Looking for an easy to listen to audiobook which isn't complicated but it's still entertaining? This is a good choice. It was a good read, not amazing but good. I liked the idea but felt there was a bit of loss of focus.

There’s something magical about books about books, and this one captured my heart completely. I think I could easily read more pages, it was that good. I loved Jo and all the characters, of course the setting, it was perfect.

City of Books – 4 stars

When I saw the cover of #CityofBooks and description, I was like – yep, sign me in. Who doesn’t like stories about books or bookshops? And I have to say, this book didn’t disappoint me. This novel is cozy and heart-warming, makes you believe in something better, that’s how I felt about it all. The owner of the local book shop, Mr. Bruebaker, gets into the hospital with a stroke and his daughters order to shut down the shop immediately. Jo, who works many years in there, cant accept this decision and decides to fight against their order. She believes that this is what Mr. Bruebaker would want, after all this shop is his big ‘child’. Other workers agree with Jo and this is where the story starts. There won’t be big actions, crazy twists and turns, it is just a nice story about saving (or not) the book shop with years of history.
Thank you to Cindy Kay for bringing every character to life, I enjoyed how smooth you made this story flow.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is dull. The audiobook drags on for over 8 hrs without any significant events. The main character is immature and needy which makes it difficult to relate to them. I would definitely suggest skipping this, for a better

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media

Thank you to NetGalley, the Publisher, and Nicole Meier for providing me with an audiobook ARC of this in exchange for an honest review.

From the beginning, I was enticed by the description of the book and it did not disappoint! From start to end, I enjoyed the story, was rooting for the characters and enjoyed the writing style too.

The audio also added to the drama of the story and made it extra enjoyable.

I'd recommend giving this one a go!

City of Books! The title got me! I had to read it! Nicole Meier’s story of what happens when a book store with over a million books has to shut down is just as good as the title claims. When Brubakers Books’ employees are told the store is closing down while the owner recuperates from a stroke, they decide to stay in the store. It is, after all, an institution in their town. Loved by many, the people want it to stay open. So the employees stay there, in the bookstore, for weeks, trying to take care of online orders and hoping the store stays open. The manager, Jo, along with her staff, will discover that there is more to life than your job and books: it’s all about the people. Very well written. Thoroughly enjoyed!

I just finished City of Books by Nicole Meier audiobook - Narrator Cindy Kay and here are my musings.


Jo Waterstone is a bibliophile. She knows what you should read next and has Bruebaker’s books running like a well oiled machine. She loves the place like it’s home. When the owner suffers a massive stroke, his vulture kids want the book store closed permanently.

As she stands there wondering how she can close a place that her boss and mentor loved, she decides that one of her employees is right. They should take a stand and not leave the bookstore and protest the injustice of a town treasure being closed.

As her and a few staff barricade themselves into the store, their online orders soar. This bookstore is beloved by many and Jo hopes that once Mr Bruebaker comes to, that he will be glad she saved his store. After seeing the good, the bad and the ugly of what they are doing, Jo sees something she can’t unsee and takes a rest to help someone that undo all the things they are doing inside the store but it also makes Jo see that there are more important things than just the store.

This is based on an event that actually happened and it sent me down another rabbit hole…. I love books that do that. Cindy Kay might just be one of my new favorite narrators. She completely nailed this book.

Each character has a different reason for being there. Jo because she is doing this for the owner. It all brings the best side out of all the employees and Jo starts to see more about who they are than she ever really knew before. When she lets in a homeless woman and her child, it changes everything for her. She sees there is more to the world than her own life in the book stacks.

It was whimsically beautiful and a delightful story of humanity, the good and the bad. The pace was a tad slow. I felt like it could have moved forward a little quicker and added more when they finally left the bookstore. That would have been great but I really enjoyed the book.

It was such a cozy romance and well earned it’s 4 stars

Thank you to @netgalley and @dreamcapemedia for my gifted ALC

City of Books by Nicole Meier is a charming, cosy story that portrays the power of community and the importance of compassion and humanity. The concept of living in a bookstore seems magical and the author’s descriptive writing enables the reader to clearly sense this experience in Bruebaker’s Books.

