Josie and Ryan each manage a bookstore on the same street in Boston. Josie specializes in literary fiction whereas Ryan’s store focuses solely on romance. When the owner of both stores decides that he is combining them and he only needs one manager, he proposes a competition between the two managers to see who can do the best on profits over the summer. Josie and Ryan have completely different styles and they clash repeatedly, despite a growing attraction between them. They each find comfort in chatting online with a supportive friend they found in a bookseller forum. Little do they know that they are actually chatting with each other! They might just find their own version of enemies-to-lovers.

This was a joyful and fun read to end the year. I loved the way the authors incorporated so many of the topics of debate in the book community into their novel. Josie tends to look down on romance books as not really being serious books that are worth reading, whereas Ryan feels that literary fiction is bleak, depressing and joyless. However, they eventually come to understand each other and find something of value in the other person’s choices and approach. Their connection through the online chat allowed them to be vulnerable and open with each other without the pressure and high stakes of personal interaction. There was also a liberal dose of spice without it being too much for me. If you are looking for a feelgood read and a mildly spicy romance then you can’t go wrong with this one.

Loved this book!! I thought that this was such an interesting take on the regular grumpy x sunshine trope, which the author really brought to life through the characters, Josie and Ryan. I have to say, the lead up really was worth it!! I couldn’t get enough of the ending. What a true HEA :)

Battle of the Bookstores
By: Ali Brady
Pub date: June 3, 2025
Publisher: Berkley

5📕📕📕📕📕
When two bookstore managers learn their stores are being merged together with a coffee shop things heat up. Josie sells serious books and Ryan’s sells romance books. The owner decides to make it a competition based on sales alone leaving only one manager position.
They are complete opposites.

Little do they know they are sharing their lives with each other in an online book forum.

I could NOT put this book down and it was so much fun. When you talk to someone one online with no plans to meet you can be transparent. Will they end up meeting? The chemistry is there and will they discover more than they ever knew and not get lost in pre conceived emotions?

Thank you @alibrady and Berkley for the chance to read this fun novel. This team of authors/friends always gives us books we cannot put down.
#battleofthebookstores, #alibrady, #berkley, #booklovers, #bookreview, #stamperlady50

This is every romcom and book lover's dream story. The book is a modern (and spicy!) adaptation of Nora Ephron's You've Got Mail, so any fan of those 90s romcoms will adore this nod to the films. The story follows two bookstore managers competing for a promotion, but they're unaware they chat on a book-lovers platform. This trope is opposites attract, enemies-to-lovers, and it was a fun read. Thanks to netgalley for the arc!

I really tried, but this is too on the nose. Not only are authors’ names dropped like pennies in a wishing fountain, but the characters are so flat and prone to misunderstandings.
Maybe if I wasn’t a bookseller myself I’d find this less cringey, but this is a “no” from me.

Love the homage to You’ve got Mail, one of my favorite movies. The tension and chemistry between the characters was great up until they actually decided to become lovers. Spicy scenes were okay, not great and I just didn’t buy into them as a couple as much as I did enemies and even friends. Still a very cute story and would rec it to anyone.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Battle of the Bookstores played on any book lover’s fantasy of running their own bookstore (or is it just me?) with similarities to the You Got Mail, but with a modern take with a book forum vs. email.

Josie and Ryan manage bookstores separated by a coffee shop, with all owned by a not so great guy. You’d think those models couldn’t work but Josie’s book shop focuses on higher brow literature and Ryan’s on romance. The bookstores reflect their managers personalities in many ways as well. The owner decides to consolidate bookstores with the coffee shop, setting up a contest for the most profitable manager to take over the single business. Some little curve balls to keep the plot moving are that Josie and Ryan are both part of a book forum where they are unknowingly besties, both have some darker elements to their pasts that make their bookstores personal salvations, and both detest each other up to this point (remember they don’t know they’re book forum besties).

I enjoyed the shenanigans both get into, though there were times the story dragged a bit. Something that started to distract me as well, Ryan seemed unrealistic. I really began to suspect Ryan may have been a Rowena in a early draft because of how he was written. Perhaps it’s his upbringing given he has the polar opposite brother, or maybe it was a heavy handed attempt meant to show the difference with his brother more starkly, but while this didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story I found myself distracted more and more trying to figure it out. Maybe just me?

If you enjoy enemies to lovers and want to further the fantasy of running a bookstore, Battle of the Bookstores is a good book to get into.

Where are my romance lovers? 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘭 fans? Readers who live for books about books, epistolary storytelling or witty banter? If you fit in any of those categories or just
enjoy clever writing, 𝗕𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗦 is for you.

I had the pleasure of beta reading the Ali Brady's romcom earlier this year and loved it, so when I got the ARC, I couldn't wait to read the final version. It is easily one of my favorite books of the year.

The enemies-to-lovers story revolves around two booksellers: Ryan from romance-only Happy Endings, and Josie from Tabula Inscripta, which focuses on "serious" literature. When the owner of both stores decides to combine them, the two face off to see who can turn a bigger profit and keep their job. Meanwhile, neither Ryan nor Josie is aware that they're competing against the person they've been talking to anonymously - and starting to fall for - in an online book forum.

There are so many things to love about this book!
👫 The characters are wonderful - Ryan and Josie are layered and complex, and the secondary characters add so much color to the story.

👍🏻 There's dyslexia, disability and Jewish representation.

