Book People is a very cute romance set in an equally adorable British village. The village's long-time bookstore owner is perturbed when a woman opens a bookstore right across the road from him, and seems to be making a better go of it in just a few months than he has in, well, ever. Nevertheless, he has a difficult time denying his feelings for her. I liked that the story revolves around a literary festival as the booksellers compete for customers and also discover a relationship between their ancestors. A light, smart read. With many thanks to author Jackie Ashenden, the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-book of Book People.

Book People by Jackie Ashenden started off with so much promise, and I absolutely loved the first half. The character development was spot-on, especially when it came to Sebastian. Watching him slowly reveal his true self, layer by layer, was such a satisfying experience. The growing tension between him and Kate added a spark to the story, making their dynamic feel electric and real. I really appreciated the slow burn, which kept me hooked and invested in how their relationship would unfold.

However, as the book progressed into the second half, I felt like it lost some of its momentum. The pacing felt off, and the relationship between Sebastian and Kate took a sudden, rushed turn. The love they were developing felt more like a switch being flipped than a gradual, earned connection. Unfortunately, this shift made the tension that had been so strong earlier in the book evaporate. The writing, which had been so compelling before, seemed to lose its edge, and the story lost some of the depth that had made the first half so engaging. Despite my enjoyment of the beginning, the second half left me a bit disappointed.

I absolutely loved this book.
We got a modern day grumpy sunshine love story as well as a love mystery.
Sebastian was such an interesting character. He is quiet and loves to be alone so I loved being able to see him develop the further we got into the book.
I loved the bookshop/ small village setting. It was really cute and fun.

This is one of my new favourites!

📚 Bookstagram Review: Book People by Jackie Ashenden 📚
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to Netgalley and Headline Books for providing me with this ARC!

If you love books about books and a cute rivals-to-lovers romance, Book People might be your next cozy read! Kate, a bright and bubbly bookseller, opens a shop celebrating fun genre fiction, only to butt heads with Sebastian, the broody highbrow bookseller across the street. Sparks fly as they clash over the town’s literary festival, and their chemistry is undeniable!

The plot and characters? Super cute—I adored their dynamic and the bookish vibes. But the writing style? It didn’t vibe with me as much as I’d hoped. The frequent fourth-wall breaking and heavy inner monologues pulled me out of the story, and I found some phrasing repetitive, which dulled the charm a little. That said, I’m quite picky about writing styles, so what didn’t work for me might click perfectly for you!

If you’re looking for a light, feel-good romance with lots of bookish charm, this is still worth checking out.

📚✨ OMG, I just finished reading "Book People" by Jackie Ashenden and I am absolutely giddy with excitement! ✨📚

From the very first page, I was hooked. Ashenden's writing is so vivid and immersive that I felt like I was right there with the characters, experiencing every twist and turn alongside them. The story is a beautiful blend of romance, drama, and a touch of mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

The characters are so well-developed and relatable. I found myself rooting for them, laughing with them, and even shedding a tear or two. The protagonist's journey is incredibly inspiring, and I loved how Ashenden wove in themes of self-discovery and the power of community. It's one of those books that makes you reflect on your own life and the people in it.

And can we talk about the setting? The quaint little bookshop at the heart of the story is described so charmingly that I could almost smell the old books and feel the cozy atmosphere. It made me want to curl up with a cup of tea and never leave.

If you're looking for a book that will make you feel all the feels and leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling, "Book People" is an absolute must-read. I can't recommend it enough! 🌟📖💕

I was originally lured into this book by the You've Got Mail comparisons. While I wouldn't necessarily agree that it is reminiscent of that movie, there are competing book stores and competing book store owners. These owners are at odds until they team up together to plan a literary festival and find letters from their grandparents to each other indicating their love for one another. What follows is a romance between the two book store owners and trying to solve a mystery together. I enjoyed this book and would recommend.

With some heavy You've Got Mail vibes, Book People takes the enemies to lovers trope to England and adds a strong dash of mystery. Our two book sellers have competing shops across the street from one another. As competitors with very different styles, they should hate one another but the attraction is strong! Then they are nearly forced to work together on a book festival and sparks fly. Add to this a. mysterious love story from the past and we have a fascinating story that makes our romance trope more interesting.

If you love books about book people or sexy romances, this is a great read for you. While open door, it doesn't get too steamy. I enjoyed the sections on being a bookseller, marketing and creating a festival, and the overall story. There were some parts that were a bit repetitive, but I read the galley version so it might change during the editing process. Overall it was a fun read.

