This was an enjoyable book, although I wasn't expecting the raunchy parts to be quite so detailed! It was a sweet light hearted romance book. I liked the added historical mystery element also.

Kate Jones left her big-city publishing job and emotionally constipated ex to open a genre-based bookstore across the street from the only other bookstore in town. Sebastian Blackwood only sells "serious" works of literature, yet when Kate Jones moves in, both his business, and his no-dating-anyone-in-town rule are threatened. When Kate finds out Sebastian is planning a literature festival for their small town without her, she decides to confront him and his passive-agressive, genre-hating window displays.

As much as I enjoy the grumpy/sunshine, he reads literary she reads genre set-up, I struggled to slog through Book People . When compared to other trending contemporary romance titles, I felt the leads fell flat, with protagonist Kate often coming across more like ML Sebastian's manic-pixie dream girl instead of a fully fleshed out character in her own right. Book People had all the makings of a cheesy Hallmark movie, but sadly lacked the charm.

We love books that are about characters who love books, in this fun romantic comedy we meet Kate and Sebastian who sweep their chemistry in every bookish reference they make even when they have a rivalry.

This grumpy/sunshine in the small town with a clear big love of books is perfect for anyone who loves to have an amazing time.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC.

I can’t do it. I wanted to. I wanted to love this book. I’m a huge sucker for enemies to lovers but there’s no enemies in here. Just a man who is gate keeping book shops and acting like a grown child. He’s so insufferable and just wants nothing more than to act superior. He hates her so much and yet can’t stop talking about doing things to her. Nah. DNF’d at 25%.

I enjoyed parts of this, but overall it didn't feel memorable. It took me longer to read because as I got further into the story, I just wasn't super invested or excited to pick it up.

I did not enjoy this book. From the beginning, it’s clear the MMC needs therapy - and not in a hot, broody, morally gray way. He’s trying to convince himself he’s not attracted to his neighbor slash rival, but does so through misogynistic ways. The FMC is coming out of a toxic relationship, and there’s a lot of parallels drawn, intended to make our MMC look better - but even that’s not enough to redeem him.

At no point does it get better - there’s little plot, there’s no logical build up between the characters (goes quite literally from all to nothing), and there’s a lot of needless miscommunication.

Also, there was one pretty big “plot twist”, but it was pretty obvious early on, which was frustrating from a reader perspective.

*4.5 stars*

I absolutely loved this one! I was entertained from the first page, I enjoyed the dynamic between the two main characters and it had an interesting plot point - besides the relationship between the two MCs- that really kept me reading! It’s not often that I find myself liking a romance novel from beginning to end and this one did! Maybe I’m entering my romance era 🤷🏻‍♀️

Thank you to @netgalley and @headlineeternal for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Enjoyable read! Loved the characters and is perfect for any book lover! Cute romance and a quick, easy read!

Book People by Jackie Ashenden was just the perfect rom-com!
This heartwarming, sexy, fun novel kept me laughing throughout. I look forward to reading more rom coms from this author.
This book, honestly had me giddy, I went into this completely blind, had no idea what was going to happen and I’m so glad I did because it was amazing!

Ce roman avait tous les ingrédients pour me plaire : une petite ville, deux libraires rivaux ...
Pourtant, je n'ai pas du tout réussi à accrocher, j'ai pris en grippe le perso masculin dès le début, et après une semaine à être bloquée à 27%, je préfère abandonner, malheureusement.

An interesting book for sure, this is quite a change in story telling for Ms.Ashenden. I have read many of her romances and they all were great stories so as I started this, I was not prepared for a quiet small town women’s fiction genre book. And for me, I had to make myself settle in and find the story, which I did and found myself really rooting for Sebastian and Kate. Theirs was a difficult romance as they both felt they were unworthy of each other, and Sebastian was as closed off as I have ever read a character to be, but their love finally won out. I definitely enjoyed this read.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I have enjoyed many reads from this author, so when this became available on Netgalley, I grabbed it!

The dynamic of Sunshine and Grump energy between these two is entertaining. The rivalry between the booksellers in the small town is an intriguing premise, but it’s soon revealed that there’s a more substantial problem underlying their initial disagreement. The story’s engaging and addictive nature comes from the interwoven, unsettling events that impact both Kate and Sebastian’s lineage and themselves, and the undeniable chemistry and attraction to each other.

I really enjoyed this author’s portrayal of a brooding, damaged alpha male. The mystery of C and H and Sebastian’s struggle with happiness were both fascinating to unravel.

The story’s many twists and turns were thoroughly entertaining, and I adored the happy ending. I recommend this book, and other works from this talented author. I received a free ARC and happily leave my review.

Book People
Jackie Ashenden

“As I said, it’s a literary festival.”
“Books are literature,” I snap.
“Not all books,” he says, patiently.

