I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I really had very high expectations for this book, which I guess was my own bad. I genuinely thought that a novel about the various characters you'd find working at a bookstore would make for a truly magnificent story, and this fell very flat for me by comparison. The frenetic nature of the storytelling left me often confused by where in the timeline I was, what exactly was happening, and sometimes whose POV I was reading from. I really did not find either of the two main protagonists relatable or likable, and beyond that was not particularly interested in any of the supporting characters either.

This was just one of those reads that really dragged on for me, and it felt like a chore to get through it. I'm not entirely sure still what actually took place in the book.

Loved the way the author described what it really means to be bookish people.
That said, the narrative style is very different from that of the books I usually read and therefore I struggled a bit to follow the plot.
Not sure this is the right book for me, but I am sure other people we'll love it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

“Bookish People” takes place in an independent bookstore outside D.C., following the staff over the course of one comedy-of-errors filled week. The main characters are book store owner Sophie and events manager Clemi, with the rest of the store staff filling out supporting roles.

Clemi schedules renowned poet Raymond Chaucer for an event, but since controversies follows him closely, Sophie wants her to cancel. Clemi has suspicions that Chaucer may actually be her biological father and so pushes ahead with the event anyway. Meanwhile Sophie is going through some sort of bizarre late midlife crisis and plotting to move in to a hidden tiny room in the store. Add in a turtle, several other protest-causing book events at the store, oddball staff and customers, and hilarity and chaos (supposedly) ensue.

Unfortunately, for me it fell flat. There were moments I laughed, and moments I cared what happened to the characters, but overall it just didn’t capture me like I’d hoped. Sophie’s freak-outs seemed super odd, especially since we’re set up to think she’s been a relatively level-headed person up until this one week, so things like her absolute horror and shame over vacuuming car keys, for example, seemed too out-there to be believable, and in many ways these kind of stories rely on an air of believability that the funny situations could in fact take place. Multiple characters were annoying but not in a charming way, and the ending seemed really abrupt and didn’t really ever wrap up in a meaningful way for Clemi to me.

I had high hopes for this book, but it just wasn’t quite it for me.

3 stars.

I received a complimentary copy of this e-book to review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the opportunity to read and review.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I’m sad to say that this book wasn’t for me. The premise sounded amazing, but I couldn’t connect to the story or characters. I wasn’t a big fan of the writing style either… However, I loved the setting (D.C.) and it was funny at times. I feel like other people would enjoy this one more, so I still recommend it!

My favorite types of books are books written about books, and I think that this is one that a lot of other bookish individuals would love! I would recommend this if you enjoyed "Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore", "The Shadow of The Wind", and "The Paris Library".

Thank you Harper Muse and NetGalley for the complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed below are completely my own.
The title and bookstore setting immediately interested me and made me excited to read this book. However, it was difficult to connect to any of the characters and it could be difficult to follow at times because of the different points of view.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this though.

Thank you to NetGalley, Susan Coll and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book, in exchange for an honest review!

Whilst the premise was good, I found it difficult to get into the story. I found myself reading it faster hoping to get to a more exciting part. I don't think it's bad writing, I just don't think it's my type of story.

I truly had high hopes for this book. The cover is adorable, the premise seemed spot on for me. However, the book fell flat. I think mostly it's the writing style that I couldn't truly adapt to. A bit confusing with the back and forth between the character's views and then the plot plus sub-plots. I really wanted to DNF this book, but I'm not a quitter and held on through the entire book. I was hoping somehow, it would turn around and I would enjoy it. I liked the premise of it but just couldn't get past the writing style. Confusing, so many sub-plots. Just seemed like a mess in a writing style sense. Truly wanted to love this book as the summary and cover made me think it'd be GREAT!

This ARC was given to me to review from the publishers and NetGalley. All comments above are solely my true opinion after reading this book.

Ebook/Fiction:. I wanted to love this book. I read the description of a city bookstore with quirky characters and an owner who just wants to seek permanent shelter in a secret room on the property. There were some funny moments; my favorite being the radio show where the Norman Mailer-like author gets more questions about the AGA he had in his house instead of his poetry book. I had to look up what an AGA was, (a European oven that stays on 24/7).
I really wish more character's backgrounds were delved into because I think I would have care more during the end's climactic scene of quirky mayhem.
I want to thank Netgalley for letting me read an ARC of the book.

Not sure I would classify this read as a "screwball comedy" per se. It does have some funny moments, but generally there is a lot of angst. The real world has enough angst for me right now! Not a bad read, I just didn't love this one.

This was touted as a kind of screw ball comedy with a cast of characters. It started off rather slow/depressing but leveled out once we were introduced to everyone. This book felt a little too chaotic to me. I laughed out loud a few times but overall it didnt really payoff for me.

