Oh how I loved this book 💗

Josie and Ryan manage two indie bookshops that are about to be combined into one store, and the owner decides that a competition is the best way to choose who will manage the new shop.

Literary references galore pepper the pages, from author and book names to tropes, book events, and bookish swag. It felt like a love letter to indie bookshops, to readers, to book collectors and book clubs, and I absolutely ate it up.

Josie and Ryan begin as adversaries, though they also have an anonymous online relationship where they are close friends. The combination of their interactions made for fun reading as their online selves bonded over difficulties and their IRL selves sparred over sales and customers.

Read if you enjoy:
💗 Enemies to lovers
💗 Bookish references or books about books
💗 Online epistolary on the page
💗 Only one bed moment
💗 Opposites attract

Thank you to Berkley for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

Battle of the Bookstores was such a joy to read- full of heart, heat, and the kind of bookish charm that made my inner literary nerd positively glow. From the moment I saw references to Anne of Green Gables, The Secret Garden, and modern rom-com queens like Lucy Score and Ali Hazelwood, I knew I was in for something special. Every nod to beloved books and authors felt like a warm hug for readers, and it made my book-loving heart so, so happy.

The story follows Josie and Ryan, rival bookstore managers with totally opposite vibes- her store is all literary fiction and structure, his is chaotic, cozy romance heaven. When their shared (and shady) boss decides to merge the two stores and only keep one manager, sparks fly in every possible way. What they don’t realize? They’ve already formed a deep connection- as anonymous friends on a bookish online forum. You’ve Got Mail vibes, but with an updated twist that works oh so well.

Josie is relatable in her need for control and her struggle to open up, and Ryan is an absolute cinnamon roll of a romance-reading hero. Their banter is A+ (so many laugh-out-loud moments), and the slow build from enemies to lovers had me grinning like an idiot. The spice was perfect- a little steamy and a lot swoony.

The representation (dyslexia, disability, Jewish identity) is naturally woven in and adds meaningful depth to a story that could’ve easily just stayed light and fluffy but instead manages to hit emotional notes without ever losing its charm. Highly recommend for fellow book nerds looking for a warm, witty, and wildly lovable romance. I already want to re-read it with a highlighter in hand.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it did not disappoint one bit. I am a Maryland girl but a part of my heart will forever live in Boston and I absolutely adored this story about rival bookstore managers competing for a job, who perhaps have more in common than they imagined. My full review will be out on pub day (and it might take me that long to process it all because my heart was racing so fast with this one) but I can say that this is 💯 one to add to your TBR and pre-order at your local favorite indie bookstore.

Battle of the Bookstores
Ali Brady
Pub: 6/3/25
4.5☆

Rivalry and romance spark when two bookstore managers who are opposites in every way find themselves competing for the same promotion.

If you love sweet & spicy romcoms and books about books, you are going to LOVE this one.

Ali Brady absolutely delivered with Battle of the Bookstores. It was funny, emotional, and full of so many bookish references my face just could not stop smiling. It felt like a love letter written to me as a reader and as a book lover. Absolutely would recommend.

What I loved;
📚 ALL The Bookish References
📚 Enemies To Lovers
📚 Dual POV
📚 LOL Banter
📚 Dislexia Rep
📚 Heartwarming Romance w/heat
📚 Only One Bed
📚 You’ve Got Mail Vibes

Thank you to Berkley Romance for the gifted copy.

I enjoyed this book. It was fun, light hearted, funny. The banter between the FMC & MMC was everything I wanted. Is it a cozy but predictable story? Absolutely! Do I look for or expect anything different? Nope.

I liked the dynamic and had a fun time reading this book. Thank you for the eARC!

Battle of the Bookstores was a fantastic read! As an Indie bookseller I related to the characters very easily. I enjoyed the MMC being the Romance reader/bookseller, which is not represented often. This book showed growth on both the FMC & MMC in relationships and family life. The characters also had a healthy amount of banter and wit. Thank you to Net Galley for the E-ARC.


Review also posted on Fable.

Well, well, well, a predictable romance, we meet again 🤝🏻

I might be the problem at this point. I love a good romance but is it too much to ask that there’s a little drama/intrigue/plot twist??

The characters are super likeable and you’re rooting for them start to finish, and there’s how the book won my stars. But it pushed the indie bookstore thing a liiiiittle too hard and the plot line was paper (no pun intended) thin.

If you need a total lovey romance that will just take your mind off of your own life for a hot sec, then this is the book for you.

Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady

Josie Klein and Ryan Lawson manage two distinct book stores that are separated by a coffee shop. All three businesses are owned by the same man and now the owner wants to combine all three and only one bookstore manager will be able to keep their job. Josie can barely tolerate Ryan, doesn't even know his name while Ryan has been secretly eyeing Josie and wondering what makes her tick. Josie has a very hard shell, one so hard that it might go all the way to her heart. Ryan is much more easy going and their shops reflect their styles. Ryan's romance shop is a mess, organized by some "in his head' non organizational nonsense, while Josie's shop is well run, extremely well organized, and neat and clean.

There are lots of references to books, movies, social media and more and there are some very risqué conversations, actions, and items in Ryan's shop. The ladies flock to it, young and old, and he has a lively active feel to his shop...the book club meetings are roaring fun if you aren't a prude like me. Josie's side of the store is quiet, people come in and find the classic they want and leave, while people hang around and browse in Ryan's store, adding in more books and shocking accessories with each visit.

The two are pitted against each other by their boss and each wants/needs to keep their store. At least they both have an anonymous best friend that they can pour their hearts to online. And that's where things get even more interesting, as they don't realize the person they are really talking to and falling for. This story is funny and I never really felt too worried for Josie and Ryan because they do mostly act like adults. They each may feel like they are failures in the things that others think are important in life, but to me, they are living the life they love...until the boss tries to destroy the stores they have created. Open door and spicy, just the way Ryan's best romance novels do things.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC.

Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady was absolutely adorable! This book had everything I love—enemies to lovers, top-tier banter, and a competition that kept me glued to the pages. I giggled my way through Josie and Ryan’s rivalry as they fought to prove their bookstore was the better one, all while the fate of their jobs hung in the balance.

Josie, the fiercely determined manager of Tabula Inscripta (a literary bookstore), and Ryan, the charming yet infuriating manager of Happy Endings (a romance-only bookstore), were the perfect match—both on and off the page. Their anonymous BookFriends chats gave me serious You’ve Got Mail vibes, making their dynamic even more fun. Watching them unknowingly confide in each other about their work nemesis (aka each other!) was such a clever twist that had me grinning every time their messages popped up.

The side characters were just as fantastic—each with their own unique quirks and distinct voices, making the world feel so vibrant and full of personality. And let’s talk about the bookish atmosphere! As someone who is close with a bookstore owner and part of multiple book clubs, I loved every second of the setting. The literary references, the cozy bookshop vibes, and the pure love of books infused into the story made it an absolute delight.

Josie and Ryan’s personal backstories were so well done, giving depth to their motivations and making their journey feel authentic. This book was impossible to put down—I was hooked from the very first page and enjoyed every minute of their snarky, swoony, and heartfelt battle.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC! If you love books about books, laugh-out-loud banter, and a swoon-worthy enemies-to-lovers romance, Battle of the Bookstores is a must-read!

This was my first book by Ali Brady and I really enjoyed it. I'm a huge fan of romance novels that are basically love letters to romance novels, and that's what we have here. Tropes on tropes on tropes and totally self-aware about it. We've got an enemies to lovers thing going on with a grumpy/sunshine pair - Josie (grumpy) and Ryan (sunshine) own bookstores on the same block in Boston, and the corporate bro who owns both of their buildings wants to make some changes, so he pits them against each other: whichever store earns the most during a pre-set period of competition will be the manager of the new combined store. Josie's store specializes in literary fiction and her hyper-organized, buttoned up approach conflicts with Ryan's chaotic but fun approach to his own store, which sells romance novels only. Their real life enemy status is in conflict with their anonymous, friendly and even flirtatious relationship online through a social media site for book lovers. So many classic romance tropes here, and yet it didn't feel crowded or forced to me - a really enjoyable read.

I read both of Josie and Ryan's first chapters and I've determined this isn't the book for me. I think they're both annoying and I don't like this amount of real-world name-dropping. Takes me right out. Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity.

Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the ebook!
#BerkleyPartner

This was really cute! I thought him being the romance bookstore manager and her being the literary fiction store manager was a different twist! It was kind of grumpy sunshine, with him being the sunshine. She really was a softie but felt like she had to prove herself which led to her ice queen exterior.
Ryan and Josie have a cute friendship/blooming relationship online where they are anonymous to each other. They’re essentially talking about each other and getting to know each other without realizing they already know each other in real life. So they’re like enemies to lovers in real life and friends to lovers online.
Overall it was a cute and enjoyable read!