Unfortunately, the audio narration by Cindy Kay didn’t help me connect with the characters. I felt there was a lack of expression which made the listening experience rather bland.

Thank you to the audio publisher, Dreamscape Media, for an audio copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This truly is a love letter to bookstores, books, and book lovers.

When the owner of Bruebaker’s Books falls ill, his daughters decide to close the store. However, longtime employee Jo Waterstone can’t imagine that is what Mr. Bruebaker wants, nor can she imagine life without the store.

Jo barricades herself in the store with a few other faithful employees. It becomes one big sleepover in a bookstore! Although it sounds like a dream to us book lovers, Jo, and her co-workers must decide where their priorities lie and who and what matters as life's complications arise.

This is filled with great book references and warm and caring characters (even a few villains — those non-book lovers). It is about community, working together, friendship, and, yes, books.


Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours and @nicolemeierwrites for a spot on tour and a gifted book.

Thank you @dreamscape_media for the gifted audiobook.

Brubaker’s Books isn’t just a store. It’s an institution and beloved by everyone with the exception of Mr. Brubaker’s daughters. When Mr. Brubaker suffers a stroke his daughters and the CEO tell Jo, the store manager to lock up as the store is now closed for good. And just like that, Jo and her staff decide to take a stand. They lock themselves in, continue to work and do all they can to keep the store open until (hopefully) Mr. Brubaker recovers or the daughters have a change of heart. It’s an eclectic group of people who stay for weeks and a social movement begins. Their hearts are in the right place, the group all get to intimately know each other as real people and even friends as opposed to as just the colleagues they were before and a movement is born. Save Brubaker's!!! The odds are against them, but while locked in, true friendships are formed and eventually, each and every one of the people that stayed had their own life changed in wonderful ways. When I started listening I wasn’t sure, but I went back a day later and started again. So glad I did. I truly enjoyed listening to this wonderfully written and beautifully narrated story.

City of Books was an engaging audiobook. It reminded me of Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine. I enjoyed getting to be behind the scenes at a bookstore.

A book shop manager and her troop of employees holing up to save their bookstore? Yes please! I think we all feel the same way about our bookstores- save them at all costs. I love the things the MC went through and how everything changed for her that day but not in the bad way that she expected. Sometimes it takes hard times to see and prioritize what’s really important in life.

🌀Synopsis
Jo has managed the bookstore for years. Her mentor, the owner, has been the kindest man and encouraged her in every way. His age finally caught up to him and he’s had a health emergency. In light of that, his daughters decide it’s time to close the shop. Jo is stunned. What was a regular day is now turned upside down.
Her employees don’t want to give up though. They decide to fight the closure and stay in the shop. They fill online orders and continue to keep the place going, all while battling the owner’s family. Convinced it’s what he would want, Jo fights with them.
It takes this battle for all of them to learn about themselves. Jo, whose life was so lonely, finds a man she has feelings for and some family in the form of two battered girls. She finds friends in the employees fighting with her. It turned her life upside down, but in a way she’d never even imagined.

"City of Books" by Nicole Meier centers around Jo Waterstone, a passionate bookseller at Bruebaker’s Books who has spent decades helping customers find their next favorite read. Jo's life is intertwined with the bookstore, a bustling haven for book lovers, where she manages the eager staff and enjoys every moment of her work. Her idyllic existence is shattered when the store’s elderly owner, Mr. Bruebaker, suffers a stroke. His daughters and the icy CEO see this as an opportunity to close the store for good, throwing Jo's world into turmoil. This heartfelt story delves into the strong sense of community and the deep connections formed within the walls of Bruebaker’s Books, portraying a touching narrative about the importance of preserving what we love and making a difference in our communities.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and the editorial team for giving me the opportunity to review the ARC in audiobook format and to you, my reader, for taking the time to read this honest personal book review.

If you are interested in other of my book reviews, make sure to follow me on GoodReads! #CityOfBooks #NetGalley #LifeLongLearning

This book was kind of like a cozy mystery but without the mystery if that makes any sense. The staff of Bruebaker's Books are horrified to find out that the founder has had about a bad health. To make matters worse his daughters and CEO of the company have decided to close the book store starting immediately. This throws the staff for a loop. And they quickly decide that they don't want to close the doors without trying to fight for the book Sanctuary that they love so much. This book is about a bookstore, but it's more about the people who fill the bookstore. It's touching and gives the reader a lot to think about in regards to making a difference in your community.

