After reading about this author's very storied career and educational background, the book I thought I would read would have a certain panache and elegance. Sadly, that was not the case for me. The story revolves around 4 life long friends who share everything and can be themselves with each other, warts and all and count on each other in times of dire needs and send out SOS messages when there is a crisis and they need sisterhood support. But this proves to be not the case when secrets get exposed and words pierce the comfort of their friendship. Are they able to put the pieces back together after this climax?
With their love of books, the friends decide that they will all go into buying a book shop. They all have certain skills which complement each other and know they could make a success of it. But just the day after they make this pact, each one of them will go through something so life changing in their lives. Having a character have a huge personal upheaval is one thing, but all of them, over the same time? It was completely ludicrous. The majority of the book follows each character as they try to manage this situation as they lean on their friendship for help and support. One of the characters, Leslie, finds out a secret of her past and how she deals with it was really, really upsetting. The idea of adoption was made out to be such a negative thing and it was disturbing to me. Another character Celeste suffers from PTSD after a horrific attempted carjacking and is triggered by red signal lights. She refuses to see a therapist and this will effect her marriage to the point her loving husband leaves her and threatens divorce. Her selfish attitude towards therapy and what he went through that same night was very disappointing. Social media influencer Tori keeps her past from her fiancé and her friends till the past returns to her future and Yasmeen is turned upside down when she buys a lottery ticket and her life is changed forever. Instead of being happy for her, her parents who are living paycheck to paycheck, chastise her for spending money on a ticket instead of helping them with the electric bill. All of these storylines were unnecessary and needed so much more fleshing out and tidying up. The dialog was often silly and all over the place.
The end is predictable as they find their way back to each other and the bookshop which previously was thought a lost cause. This was just was not a book that resonated with me.

Cute book very entertaining and light. Was nice refresher book from the fantasy books I’ve been reading lately so great palate cleanser.

This book sounds like a book lovers dream, opening a bookstore with her best friends. Absolutely! The book has such great potential. But when tell you if one more person sniffled and I read the word again one more time!!!!!

The good about this book, the enduring friendship between Toni, Leslie, Celeste and Yasmeen. But the amount of times each one of them kept tap dancing on the same issues over and over. These are grown behind women. Yes, we all have our issues and baggage but some of what was presented in these narratives I felt was drama to keep me turning the pages.

The characters weren’t fully developed to a point that I felt I cared a lot about them. I suppose part of the challenge there is we follow 4 storylines. Celeste’s refusal to go to therapy for so long to the point of ending her marriage? Leslie I imagine was hurt to learn the news about her father, but with a sick daughter, it seems keeping your family close would be enough to get over yourself, Toni should have consulted a lawyer or her girls about the blackmail. Going “live” on social is a thing, I get it but goodness it started to feel overstated at some points. But it makes sense, Toni had to earn her living.

Yasmeen girl I wanted to shake you so many times, yes she’s young but with friends who know you this long and so well, why not listen.

Thanks #netgalley for the arc.

It is a great story of long-time friends facing different challenges in their adult lives. Great descriptions of characters and places. Wonderful read for books lovers.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harlequin Publishing for an early copy of The Bookshop Sisterhood by Michelle Lindo-Rice

The Bookshop Sisterhood is not a book about a bookshop nor is it a strong representation of sisterhood. Four women from various backgrounds each must deal with issues with the focus on a particular day. One woman discovers she cannot have children and cannot bring herself to tell her fiance, one woman has a daughter in the emergency room with a life-threatening condition, one woman watches her husband pack his things after asking for a divorce and the fourth woman wins the lottery. In addition to the overplayed coincidence of all the drama occurring at once, several other questionable points can be made:

The novel handles adoption in an abrupt and cold way with a man announcing to his daughter that he is not her biological father only because a stem-cell donor is needed. The issues of adoption are complex and are difficult to read about when considered only as a backdrop for some other crisis.

The four "friends" can be rude and unfeeling toward each other. It is hard to imagine how they became friends in the first place which could make for an interesting story on its own. Opening a bookshop together? It is hard to imagine how they could make it work

The author's use of language does not always convey the message For example, one character "sniffles' over the course of several pages. Sniffling is a great word to use when one has a cold. When her life is about to radically change, 'sniffling" just does not fit the scenario.

In a stereotypical scene in which one of the women is preparing a meal on her social media network, the food the author chooses is Southern grits which has been linked continuously with the African-American diet. Perhaps something less expected?

Perhaps readers looking for women in strong and supportive relationships with other women will investigate alternate titles.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for allowing me to read an advanced digital copy of Michelle Lindo-Rice's novel.

This is the first time that I read from this author. I am glad I picked this up because I enjoyed this book more that I thought I would.

So there are four friends who want to collaborate and open a book store, but then life gets in the way as they deal with issues in their own personal lives. This book was a reminder that bad things happen to good people and it could derail your entire life, but it is up to you to find purpose and meaning. I could relate to many things happening in this book, I think this is why I enjoyed it so much. I loved the relationship between the characters and their love for books.

