Delightfully written but not a whole lot happens. It starts off fairly enjoyable in a slow burn kind of way, but as much as I wanted to like this, it pains me to say that it just felt like its themes were more interesting than the actual story …which barely progressed at snail's pace

*** I received an early complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

As someone who considers herself a "bookish" person, I was eager to read about the exploits of the characters who work at a quirky DC bookstore. I found both of the main characters (Clemi and Sophie) to be highly relatable, and I loved the humor and witty dialogue. "Bookish People" left me wanting to continue to follow these characters into the next chapters of their lives. Fun and full of literary references, this book is bound to please all kinds of "bookish people."

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Netgalley & Harper Muse!

Sophie Bernstein is at a crossroads in her life. After the death of her husband, she feels like everything is starting to fall apart and she begins to retreat into herself. She decides to make a retreat for herself in the back of her bookstore as an escape.

A series of circumstances both comedic and less than funny build out the storyline of this book. There are almost too many side plots with some building on each other and others that are somewhat unnecessary.

This book was not for me. The plot sounded so interesting but I just didn’t connect with it. I didn’t find any of the characters to be particularly relatable. Some were flat and could have used a bit more development. The chapters are very long which can be off-putting for someone who does not like to stop reading in the middle of the chapter.

I had a hard time connecting to this story and the characters. The story is about a bookstore in the DC area and the lives of those that work there. I just couldn't connect with the story or the characters, not enough depth for me.

First off I’d like to say that I love the cover, it really drew me in and made me wanna read this book!

However, the plot itself lacked for me. There were so many times I got drawn in, then suddenly I was confused and the story was dragging again. This book was ALL over the place. I’m not a huge slap stick humor kinda gal, and so things like a whole chapter about a faulty vacuum just don’t do it for me.

Loved the bookstore vibes, and the thought of a hidden room within it, and a few of the subplots were enjoyable, but as a whole this wasn’t a very enjoyable read.

Also, while I understand this is an unfinished copy, the formatting/watermarking makes it very un-enjoyable to read. Literally half a page watermark every other page is a bit much.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Harper Muse and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Intriguing and entertaining story with delightful characters.

Bookish People by Susan Coll is a story about a bookstore and the intriguing lives of its owner and employees. Told from a variety of perspectives, we jump into the daily life and upkeep of this business to get a true glimpse into this world.

While there were certainly some silly anecdotes throughout the story: a rogue homeless turtle, mayhem that ensues when a dog steals a child’s bagel, a vacuum cleaner that just will not work…the plot was just a little too disjointed for me. There were just too many characters and subplots to really bring this piece together. That being said, the book felt quaint and cozy, but perhaps that is because I just love a bookstore.

I think that the watermark was also a deliberate choice for the book in its prerelease state, but it was a real challenge to read when it appeared so frequently, just a note to the publisher.

Many thanks to Harper Muse and NetGalley for this title in exchange for my honest review. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I walked away from this book with one thought in mind… “Damn the Man, Save the Bookstore” (if you get this reference, you’re my vintage, we should talk)

An independent bookstore, a rag tag bunch of book lover staff and a store owner who’s considering moving into the crawl space between the shelves sets the scene for what becomes an on trend, off beat work of bookish art.

I loved the quirky characters, the literary references and the genuine, heart you’ll find in this novel. Infused with humour, tenderness, sadness and a good dose of huh? Bookish People is the ideal read for … bookish people! A triumph of bibliophilia!

I wanted to love this book, but I have to admit it was a struggle. The bookstore setting was wonderful, but the actual story was such a hodgepodge that I kept putting it down. It felt like as soon as I caught on to the storyline and became invested in the main character (she seemed so interesting! Why couldn’t we just stay with her???) the story jumped to another character in some other situation. After awhile it was just too much to keep track of without enough excitement to make it worth the effort.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book.

Fun, crazy, comedy. Kind of all over the place so could use a little editing but it takes place in a bookstore and I am a sucker for bookstore fiction

As a DC resident, I loved reading about all the scenes in DC. Also, the descriptions of the independent bookstore world felt very realistic and set the stage well. There were so many characters that also felt simultaneously true to DC "types" but still real people. The character's emotions were conveyed really well through the writing so you felt those emotions as well, on their behalf. This helped keep all of their stories clear and coherent, even though there were multiple storylines that converged beautifully at the end of the book. Overall, a fun read that made me nostalgic for bookstore browsing!

