Thank you to netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advance copy.

I really wanted to love this. Books. Enemies to lovers. Romance.

Sadly, I didn't enjoy the style of writing and ending up DNFing it around 20% in.

I got this as an arc from NetGalley and it is literally un unreadable.
There’s a lot of formatting issues. There’s a lot of grammar issues. It is undecipherable at points.
I feel like they really could be something here, but it desperately needs an editor and somebody who does formatting

If you enjoy enemies to lovers, a bookstore setting with a blossoming friendship then you'll enjoy this story!

I loved the idea of it, but being someone who works in a bookstore I found the book spoke too much about the tasks/ work involved in running a bookstore which gave it a less romantic setting. I do realise that was a point made in the book that working in a bookstore isn't as romantic or whimsical as it seems, but personally I still wanted it to feel that way. But overall I still enjoyed the story.

I loved this! A lighthearted enemies-to-lovers story with a bookish theme, what isn't there to love? I did find that it started fairly slow but once I got past that I was hooked!

Lexi is struggling to keep her grand mothers bookshop viable. This get even worse when Sam takes over the old second hand book shop and decided to sell new books in direct competition with her. Lots of twists before the inevitable conclusion. A lovely holiday read

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a really fun enemies to lover rom com and is essentially a book about books which for book lovers like me is a win win situation. It does start off quite slow but does pick up to some extent. The main characters did annoy me at times as they seemed to be immature and made me cringe a little bit.

I did enjoy the book and would recommend for people who enjoy bookish books but I feel that for the authors next novel it needs to have some more depth and character development.

I did enjoy the story, but I did find Lexi and Sam annoying at times and they were really not very nice to each other at various times in the book.
The ending also felt a bit too neatly tied up, but it was still a nice read.

What a beautiful romance story with great storyline and great characters. Really liked the writing style and the cover is beautiful will definitely read more from this author.

Enemies to lovers YES PLEASE. I loved every second of this book I loved wonder when they would just love each other already. I was sucked in to see what the other would do to spite the other. The bookishness of the book at times felt like ALOT but it was still a great read.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars ⭐️

First person would have easily pushed this to a 4 star read for me, but that's just a personal preference. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, it was fast paced and time flew when reading. I love the enemies to lovers/Friends to lovers trope! I liked the rivalries through the book, kept me completely hooked wanting to know what was going to happen next.

Thank you NetGalley & the publisher for the advanced copy of this book!

This is a cute enemies to lovers book centered around two book shop owners. I loved the idea of bringing Jane Austen into 2024. This took me a bit to get into but I did enjoy it.

An ultimate will they, won’t they book. Lexie isn’t sure and holds back, then she’s in but says something daft, so Sam is out. All of this brouhaha goes on with the backdrop of trying to save Lexie’s bookstore as competition and economic forces conspire against her. Sam and Lexie are cute although there is something Machiavellian about their rivalry and the competition didn’t strike me as very healthy for long term love!

This was…. not great.
first of all the book was waaay too long it could have been 100 pages less, we get a lot of repetition throughout every chapter (we get it you live in DC and you’re from england and you’re running your late grandmothers bookshop) and the internal monologue went on and on for pages at a time and contributed nothing to the story

the main character was so unbelievably annoying and full of self importance that i had to leave the book numerous times and come back to it. the mmc was so bland and has no personality whatsoever to the point where i wasn’t even batting for them to end up together.

there was also some extremely cringe and strange moments like when lexi basically just trauma dumps on sam that he should be glad his dad (who forced him into the business he didn’t want to be in) is alive because hers is dead??? what?? there’s also a weird part where he literally says “hello” to her boobs so.. there’s that.

anways i really didn’t enjoy this book went into it hoping it would make me laugh but i don’t even think i cracked a smile

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books Uk sending me this arc

When I start reading "Bookishly Ever After" I had a high hopes for a wild, enemies-to-lovers adventure, but I ended up feeling pretty underwhelmed.

The story kicks off with Lexi Austen, the owner of a quaint little bookshop, facing a ton of drama. Her dating life's a hot mess, and to top it all off, she's got Sam Dickens, her rival bookshop owner, breathing down her neck, trying to steal all her customers.

At first, I was totally on board for the drama. I mean, who doesn't love a good enemies-to-lovers storyline, right? But as the plot unfolded, things started feeling a bit off. Lexi's plan to win over Sam felt seriously shady. I mean, the poor guy's just come out of a messy breakup, and here she is, playing mind games with him. It just felt kind of wrong.

But hey, I get that not everyone's gonna feel the same way I do. If you're into the whole enemies-to-lovers thing and don't mind a bit of drama, you might actually enjoy this book. Who knows, it might just be the perfect guilty pleasure read for you.

So this book had everything I wanted, book lovers, enemies to lovers and slow burn. What it lacked was a believable chemistry between the two main characters and for a romance book, I just can't in good faith recommend this book. I thought this was going to be like Emily Henry's Book Lovers, but that is definitely a stretch.

I do love the cover though! And I firmly believe there is a right audience for this book, sadly, it just wasn't my cup of tea. I didn't feel the sparks fly.

This is my first book by this author, and I always read at least 2 books before deciding whether or not I want to continue reading books by a particular author.

I will not be posting this review on goodreads as I don't like to bash authors.

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

Thank you, NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute and simple book. Always a fan of books about book people/book lovers and this fits right in. It felt like reading a mix of The Hating Game and Book Lovers which I was a fan of. Some of the chemistry felt rushed/forced but in all, it was very light and fun.

Read if you like:
Enemies to lovers
Slow burn
Book lovers

Lexi and Sam are rival booksellers living in DC. When Sam’s success begins outpacing Lexi’s, she hatches a plan to throw him off his game by making him fall in love with her. I love the enemies to lovers trope and I love books about books but unfortunately this one fell flat for me. The bookish references felt heavy handed and redundant. I didn’t particularly like Lexi but more importantly, the chemistry between her and Sam was underwhelming. This book is written in the third person POV which doesn’t bother me but I know is problematic for readers.

Thank you to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for the ARC provided in exchange for my honest review.

The idea of this book stuck out to me because it sounded like something I would really enjoy. However, the book as a whole and the dialogue at times seemed off and didn't really flow. I did find myself getting a bit overwhelmed at times with the inner monologue of the main characters. I did enjoy the chemistry between the main characters was there and I loved the pop culture references. Overall, I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it.

2.5*

It was an okay read. There were some themes I liked (Austen v Dickens, rivals to lovers, etc.) but overall the characters, particularly the FMC felt quite childish. While I could relate in some ways, there were others where I felt we were worlds apart. I also wasn't a huge fan of the third-person narrative. However, that's not to say everyone would feel the same, so I'd say give it a go.

An enjoyable story, with likeable characters and a fun premise! I'm not very keen on 3rd-person-present, if I'm honest, so the narrative style wasn't quite to my taste - I find it a bit intrusive and distancing at the same time. And I wanted a bit more depth in the characterisation of Sam, in particular - it's never clear why opening a bookshop was his 'dream', and it was weird that Lexi never actually asked. That said, as a bookseller, I loved the setting - Pemberley Books was absolutely somewhere I could see myself working! - and the struggles Lexi had as someone not wholly 'of' her birth country, and slightly adrift as her DC support network grow up and ostensibly leave her behind, make her a very sympathetic protagonist. A fun read which is likely to appeal to Austen fans and book lovers who enjoy the enemies-to-lovers trope!