Kate Johnson opened up her bookstore, Portable Magic, directly across from Sebastian Blackwood’s bookshop, Blackwood Books. The bookshops have totally different vibes and clientele, so Kate thinks it won’t be an issue at all. Sebastian feels differently. It’s hate at first sight for him, but he reluctantly works with Kate to put on a book festival that will benefit both of their shops, and a romance builds from there.

This has a cute premise about rival bookshop owners and their enemies to lovers romance, but the writing, especially in the first third of the book, is so corny. Kate and Sebastian hate each other but spend half of their respective chapters internally pining over each other while outwardly feuding. It’s really more Sebastian than Kate, but I have a hard time getting into romances where one character is a total dick to the other. I also despise third act break ups, but I did like the subplot with Kate and Sebastian’s great grandparents and how the book ended. 2.5 rounded up because this type of romance is not for me, but others will probably enjoy it. Thanks to NetGalley, Headline Eternal, and Jackie Ashenden for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Kate opens her bookstore right across the street from Sebastian and this is impacting his sales. Although they sell totally different types of books, they are in a competition with each other. Every time Kate changes her window display, Sebastian changes his too. Kate wants to work together with him, but he won't even take the time to meet with her. Eventually, she forces him to acknowledge her and also wiggles her way into his big event. Sebastian finally saves his event when his author drops out and she has the right connections to replace him with a more famous author. Finally, decides he can trust Kate and develop a friendship. He has doubts about a relationship because men in his family have not been successful with their wives. Will the secret notes they find from long ago bring them together? Perhaps they will or maybe they will not. I highly recommend this book. It was fun to read and I couldn't put it down.

Kate needs to start over, and thankfully she inherited a building in a cute little town, the perfect place to make her dream of owning a bookshop come true. Except the long standing book shop across the street is run by handsome, brooding Sebastian, who thwarts all her attempts to connect. That is until someone lets slip that he's planning to restart a book festival and Kate takes the opportunity to squeeze her ideas into the festival as well. Will their close proximity lead to more sparks between the two? Will the town be big enough for two bookstores? Will Sebastian be able to admit to his feelings?
Although I appreciated the concept of this book, it definitely felt like some tropes were pushed too hard and it threw in some spice for spice sake ("because we just can't control ourselves!" 😒) I didn't feel the connection between Kate and Sebastian. He was a little TOO broody and disconnected from his feelings. I needed more depth and connection between the two to really believe the story.
I do think there is a place for this type of book, but it just wasn't what I wanted. It is set to be published 28 Jan 25, so if it sounds like something you'd be interested in, add it to your TBR!
Thank you to @netgalley for providing me a free advanced copy in exchange for my review!
#NetGalley #BookPeople

A Hallmark kind of story with a bit of spice!

This book had a lot of tropes - rival bookstore owners, grumpy/sunshine, friends to lovers, slow burn romance. But the story is fun - newcomer Kate opens a cozy, fun bookstore across the street from serious Sebastian's generationally owned bookstore. They both have difficult family history. Kate is trying to learn more about her mother's family and Sebastian is trying to keep away from his father's family story. There is a literary event that Sebastian is planning in hopes of bringing attention to his bookstore. Kate finds out and is hurt she wasn't invited to participate. In the end, they work together and have a fantastic event. And then there is letters they're trying to find out who C and H are and how their story ended so it's like two stories in one. The characters are created so cleverly and the storylines keep you interested. It was a fun book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

DNF @ 21%.

This was so boring. There’s barely any conflict and it’s contrived and half solved by some deus ex machina a fifth of the way in. The characters have no personality outside of the rudimentary grumpy/sunshine trope and the FMC couldn’t POSSIBLY understand why someone wouldn’t like her. Maybe because she’s vapid and annoying? There’s just no way this book gets better at this point.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline Books for the ARC.

Very hard for me to get into a book that takes so long to get into the main plot. If you're okay with waiting until nearly 30% of the way through the book for the plot to get started, this one may be for you. If you like men who ignore the FMC and treat them like dirt because they like them, you also may like this one. And of course, if you like chapters that are at least 10 pages long that drag on and on, you'll definitely love this one. The only thing that kept me going was the mysterious correspondences from "C" and "H" at the top of each chapter.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc! it was a fun read & I enjoyed Kate and Sebastian's banter plus the fact that Sebastian was down bad everytime lol... if u like a sunshine fmc and grumpy mmc then this one's for you!