This was such a fun and light hearted rom com. Two competing bookstores and their owners in this quaint English town. Their whole hearted love and passion towards books demonstrates the transformative power books contain.

‘So I swallow down my hurt, keeping my smile as a shield between him and me. Good thoughts. Good thoughts.’

Features;
- [ ] Rivals
- [ ] Enemies to lovers
- [ ] Forced proximity
- [ ] Grumpy-sunshine
- [ ] Small town setting

“Okay, turn down the volume on the alpha werewolf vibes,”

Book People is released today, January 28th.

‘Perhaps I should have been born in an earlier time, at an earlier date, when duels were acceptable.”

“Come on. Let’s have a cup of tea and discuss how we’re going to get Sebastian Blackwood to pick up his sword and head the fuck into battle.”

i was so so excited for this book, the idea of two rival bookstore owners falling in love was such a beautiful story to me, but unfortunately it wasn’t for me.

i found myself liking kate’s character, nothing stood out to me necessarily but she was a bright, enjoyable character. sadly, i was put off by sebastian immediately in the first chapter. i didn’t like how he spoke to kate about the books she was selling but i know this was because he wanted to dislike her, so i let it slide. but then he just fell completely flat for me. he kept going on and on about his family being “cursed” and using that as a reason not to open himself up and i didn’t enjoy reading about this.

the romance between kate and sebastian went 0 to 100. he kissed her and then it was like they were in love but then they’d go back to being standoffish. it was a constant back and forth and on top of this, he wouldn’t call her by her name, instead calling her “miss jones” basically the entire book. it just felt like there was a barrier up between them the entire time even during cuter scenes.

the little side mystery we had going on was very predictable and i guessed it easily but i do have to say, the story between these two characters was much more intriguing than the main plot/romance between the main characters. i honestly wish i got a full story on this side mystery alone.

thank you to netgalley, headline, and the author for this arc.

This book has me conflicted because there were so many things about this book that I liked. The writing style was enjoyable and flowed effortlessly. Kate the FMC was lovely and strong, she grew as a character throughout the book and her book shop is a place I would go if it existed in real life. The small towns and all the secondary characters were also really fun. Finally, the plot was really good, two rival booksellers planning a festival together as well as finding out about their families pasts all while falling in love.

Where I struggled was with the MMC, Sebastian. I understand why he was so hesitant to have a relationship with Kate and why he was afraid based on the role models in his life. The problem is in how he treated Kate and hurt her repeatedly even if he didn’t want to. I felt like they were at odds more than they were happy together and you only got snapshots of how good they could be together. The final conflict had me gutted and the ending was good but I felt like I didn’t get to see them happy enough as a couple. I liked the book overall but I do wish the dynamic between the two main characters was a bit less disappointing.

An intense, stuffy, closed off emotionally bookseller has his life flipped upside down when a sunshiny, effervescent newbie bookseller opens a shop opposite his!

Kate fled from London after her mother died and her boyfriend showed his narcissistic colours. She loves the thought of opening a bookshop in the building that once housed her family's café. But Sebastian, the snobby bookseller already established in Wychwood, is not making life easy for her and she has had enough when she learns he's frozen her out of a book festival he's organising!

Kate is like walking sunshine compared to Sebastian's gloomy, brooding demeanour. He's living under a family "curse" and he's determined to avoid the fate of his forebears - but that means swearing off love.

OOh these two are like oil and water! Kate is determined to make a success of her business and uses all the modern social media platforms to get information to her readers. Bas however is stuck in an intellectual (and pricey) books only loop. Seb really was an acquired taste to begin with - his attitude really did need a major adjustment. His one saving grace is his friendship with gp buddy and that inconvenient, intense attraction to Kate. But are they the first star crossed lovers the town has seen?

I loved the mystery of the love letters and finding out what had happened to their authors. Kate was never meek and mild and stood up for herself but she was also prone to not fighting for what she wants!

I would have loved a longer epilogue, or a second one, showing Seb and Kate in the future - how they've melded their lives and businesses together, But otherwise it was a great bookish romance read.

Book People is a fun, if not entirely original, rom-com. The two main characters are strongly constructed off of tropes, and while I appreciate the backstories that give more nuance to their behavior, I wish the author would have done more to give their personalities some surprise aspects. But if you're looking to escape, especially into a world of fellow book lovers, you'll probably enjoy this.

I was very intrigued by the premise of this book. What reader wouldn't want to immerse themselves in a world where two bookstore owners fall in love? Sadly, this book fell short. I didn't feel the connection between Kate and Sebastian. After the conflict, I hoped for more, but it ended quickly, and there wasn't an epilogue. I was just left wanting more.

I liked the setting of the story. The small town and supporting characters were cute and enjoyable. I liked the dual POV of the main characters. The book started to get a little bit repetitive for me. Sebastian especially was frustrating at times and towards the end I almost didn't want him to get the girl. The tension was good and the whole history of the families was an interesting plot as well.