⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2, rounded up.

Welcome to Bell River—what it lacks in river-like bodies of water, it makes up for in businesses named after its most famous resident, early 20th century writer Edward Bell. Maggie comes to town to help friend and former college roommate Rochelle run the local bookstore while she’s out on maternity leave. She’s happy to be of use since she’s currently unemployed and unsure of her future… there are just a few problems.

First of all, Ralph Bell—majority owner of Cobblestone Books and Edward Bell’s grandson—insists that they only carry classics that were available during Edward’s lifetime. Second, Ralph has Malcolm, one of his other employees from the museum, check in on Maggie and the bookstore to make sure things are being run according to his strict guidelines. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly… Maggie doesn’t like to read.

Maggie struggles with keeping the business afloat as Ralph exerts more control over it. She also tries to balance her unexpected, growing feelings for Malcolm and hiding unsanctioned stock additions and store events from him. Selling a larger variety of novels and starting a book club has breathed new life into the shop, but they’re definitely things she needs to conceal so she doesn’t get fired and get Rochelle into trouble.

I found the premise to be an intriguing and original one. I don’t often see stories about bookstores whose lead character isn’t already a bookworm. It was lovely to see Maggie fall in love with reading, the town, and a local resident all at once. My only complaint is that—while Maggie and Malcom were cute together—the romance didn’t have a lot of chemistry. I would have liked to see more tension and more of a build-up to their relationship. Still, I enjoyed “The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks” and would recommend it to anybody in need of a light, sweet read with a small-town setting and diverse characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for an advanced ready copy in exchange for an honest review. My review was posted online on July 24, 2022 to Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4840294567.

This was different than I was expecting. But it's a great look at small towns and how some can be stuck in their ways when it comes to books.
I liked Maggie and how going against the book society she figured out more of who she was and what mattered to her.
A good read for book lovers!

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

I love this book so much! This is the first book I read by this very talented author, but I will definitely be reading her other books!

She created wonderful characters that I soon became “friends” with in this lovely small town that had some problems that Maggie, in her own style of just wanting to be helpful and have fun, turned upside down. I laughed so much and also was heartbroken while reading. Since this is a romance, so I knew all would be well by the ending, and that always gives me a joyful feeling when reading the sad parts of a book.

The plot was fantastic, and I was drawn in immediate and could not put the book down. After reading a book that was difficult for me, this was a breath of fresh air. It was such a pleasure to be in this world that Shauna Robinson fashioned.

I truly wish that I had a bookstore community like the one that Maggie created. I finished the book and feel a loss of missing this special connection, as if it was a real experience I had.

A huge thank you Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for giving me the immense pleasure of reading the advance reader copy, with no obligation to write a review. My review is written freely as a hobby, and is totally my own opinion, not influenced by receiving the ARC.

This was absolutely delightful. The plot was well-paced and captivating from start to finish. The characters were charming and witty. I highly recommend this fun and quick read! Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

LOVED IT. If you loved booklovers, meet me in the margins or the library, you will ADORE this book. I enjoyed every page and absolutely devoured it in a day. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to read a fun book about books (as we booklovers want to sometimes) 10/10 recommend.

Maggie thinks subbing for her ex-college roommate as a bookshop proprietor during Rochelle's maternity leave may get her out of a long-standing rut. But she never expected Cobblestone Books to be quite possibly the most boring bookshop ever. Its inventory is restricted to classics and other serious books published during the lifetime of town hero and author Edward Bell, which means no books published after 1968! Maggie is no book lover herself, but she knows that giving the locals the books they want to read might save the struggling bookshop and Rochelle's job. Little does she know that the store's majority owner will throw roadblocks in her way at every turn, but that doesn't keep her from coming up with creative solutions, enlisting the help of others who are empathetic with her quest.

I loved the author's sympathetic portrayal of down-to-earth, tell-it-like-it-is Maggie, who has to balance what she knows to be right with those who owe their livelihood to the town's pervasive Edward Bell Society. Supporting characters are also well-drawn with interesting details. I personally rooted for Maggie and suffered along with her as she faced near-impossible challenges. I loved the author's Must Love Books and feel this book is a worthy successor.

My thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

Story 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was exactly the fun and relaxing book I needed. The characters were really pleasing and diverse.

This is my first time trying Shauna Robinson and I would definitely spend my money buying more from her.

I must say, I really liked this one. The whole idea that you don't need to adhere to the standars to find happiness and also be true to who you are are strong in this story. I also liked that Maggie thinks outside the box and it's always trying to help those around her. I definitely appreciated the fact that the "romantic" conflict wasn't taken to the extreme and that the main focus was on the friendships. It has a good and constant pace and it was a fun and entertaining read,

Maggie Banks has arrived in Bell River to run her best friend's bookstore. But it's struggling. To make matters worse, it is stuck in the past and the literary society shuns more modern books. As an outsider, Maggie finds it hard but she begins to gain friends and find support in her ideas to keep the store afloat. Maggie doesn't follow the rules, so why start now?

This was such a light and easy read and the characters were engaging. Of course I can't resist a book about books and Maggie's reading journey canvassed in this was delightful. A fun and sweet read, just so enjoyable.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital copy!

This book was lighthearted and fun, especially for us literature lovers. Literary discourse and literary scandals are always interesting and complex topics to discuss, so seeing it at a larger scale in this book was a wonderful experience.

Likes:
-the characters! Such a diverse cast and all had amazing personalities
-the plot! Very fun and different from other romances/Contemps I’ve read
-the storytelling! I thought it was captivating and easy to read

Dislikes:
-the story had its moments where it dragged, but it wasn’t anything horrendous

More detailed review to come!

