I know there are people who are going to love this one, but it wasn't for me. The storyline was interesting and the writing was pretty good, but there was an element to this that felt really on the nose. Reading the premise gave me a pretty good idea of what was going to happen and nothing was done to subvert expectations or surprise the readers.

The central relationship wasn't fleshed out enough for me to really buy into it. It felt like the physical attraction had only begun to bloom into something more by the time the characters were professing big feelings. To me, it felt rushed.

I received this book as an Arc reader from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The synopsis of this book seemed so cute, 2 rival bookshop owners? I was absolutely sold. In reality, I found I couldn’t connect to the characters at all, I found Sebastian to be absolutely painful, like there was just very little character development and the development only came on in like the last 5% of the book, also if he called her “miss jones” one more time I was going to scream. Now I did enjoy the past storyline that came into the story which kept me interested but once I figured out who we were referring to in the past, my interest fell off again. I really wanted to enjoy this but unfortunately it just did not hit for me

I really enjoyed this novel focused around two people who own book stores across the street in a small village. One has been there since his great grandfather and he continues a legacy, but also a bad history of the men losing their women. And she is returning to her mom's hometown to the property once run by her great grandma. Lots of tension, books, and romance. I got sucked in and loved it.

4.7/5
The people was really close to "perfect; but I was missing that "it" factor for me. That BIG moments between the MCs.

She's incorrigible.
She's impossible.
I want to get up and walk away and never speak to her again.
I want to reach over the table, drag her into my lap, and kiss her senseless.

I enjoyed reading each other their POVs and seeing what they think about the other person. Sometimes when the book is single POV and it's from the female's. I, personally, don't always get enough of what the guy thinks of them.

Kate
The sunshine to the sometime dreary town. She's into the stuff that lets you escape from reality; romance, smut, sci-fi, thrillers, all of it. She wants a new start and find it in a bookstore. Kate is the happy one, but has been through some stuff and didn't let it hold her back. Very headstrong and determined, which you'll see with how she handles demanding situations.

Sebastian
The reserved, but "will talk when needed" man. He's into literature, the classics. He grew up in the town, it's all he's known, including the Bookstore. Sebastian has a hard shell, but slowly cracks when it comes to Kate. He knows what he wants, how he likes things and We get to see why he's the way he is, and what's important to him.

There's smut in the book, but it doesn't over power the romance between them, or the plot of the book. It's a good 4/5. Not too spicy.

This charming enemies-to-lovers romance pits grumpy literary bookshop owner Sebastian against sunny genre-loving Kate, whose bookshop opening shakes up Sebastian’s world—and not just his customer base. Their escalating rivalry, set against the backdrop of a small town and a literary festival, is packed with banter, tension, and just the right amount of chaos.

Kate’s character arc stood out; her strength and resilience were inspiring as she reclaimed her sense of self after a difficult past. Initially, I sided with Sebastian (he’s understandably annoyed about losing customers and control of his festival), but his over-the-top “alpha” moments wore on me by the end. Despite this, his softer side and eventual growth made up for it.

The clever parallels between their romance and the secrets of their past were a highlight, though the love story occasionally felt more physical than emotional. Still, the witty dialogue, layered characters, and Ashenden’s gorgeous prose kept me hooked.

Thank you Headline and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

As a sucker for small-town and rivals-to-lovers, I had to read this book. The setting was amazing. Both characters' bookshops sounded like a dream and were places I'd definitely visit if they were real.
I loved the banter between the characters and how much they hated the way they were attracted to each other. It was funny that they kept calling each other "Miss Jones" and "Mister Blackwood" while they couldn't keep their hands off each other 😂 (good spice!)
The letters were a nice touch/subplot. Even though I predicted the outcome, I liked how they connected the story on different levels.
The ending was cute but felt too rushed. I wish we'd gotten more insight into their relationship and the effort they put into it to make it work. Especially given Kate's past relationship, it would've been nice to see how she navigated her relationship with Sebastian and set boundaries.

Overall, this is a great book that I'd recommend to fans of small-town romance and bookish books 🩷

This book has all of my favorite tropes in a romance novel! It is beautifully written—the banter, perfect amount of spark, great chemistry. It’s enjoyable and fun.