Where are my indie bookstore lovers at? If you find it impossible to walk by a funky locally-owned bookstore without taking a quick browse, then CITY OF BOOKS by Nicole Meier is just the book for you. This novel will warm your book-loving heart, and charm your cozy fuzzy socks off! It acts as a reminder that books always bring people together, plain and simple. It’s a sweet story that proudly boasts a strong sense of community, the importance of doing the right thing, and sticking up for what you believe in. It also includes a few of my favorite things like found family, friendship, and a hint of romance. Oh, and the characters will bring a smile to your face, no doubt about it! If you love books about books, don’t miss out on this one!

It was easy to get sucked into the idyllic bookstore vibes, but the plotline itself fell flat. There wasn't a lot of action until the very end and even that wasn't quite enough to hold my interest. I didn't feel much of a connection to or interest in the characters either. I feel like this could have made a great short story or novella.

Thank you to Netgalley, Nicole Meier and Dreamscape Media for this ALC.

"City of Books" by Nicole Meier is a fictional story about a huge bookstore. Brubaker's Books in Portland, Oregon. It strongly resembles the real place called Powell's City of Books in Portland, Oregon. I'm not sure if this is based on something that happened there or not, but it could have.

In this story, the bookstore's owner, Arnold Brubaker, has a stroke, and his daughters order the store to be closed immediately. The manager, Jo Waterstone, and several dedicated staff members decide they aren't going to leave. They don't think the owner would want his bookstore to be closed, and they want to wait and see if he will get better.

They become like a family as they eat and sleep together and work together to get online orders packaged and keep the place clean. The silent protest isn't easy to maintain. I came to care for the characters. Excellent narration on the audiobook by Cindy Kay.

Characters - 5/5
Writing - 5/5
Plot - 4/5
Pacing - 3/5
Unputdownability - 4/5
Enjoyment - 4/5
Narration - 5/5
Cover - 4/5
Overall - 34/8 = 4 2/8 -> 4 stars

Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, and Nicole Meier for providing me with this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley, for my early audiobook!

Jo Waterstone loves helping people pick their next book while working at Bruebaker’s Books. She has built strong relationships with customers and manages the staff effectively.

One day, the store's owner, Mr. Bruebaker, suffers a stroke, and his family decides to sell Bruebaker’s. Jo is devastated and needs to inform the staff and customers about the imminent sale. Her plan is to lock herself and the other workers in the store until she can communicate with Mr. Bruebaker, but his family won’t allow it. As time progresses, Jo gains both supporters and critics and must decide on her next steps. Readers who love books and indie bookstores will devour this story!

Thank you, SparkPress, for this gifted copy.

What if all you have ever known in your life revolved around a bookstore? Jo Waterstone was living the dream until the day Mr. Bruebaker suffered a stroke, and his family decided to sell the bookstore. Bruebaker’s Books is an institution in the community, and Jo has been working there for over two decades. She can't just agree to have the store closed down, so she barricades herself with other staff members, continuing to fulfill online orders and making their home within the city of books.

I loved the sense of community and the dynamics surrounding the friendships formed while saving the bookstore. As a book lover and a young girl, I have always imagined what it would be like to live in a bookstore.

The story, character development, and overall premise were heartwarming and sweet. Meier has written an ode to bookstores and booksellers everywhere.

This story was a fun look at the interworkings of an indie bookstore. Especially one that is such a neighborhood staple. It was a little slow at times but overall an enjoyable read

Absolutely ADORED this story. I listened to it all in one sitting. I just couldn't put it down.
This is truly a book for the book lover, who understand the pain of loosing a favourite book store and the motivation to hunker down in it in an attempt to save it. Id probably do the same or try to help the movement in some way.
Such a lovely story, great cast that felt alive and flawed in the best ways. I like the bittersweet ending. The prose was great. Overall, 10/10. Easily