Book Review: The Shocking Experiments of Miss Mary Bennet by Melinda Taub

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Shocking Experiments of Miss Mary Bennet
Author: Melinda Taub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication date: September 30, 2025
Length: 320 pages
Genre: Classics mashup / scifi
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

An utterly fantastical and undeniably queer melding of Pride and Prejudice and Frankenstein that recasts Mary Bennet as an insatiable scientist, one who creates a monster in an attempt to save herself from spinsterdom

Mary Bennet is the middlest middle child of all time. Awkward, plain, and overlooked, she’s long been out of favor not only with her own family but with generations of readers of Pride and Prejudice.

But what was Mary really doing while her sisters were falling in love? Well, what does any bright, hardworking girl do in an age when brains and hard work are only valued if they come with a pretty face? Take to the attic and teach herself to reanimate the dead of course. The world refuses to make a place for peculiar Mary, but no Bennet sister ever gives up on happiness that easily. If it won’t give this fierce, lonely girl a place, she’ll carve one out herself. And if finding acceptance requires a husband, she’ll get one. Even if she has to make him herself, too.

However, Mary’s genius and determination aren’t enough to control what she unwittingly unleashes. Her desperate attempts to rein in the destruction wreaked by her creations leads her to forge a perhaps unlikely friendship with another brilliant young woman unlike any she’s ever known. As that friendship blossoms into something passionate and all-consuming, Mary begins to realize that she may have to choose between the acceptance she’s always fought for and true happiness.

The 2023 novel The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch was a dose of pure fun, a terrifically entertaining Pride and Prejudice retelling that recasts Lydia’s story in utterly surprising ways and turns her into an unexpectedly memorable heroine.

Now, author Melinda Taub is back with another fresh take on P&P, this time making Mary Bennet the star… and inserting a very clever Frankenstein-inspired story, making this the Austen/Shelley mashup I never knew I needed.

Mary Bennet seems destined for spinsterhood all her life. Bookish, not socially adept, not especially witty or attractive, Mary’s the one who shows off without actually having talent and quotes preachy books ad nauseum. Not exactly the life of the party. But what if there was more to Mary than meets the eye?

In this terrific tale, Mary is a bright, inquisitive child who is constantly underestimated and undervalued by her family. Still, she reads everything she can get her hands on, and develops a passion for science that she must keep hidden from her family. When she discovers a secret passageway from her closet to a stairway to an unused attic, Mary realizes that it would make the perfect laboratory for her scientific explorations (Oh, the idea of Longbourn having a mad scientist’s lair tucked up under the roof — that no one knows about — made me just laugh and laugh…)

Mary is especially fascinated by experiments with electricity, and discovers a formula for new dyes that produces colors no manufacturer has access to. Of course, a proper young woman can’t actually conduct business, so she enlists her uncle’s young clerk, Septimus Pike, to act as her business agent. The sale of dyes produces a tiny amount of income for Mary, nowhere near the fortune she’d hoped would offer a sense of security for her future if she never marries (which seems like the most likely fate awaiting her).

But if the business isn’t actually successful, as Pike reports back, why is she suddenly seeing ribbons and fabrics in her unique colors everywhere? And why is Pike suddenly well dressed and courting the daughters of wealthy men?

What follows is a silly romp through science and society, as Mary’s electrical experiments eventually lead to a Frankenstein-esque turn of events. Can she control the monster she’s created? And at what cost?

Further complicating matters is the arrival of Georgiana Darcy, sister-in-law to Mary’s sister Lizzy and a fellow science enthusiast, who’s also hiding a serious secret of her own. (Readers of the Lydia book will know what that secret is, but it doesn’t actually matter if you’ve read that one first — all will be revealed soon enough).

Mary and Georgiana share a passion for science… and more?… as they work together to control Mary’s experiment, gain the materials and knowledge they need, and keep the rest of the Bennet household in the dark about what’s going on.

Mary’s innocence about certain possibilities is depicted with such seriousness that it’s really funny:

At twelve, I had a fascination with female elegance. I often found my gaze lingering on their faces and forms, which I realized must be because of a sort of collegial curiosity.

Collegial curiosity? Sure, Mary.

After attending a party with a demonstration of electricity, where a current was passed through a circle of people holding hands — including Mary and the young girl next to her — she notes:

It seemed as though that strange awakening the shock brought about never entirely went away Whenever I see a girl or lady who reminds me of my electrical companion , I feel a phantom shock pass through me.

For all the silliness, Shocking Experiments has a more serious undertone as it contemplates the lack of options for girls like Mary. Marriage is really the only path, but that means undermining one’s own nature and intellect, and allowing oneself to be molded into the complacent type of person who makes an acceptable wife. Mary’s lack of options, plus her sense of duty toward her parents, whose hold on Longbourn becomes more tenuous with each passing year, drive her toward actions and decisions that are clearly against her own interests, but which might possibly grant her the social acceptance they all so desperately need her to attain.

Never fear, the serious elements related to Mary’s plight never derail the pace or the delights of the storytelling. With its mad-scientist vibe, plus dangerous hijinks, lightning strikes, and plenty of misadventures. The Shocking Experiments of Miss Mary Bennet is a treat from start to finish.

End note: Believe it or not, this book is actually the second Mary Bennet/Frankenstein mashup that I’ve read. For a different approach, check out the excellent Pride and Prometheus by Jonathan Kessel.

Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

6Sep2025

Audiobook Review: Pug & Kisses (Doggone Delightful, #2) by Farrah Rochon

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Pugs & Kisses
Series: Doggone Delightful, #2
Author: Farrah Rochon
Narrator: Marissa Hampton
Publisher: Forever
Publication date: July 15, 2025
Print length: 352 pages
Audio length: 7 hours 56 minutes
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Library
Rating:

The New York Times bestselling author of Almost There delivers a second chance romance between two dog lovers, perfect for readers of Abby Jimenez and Jasmine Guillory.

From the outside, veterinarian Evie Williams appears to have the perfect but boring life. She is desperate to figure out a way to shake it up, but gets more than she bargained for when she finds her fiancé in bed with another woman. Suddenly, Evie is without a fiancé or a job, and isn’t sure what her next steps should be. That is, until her college crush, Bryson Mitchell, returns to town.

Now, a nationally recognized veterinary surgeon, Bryson is stunned when he encounters Evie Williams for the first time in half a decade. When they learn the animal shelter where they used to volunteer is in danger of closing, the two must work together to save it. It has Bryson wondering, can he and Evie also save the friendship they once shared and finally bring it to the next level?

Pugs & Kisses is the 2nd book in author Farrah Rochon’s puppy-centric, New Orleans-based Doggone Delightful series… and yes, it really is delightful! In the first book, Pardon My Frenchie, the story focused on Ashanti Wright, owner of an adorable doggy daycare (called Barkingham Palace!!). Here, the story to shifts to one of Ashanti’s best friends, Evie Williams, a successful, committed veterinarian.