'I can still hear his voice saying my name and it echoes inside me like a prayer.'

Book People by Jackie Ashenden is a dual POV enemies-to-lovers that focuses on Sebastian Blackwood and Kate Jones. When Kate breezes into Wychtree and opens a popular genre bookshop across the road from Sebastian's literary bookshop, its dislike at first sight. Despite Kate's attempts to make friends Sebastian doesn't like anything about Portable Magic, whether it's the books being sold, the window displays (with too many exclamation points!) or the fact that most of his customers seem to be leaving. But when Kate convinces him to let her be part of his literary festival, and they start to spend more time together, sparks start to fly. But with secrets in their pasts, can they break the curse and find happily ever after?

This was such a sweet read.

When I first found out about this book, the main thing that drew me in was the fact that there were feuding bookshop owners in a small town setting. I loved the way it was set up, the way that Kate and Sebastian interacted with each other was really fun. I love the sunshine/grumpy trope and with Kate and Sebastian it felt that had been turned up to 11. I found them both interesting and whilst at the start I wasn't overly keen on Kate, and preferred Sebastian at the end it was more the other way around.

The character development with Kate was so interesting, and the more you learn of her backstory and why she is the way she is, the more there is to love about her. At first I was a little bit like, I can understand Sebastian not liking her, she's taking all his customers from his already struggling business, and then pushing her way into the festival that he is trying his best to organise, and trying to take over all the events. But the more I read the more I found myself liking her, and understanding her. When she explains how her ex was making her feel the years they were together, it was so raw and honest, it really made me feel for her, and understand the way she she was, and when she was able to affirm to herself that she was stronger now it made me want to cheer for her.

Sebastian I really loved at the beginning. I have a bit of a soft spot for the grumpy characters, and I could fully understand where he was coming form, I would have been annoyed if any of that had been happening to me. I really liked the way he would refer to her as nothing but Miss Jones at the start, but after everything they shared the way he would still call her Miss Jones, it eventually got a little annoying. There were times where he was little bit 'alpha male she's my territory' and he can definitely be a bit of a drama king, which I personally am not a fan of, but the good qualities far outweighed the ones that I wasn't keen on.

I already really liked the plot when I picked up the book, but having a love story parallel one from their own pasts, made this book so much better than I thought it already was. I really enjoyed the mystery, and while there were parts you could easily guess, the reveal was still fun, and it was still made enjoyable. When I realised what was going on at the start of the chapters (it took me a fair few to realise what it was), it made me want to go back and re read all of them. I liked that in lieu of a chapter title, that was what gave you the hint of what the chapter was about, and it was so well entwined that it was seamless. Their romance seemed a little more lust than love at some points, but the chemistry between the two characters was just incredible.

The way that Jackie Ashenden writes is just breath-taking. There were so many points where I had to pause to just appreciate the way she writes. some of my favourites are 'We are the consequences of the choices our parents made and the choices their parents made and so on.' and 'A child whose love wasn't enough to save his mother or make his father give up the bottle.' and I could go on, but those two quotes in particular are my favourite.

All in all this was a very enjoyable read that I highly recommend, and a very easy 4 stars to give.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing the arc, all thoughts are my own.

An absolutely lovely romance for book lovers. Despite the characters narrating all their own flaws throughout the book, I found the rest of the story enjoyable and fun.

Book People by Jackie Ashenden is an enemies to lovers small town romance between 2 book store owners, Kate and Sebastian. Kate is new in town after inheriting a building after her mother dies and opens a new bookshop, while Sebastian’s bookshop across the street is in its 4th generation. Kate stocks more variety and modern books while Sebastian’s is more traditional and non fiction.

Sebastian is reviving a book convention in their small town, and when Kate finds out, she worms her way to be included and they work together to get the convention up and running and a success.

Sebastian has a lot of hang ups about his past and how the men in his family is not good enough on their relationships, which goes on for 95% of the book. It turns out their families are connected in the past when they find letter that were written by their ancestors.

