Such high expectations, but it didn't meet them. I don't like mg books, and this felt like one, unfortunately. Writing style and packing was so not me, but the idea was cute!

Utterly charming story about a 16 year old self-professed band nerd who looks to the fantasy / magical realism books she loves for inspiration when it comes to her own as yet nonexistent love life. A great cast of interesting characters.

I remember reading the description for this book, and thinking how cute it sounded. And then I get my hands on it.
And it truly was the cute story I hoped it would be plus some.

It offered some great well developed characters, and a fun plot that pulls you in from the start. And leaves you hanging on until the last page.
It had everything you could want in a book.
And I found myself just truly sitting back and enjoying this book. Not rushing or slowing down with it at all. But just taking that nice easy read that leaves you satisfied at the end and being able to shut off the kindle with that accomplished happy feeling.

3.5 stars

This book was freaking adorable! It was exactly what I needed after the emotionally draining experience that was 1984 :) Everyone here was just so nice... even the mean girl is like a fluffy marshmallow compared to your regular YA mean girl. Phoebe was super cute and adorkable, and even with the age difference I could totally relate to her bookish obsession (yes, fiction is the best kind of reality!) and Dev was absolutely swoon-worthy. Obviously there was a lot of teenage drama, and Phoebe's friends (especially Em) annoyed me a lot with their pushiness, but the story was still funny and enjoyable, although it got too clichéd towards the end. The writing was clean and simple, but the pace was a bit off because of the passages from Phoebe's books inserted at the end of every chapter - at the beginning of the book it's just Phoebe's mentioning or quoting her favourite books, which was very funny, but as the book progresses it becomes full pages of random stuff that didn't bring anything to the story in my opinion.

Very recommendable when in need of something light and fluff, I will definitely check the rest of the series out!

My Thoughts:

I was really looking forward to this book and I was not a big fan of it once I finished it. I loved the premise and what the book was about but it just was not the book for me. I will read the rest of the series and give it a chance. I loved the characters and parts of the plot.

Plot:

Pheobe is a huge bookwork and lives her books. She also works at a knitting store teaching classes. She is also in high school but prefers to live in fantasy world when she finds out Dev have a crush on her. She tries to change her looks and personality to attract him. That is the part of the plot that I did not like and that is why I rated as I did.

Characters:

I really liked Pheobe and her friends. I liked Dev as well and thought he was a well-done character. Some of Phoebe's actions annoyed me but she is a teenager so I did not find to much stuff that bothered me.

Sixteen-year-old Phoebe Martins is a major book lover. She lives for and in her books. The boy she likes from school is as hot as her latest book-boyfriend, and she wishes for her daydreams to become reality. But she is quiet Phoebe, the girl always either stuck in a book or knitting in school. Not really book-heroine worthy. Then Dev, another attractive boy at school, starts pursuing her. Can she put down her bookish dreams long enough to see the man standing right in front of her?

This girl, Phoebe, is basically someone I know. I've been her, and I know a few other girls like her. The author did a really good job capturing the life of a serious bookworm, or excuse me, a book dragon. I'm guessing Isabel Bandeira is one herself. Phoebe's book-influenced hobbies, the arts and crafts at school, the can't-talk-about-anything-else-but-no-one-wants-to-hear-it, the attending book signings and events in costume, and of course, the too distracted reading all the time. She is spot on.

Then there's the story. It it definitely interesting. Phoebe lives her life, first and foremost. The purely high school events come slowly (timewise, not plotwise), as in real life. Phoebe struggles through her attraction to two different boys, her mistakes, and the awkward situations she walks into. Phoebe is Phoebe, a teen with her head in the clouds. Dev is pretty longsuffering, though he has his own set of flaws and mistakes.

There isn't much else to say. The book is as it sounds - the story of a girl looking for her happily ever after in books rather than real life but finding it in the latter. I enjoyed it, and I think that anyone who enjoys books as much as Phoebe (and I) do, will appreciate this take.

I received a complementary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I found it very hard to get into. After several attempts, I was not able to finish the book

I really enjoyed reading this book, I loved that Phoebe was a fellow bookworm, who crushes on fictional characters. The book took a little while to get into, but when I did get into it I really enjoyed it. I really liked that there was excerpts from the books Phoebe was reading throughout the book, giving you insights into Phoebe and the characters she often thought about.

This book was super adorable.

I liked the sound of a bookish main character, because don’t we booklovers all love our bookish characters?! Unfortunatelyas soon as I started reading this story, I immediately realized it was going to be a struggle. Basically this contemporary romance story has one cheesy high school cliche stacked on top of another up until the point I felt like I was drowning in them. And Bookishly Ever After isn’t only stuffed with cheesy cliches, but also has an overdose of annoying romance tropes as instalove and love triangles. This alone is enough for me to run away and hide in a corner, but since I normally never DNF my ARCs I decided to give this story a chance. Trust me, I’ve tried really hard to like this story. REALLY hard. But in the end I just couldn’t take it anymore. I was never able to connect to the writing style and felt it simply didn’t flow. The plot wasn’t really present and the chapters didn’t seem to connect naturally… And the characters. One more annoying, flat and cliche than the other! I thought I would at least be able to like or relate to bookish Phoebe, but I was wrong. She only managed to frustrate me and it just all didn’t feel natural. Am I partly to blame for this DNF? Yes. The blurb should have warned me to stay far far away from this one… Still, I’ve read AND loved romantic contemporaries before and Bookishly Ever After definitely ticked a lot of no-go boxes for me. Approach with care! Romance lovers who don’t mind cliches will most likely have a more positive experience though.

