie starts her own secret book club, but what will happen when she is found out?

Love, love, love this book. I loved that it used POC and banned books and all the things. It was a unique storyline with wonderful characters. The humor and banter were excellent throughout.

Another charming book from Shauna Robinson and I loved every minute of it. I was lucky enough to read Must Love Books last year, Robinson's debut and it was an instant favourite, so it's no surprise that I adored The Secret Book Club! The story had me invested from the get go and I was rooting for Maggie! She was a bit chaotic but such a lovely soul, you can't help but want everything to work out! I find that Robinson's characters really speak to me, so there's that too. While there is a romance sub-plot, it doesn't take centre stage and I think it works so well. Don't get me wrong, I was living for what was going to happen for Maggie and Malcolm but the plot didn't revolve around them. If anything, this book is a celebration of friendships and community!

Thank you so much to OneMoreChapter & Shauna Robinson for this copy! I adored this book, this story and its characters! 💘

* Please look up trigger warnings before reading *