Evie comes from a very wealthy family, but has always felt like an outcast after rejecting the expectation to become a cardiologist like her parents and attending veterinary school instead. She’s engaged to the man she’s been on-again, off-again with for eight years… until she stops by their home unexpectedly and finds him in bed with another woman. She kicks him out, and realizes her life has now imploded. Not only is her engagement off, but she also works for the veterinary clinic owned by her ex-fiancé’s family, and clearly she can’t do that any longer.

While she regroups, she returns to the Sanctuary, the animal shelter where she trained during her vet school days and where she used to regularly volunteer, only to discover that the Sanctuary is in terrible financial shape, has had to stop its mentorship program, and may be on the verge of closing. She also runs into her former vet school boyfriend, Bryson Mitchell, at the Sanctuary, and is shocked to learn that he’s returned to New Orleans after years away pursuing his highly successful career as a veterinary surgeon.

It’s clear that neither Evie nor Bryson ever truly got over the heartbreak from their short-lived relationship all those years ago — but there’s no time to dwell on that now. Both are devastated to learn that the Sanctuary will likely close, and vow to team up and do whatever they can to save it.

As they work together, they each learn more about what contributed to their relationship’s end, but also gain new appreciation for one another as friends and colleagues, and are forced to admit — at least, to themselves — that old feelings still linger.

Beyond the love story, Pugs & Kisses has adorable dogs (Waffles and Bella!), a heartwarming focus on animals in general, and a really appreciative, lovely take on the veterinary field and people who devote themselves to the well-being of animals. It’s also a terrific ode to New Orleans and its environs, bringing the sights and tastes and natural beauty of the area to life with each outing the characters experience.

I really enjoyed Evie and Bryson’s chemistry and their respect and thoughtfulness toward one another. Sure, there are the inevitable moments where it seems all is lost, but they’re able to communicate like the adults they are and work through their worst moments. Likewise, each has quite a bit of baggage when it comes to their upbringings and relationships with their parents, and these situations are also handled thoughtfully.

One thing I truly love about Farrah Rochon’s books (including her previous trilogy, The Boyfriend Project) is that her main characters are strong, smart professional women whose friendships are the center of their lives. The romances in her books are important, but so are these core friendships. I love her depictions of women supporting one another and helping each other grow and achieve their dreams.

Between the friendships, the terrific romance, and the doggies, Pugs & Kisses is such a fun reading escape! Ashanti and Evie’s third best friend is Ridley, and I’m assuming the next book will be her story… and I can’t wait!

A note on the audiobook: Narrator Marissa Hampton does a terrific job with all the characters. Their personalities shine through, and the narrative flows and feels fresh and engaging. Definitely worth a listen!

Interested in this author? Then check out…

The beginning of this series:
Pardon My Frenchie

The Boyfriend Project trilogy:
The Boyfriend Project
The Dating Playbook
The Hookup Plan

Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

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3Sep2025

Book Review: Writing Mr. Wrong by Kelley Armstrong

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Writing Mr. Wrong
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Forever
Publication date: June 24, 2025
Print length: 333 pages
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Purchased

From a New York Times bestselling author, a second-chance rom-com about an author who goes viral when readers discover her book’s hero was inspired by a beloved pro hockey player—and her high school crush.

Debut author Gemma Stanton knows romance readers love a bad boy—and she has the perfect prototype for her novel: Mason Moretti. High school hockey god-turned-pro player, Mason was Gemma’s first crush, but she couldn’t forget the sting of his very public rejection. So, she casts him as a hot-headed Highlander in her spicy new historical romance.

She never expected readers would find out on live TV when a morning show host invites Mason for a surprise on-air reunion . . .

As an aging hockey player with a rep for being ruthless on the ice—and roguish off of it—Mason has an image problem. So, when his meet-cute with Gemma goes viral, Mason proposes they build on the momentum with a few fake dates to boost her book sales—and his sagging profile.

But when the fictional flirting gets a little too real, Mason realizes Gemma actually makes him want to become a better man—someone worthy of her trust and her love.

I adore pretty much everything I’ve read by Kelley Armstrong, but I’ll admit I was surprised when she published her first contemporary romance last year, Finding Mr. Write. Quite a departure from her thrillers, ghost stories, and timeslip adventures! And yet, I shouldn’t have been surprised that the book was terrific. She’s such a gifted writer — there’s no doubt that whatever she writes, in whatever genre, will be well worth reading.

And now, Armstrong is back with a follow-up romance: Writing Mr. Wrong. Once again focused on a romance writer, this book connects with the previous in that the main character is the sister of the other book’s love interest. That said, it’s absolutely not necessary to read these in a particular order. (Just grab whichever you can find!)

In Writing Mr. Wrong, the main character is Gemma Stanton, a debut author in her mid-thirties who has returned to her true passion — writing — after a bitter divorce and too many years of stifling her dreams. When she’s invited on a local talk show to celebrate her book’s release, the host — a former high school classmate — blindsides her by including Mason Moretti, a huge hockey star for the Vancouver Growlers, and Gemma’s high school crush.

The first romance Gemma had written featured the kind of guy she liked—sweet and considerate. When it hadn’t sold, her writing group had talked her into penning what the market seemed to want. An alpha hero. A self-absorbed, egotistical, inconsiderate, talks-with-his-fists asshole. So she’d dipped into her past and pulled up the perfect guy for the role.

To anyone who knows Mason the similarity between him and Gemma’s fictional hero (and asshole) Laird Argyle is glaringly obvious. Gemma is mortified, but Mason does his best to save the situation and spare her embarrassment.

As they talk afterward, Mason is kind, but Gemma is wary. He hurt her badly back in high school, and it’s been almost twenty years since then with no contact. Mason has a suggestion: Why not pretend to date for a bit, with support from their publicists? It’s sure to boost her book sales, capitalize on the gossip from the talk show, and will also help with his own PR, which has taken a hit recently.

With hesitation, Gemma agrees, and Mason promises her a perfect date — which he then plans without consulting her in the slightest. It’s a disaster, to say the least. But when they go off-script for a more spontaneous outing, sparks fly, and some of their easy connection from their teen years starts to come back.

Gemma and Mason clearly have unfinished business and unresolved feelings, and could potentially be great together — but Mason is (as Gemma’s mother describes him) careless. He’s not intentionally or knowingly an asshole, but he makes assumptions and fails to see how his good intentions might backfire if he’s not considering the other person involved. Mason gets a rude awakening when he finally reads Gemma’s book and realizes that he should NOT be flattered by being the inspiration for Laird Argyle — the guy is awful, and Mason is forced to consider how much truth there is in his fictional portrayal.