If you like a quirky small town romance and a protagonist that needs to find where she belongs. All with added bookish fun. Then this is definitely the book for you.

The town of Bell River is run by the Bell Society. All if the businesses have some connection to the society and everything has a literary theme inspired by legendary local writer Edward Bell.

Maggie is completely lost – unemployed and stuck in a rut – she agrees to help her pregnant friend, Rochelle, run the town bookshop while she plans her next step.

The town is such a strange mixture of suspicious literary sticklers who want to make sure the Maggie sticks to the script and sells the official Bell story, and friendly and fun locals who take the bookish fun for what it is.

Maggie is a fun and generally likeable character. She genuinely wants to make a success of the bookshop but some of her decision are quite thoughtless and she often acts without thinking through the consequences.

I absolutely love the secret literary events that she sets up – they are witty and clever and I would love to go along in real life. I also really enjoyed Maggie’s reading journey. While classics and set texts have turned her off reading she finds a pleasure in romance and rom coms that then open her eyes to the world of books. The Classics so beloved of the Bell Society are both appreciated and mocked that there’s a clear message that all books have worth.

The romance between Maggie and far-too-seriius Malcolm is a sweet slow-burner with lots of witty banter.

Overall, this is an enjoyable, quick-read romance with likeable characters and bookshop dreams.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC ebook for my honest review.

A book about books? Yes, please - sign me up! Within the first couple chapters I felt like this was the book version of Footloose and man, do I love Footloose.
Maggie comes into a small town to help her friend run her bookstore for a few months. Maggie is a mess, she acts before she thinks but she has such a heart of gold. When she gets to Bell River she realizes that there are certain books that aren't allowed to be sold at the bookstore!

Some of my favorite things about this book were:
• Maggie didn't love reading before she started working at the store. Meeting new people and finding herself along the way helped her find her love for books.
• BIPOC rep
• the friendships
• having authors be part of the pages and not just behind the scenes

I wished there would have been more of the relationship between Maggie and Malcolm. I think it can be somewhat realistic that relationships form quickly but I just wanted more.

This book was a sweet read about Maggie who is trying to figure out her next steps in life by working at a bookstore for a few months. This bookstore is limited in what it can sell because of the fictional historical figure the town is associated with. Maggie brainstorms how she can meet the book needs of the people in town and along the way finds romance, and uncovers some secrets about the historical figure. At the end of the book, Maggie realizes that she doesn't need to try and fit in a pre-conceived mold but can embrace how she approaches life.


Overall I liked this book. I wish the romance factor was a little more on the forefront, but it was a cute, sweet read.

Really enjoyed this as a fellow book nerd it was amazing.

Lovely heart warming community read and recipies sounded delicious yum

Anytime I see a book about books I'm hooked! This book was a sweet read about Maggie who is trying to figure out her next steps in life by working at a bookstore for a few months. This bookstore is limited in what it can sell because of the fictional historical figure the town is associated with. Maggie brainstorms how she can meet the book needs of the people in town and along the way finds romance, and uncovers some secrets about the historical figure. At the end of the book, Maggie realizes that she doesn't need to try and fit in a pre-conceived mold but can embrace how she approaches life.

I appreciated the message of this book to take a measured view of historical figures. It struck a good balance between acknowledging what happened with the fictional historical figure but not completely throwing their life out because of something they did.

The romance element was on the sideline which was refreshing but it seemed a bit fast-paced and not believable at times.

Maggie as a character came across as ditzy and unthinking about the implications of her actions but as the book progresses you see how this actually helps her figure out her strengths.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC!

“The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks” is a contemporary book by Shauna Robinson. I’m always one for thinking outside the book - and Maggie definitely did do that. I’m not a fan of characters lying, but in this case Ms. Robinson’s ideas for Maggie to hide the info I found creative. I did like how Maggie pulled the town together and how even the grumpy character ended up not being as grumpy as all thought (in other words, there’s a rather good supporting cast). I felt the over-arching business thing was a bit odd, but for the most part I was able to push that aside and enjoy the story focusing on Maggie. Do give this book a bit of time to get going - once it does get rolling, it rolls pretty steadily along in an enjoyable way.

I really need the recipe for those apple cheddar biscuits which sound amazing…

I really liked this! Lots of fun to read about Maggie’s adventures as she tries to figure out her life, and stumbles into her true calling. The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks was a delightful read. I had assumed that the focus of it was going to be romance, but was overjoyed that there was not only a good romance, but so much more to the story. I'm not a fan of romance-centric books, they always seem predictable, but this one was fun, and i loved the characters soo much. I want Maggie to be my best friend. The characters were so immediately lovable, and the setting of a small bookish town was lovely, and I loved how cultish Maggie saw the town in the beginning.. I really enjoyed the idea of setting up secret book meetings and selling contraband books and having meetings about it

I don't know what I expected but this unique story exceeded all expectations. A small literary town is changed forever when Maggie arrives to fill in at her beat friend's bookstore. Really fun book nerd story.

I loved the writing and central characters here, and the small town bookshop is always a favorite setting/trope. I do wish the gatekeeping-white-guy-town-founder angle was a little less central to the book, because I read this kind of small town romance/fiction for escapism from the tedious misery of the REAL world and all its tedious old white men (and those that devote themselves to their legacies). But that's a very me thing, and I appreciate how everything resolved. As a bookseller, I certainly loved the bookstore location, too, of course!

I thought this was a cute book about books, friendship, and the banned book selling that takes place in one small town bookstore. I really thought this book was adorable and enjoyed my time with it. These were all of the vibes I was hoping for from this book and would highly recommend it!