Book People is an easy read and a palate cleanser, nothing groundbreaking but good if you need a break from content heavy books. The version I have is a very rough copy that had typos and was not formatted, which took away from the reading experience, but by time publishing date comes around, this will no longer be a problem.

I gave Book People 3⭐️ and 2🌶️

I absolutely loved this book! Kate and Sebastian had great chemistry. It was a great opposites attract romance with a great dose of spice and chemistry. Highly recooked.

I really loved the concept of this story and had to give it a try. I’m so glad that I did. I loved the setting, the conflict of competing book stores, the instant connection, the mystery behind their relatives. It was a fun read!

Kate ran away from her abusive relationship with Jasper and moved to Wychtree from London. Kate's mother, Rose, died of cancer 2 years ago and left her some property in Wychtree. Kate decided to use the property to open up her own bookshop on the main floor and live in the small loft upstairs. She opened up her bookshop across the street from Blackwood Books, what could go wrong?

I would rate this book 3 stars. The story line was good but got pretty repetitive at times. I enjoyed Kate's recognition of the abusive relationship, getting out, and her ability to be unapologetically herself in her new town. Sebastian's honesty was refreshing but I hated how emotionally stunted he was.

Thank you NetGalley and Headline Eternal for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book. A gorgeous 4 star read book from me. What an exciting plot, vivid storytelling and relatable, rich characters. I could put this book down – absolutely loved it.

This book is very "middle of the road." It is neither good nor bad. I did not dislike it, the story and characters were fine, but I kept finding myself looking for anything else to do, rather than continue reading it. In the book, there is a character who won't read any book that does not catch his attention within the first two pages. By this rule, this book would have been abandoned quickly.

Kate moves away to the village where her family used to live. She inherited a building where she opens a bookshop. A dream she always had. She went through a lot, her mother passed away and her relationship ended. So this is the perfect opportunity.

Across the street lives Sebastian. He also owns a bookshop. He “hates” Kate from the first moment he sees her. He’s planning a big book event. And Kate tries to connect with him. Then they discover some secrets about their great grandparents.

I loved Kate. She’s bubbly and fun. Sebastian is sexy and mysterious. But also very distant/secret. The story was well written. Some parts were fast, but other parts a bit slow. I thought I would love it more than I did, but it was still a enjoyable story. I rate it 3,5⭐️.

I read this book as an ARC through NetGalley.

Sebastian is a reserved man. Kate is bubbly and bright and…everything that Sebastian is not. She’s a beaming glimmer of sunshine, while Sebastian prefers to scowl and show no emotion.

The story is hinged on this story about their ancestors and I LOVED the ending. I don’t believe in writing spoilers in my reviews, but the ending is so so so so perfect.

The plot was so fresh and new and the way that Kate and Bas loved each other from the very first page was palpable for the readers, but to them, they hated each other. The side characters were great and world building sufficient!

The book did feel a little long in parts, but after finishing it, it felt necessary. The characters needed to work through things and they did it at their own pace. I didn’t find it to be annoying or anything because it didn’t last toooo long.

The ending was SO GOOD and this book was a great read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline Books for the advanced readers copy!

A book for book lovers who love to read romance books. Two rival book store owners have their shops across the street from each other and they can't stand each other. Classic story of enemy to lovers. A fun read!

Not for me. It's giving Beach Read rip off but poorly done. I can't put my finger on what was missing, the plot certainly was quite weak but I've read and enjoyed books with a flimsier plot. It just didn't grab me, and there were no stakes or characters I really cared about and therefore the romance wasn't much of a pay off.

Actual rating 3.5 stars.

So there are many things I loved about this book. I loved the plot, I loved the dynamic between our main characters, and I especially loved the mystery of the secret letters. While the mystery was a bit predictable, it really helped to lift this book from mediocre to a gripping read. I read this book in one sitting I just couldn't get enough.

Now for what made it a 3.5 rating. There was unnecessary conflict between our main characters that really took away from the story. I also felt the transition from enemies to lovers was very disjointed and affected the flow of the story. It felt like the author added in sex scenes just because and not for the benefit of the story. I personally think this book would have been better as a slow burn.

I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.