The latter part of the book focuses on Mason requesting anti-asshole lessons from Gemma — he’ll whisk them away to wherever she wants, to her specifications, where she can work on her next book, he’ll do all the meals and organizing, and in return, she’ll explain to him why his choices don’t always work, and where he could do better. Of course, things don’t always go as planned, but there’s quite a bit of fun to be had in seeing the two of them navigate travel mishaps, bad decisions, and readjustment of expectations.

Gemma and Mason clearly have chemistry, and both are portrayed sympathetically. For all that Mason screws up, he’s not a bad guy — not at all — and needs to learn to overcome the avoidance patterns drilled into him from childhood. His intentions and heart are generally lovely; it’s in the execution that he fails. Meanwhile, Gemma has lots of baggage from both her teen years with Mason and the years with her terrible ex-husband. She too has work to do, in terms of overcoming fears, learning to trust, and making sure not to lose herself for the sake of making someone else love her.

I really enjoyed both characters and their story arcs, and the book overall is a treat. There’s terrific banter, plenty of chemistry, and some lovely set pieces and funny mishaps.

I did wonder about Gemma’s book — to me, it sounds pretty unappealing, but I suppose there are readers who would enjoy such a story. (And it’s heartening to see that as Gemma gets her confidence back, she’s able to stand up for herself with her publisher and transform her second novel into the story that she truly wants to tell.)

Writing Mr. Wrong is a delight — clever, funny, serious when it needs to be, and totally entertaining. I’m not sure when exactly Kelley Armstrong sleeps: Writing Mr. Wrong is one of four novels novels she’s releasing in 2025. All I can say is that I’m grateful that it’ll be a very long time before I run out of her books to read!

Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

31Aug2025

Book Review: Play Nice by Rachel Harrison

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Play Nice
Author: Rachel Harrison
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: September 9, 2025
Length: 336 pages
Genre: Horror
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

A woman must confront the demons of her past when she attempts to fix up her childhood home in this devilishly clever take on the haunted house novel from the USA Today bestselling author.

Clio Louise Barnes leads a picture-perfect life as a stylist and influencer, but beneath the glossy veneer she harbors a not-so glamorous secret: she grew up in a haunted house. Well, not haunted. Possessed. After Clio’s parent’s messy divorce, her mother, Alex, moved Clio and her sisters into a house occupied by a demon. Or so Alex claimed. That’s not what Clio’s sisters remember or what the courts determined when they stripped Alex of custody after she went off the deep end. But Alex was insistent; she even wrote a book about her experience in the house.

After Alex’s sudden death, the supposedly possessed house passes to Clio and her sisters. Where her sisters see childhood trauma, Clio sees an opportunity for house flipping content. Only, as the home makeover process begins, Clio discovers there might be some truth to her mother’s claims. As memories resurface and Clio finally reads her mother’s book, the presence in the house becomes more real, and more sinister, revealing ugly truths that threaten to shake Clio’s beautiful life to its very foundation.

Play Nice is a story of women confronting their demons… literally and figuratively. And just to be clear, while the synopsis and many blurbs refer to this as a haunted house story, this is not actually about a haunted house. No ghosts! However, the house is possessed, and the demon inside it isn’t going anywhere.

Yes, the house scares me. But nothing scares me as much as the idea that I might become one of those tragic, boring would-never people.

Main character Clio is a lot. She’s in her mid-twenties, a highly successful stylist and influencer who revels in her good looks, appeal, and life-of-the-party vibe. She’s highly curated, always down for a good time. Clio’s party lifestyle comes to a screeching halt when her two older sisters call to tell her that Alexandra has died… Alexandra being the mother who was cut out of their lives when Clio was a young child, the abusive, addicted woman who wrote a scandalous book about demons and lost custody completely after endangering the girls one too many times.

Clio’s sisters Leda and Daphne don’t seem particularly affected by news of Alex’s death, but Clio decides that she’s going to the funeral, a woo-woo affair hosted by an occult society in Connecticut. There, she meets with Alex’s sister and is informed that Alex has left the girls their childhood home, which they didn’t even realize she still owned.

The house is a physical disaster, and what’s more, it was the main focus of Alex’s book, which the girls all promised their father they’d never read. Once again, Leda and Daphne want nothing to do with it, but Clio sees the potential for exposure. Home reno and demo reels are huge! She can do a whole series on before and after as she flips the house and makes it gorgeous enough to suit her standards.

Things go sideways almost from the start. The house is, well, kind of gross and dirty. There are mice. And unexplained sounds. But Clio is sure that her plan is worth it. Then she finds a battered old copy of her mother’s book, with handwritten annotations from Alex to Clio. Soon, unwanted memories creep in, presenting very different versions of the events Clio thought she understood. She’s forced to question the main narratives of her life and to wonder: Was Alex really as crazy and abusive as she’s been told all her life? Or could there possibly be a shred of truth in her rantings about demons and possession?

Play Nice goes from creepy to violent to gross-out horror throughout the course of the book, escalating to an incredibly disturbing climax. Meanwhile, the family itself is rocked to its core as old secrets are revealed and certain betrayals and lies come to light.

Clio is hard to like, and is not exactly a reliable narrator. She’s plagued by questionable or repressed memories, and prefers the image of herself that she’s created to any harder looks in the mirror.

I sound bratty and resentful, which is weird, because i swear I’m only one of those things.

She’s used to getting her way, assumes her role as the family favorite is deserved, and causes some of her own problems through her refusal to listen to anyone else.

The sky is blue and cloudless, the sun high and yellow, and the entire world is incapable of telling me no. It makes me feel like a god. Powerful, bored, dangerous.

An underlying theme of Play Nice is the need — craving — for attention. This is clearly what drives Clio’s career and social life. But, as we learn, it’s also vital to the demon.

“… But the demon is real, Clio. You now that now. And it’s dangerous. Its attachment to you is profound.”

Part of me is flattered, because I love attention. We have that in common, the demon and me. I like being the favorite. This part of me feels an allegiance to it. A kinship.

This book has some truly crazy elements, and reading it can be vertigo-inducing, as we slingshot from Clio’s narration to passages from Alex’s book, to scenes of confrontations with her father and sisters that make Clio (and we readers) wonder which version of reality contains the actual truth — if any do.

Play Nice is a disturbing, scary read, leavened by Rachel Harrison’s excellent writing and healthy doses of humor and smart-ass commentary. I’m a big fan of this author’s books, and enjoyed this one, but not as much as some of her others (Such Sharp Teeth, Cackle, Black Sheep) which I consider true favorites.

If you’re open to creepy, icky moments and skin-crawling scary bits, and enjoy reading about highly caustic and dysfunctional families, then Play Nice might be the book for you! Really, I don’t believe you can go wrong with any Rachel Harrison book. I’m already looking forward to whatever she writes next.

Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

30Aug2025

Book Review: A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping
Author: Sangu Mandanna
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: July 15, 2025
Print length: 352 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

An enchanting novel about a witch who has a second chance to get her magical powers—and her life—back on track, from the national bestselling author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches .

Sera Swan was once one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she resurrected her great-aunt Jasmine from the (very recently) dead, lost most of her magic, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was exiled from her magical Guild. Now she ( slightly reluctantly and just a bit grumpily) helps Aunt Jasmine run an inn in Lancashire, where she deals with her quirky guests’ shenanigans, tries to keep the talking fox in check, and longs for the magical future she lost.

When she learns about an old spellbook that holds the secret to restoring her power, she turns to Luke Larsen, a gorgeous historian who might just be able to help her unlock the book’s mysteries. Luke, who has his own reasons for staying at the inn, never planned on getting involved in the madcap goings-on around him and certainly had no intention of letting certain grumpy innkeepers past his icy walls, so no one is more surprised than he is when he not only agrees to help, but also finds himself thawing .

Running an inn, reclaiming lost magic, and staying one step ahead of the watchful Guild is a lot for anyone, but Sera is about to discover that she doesn’t have to do it alone… and that the weird, wonderful family she’s made might be the best magic of all.

This tale of found family, witchcraft, and magic hits the sweet spot of being just cozy enough without turning saccharine, and includes enough silliness to make a reader smile even when there’s quite a bit of sadness too.

Sera Swan was once one of the most powerful witches in Britain:

Once, she had been glorious. Once, she had bent the universe to her will.

She wasn’t that person anymore.

Sera’s incredible magical powers were identified when she was ten years old, and for a time in her youth, she was trained directly by Albert Grey, head of the Guild and the most powerful magical person in the country. But at age 15, Sera uses her powers to resurrect her beloved Aunt Jasmine, something strictly forbidden… and in doing so, drains nearly all of her own powers. She abruptly finds herself bereft of her great gifts, and even worse, exiled from the magical community.

As the story picks up fifteen years later, Sera runs the inn that her former family home has been converted into. It’s shabby and quirky, but thanks to a spell cast by Sera in her younger days, it acts as a beacon to anyone needing sanctuary, and is unfindable for those with bad intentions. Along with Sera and Jasmine, the inn has taken on permanent lodgers, including Sera’s young magically-gifted cousin Theo, an older woman named Mathilda who loves to garden, and a noble young man named Nicholas who spends his days working as a knight at the local Medieval Fair, and who embraces his knighthood even during his off-hours.

The inn is also home to Clemmie, a witch trapped in fox form, who originally showed Sera the resurrection spell. Clemmie is waiting for Sera to get her powers back so she can release Clemmie from the curse that turned her into a fox — but there’s little hope of that, since Sera has no access to the magical books that might hold the answer.

When Luke Larsen shows up at the inn with his nine-year-old sister Posy, a bright, eager girl whose parents don’t know what to do with her, as her autism interferes with her understanding that she needs to hide her magic from the non-magical world, Sera welcomes the pair into their mismatched, oddball group. Luke is a magical history scholar, and he offers Sera insights into how she might finally restore her own powers — but there are risks involved. Complicating matters is the growing attraction between Luke and Sera, who each carry a lifetime’s worth of hurt and rejection, and find it hard to open up and trust anyone.

The story provides plenty of ups and downs as Sera pursues the restoration spell, while also navigating threats from the Guild, her found family’s dynamics, and the sense that Luke is always half-way out the door. The magical elements combine nicely with the more personal parts of the story, and the cast of characters is quirky, likable, and immensely entertaining.

As with this author’s previous book, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, much of the book feels fairy-tale-esque in tone. There’s a sense of wonder and delight. I’d say this book is strictly PG-13, except there are some f-bombs, sexy talk, and one sex scene that feel tonally different than the rest of the book; otherwise, this could easily have been a story to share with younger readers.

Sera goes through a lot, and the story does explore the darker side of her loss and depression, as well as the grief she feels over her lost magic and the pain she’s carried since childhood from being rejected by her own parents. Still, while not sugar-coated in any way, these sadder elements are balanced by the book’s overall cheeriness and whimsy, and it’s hard not feel joy while reading about the quirky family that’s formed on its own at the inn.

The ending wraps up the story quite well, although it left me a bit sad. There was nothing wrong with the writing or the ending itself, but it wasn’t the way rose-colored-glasses-me wished it would end. I actually think it made a lot of sense for the author to give the characters this ending, showing that happiness and love come in many different forms, and that life doesn’t have to turn out exactly as you’d hoped in order for you to end up with what you truly want… and yet (without getting into spoilers), I kept hoping for that last little bit of perfection that (let’s be honest) probably would have been a step too far for the story. Silly me…

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping is a fast, fanciful read that never lags. The lovable characters, lovely setting, and funny sense of detail (there’s a room at the inn that rains apple blossom tea once per week, as just one minor example) make this a delightful, appealing reading escape.

Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

27Aug2025

Book Review: The Compound by Aisling Rawle

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Compound
Author: Aisling Rawle
Publisher: Random House
Publication date: June 24, 2025
Length: 292 pages
Genre: Contemporary/dystopian fiction
Source: Purchased
Rating:

Nothing to lose. Everything to gain. Winner takes all.

Lily—a bored, beautiful twentysomething—wakes up on a remote desert compound alongside nineteen other contestants on a popular reality TV show. To win, she must outlast her housemates while competing in challenges for luxury rewards, such as champagne and lipstick, and communal necessities to outfit their new home, like food, appliances, and a front door.

The cameras are catching all her angles, good and bad, but Lily has no desire to leave: Why would she, when the world outside is falling apart? As the competition intensifies, intimacy between the players deepens, and it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between desire and desperation. When the producers raise the stakes, forcing contestants into upsetting, even dangerous situations, the line between playing the game and surviving it begins to blur. If Lily makes it to the end, she’ll receive prizes beyond her wildest dreams—but what will she have to do to win?

Addictive and prescient, The Compound is an explosive debut from a major new voice in fiction and will linger in your mind long after the game ends.

Take reality TV — Big Brother, Love Island, even Survivor — then mix in a big dose of dystopian, Hunger Games, do-what-it-takes-to-last vibes… and you might get a smidge of what reading The Compound feels like.

It’s strange right from the start. Lily — beautiful, fit, in her 20s — wakes up in a bedroom in a place known as the compound. One other bed is occupied, by another beautiful young woman. As they rise, they move through the main house, finding clothes — shabby cast-offs, mainly — and odds and ends. They’re familiar with the house’s layout, and know what to look for. The place is a mess — grimy, trash everywhere, and the bathroom and front entryway don’t even have doors.

The compound itself is surrounded by nothing but desert as far as the eye can see, and a barrier of barbed wire and some fencing, none of it seeming all that sturdy, stand between the compound and the wilderness beyond.