Book People by Jackie Ashenden

Kate opens a bookshop specialising in genre fiction opposite Sebastian's traditional bookshop, which has been in his family for years and has a more highbrow clientele. To her surprise he takes an immediate dislike to her, despite them catering for very different customers. Will a book festival in the town give Kate and Sebastian the opportunity to work together or push them further apart?

The bookshop setting attracted me to this ARC, although I'm not usually a romance reader, and it didn't disappoint. Enemies to lovers and the usual tropes but done in a very appealing way and avoiding cliched characters. I wasn't sure about being in Sebastian's viewpoint sometimes but it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the story. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Book People by Jackie is the perfect book lovers/ enemies to lovers rom-com. Our main male lead is grumpy and other female main character Kate is the perfect amount of sunshine that our grumpy Sebastian needs to finally open up and let someone in.

You can tell this author really loves her books and rom-coms by the writing and details and it was truly just such a comforting read!

The premise of this book was so cute, and I was so excited to get a copy from Netgalley and the publisher. This book started off so strong. It gave me The Hating Game vibes, but with rival bookshop owners. However, the romance hit too quickly for me and never fully developed. They went from hating each other to immediately sleeping together and then falling in love extremely fast, and I just had a hard time investing in their relationship. They had the same fight over and over and Sebastian was so stubborn. I’m glad they were able to work it out in the end for their happy ending, and I loved the storytelling through the letters, but I would have loved a little more development to fully live this.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for a review!

I had very high hopes for this book, but ultimately I was let down. The premise was promising. Who doesn't love a good grumpy vs sunshine that revolves around books? I thought I would be blown away but after I finished, I couldn't remember the names of the main characters.

I liked the idea of love letters from the past, but for it to be more compelling than the main characters, that's a flaw indeed.

So much potential, but ultimately it didn't hit.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Headline | Headline Eternal for the arc, all opinions are my own.

I requested Jackie Ashenden's Book People from NetGalley because of it's super cute cover and because I am an absolute sucker for books that take place in bookshops or with book people as the characters. In fact, I think this is my tenth book this year that was about people in the book or book selling industry!

There are parts of this story that I loved- the community, the bookshops (both of them), and at times the characters. They had wonderfully, witty banter and sometimes their relationship was cute. Kate, as the books states, is sunshine in human form; friendly, outgoing and a joy to be around. Sebastian was the exact opposite; reserved, introverted, downright grumpy and off-putting. I was most put off by his unending emotional constipation as he would swing wildly from loving and supporting to unable to communicate any sort of feelings to freakishly obsessive and angry. I kept waiting for him to say, "you won't like me when I'm angry" & grow into a giant green Hulk.

There is a mysterious box of love letters for the two of them to unravel together (the answer was stunningly obvious in my opinion, but still one of the sweeter parts of the novel), a festival to plan and of course, a decision about whether or not they will figure out themselves enough to have any sort of relationship.

This was a fun quick read, but if you're turned off by obsessive love, maybe skip it.

Thanks to Headline publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. Book People will be published on January 28, 2025.

4.5 stars

After having only read fantasy books for the past couple of days, reading Book People was like a breath of fresh hair. A light hearted yet at the same time, emotional romcom, this is the story of two rival booksellers - Kate, who loves everything romance, fantasy and basically genre fiction and Sebastian who is one of those literary fiction aficionados. At the start they do not get along - both of them are stubborn, but also Sebastian is a tad bit rude. I did not like him at first, but he did grow on me (and also, he is kind of exactly my type lmao).

It is through their rivalry, you get to see the intense chemistry and what they could eventually share. Forced to organize a literary festival and work together to see its success, Kate and Sebastian have to put aside their differences. I think one of the reasons that I enjoyed this book because I could see parts of myself reflected in the pages. I am a bit like Kate, but also like Sebastian. I know what I want and I can fight for it, but I get scared too. And that is what endeared me to both of them.

Their relationship progresses quite nicely, and I loved their first kiss - it was definitely hot. I also loved how their relationship is kind of a mirror to what happened in their families. No spoilers, but there are some beautifully sad letters involved. But Kate and Sebastian together learn one lesson - you cannot escape the feeling of love. This would have easily gotten five stars from me, but I felt the ending was a little too abrupt and we could have at least a chapter or an epilogue to show how things are with them and their bookshops.

But, Book People was a delightfully charming read and I cannot wait to read more of what Jackie Ashenden writes!