I had so much fun reading this book. I laughed, cried, and there were times when I was upset at the characters actions. Even though I got upset at times, I loved how united and forgiving they were towards each other. This is a fast paced story that kept me engaged because of the constant drama and I would recommend this to any one who loves reading about friendship and books.

I love reading books about books. In this case, the bookshop was less featured that the plot made it seem. I didn't really love any of the characters and for that reason this one was hard for me to get into. They all were given chances to learn lessons and change, and it didn't really seem to happen. The ending came together a little too neatly and it didn't feel realistic after everything they had been through. I'm okay if not everyone gets their happy ending.

Thank you to netgalley, the publisher and author for this arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I wanted to like this book. It had a great premise and a great storyline for parts of it. But the characters never really developed. They never seem to grow and they never seem to learn any lessons. It didn’t seem to matter what happened to the bookstore despite that being the title of the book. I understand that the book was supposed to be about the sisterhood of the women, but they were incredibly catty to each another. For friends, they didn’t seem to like each other very much or offer much support. It seems like the book was somewhat rushed, and a little more editing. The timeline jump around were also a little bit confusing because you never really knew what time it was until you got a few sentences into the next part and suddenly months had passed. These women never learn from their mistakes and continued to make bad choices. The storylines were never really resolved, and I don’t like stories that don’t resolve storylines.

My favorite thing about books is that while I may really dislike a certain book, others will think it was a warm cup of tea and really enjoyed it. And others will read it and not really like it, or dislike it. I am in the middle of this in regards to this book. I love books about friends, books, bookshops, and this book promised all of the above, and it ... wasn't it for me. The characters are annoying, the bookshop is like a forgotten place, and it wasn't for me. I know others really enjoyed this book though, and I love that for them.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book.

Rating: 3.5/5

I really enjoyed the concept of this book- 4 friends + opening a Bookshop!

While each of the friends had something intriguing about their story there was so much draammaa that some parts of the plot took a back seat. I found I had to push myself to keep reading and felt the end came together really quickly. Overall it was a good read, it had unique elements embedded within the friendship and the womens individual stories.

Thank you NetGallery + publisher for a digital copy in exchange for my honest review

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for letting me read an advanced copy of Michelle Lindo-Rice’s novel.

This is the first book I have read by Michelle and I was drawn to the title as I like to read books about bookstores.

This book was more about the lives of best friends Celeste, Yasmeen, Toni and Leslie. It explains how their lives changed in the months leading up to opening the bookstore. I was a little disappointed that the book was not more about the bookstore and was more about the drama that went on between the best friends.

All and all I enjoyed the book. Sometimes the friends can be a bit too much and I had to stop reading but the book flowed and came to a good ending.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review. First, I’d like to apologize to the author because I am not the target audience for this book. I read the description and saw the cover completely unaware that I was reading my first ever christian fiction novel.

The writing??? The character development??? All the arguments, which should have been legitimate, hands throwing arguments, were simply solved in two to three sentences. There is so much build up and real problems in this book and they are simply solved in three sentences. All is forgiven in this book and they are saying some unforgivable shit. The power of sisterhood is not that strong. We have light smut but no curse words which was a weird choice. These women are the epitome of I’m just a 30 year old teenage girl.

Toni’s abortion was the hot point of her story. I understand her shame and insecurity around being infertile due to her abortion, and Kent does a great job at clearing them, but there is a MAJOR plot hole. Toni says early on that she’s a murderer which is why Kent won’t want to marry her, originally I thought it was an “abortion is murder” thing (🙄) but then later on when she’s telling Kent, the murder is the women having a heart attack. But she didn’t know about the heart attack until she met with Skins like 40% in so wtf murder is she talking about??? The whole time I’m thinking, “she’s a minor so idk why she’s so bent up about being a get away driver when the real murderer would have grooming, statutory rape, and murder under his belt?” And low and behold everyone agrees with her. Storyline done.

Yasmeen being poor and having no idea how to handle her money while having three rich best friends, one which is literally an accountant???? While dating her shitbag boyfriend Pookie (who is reformed and redeemed, we love pookie & abolition), and the third act friend turned scammer???? Cashmere, was in the story for like 30 whole pages, it would have had more impact if she was friends with her since she won the money. It was just sloppy story telling.

Leslie finding out she’s adopted and straight up disowning her dad who she praised up until then was just like why?? She was so childish about and it’s clearly not about her daughter. Then when she seemly gets what she wants from her adoptive parents she just runs out! Her husbands gabling addiction was just like a little side quest, because all of these men (minus King Kent) are awful. And like her daughter literally doesn’t care.

Celeste was just delulu about her marriage. I really could have gone without her entire storyline. I’m glad she got therapy and I’m mad she took that man back.

The 90% act friend breakup was crazy for it to all come together at the end. All of the build up in this book falls to nothing and it’s over 300 pages! We could have had such clear story line and resolutions. I had fun reading it but not for the right reasons. Again, thank you to NetGalley for the e-arc and I’m so sorry for my honest book report.