As they leave the house and wander the grounds — a large pool, gardens, a pond, an orchard — they find more young women in various stages of waking. Soon, there are ten of them. And then they start talking about waiting for the boys to arrive. (Yes, one of the oddly disturbing elements of this book is that they refer to themselves as “boys” and “girls”, although all are adults.)

We were assessing who was the most beautiful and who might cause trouble. At the same time, we were analyzing what our own place in the group might be. Within minutes of speaking to the girls, I knew that I was one of the most beautiful, and one of the least interesting.

After two days, the boys arrive, straggling in from across the desert. They arrive bruised, battered, and having clearly been through something — but ready to play.

Because, we quickly learn, this is reality TV, and the compound is the setting of one of the most popular competition shows. Ten boys and ten girls are dropped into the compound — the girls, apparently drugged, are left in the house to wake there and begin the game, while the boys must trek across the desert to reach the compound. Once there, they compete via communal tasks to earn basics and more for the house — everything from food items to wood to chairs (of which there are none when the group arrives). The players also have personal tasks that they can perform for more individualized rewards, from beauty basics to (later) luxury items. Personal tasks tends to be odd and embarrassing, with a rule that players can’t tell one another when they’re carrying out a personal task — so if, for example, the task is to insult someone else, they just have to do it, no explanations allowed. They can choose not to, of course, but then they forego the reward, and no one seems willing to let prizes slip by.

One simple, even fun task, and something new would appear. What tedium I would have to go through to get the same things at home: standing on my feet for hours, faking smiles, pretending to have energy and enthusiasm. When I slept, I dreamed of prizes falling from the sky, and all of us standing in the desert with our arms outstretched, waiting for them to reach us.

There are even more rules: To remain in the game, you must wake up with a player of the opposite sex in your bed. If you wake up alone, you’re immediately banished, sent off into the desert (although banished players are apparently picked up and sent back home, not left to wander) and never to be seen again.

The ultimate goal is to be the last person left at the compound. The prize? You get to stay there for as long as you’d like — theoretically forever — and get any reward you can think to ask for (so long as you thank the brand that provides it — sponsorship opportunities are everywhere!). Although, from what we learn, the winner who stayed the longest left after six weeks — so maybe it’s not all that great after all?

I don’t want to give too much away — but there are hints from the beginning that this show (and this book) is a step beyond its real-world reality TV parallels. The contestants live in a state of risk, tedium, and pleasure at first. The house is dirty when they arrive, and the lack of basics — doors and chairs! — is odd in the extreme, especially in contrast to the beautiful pool. But the rewards make clear that any improvement come from doing tasks, the more the better, and the communal tasks must be done by all.

At first, they’re mostly benign, but quickly escalate from the boys and girls having to line each other up according to who’s the best-looking to a challenge where each person has to hold their bedmate’s head under water for sixty seconds. There’s an important reward on the line — and certain contestants are willing to ignore their partners’ discomfort or fear in order to make sure they win.

The book offers lots of commentary on materialism and attractiveness, but we get hints too that something isn’t quite right in this world. Lily, our main character, wonders if any of the boys have fought in the wars already. Mentions of these undefined wars are sprinkled throughout the book — we know nothing further about the why or where of it all, but clearly, there are lives being lost at an alarming rate. The desert surrounding the compound seems beset by random brush fires. And even in their outside lives, we get the sense that getting by is a daily grind — why wouldn’t Lily perform an unpleasant task to gain a gorgeous dress, knowing just how many hours of slogging through her menial job it would take to even come close to affording it?

As the story twists its way forward, the game and the players become crueler and crueler, and yet, there are also friendships, and some bedmates even find love. But having a bedmate is critical to survival in the compound, so can these relationships actually be genuine?

The Compound is a fascinating, absorbing read that’s disturbing on so many levels, yet impossible to look away from. It magnifies all the worst aspects of real-world reality TV, placing them in a scenario in which people’s worst tendencies are not only approved but encouraged. Eventually, those who make it far in the game are allowed to resort to violence, and the game itself metes out shocking punishments for those who disobey the rules. The worst is likely what happens when the late-stage players seem to be getting too comfortable and managing to avoid blatant conflict — the following scenes are probably the most horrifying in the book, and strongly reminded me of scenes in The Hunger Games where the gamemakers lose patience with the pace and force ever greater dangers onto the tributes.

I can truly say that I’ve never read anything quite like The Compound before. It’s easy to see why GMA Book Club chose this one — this would make amazing fodder for a book group discussion.

I recommend The Compound for its twisted take on reality TV, the strangeness of the plot, and the tremendous food for thought.

Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

26Aug2025

Audiobook Review: Rich Girl Summer by Lily Chu

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Rich Girl Summer
Author: Lily Chu
Narrators: Phillipa Soo & Steven Pasquale
Publisher: Audible Originals
Publication date: July 10, 2024
Print length: n/a
Audio length: 10 hours 6 minutes
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Audible download
Rating:

Fake heiress. Real secrets. One sizzling summer she’ll never forget.

Event planner Valerie Peng never planned on spending her summer sipping champagne at a lakefront estate, dodging suspicious socialites, or pretending to be anyone’s long-lost daughter. But when a very public, deeply mortifying mishap lands her in hot water—and her career in a hot mess—her uber-wealthy older client makes her an offer she can’t refuse: come to his glamorous summer home and pose as the long-lost daughter he believes his conniving family has hidden from him. In exchange? Time away from her actual life…and the chance to help uncover a long-buried secret.

But Cinderella needs some magic for this big of a makeover. Enter Nico, her client’s maddeningly perfect right-hand man. He’s organized, meticulous, impossible to read, and infuriatingly handsome. But even though he claims this scheme is a capital-M Mistake, Nico’s the only person she can trust to have her back. As they navigate a world of eccentric matriarchs, class divides, and private family feuds, their chemistry is as undeniable as it is ill-timed.

Caught between pretending to belong and unexpectedly finding where she truly fits in, Valerie’s summer is about to get far more complicated than she ever planned.

I’m always delighted when a new Lily Chu book drops as an Audible Original. Rich Girl Summer is yet another fun romp, with relatable characters, out-there circumstances, romance, and in this case, lots of summertime, sunshine-y vibes.

Main character Valerie is a talented event planner. She’s created her own company, Ad Astra, which specializes in creating highly curated and personalized celebrations of life. By all accounts, she’s excellent at what she does. When she’s hired to manage the celebration of life for the recently deceased patriarch of the wealthy Badgerton family, Valerie knows this event could really catapult her business to the next level, and is determined that everything go perfectly.

