I was really hoping to enjoy this but it was a struggle to get through. The pacing was so slow and I didn’t really like Jules.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I had high hopes for The Battle of the Bookshops by Poppy Alexander, but I was a little let down. The story follows Jules who heads home to help her Aunt Flo run the family bookstore and is reunited with someone from her past. It’s an enemy-to-lovers, slow burn, Romeo and Juliet retelling. I love enemies-to-lovers, but I feel that the Romeo and Juliet storyline is a little tired.

Her writing style is fun, and I loved the English setting and witty banter. I found a couple of her jokes to be in poor taste and had trouble getting past that.

She has a lovely way of writing characters, and I found both Roman and Jules to very likable. I liked both of their unique personalities, but I had a hard time seeing them together realistically.

Thank you Net galley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a charming tale of rival bookstores and a hidden literary treasure. The premise was delightful, and I appreciated the nods to classic literature. However, I found the character development lacking, and the pacing felt uneven, especially towards the end. Despite these issues, the bookshop setting and the literary mystery kept me engaged.

If you're a fan of bookish settings and light-hearted rivalries, this might be worth a read.
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)

It is an easy summer read with cute characters and a predictable storyline. It is charming and well written.. i can see myself reading it on long journeys or while on vacation

3.75 stars

I received a free copy of The Battle of the Bookshops by Poppy Alexander from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I wish I liked this book more. There were so many plots that started at the beginning of the book that were completely abandoned half way through. Jules and Roman felt very juvenile as a couple and their ending felt very rushed. I enjoyed Flo as a character although I wish her name was literally anything else because every time I had to read
"Aunt Flo" it took me out of the story entirely. At first I thought her name was literally a joke. Parts of this book were interesting, but unfortunately as a whole I didn't love it. RIP to my diva Merlin, the only character I truly vibed with. Gone too soon.

Loved the character arcs and plot. Such a perfect book for the summer. I'm totally a sucker for anything bookish.

Cute, but predictable - not that that’s necessarily a bad thing! I just find that I tend to lean sort of picky in terms of rom-coms these days. Thank you for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! I am working through my backlog, and will be momentarily posting reviews for the stories I have yet to get posted but have finished reading.

The Battle of the Bookshops by Poppy Alexander is a quick, read with a few story lines. Most of the book is fairly predictable, there are a few surprises. Reminded me of You've Got Mail with a slight Romeo and Juliet vibe. Wasn't a favorite read but not disappointed by the pick up. Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy.

This was cute! I love a good enemies to lovers theme and I loved Jules and Roman in this book, but I do feel like it was a little rushed. The characters could have had more interaction to build that romance, this is definitely one of those slow burn love stories. The one thing I really enjoyed is that even though this is more of a cutesy story, the story of Jules and Roman was really compared to Juliette and Romeo and the Shakespeare references throughout the book really made it feel deeper I guess? I did enjoy the whole across the street bookshop battle, the feel good plot, and the ending was icing on the cake. I love how these characters came together the second half of the book, I just wish the first half didn’t feel so rushed.
Thank you for the ARC! 🫶🏼 if I could give half stars, I’d say 3.5 overall.

Fun plot, quick read. The adjectives were… plentiful and the ending was rushed. Would be a great little beach or airplane read.

Thank you NetGalley for this book. Unfortunately, it was not for me. It was not my style and I was just not interested overall. I wish I did like it because it’s a fun premise. But I didn’t. Someone else might love this book though.

Ultimately, the biggest issue this book had was pacing. The beginning felt incredibly slow, and the FMC honestly was not likeable. I struuuuugled through this book (started and stopped it no less than 8 times). It wasn’t because I wasn’t interested in the premise, but I just couldn’t get into the way the story was paced or the writing style.

Set in the quaint seaside village of Portneath, the story follows Jules Capelthorne as she returns home to help her great-aunt Florence revive their struggling family bookshop—only to find a sleek, modern competitor has just opened across the street. That competitor? Roman Montbeau, her childhood rival and heir to a competing bookshop legacy.

As a reader, I loved the cozy setting and the sense of nostalgia that came with every scene in the bookshop. Aunt Flo completely stole my heart—she’s vibrant, witty, and adds so much heart to the story. While the enemies-to-lovers arc between Jules and Roman was sweet and satisfying, I did feel the romantic development could’ve used a bit more tension or buildup; their transition from rivals to romantic partners felt a little too quick at times.

Still, what stood out most was the community spirit and the heartfelt celebration of books and family legacies. It’s a feel-good story with plenty of warmth, and I think readers who love small-town charm and bookstore settings will really enjoy it.

very cute and fun read! definitely felt like it lacked a bit of depth but I enjoyed the overall premise and always love rivals to lovers!

I’ve tried multiple times to get through this book and I just can’t. I’m having a hard time connecting with the characters or storyline.

Thank you so much for this ARC! I really enjoyed the concept of the Romeo and Juliet vibes in this book, but unfortunately it was not for me. It was pretty hard for me to get into and I found myself liking the last 30%. That being said, I really wanted to enjoy the other 70%. This book definitely might be for others, but it just did not resonate with me.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of The Battle of the Bookshops!

Overall I gave this a solid 3 stars. I liked it, but didn’t love it.

I thought it was a cute and light read. It was well written and I really enjoyed the characters. It was a tad predictable with what you’d expect for a Romeo/Juliet and enemies/lovers vibe. It started off a little slow, but picked up after a while. I didn’t get a strong feel for the chemistry between Roman and Jules, but I loved Flo and the independent bookstore angle.

There was a lot of descriptive imagery for even the little aspects, but it did feel a little overdone at times.

1.5 stars. Love the cover art. The setting is great and Aunt Flo is such a comforting character. But this story is bad. The "romance" between Roman and Jules is laughable. I didn't care about any of these characters (except Flo). I'm not a fan of Shakespeare or Shakespeare retellings so I'm not the target audience. I wouldn't have requested access if I had known about the Shakespeare part. If that's your thing you might enjoy this book. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

Thank you Netgalley and Avon Books for the e-arc!

I really wanted to enjoy this book, especially with it being my first arc but it simply was not doing it for me.

Firstly, the first page alone that mentioned her boss possibly comparing the fmc’s want to leave early to a genocide was… a choice. I genuinely don’t know how this wasn’t something pointed out by sensitivity readers. I didn’t mind the modern Romeo & Juliet retelling but the author’s constant bringing up on Romeo & Juliet kept taking away from the fact that this was, well, a modern retelling. As for the writing, it felt kind of clunky and it was really difficult to easily digest it.

Like I said, I really wanted to like this so much more. I got 51% through but it didn’t grab my attention and I kept feeling like we were taking too long to get somewhere in the book.

This was hard for me to get into. Based off of the character names, I got Romeo and Juliet vibes. I do love an enemies to lovers trope. It was overall a cute read, but I do feel like it kind of lost sight of the plot/storyline. The title was a what intrigued me most about reading this book. This is the first I’ve read from this author. I would be open to reading another from this author.