This isn't my usual kind of read, but the idea of four friends with a love of books and reading coming together to open their own bookshop sounded like something worth trying. Unfortunately, the bookshop takes a backseat (more like the trunk) to the drama. And boy is there drama!

Celeste's marriage is in trouble thanks to her stubbornness and denial; Toni's social media influence career and relationship with her fiance are in jeopardy when her past catches up to her; Leslie's child is seriously ill, her father is hiding something, and so is her husband; and Yasmeen finds that money has its own set of problems when she wins the lottery. It's a lot and drama begets drama as the book goes along.

It was a bit much for me and the protagonists can be obnoxious in their selfishness, but I have to give the author credit that I kept reading to see what happened. The end comes together a little too quickly and neatly, but after all that drama, I didn't mind too much.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the galley.

Four best friends with a love for one another and books. Never missing a book club and are always there for one another. Celeste, Yasmeen, Toni and Leslie best friends from college are not only friends, but sister friends, the best kind of friends you can have that are more like family. In a matter of months these ladies all go through life altering moments, all while planning to open a bookstore café together. A dream of mine someday as well. This book was a lighthearted easy read for me. The story was engaging, interesting, and threw some curve balls, but was tied up with a bow in the end.

I loved the writing style, and the back and forth of each characters stories.


As a first time reader of Michelle Lindo-Rice I was first interested in this book from the title, cover and description. I’m glad that I was pick to receive an ARC on this title from NetGalley, as I truly enjoyed this book.

The bookstore sisterhood was really a great book especially for a reader. I give it a five star and I’m sure it will become a bestseller. The book follows four friends who have been friends for twenty plus years and is told from all four POV’s which I love. Each story is their own but all fall in together, very well written. Celeste, Leslie, Yasmeen and Toni have a love for books and have held a book club throughout their friendship which got them through many hardships. The friends decide to open a bookstore together putting all of their money together and the story follows the hugs and lows of their individual life circumstances along the way. Coming from different backgrounds they have a tight bond and sisterhood which is tested at times but is unbreakable. I would recommend this book to all readers it covers romance as well as having many book recommendations throughout which I absolutely love.

I love the concept of this book, 4 book-loving friends who want to open a bookstore together. However, I found the characters to be unlikeable and I didn’t find myself rooting for any of them. They were very overdramatic and unkind to each other throughout the whole story. While I like a book with different viewpoints, there was just too much going on within each main character’s storyline. I did give it 3 stars instead of 2 because I kept reading to see how the story would end.

What a great book and I just want to read it over and over again! I definitely will be sharing this with my patrons when it is published.

The plot premise had potential but the focus of this story was on the negative dramatic life events of the four main characters vs the book store. I found these women to be self-centered, unlikeable with anger issues. They lashed out when expressing their feelings by being self-absorbed and hateful to one another throughout the entire book. The ending felt rushed and a bit too perfect to be realistic.
The overuse of the word sniffled(s) and the constant mentioning of other authors books was annoying. Leslie’s reaction toward her father after finding out she was adopted was horrible and in my opinion was hurtful for anyone involved in adoption in any capacity. Making jokes about someone’s inability to conceive is not someone friends do.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was initially drawn in by the title and the beautifulcover. However, as I delved into the pages, I found that the bookstore aspect was not as prominent as I had hoped. Instead, the plot was dominated by drama that overshadowed the original concept.

Despite this disappointment, I did find enjoyment in the story itself. Unfortunately, I struggled to connect with any of the characters, who all seemed to possess a level of selfishness and emotional immaturity that made them hard to empathize with. On a more positive note, the book club recommendations within the story led me to some intriguing new titles for my to-be-read list, and I was pleased to encounter references to some of my favorite authors and books.

While I had wished for a stronger focus on the bookstore, I did find solace in the theme of sisterhood that permeated the narrative. Ultimately, while this book may not have been exactly what I was expecting, it still managed to offer a compelling tale with moments of literary delight.

Thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing and Netgalley for providing the ARC and opportunity to provide an honest review.

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/23052867-ladiami

Beyond opening a bookstore, at its core, this book is about friendship. These four friends all love books and their book club is their happy place. They decide it is time to open a bookstore together and their goal is give praise and support to the authors that often get overlooked and don't receive the credit they deserve.

Each chapter relates to a different character Yasmeen, Celeste, Toni and Leslie and they rotate through the story. I often get lost when there are so many points of view but the way Lindo-Rice writes the chapters they are all intertwined making it easy to keep track of who is who.

The part I struggled with was that every single character was going through something huge in their own personal lives. I don't mind drama in books, it keeps you hooked, but man there was a lot of drama between them all. At the very beginning I felt that these 4 friends probably would not do well going into business together. It made me fear for their friendship with is more important that a bookstore. Their personal lives take over and often times we hurt the those closest to us, thats human nature.

It was a quick read and I enjoyed it but I feel like that amount of drama dropped my stars from a 4 to a 3.