Unfortunately, a less-than-competent assistant and an ill-timed attack of food poisoning lead to disaster. The event goes viral, but not as Valerie had hoped. Her business may be on the brink of utter ruin. And then she’s approached by Roger Badgerton, who’d originally hired her. She expects reprimands and threats, but instead, is shocked by what he says: She’s physically similar to his long-lost teen girlfriend, and he’s learned since his father’s passing that the family paid her off to leave town and cut ties with Roger when she discovered she was pregnant. Roger is furious and heartbroken about his family’s deception, and also desperate to find his daughter, who would be roughly Valerie’s age.

His proposition: Valerie will spend the summer at the family’s lakeside estate, where he’ll introduce her to the family as his long-lost daughter. All she has to do is be there, interact with the family, and hopefully unnerve someone enough to start spilling the beans about the past. It sounds crazy, and Valerie’s first instinct is to refuse — but her business has dried up, she has no prospects, and Roger is promising to promote Ad Astra at the end of the summer and get her back on her feet. What could go wrong?

Sweetening the deal is the fact that Nico, Roger’s personal assistant, will be spending the summer at the estate too. He’s kind, uber-organized, very attractive. Valerie wouldn’t exactly mind spending more time with Nico…

Rich Girl Summer mixes summer breeziness with more personal moments, as both Valerie and Nico have plenty of family dysfunction and baggage to deal with — all while keeping up the charade of Valerie being Roger’s daughter. It’s highly entertaining to see her trying to fit in with the snooty, rich Badgertons, while also playing amateur detective and seeing what clues she can pick up about which of Roger’s siblings might have been involved in the deception all those years ago.

I appreciated seeing Valerie and Nico’s romance unfold. They each have major personal obstacles to overcome in order to move forward with a healthy relationship, and the story convincingly portrays their progress, their attempts to communicate in a healthy way, and ultimately, the way they support one another in dealing with their family issues.

Valerie is upfront about being a people-pleaser right from the start — and it made me want to give her a major wake-up call. Seeing her inability to say no in situations where she absolutely should have is frustrating — but it’s part of her character development arc, and the narrative makes us sympathize with Valerie’s struggle despite wishing she’d show a little more spine early on.

My main quibble with the audiobook is that the Badgerton family is large, with many siblings, spouses, and children, and I felt like I needed a cheat sheet to keep the characters straight. This wouldn’t be a problem if there were a print edition, but Rich Girl Summer is available only as an audiobook for now. It would be nice if Audible offered a family tree as a PDF extra!

Narrators Phillipa Soo and Steven Pasquale are just as terrific as you’d expect! Phillipa Soo has narrated all of Lily Chu’s audiobooks so far, and she’s a delight to listen to.

Rich Girl Summer is currently available only through Audible. Her previous novels were released the same way, and then released in paperback about a year later. As I’ve said in previous reviews of her books, I always look forward to new Lily Chu audiobooks. The Comeback and The Stand-In remain my favorites, but you can’t go wrong with any of them!

Purchase links: Amazon
Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

16Aug2025

Book Review: The King’s Messenger by Susanna Kearsley

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The King’s Messenger
Author: Susanna Kearsley
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication date: March 4, 2025
Length: 352 pages
Genre: Historical fiction
Source: Purchased
Rating:

For fans of Diana Gabaldon and Philippa Gregory, courtly rivalry and intrigue…

1613: King James – sixth of Scotland, first of England, son of Mary, Queen of Scots – has unified both countries under one crown. But the death of his eldest son, Henry, has plunged the nation into mourning, as the rumours rise the prince was poisoned.

Andrew Logan’s heard the rumours, but he’s paid them little heed. As one of the King’s Messengers he has enough secrets to guard, including his own. In these perilous times, when the merest suggestion of witchcraft can see someone tortured and hanged, men like Andrew must hide well the fact they were born with the Sight.

He’ll need all his gifts, though, when the king sends Andrew north to find and arrest Sir David Murray, once Prince Henry’s trusted courtier, and bring him a prisoner to London to stand trial before the dreaded Star Chamber.

A story of treachery, betrayal and love…

And the blurb from a different edition:

New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling author Susanna Kearsley explores romance, court alliances, and the limits of one’s duty in this rich story of an ordinary man in service to a treacherous king, and the mission that brings him to love and his true calling.

In 1613, King James sends his messenger Andrew Logan to Scotland to arrest his late son’s close advisor Sir David Moray. Accompanied by his aloof neighbor Phoebe Westaway, Andrew slowly untangles the real point of his mission—to frame Sir David for Prince Henry’s death. But Andrew is unwilling to bring an innocent man into a treacherous betrayal.

Andrew’s feisty and lovely neighbor Phoebe Westaway has always been stand-offish to Andrew, having heard malicious gossip against him. But as they journey to Scotland and back, Phoebe has the opportunity to see Andrew for the honorable and loyal man that he is, and her change of heart may open new possibilities for them once their mission is complete.

Susanna Kearsley is a must-read author for me. Her books are beautiful depictions of well-developed characters embroiled in significant historical periods, and I’ve loved them all so far. Her 2025 release, The King’s Messenger, is another excellent tale that kept me hooked from start to finish.

The King’s Messenger is set in England in1613, during the reign of King James I. As the story opens, his eldest son and heir, Prince Henry, has recently died, a tragedy for the kingdom as well as for those who loved him. Rumor has it that his death wasn’t natural — was he poisoned?

Andrew Logan is a King’s Messenger, a man whose job it is to carry out tasks on behalf of the king, delivering and receiving messages, but also, when necessary, making arrests and taking people into custody. Following Prince Henry’s death, Andrew is summoned before the king and charged with a new assignment: He’s to journey to Scotland and arrest Sir David Moray, Henry’s closest companion and beloved mentor and friend, and deliver him to London for trial. Sir David is being charged with the prince’s murder — but he’s not without friends at court, and they have a very different viewpoint of what actually happened.

Phoebe Westaway is Andrew’s neighbor, and the two have a quarrelsome, contentious relationship, fueled by Phoebe’s dislike of Andrew over what may have been a misunderstanding years earlier. Phoebe’s father is a scrivener (scribe), and he’s ordered to accompany Andrew on his mission and record everything that Sir David says during their journey back to London. But Mr. Westaway is ailing, and Phoebe worries that the arduous journey will endanger his health, so she insists on going with him. Andrew disapproves, but his Second Sight shows him that she does in fact go with them, and he knows that what he Sees can’t be changed — and so these three end up traveling together through Scotland and back toward London, escorting a prisoner who seems more and more to have been unfairly framed for a crime he simply could not have committed.

The plot of The King’s Messenger nicely balances the intrigue surrounding Henry’s death, the journey through Scotland and England, as the travelers face dangers from their surroundings, pursuers, and suspicious strangers, and the interpersonal dynamics among the group. Andrew starts by viewing David as his prisoner, but over time, he starts to understand who David is as a man. We see Andrew adjust his attitude and treatment of David due to the growing respect he has for him, as well as the growing suspicion that he’s being used as a pawn in a plot he’s only starting to become aware of.