<b>Rating:</b> 2,5 stars

<i>Bookishly Ever After</i> is a very cute and relatable book for many readers out there, including me. Sometimes.

Our protagonist, Phoebe, is an avid reader. Slightly socially awkward, and prefers fiction over reality. Totally relatable, right? But to be frank, is goes a little downhill for me when she actively starts acting like her favourite book characters to get a guy's attention.

The plot's pace is slow. Very, <i>very</i> slow - almost agonizingly so. Which wasn't a problem for one third of the book, but <i>Bookishly Ever After</i> is a 300+ pages, and I think it's safe to say it would've been way more enjoyable if was at least 100 pages shorter. It started dragging out, annoyed me and lost my interest. The ending however predictable, was very cute though, so that was definitely a plus.

Our love interest is pretty cool, he's kind and really supportive of Phoebe's love for reading and respects it. The friends are alright, a little cliché and they lack some depth, but it wasn't <i>bad</i>. Overall, I did like reading <i>Bookishly Ever After</i>, but wouldn't necessarily recommend it to anyone.

This one is full of cute moments for the reader at heart. I couldn't get enough of this one and I can't wait to check out the rest of the books. You will die of the quirk in this book!! I do want to say that the romance in this one is center stage and that worked out well for me. Even though I am WAY older than the MC I could still relate to her from when I was younger and it was a very light-hearted read that I couldn't put down. If you want something to round out your summer then this one is it!! It won't disappoint you in any way other than it ends. But hey there is a book two!! So make sure to have it on hand!

This is a sweet YA romance with a great central character in Phoebe, obsessed with books and knitting, and liable to get lost in either to the extent that she will let real life pass her by. After all with all her "book boyfriends" why on earth would she need a real life one? Turns out that her love life is about to get a lot more complicated, with not one but two real life boys vying for her attention. What's a girl to do? Turn to her favourite fictional heroines of course, and model her actions based on what they would do. But will fictional advice work in real life? Its going to get very interesting indeed as we find out.
Sweet, funny and very believable, this was a really fun light hearted read. As is so often the case in the YA genre, the romance is the lynch pin of the books plot, but the author does really good work in creating a great network of friends for Phoebe, with a diverse range of interests , and all the major characters seem well rounded ,not flat or one dimensional. The book feels very current, with Phoebe's interest in archery and cosplay but the story itself is timeless.

Chick lit is hard to write. Well, let me rephrase. Good chick lit is hard to write. Love stories, for all of their excitement, can be a little predictable to say the least.
A tall handsome man is lusted after by the quirky self -conscious girl. After some awkward but sexy encounters, they both realise they were meant to be together and they then live happily ever after.
For a writer to come up with not only a novel twist, but an interesting twist on this ancient recipe is a pretty hard task, particularly when the subject matter is one (I hope) everyone has had at least a little experience of.
Therefore it gives me great pleasure to introduce Isabel Bandeira and her new novel, Bookishly Ever After... it's a GOOD chick lit book!!
As a not-so-secret bookworm, Phoebe grabbed my interest straight away. She loses herself in novels every day, and romance will do no good unless it comes straight off the pages of the latest paperback. You can't really argue with that - men in books are the very best.
By creating a character I instantly connected with, Bandeira quickly drew me in. I love Phoebe's independent, I-don't-care-what-you-think attitude. Although she does fit in with the classic personality of many women in romantic novels, she has enough about her that she still feels like a tangible person.
We've also got a really charming love interest, a great cast of supporting characters, and most importantly a plot which is perfectly paced and teases just enough in all the right places.
You'll not find any x-rated bedroom scenes, but it doesn't need them to keep things exciting. A tastefully written story that keeps you turning pages, and one that I would highly recommend.

For a shy bookworm, I really found myself drawn to this book. I am 34 years old and I still love books in the Young Adult category. This book was sweet, funny, and a great journey in adolescence.. As a former teacher, I would guide my students toward this book if they are looking for a great story.

Thank you to Netgalley, Isabel Bandeira and Spencer Hill Press for allowing me to read and review this book.  This is my honest and unbiased opinion.  I really enjoyed reading Bookishly Ever After as it reminded me a bit of my own childhood teen angst.

Phoebe is the epitome of a devoted bookworm.  She make notes of dialogue and quotes from her books to use in real life as she is very shy and not good at communicating, especially with boys.

Her book obsession and constant book referencing is just so relatable but she takes it to another level when she actually dresses up to go to author events. It made me sad, though, that she felt the need to go to her books for answers to real life problems and relationships.

Her hobbies include band practice, archery and knitting.  Phoebe spends a lot of her time (when she’s not reading) knitting herself costumes related to her favourite character in her books.

Without going into detail, there is a boy interest or two.  Phoebe is trying to decide which one she likes more.  Her best friend intervenes and tries to push her towards one in particular.  Just it happens like in real life if you had friends like these!

Phoebe is a very likeable character and I think that she is easy to relate to.

Bookishly Ever After is an easy and enjoyable read for teens/YA but I bet that there are adults out there that will enjoy it too.  I was entertained and really liked the story.

This book was a light, fun read that is perfect when you don't want to read something heavy. Many readers will find it is easy to identify with the MC, Phoebe. While I found that Phoebe fit the "book nerd" stereotype a little TOO well, it didn't stop me from enjoying the book.

If you are or were shy awkward, bookish teen,you will love this story. The friendships and crushes made me feel like I was back in school.