🦞 The charming Boston setting.

📖 The way the authors (Alison Hammer and Bradeigh Godfrey writing together) have so much fun with literary tropes and book references. My book-loving heart could barely take it.

Don't miss this one when it comes out June 3! Yes, it's a romance but it's also a celebration of the power of words and the community reading and booksellers create.

Thanks to Berkley for the copy to review.

She is the manager of the local bookstore devoted to literary fiction, he is two shops down running the romance bookstore. Pitted against each other by the landlord - their rivalry turns predicibly into romance - all the while unknowingly chatting online (to each other). A You've Got Mail-inspired bookshop spicy romance.

This book is cute, and I don't even mind the allusion to You've Got Mail, in fact, it scratches a bit of a romcom itch for me. I like Josie and Ryan and their chemistry is great; it is also fun that we get him being the romance expert and she is the stuffy literary fiction snob. It was a bit tired that he found out before her that they are friends online, but how it resolves is perfect, and I totally support that! This little love note to bookstores and bibliophiles is delightful and definitely, a cozy read that booktokkers and anyone who loves a literary-based read will enjoy. Charming, spicy, literary - ticks all the boxes.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

Absolutely devoured this one and couldn’t stop. The perfect romance book and a perfect book for people who work in book selling or anything book related. Just really cute

Who doesn't love a book about bookstores? This was a fun read and I loved the main characters who were battling out between their bookstores. Highly recommend!

BATTLE OF THE BOOKSTORES is truly a read after a booklover's heart...! It is full of wit and charm and the most incredible banter between two humans I've ever read in a romance novel; not to mention the endless puns and nods to famous literary figures that are splashed throughout the novel which every book nerd is going to love spotting.

The plot follows booksellers Josie and Ryan, managers of rival bookstores next to each other, one literary focused and one romance-centered; who cannot stand each other, are told by the owner that they must compete to see who can drive sales up the highest in their stores and become the sole manager of a combined store. Little do Josie and Ryan know though, is that while they may be sworn enemies in real life, they are the best of friends as anonymous penpals in an online forum for booksellers. Oop. The You’ve Got Mail homage is 10 out of 10.

There are so many perfect little trope moments touched on. You'll giggle during the forced proximity and only one bed moment; the opposites attract is just so 😏😏; you'll swoon when it transitions from enemies to lovers; the dyslexia, disability, and Jewish representation in the story is so beautifully handled and there’s just so many complexes to the story for what is seemingly a charming funny {and spicy 🥵} romance book.

Reading this book honestly made my little bookish heart grow so much; because on every single page you can see the pure love the authors have for not only the art of storytelling but the power of community bookstores and booksellers that handsell their recommendations. This novel is a love letter to the written word; and I dare any book nerd not to fall head over heels in love for Josie and Ryan's story.

A fun flirty romance that leaves you so satisfied! It only has a handful of spicy scenes but they are well written and will enthrall you! I struggled for a hot second with the pacing but got into the rhythm! This would be a great introduction to the romance genre for someone who is skeptical, but it’s also a great romance for those who are proud romance girlies (or guys!)

Wow, I sat down and finished this book in one day! Such a cute and different take the bookstore rivalry idea. Love that it also tackled the gender stereotypes in a small but impactful way. The characters were very relatable and so fun to see grow and change. Another book for book lovers.

Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady is a romantic comedy with competition and bookish charm. This story pits Josie Klein against Ryan Lawson. When their stores are forced to merge and compete for a managerial role, the stakes are high and the sparks start flying. I loved the witty banter and the opposites attract tension, as well as their rivalry that starts a series of hilarious events.

This was SO cute!!! I'd been hoping to be approved for this one for awhile... You're telling me....these people work in bookstores, they're 'rivals' (wink-wink, because all the book girlies know how that's going to work out,) and they're competing. OK. Sold. This book lived up to everything I needed from it and so much more.

Did not finish. I feel very thankful to get an advanced reader copy, but I just couldn't get into this book. As I read the book I kept imagining the author writing and never felt like I was reading someone's story. I also felt like too many boxes were trying to get checked in this book instead of just telling a good story.

The Battle of the Bookstores book by Ali Brady is a very cute romantic comedy that will appeal to book lovers and romance readers alike! Very interesting premise of competing bookstores adds a unique spin on the plot.

This book is pure enemies-to-lovers perfection wrapped in the cozy charm of bookstore rivalries. Josie’s no-nonsense efficiency crashing into Ryan’s laid-back charm is as delightful as it is combustible, with their banter practically leaping off the page. The anonymous online friendship adds a layer of sweet irony, making the reveal all the more satisfying. With sparks flying, walls crumbling, and the fate of the store hanging in the balance, this story is a love letter to books, competition, and the magic of unexpected connections. It’s the ultimate happily-ever-after for book lovers.

I absolutely adored this book. The contrast between Josie’s meticulous nature and Ryan’s carefree attitude creates a perfect storm of fun and romantic tension. The way the two worlds, real and virtual, start to blend is cleverly done and adds such a delightful layer to the story. It’s a fun, heartwarming reminder that love can thrive in the most unexpected places, whether in the aisles of a bookstore or behind the anonymity of an online forum. The chemistry between Josie and Ryan was swoon-worthy. This is the kind of book that gives you all the warm fuzzies and makes you believe in love and the magic of books!