Phoebe and Andrew also see a shift in their relationship, going from mistrust and tension to tentative appreciation, and finally, a more emotional bond. Phoebe has to overcome old prejudices to appreciate who Andrew truly is, and Andrew can only reveal so much to Phoebe while keeping his oaths and the secrecy of his position.

The story is told through chapters from several different characters’ viewpoints, including Andrew, David, Phoebe, and even Queen Anna, wife of King James and mother of Henry. Each voice is distinct, and lends an important insight into this complicated web of partial truths and competing motives.

I was a bit nervous at the start of the book, as this is not a historical period with which I had much familiarity ahead of time. I needn’t have worried: Without any sort of heavy-handed exposition, the author weaves enough context and information into the narrative to ease the reader into the story. It never felt hard to follow, and in fact, I ended up really enjoying learning more about this time and its royal dramas.

Overall, I loved The King’s Messenger. The journey is exciting, and I was entirely caught up in the characters’ relationships, risks, and plans. The King’s Messenger has a satisfying conclusion, remaining true to known history while also feeling very appropriate for what we come to know of the characters.

The author provides quite a bit of information in her closing notes about her research and sources, including distinguishing between what is known of the historical figures and events. Many of the main characters, including Andrew and Phoebe, are fictional creations, but they’re so well developed and situated that they feel totally natural in their roles interacting with historical figures such as David Moray and the King and Queen.

Susanna Kearsley’s books never let me down, and The King’s Messenger is no exception. The Moray family figures in several of her other books, set in slightly later time periods, but it’s not necessary to have read them in order to appreciate The King’s Messenger.

Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction. Don’t miss it!

Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

9Aug2025

Book Review: Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Hemlock & Silver
Author: T. Kingfisher
Publisher: Tor
Publication date: August 19, 2025
Length: 368 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes Hemlock & Silver, a dark reimagining of “Snow White” steeped in poison, intrigue, and treason of the most magical kind.

Healer Anja regularly drinks poison.

Not to die, but to save— seeking cures for those everyone else has given up on.

But a summons from the King interrupts her quiet, herb-obsessed life. His daughter, Snow, is dying, and he hopes Anja’s unorthodox methods can save her.

Aided by a taciturn guard, a narcissistic cat, and a passion for the scientific method, Anja rushes to treat Snow, but nothing seems to work. That is, until she finds a secret world, hidden inside a magic mirror. This dark realm may hold the key to what is making Snow sick.

Or it might be the thing that kills them all.

T. Kingfisher’s fairy tale retellings have become favorites of mine, and Hemlock & Silver is a great addition to this growing collection.

In this slightly off-kilter reinterpretation of the Snow White story, our main character is Anja — a large, plain-spoken woman in her mid-thirties who’s devoted her life to learning everything there is to know about poisons and how to cure them. She’s not a traditional healer: Don’t expect her to mend your broken bones! But if a snake-bite or opium overdose is the problem, she’s the one person most likely (but not guaranteed) to be able to offer even a glimmer of hope.

Anja’s relatively quiet life in a small desert town is upended when the king himself unexpectedly shows up in her workroom one day. He needs Anja’s help: His 12-year-old daughter Snow is fading away, and he suspects poison. Her mother and sister are already dead, and he can’t lose Snow as well — but with the possibility that someone in his court is secretly a poisoner, he needs an outsider’s help. Anja has no choice but to agree to accompany the king and his retinue to the villa where Snow suffers. If it truly is a poisoning case, then perhaps Anja really can make a difference — although she fears what it could mean for her family if she were to fail.

Snow’s case is puzzling and Anja makes little progress until she discovers Snow secretly eating some odd-looking apples. Anja takes a piece to test, and after trying it herself, accidentally finds herself falling against — and through — one of the vast mirrors that seem to be everywhere within the villa. There, Anja discovers a mirror world full of danger and horrific creatures, and learns that the threats against Snow are even more dire than anyone could have imagined.

Anja is a wonderful main character, her lack of tact balanced by her professionalism, honesty, and practicality.

The problem with being plump, middle-aged, and a woman was that people expected you to be motherly, as if that was your default state. I am not. I am actually terrible with children. On the other hand, I have saved the lives of multiple toddlers who licked flypaper, which I feel should count for something

Anja is joined in her desperate quest by her gruff guard Javier — who is steady and supportive, despite communicating mainly in grunts — and an especially delightful and supercilious cat named Grayling, who is able to speak with Anja and has attitude for miles.

“Are you sure I haven’t gone mad?” I asked.

“Your questions are remarkably unoriginal ‘Am I mad, is this a dream, oh no, what’s going on, why is this happening?'” He gazed off into the distance as if I were no longer worth considering

Strange as it sounds, this stung a bit. It’s one thing to know that a cat holds you in mild contempt, quite another to have it actually insult you in language you can understand.

The otherworldly adventure in the mirror world is eerie and unsettling, and there are moments that move this fantasy story toward a horror vibe as Anja discovers something that will give her (and all readers, I suspect) some lasting nightmares:

… the hands reached out and went creeping over the floor, dragging sections of arm behind them. The faces lay tumbled across each other, in a pile that blinked and twitched and moved, the corners of mouths working madly as if in pain.

Shudder.

But even this creature has some unexpected twists in store — the author seem to delight in setting up scenarios that have a hint of familiarity from other stories, then turning them upside down and having them come out completely different in feel and meaning.

Hemlock & Silver provides a fairy tale foundation, then builds upon it to include fascinating characters and a new, distinct story arc, with high stakes and imaginative dangers. I did find the back and forth between the real world and the mirror world occasionally hard to follow… but then again, I was slightly under the weather when I read this book, so this could be a case of “it’s not you, it’s me”.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Hemlock & Silver. It’s not every book that can make you laugh out loud on one page, leave you entirely creeped out on the next, and provide a baffling array of twists and turns to confuse readers before tying the plot up with a convincing conclusion.

Highly recommended!

Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

8Aug2025

Title twins two-fer: Battle of the books about battles between bookstores

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Two new releases with titles so close to being identical that I’m constantly having to check to see which is which!

It looks like battling bookstores are all the rage… or at least, the hot topic of summer 2025, as both of these new books seem to prove.

I’ve read them both. Neither ended up being a stellar read for me, but I have a clear preference between the two. Which battling bookstore book comes out on top? Read on for my thoughts!

Title: Battle of the Bookstores
Author: Ali Brady
Narrator: Karissa Vacker, Brandon Francis
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: June 3, 2025
Print length: 432 pages
Audio length: 9 hours 32 minutes
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley; audiobook via library
Rating:

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

Despite managing bookstores on the same Boston street, Josie Klein and Ryan Lawson have never interacted much—Josie’s store focuses on serious literature, and Ryan’s sells romance only. But when the new owner of both stores decides to combine them, the two are thrust into direct competition. Only one manager will be left standing, decided by who turns the most profit over the summer.