Oh, how I wanted to love this book. Bookstores are one of my favorite settings for a story to take place. The synopsis of this novel sounded perfect. Widowed and grieving bookstore owner, Sophie Bernstein, finds herself lost in life and completely over books. The sad state of the world has her hatching a plan to go into hiding in the secret room at the back of the bookstore. Her bookstore is suffering, and her son is floundering in life. Her favorite manager is moving away. Sophie cannot seem to get a grip on things. The chapters in the story jump between Sophie and a few other quirky characters. There is the narcissistic poet Raymond Chaucer, recently scheduled to do a book signing at the store. He is also in the middle of an ugly scandal and being accused of his wife’s death. Then there is Clemi, the events coordinator at the store and aspiring writer, who is Raymond’s illegitimate love child. Clemi has recently figured out who Raymond really is to her and refuses to cancel the signing event even though she knows it will be a disaster. Comedy of epic proportions ensues. The rest of the motley, multi-generational, cast features authors, booksellers, and a Russian Tortoise named Kurt Vonnegut Jr. The one thing they all share is their love of books.

 The major premise of this book was wonderful. It was the execution that I struggled with. The story is told from alternating points of view. And while I enjoyed getting an intimate look into each character, it did not flow well. At several points, the disjointed scenes left me confused. Instead of having a single primary plotline, it was a series of ideas and sub-plots. They just didn’t seem to move well together through to the end. I struggled to follow the story and had to go back and re-read sections. It was an enjoyable story. I just didn’t enjoy the writing style. How the author wrapped everything up at the end was perfect and left me feeling satisfied. This was a 2.5 rounded up to 3-star read for me.

2.5 stars rounded up

I’m not entirely sure what I just read. This seemed like a lot of small subplots without a full plot to tie into. It was fairly difficult to read because nothing really made sense in a full scope. Not a lot of character development either.

I was given an ARC of this book by NetGalley and Harper Muse in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book was comprised of a million half-stories, I’m not entirely sure what it was actually about. Honestly, reading this book gave me anxiety-it was insanely hard to follow and seemed like nothing really happened. There were too many points of view and too many insignificant events occurring that it was impossible to both decipher the plot and follow. Apart from all of that, I did quite like the ending. I’m still not entirely sure what happened though.

I loved the characters and the humor in this book, about a book store owner and her employees. Sophie Bernstein, 54, lost her husband recently and decides she wants to shut herself off from society in a secret nook at the back of her bookstore. While trying to make the dusty nook into a habitable one room apartment, she has several misadventures in the store, involving a vacuum cleaner, an errant tortoise belonging to two of her employees, customers and their dogs, and a blackout from a busted electrical system.

Amid the humor, brought about by Sophie herself and her responses to circumstances, are the customers and their foibles, book signing authors with their own quirks, and finally someone interesting to help Sophie look anew at the world and want to participate in it, with all its complicagted and unexpected happenings.

A wonderful read, a laugh out loud entertaining rom com/women's fiction.

I will update the review with a link to our blog closer to publication date.
I'd like to thank the publisher Harper Muse and netgalley for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Bookish People.. I loved the cover and the title of this book. I loved the premise. As an avid reader and book lover, I have always had dreams of working in a book store or owning one. So, I had really high hopes for this book. It really had a great story. The store owner, now widowed, is at a crossroads in her life. The store is its own kind of universe with many moving parts and sub stories within. The stories within the story, like Sophie being the grieving widow and muddling through, finding her way and Clemi with her overbearing literary agent mother and unknown father and early adult life with its problems were good stories and contributed to the whole, but I do feel that some of the story lines went on and on.. a bit further than they had to. The AGA and vacuum cleaner stories and details were a bit much. They delivered details that made the story more whimsical, but it went on too much. The book was well written and tons of people are going to love it. I'm just not one of those people. I liked it. I did not love it.

I requested to read “Bookish People” because I love novels that center around bookstores, readers and writers; the icing on the cake was that most of the novel takes place in politically charged D.C. Here, we meet Sophie who has become disenfranchised with bookstore ownership after mourning the loss of her husband. Yet, when a poet wishes to use Sophia’s bookstore to address his own scandal, Sophia wants to hide, even when her events coordinator believes the poet might be her biological father. This is just one of many story lines that the book introduces, and because of this, “Bookish People” reminded me more of a collection of scenes versus a uniform novel with a solid set of plot and subplots. Because of that, I had a difficult time investing in the any of the characters, with the exception of Sophie. But there is plenty of literary humor and if you’re willing to be introduced to characters who quickly disappear, you might enjoy this novel’s roller coaster ride. Unfortunately, this novel was not for me.

Thank you to Harper Muse, Netgalley, and the author for a chance to read and review this novel.

This was a slow burn of a story . Whimsical characters without a lot going on with them. I do love to see how books influence life, but really this had a lot of book mentions without as many tie ins. I wanted this to be more of meatier story rather than a visit with characters. . 3.5

From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.