Another win by the amazing duo!! I loved this so much! The banter, the love of books, the enemies to lovers? Loved it!

Two bookstores are right next to each other in Boston. One specializes in romance, the other in literary fiction. When the owner decides to combine them, a battle begins between the two managers. Ryan loves romance, he a tall cinnamon roll. Josie is a jaded prickly woman. I liked Ryan right away, took me a hot minute to like Josie. I enjoyed seeing these two enemies turn friends turn lovers. The story felt very real. I also liked the supporting characters, they added an extra flair. I think this book will do very well for all book lovers. I also appreciated that there was no 3rd act break up.

all the fun parts of You've Got Mail (the in-person bickering, the online bonding, the TENSION once one party knows the truth) without the part where Tom Hanks ruthlessly destroys Meg Ryan's livelihood and beloved neighborhood institution and ends up with her anyway.

I liked that the typical script was flipped in terms of who was the one with the romance bookstore and who was the one with the *literary* one and I thought the banter and sexual tension between the leads was well done. the pacing was pretty solid up until the third act when it felt like things really rushed their way to the ending/epilogue. overall a fun time and definitely written by and for people who live for books.

Full of Easter eggs for all the book goblins and a bookish grand gesture & epilogue that made this particular book lover tear up, Battle of the Bookstores is a love letter to readers and indie bookshops that I absolutely adored!

A modern take on the classic romcom You’ve Got Mail, the story sets up Josie, literary fiction “snob" against Ryan, inclusive romance aficionado. I loved that the MMC was the romance book lover, and that despite how Josie comes off initially, her love of literary fiction isn’t snobbish at all. We start off with The Hating Game levels of antagonism between the leads, interspersed with winks to the romance community along the way. It’s one of those books where you can practically feel how much fun the authors had writing it radiating off the pages!

Richly layered characters, a hilarious supporting cast (Nora’s crochet projects are amazing), and a found family vibe really underpin the romance. I had such a good time following both Josie and Ryan as they move past their own personal difficulties and learn to let their guard down around each other. I also really enjoyed the exploration of why romance is so beloved and important to so many of us, the lessons that romance teaches us, and why we need these books in spite of the negative stereotypes that often get lobbed at both us and our books.

Also forever a fan of a tall man in a cardigan and glasses who knows precisely how to use a bookcase to his advantage.

Ali Brady created a perfect rendition of “You’ve got Mail” rom-com. This was a fun easy to read novel with well written characters. I was a fun twist to make the MMC the owner of a romance bookstore with the most charming characters as his employees. The wit and humor in the story made me laugh aloud several time. Josie, the FMC, was a bit uptight, but not in the typical annoying stereotype r
is likeable. Well done.

This reminds me of You've got Mail movie. I did enjoy reading it. It was a good read. I like the front cover and the characters were likable.

I always love to dive into a book about books and bookish people, and this absolutely did not disappoint! While some of the literary references might end up dating the book, I enjoyed reading about characters who loved books just as much as I do. I loved reading about the starkly different bookstores and how they each appealed to different types of readers. The thing I really loved was this book is really an ode to readers—you could feel the love jumping off the page.

The romance was swoony and heartfelt, full of snarky banter and rippling tension as Josie and Ryan went from competitors to unknowing friends to lovers. I enjoyed every second I spent reading this book, and I think others will, too!

And truly, I wish I had a store like Happy Endings nearby.

I seriously can't believe how much I loved this book. It checked all the boxes for me: a delightful escape, swoon-worthy moments, and characters I couldn't stop rooting for. It's that perfect mix of fun and depth that makes it so easy to lose yourself in the story. If you love romance that's not only sweet but also a bit cheeky and real, this book nails it.

The vibe of the story gave me You've Got Mail nostalgia, in the best way. The connection between the characters felt both natural and electric, and I was all in from page one. The author weaves humor and serious moments effortlessly, and that balance makes the more passionate scenes hit even harder. It's not just about the romance, but the journey the characters go on—emotionally, personally, and together.

The chemistry? Wow. It's sexy and fun but doesn't skip the emotional layers. The "open door" moments are written with the right amount of steam, and the tension between them? Chef's kiss.

I can genuinely say this book is one of my favorites of the year, and if you're into romance that delivers both the heart and the heat, this one is a must-read. A beautiful blend of humor, sincerity, and undeniable attraction—what more could you want?