Efficient and detail-oriented Josie instantly clashes with easygoing and disorganized Ryan. Their competing events and contrasting styles lead to more than just frustration—the sparks between them might just set the whole store on fire. Their only solace during this chaos is the friendship they’ve each struck up with an anonymous friend in an online book forum. Little do they know they’re actually chatting with each other.

As their rivalry heats up in real life, their online relationship grows, and when the walls between their stores come tumbling down, Josie and Ryan realize not all’s fair in love and war. And maybe, if they’re lucky, happily ever afters aren’t just for the books.

This was one of my most highly anticipated summer reads, given how much I enjoyed this author duo’s previous three books. Sad to say, Battle of the Bookstores just doesn’t measure up.

This story about rival bookstore managers — one manages a romance bookstore, the other a store focused on literary fiction — embraces pretty much every trope under the sun. It’s done in a cute, self-aware sort of way (the characters talk about how they’re living out the enemies-to-lovers trope, for example). The story also includes the stereotypical extremely tall male love interest, fake dating, just one bed, corresponding with someone online without realizing they know each other in real life, and so much more.

On the plus side, the focus on reading, books transforming lives, and getting to truly know a person by reading the books they love all really appeal to my book-loving soul.

However — what I loved about the other Ali Brady books was the strong focus on friendships and family dynamics as the central storyline, with romantic plots being more secondary. Here, the romance is all there is. Honestly, we barely get to know anyone else in either main characters’ lives, and all issues and considerations are secondary to their enemies-to-friends-to-lovers story trajectory.

Add to that some over-the-top sex scenes and awkward lines (“My pants grow tight in anticipation”), and I just couldn’t get past the sense that this story was somewhat (to use one of Josie’s put-downs) run-of-the-mill.

The audiobook wasn’t fabulous either — the narrators are okay, but a few mispronunciations (like saying the CH in “Chanukah” like the CH in “cheese”) felt like sheer laziness to me.

Overall… Battle of the Bookstores get a lukewarm “meh” from me. Which makes me sad — as I’ve said, I adored Ali Brady’s three previous books and recommend them wholeheartedly!

Title: The Battle of the Bookshops
Author: Poppy Alexander
Publisher: Avon and Harper Voyager
Publication date: August 19, 2025
Length: 336 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

A charming literary-themed novel about a young woman determined to save her great-aunt’s beloved bookshop from extinction by the shiny new competition—which also happens to be run by the handsome son of her family’s rivals.

The cute, seaside town of Portneath has been the home of Capelthorne’s Books for nearly a hundred years…

The shop, in the heart of a high street that stretches crookedly down the hill from the castle to the sea, may be a tad run-down these days, but to Jules Capelthorne, the wonky, dusty world of literary treasures is full of precious childhood memories. When her great-aunt Florence gets too frail to run it alone, Jules ditches her junior publishing job in London and comes home to make the bookshop’s hundredth birthday a celebration to remember.

Jules quickly discovers things are worse than she ever imagined: The bookshop is close to bankruptcy, unlikely to make it to its own centenary celebration, and the lease on the building is up for renewal. With a six-figure sum needed, the future looks bleak.

To make matters worse, the owner of the property is the insufferable Roman Montbeau, from the posh, local family who owns half of Portneath. The Montbeaus and Capelthornes have feuded for years, and Roman has clearly not improved since he tormented Jules as a child. Fresh from a high-flying career in New York, he is on a mission to shake things up, and—unforgivably—proves his point about Capelthorne’s being a relic of the past by opening a new bookshop directly opposite—a shiny, plate-glass-windowed emporium of books.

Jules may not be able to splash the cash on promotions and marketing like the Montbeaus, but she’s got some ideas of her own, plus she has a tenacity that may just win the hardest of hearts and the most hopeless of conflicts.

Let the battle of the bookshops commence…

I did NOT realize this was going to be a Romeo and Juliet retelling before picking up the book (guess I didn’t read the synopsis very carefully… Montbeaus and Capelthornes, indeed!). I still would probably have requested this ARC, but might not have groaned out loud once I realized the central plot device.

In this battling bookstores book, Jules’s family has run Capelthorne’s Books for one hundred years, but it’s getting shabby around the edges. And now the wealthy Montbeau family has opened up shiny new Portneath Books right across the street — and what’s worse, they own the land on which Capelthorne’s stands. It seems that this small town isn’t big enough for two bookstores, but which will prevail?

Jules wants to hate Roman Montbeau — for everything his family stands for, for his perceived snobbishness, and for trying to ruin her aunt’s business — but she’s also had a crush on him since they were teens, and it appears that he’s felt the same way all these years. Jules and Roman go from business adversaries to lovers in the blink of an eye, but they still have to contend with centuries of animosity between their families.

I did so want to like this book! Sadly, it was pretty much a bust. Jules and Roman have no chemistry, and we only know that they’ve fallen in love because they tell us so. There’s no discernible build up or early sparks or any sign of growing feelings. Very unconvincing.

I also intensely disliked this moment of high drama (spoiler: there’s a fire) when Jules seems intent on fulfilling her role as a Juliet stand-in:

It was too hard to breath, too hard to keep going. Roman must have perished, and Jules knew, in that moment, life without him was impossible. She was done.

I’m sorry, what? I just can’t…

Meanwhile, the families’ feuding and backstory is a yawn, mainly just a device to shoehorn in the Romeo and Juliet theme. Some intrigue about an antiquarian book found on the Capelthorne’s premises seems to be meant to add excitement — but again, it’s just not particularly convincing

There’s a sweet, small-town-UK vibe to the story, and the village and its people are rather charming. A nice setting doesn’t compensate for lack of an interesting plot. Unfortunately for me, I have two other books by this author in my Kindle library (grabbed based on cute covers and steep price drops) which I now doubt that I’ll want to read.

So which book comes out on top in the battle of the bookstore battle books?Save

Save

Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady

Is this a perfect book? No.

Is it this author duo’s best book? Again, no.

But, in the battle of the bookstore battle books, this is the one that kept me entertained, had a fun, upbeat tone, and made me care about the characters and their silly competition (and their romance).

Also, the Ali Brady book clearly revels in a love of books, with the characters engaging in endless swooning over their favorites novels and authors and characters, and with plenty of terrific mentions of great books. The Poppy Alexander book is sadly lacking in this area, which is downright odd for a book about bookstores.

As I mentioned right from the start, Battle of the Bookstores is not my favorite Ali Brady book — I adored their three previous novels, and wholeheartedly recommend any or all of them. But, as a light piece of summer entertainment, this book is sure to please booklovers with a soft spot for book-centric love stories.

Final verdict: If you’re looking for a bookstore battle book for your summer reading, check out Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady!Save