Thank you to Netgalley & Harper Muse for an arc in exchange for a honest review! All opinions expressed are completely my own.

The cover and title of this book EASILY drew me in, but sadly this book was really hard for me to get into. :( Other than the setting (a lovely bookstore in DC), the only other thing i liked was the pet tortoise lol. I felt the book dragged, and the chapters seemed extremely long. Multiple pov’s are introduced, and I found it hard to connect with any of the characters. I feel if we were just shown 2-3 pov’s and delved deeper with them, I would’ve enjoyed this more!

This is a quirky read about a bookstore, its owner, and her employees. I really wanted to like this book, but I couldn’t connect with the characters or writing style. That doesn’t mean it’s not a good book, of course—everyone has different tastes so if the description appeals to you, give it a go.

This cover and title sold me before I even read a description.
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Living in Maryland, I loved the DC setting and even more because it takes place in a bookstore.
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A multi-point of view story, the story became complex and confusing. I would’ve loved it to just be about Sophie’s journey to start again. I find a lot of time in YA books, authors try to do too much with the plot, and I think this was a similar situation.
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The ending wrapped up well and was a satisfying ending. Getting there was enjoyable, but I just felt it could’ve been stronger by having more focus and less sub-plots.

DNF. Unfortunately, this was a book I started multiple times but could just not get into. I appreciate having the opportunity to read this book, it was just not a good fit for me as a reader. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my gifted review copy.

As a book lover, I had high hopes for this book and wanted to love it. Sadly, it didn't meet my expectations. I loved the setting (bookstore), but the story itself felt disjointed. It felt like a bunch of short stories randomly thrown together, which made it hard to stay engaged. I did like the main character, and I think the book could've benefitted from just sticking with her as the main focus. I love turtles, so I did enjoy Kurt Vonnegut Jr.!

While I did enjoy that there was a lot going on in the book just like there is in real life, it was also at times somewhat distracting. I loved how the chapters ended with the store manager's daily recap of what happened each day, and I was entertained by many of the quirky situations involving a cozy hidden book nook, a notorious poet, a literal Chatty Cathy and the escapades of multiple animals. I just couldn't really connect to the main characters. That was the drawback for me.

However, as a lifelong bookworm, how could I not enjoy a book set in a bookstore? Even without a major draw to the characters, the "bookish landscape" was entertainment enough.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Muse and author Susan Coll for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

Although this "collection" of characters includes some stereotypes that hardened readers can easily recognize and identify with, the plot itself doesn't hold up, the book is rather slow, despite the fact that everything happens within a week / ten days more or less, and it was not easy, as far as I'm concerned, to get to the end.

Per quanto questa "raccolta" di personaggi, annovera alcuni stereotipi che i lettori piú incalliti possono facilmente riconoscere ed in loro riconoscersi, la trama di per sé regge poco, il libro é piuttosto lento, nonostante tutto accada nell'arco di una settimana/dieci giorni piú o meno, e non é stato facile, per quanto mi riguarda, arrivare alla fine.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

This is a quirky read about a bookstore, its owner, and her employees. Throw in a disgraced poet, a scene stealing turtle, a bunch of "cats" and "birds", and a vacuum with a mind of its own and you get either a chaotic mess or masterpiece depending on how you choose to see things. The main story follows Sophie Bernstein, a newly widowed woman in her fifties who is sleepwalking through life. After discovering a long forgotten "secret" room in her bookstore she begins to make plans to move into it and live the rest of her life in solitude. There is so much going on in this story with multiple storylines that all intersect during one eventful summer week in Washington DC. The chapters were too long IMO and I found it a bit confusing to jump from multiple POVs. Each chapter ended with an "end of the day" report by the bookstore manager that summarized the craziness that took place that day. The ending was a nice surprise with everything wrapped up neatly, but the journey to that ending was painful at times. There was just too much going on for me and I didn't feel invested in any of the characters really. Being a “bookish person” I really wanted this book to be better. It was a really chaotic and felt disjointed, but I think that was the point. Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Muse, and author Susan Coll for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. This review does not reflect the opinions of any brands I represent.

Thank you to Harper Muse and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Ohhhh the potential that this book had. The first half of this book was really hard for me to get into. Sophie's character at first seemed to drag and have a negative viewpoint, which I didn't like. I wanted more for Sophie other than her dwelling on her late husband. However, by the end of the book her character got better. As for Clemi, right off the bat I loved her. I could see that she really cared for Sophie and the bookstore in general. I liked how this book switched from the various character's perspectives and gave insight to how they viewed their time in the bookstore. With this all being said, I didn't love the book but I also didn't hate it. It was just "Blahhhh."