This book had two things going for me immediately: It was written by Sarah Smith and the title. THAT TITLE! Oh, a boy who owns a bookstore is quite possibly every book nerds' dream. And he wears beanies! And is nice to our heroine's family! And he orders a more complicated coffee from our heroine in order to …. stand at the counter longer to talk to her. sighhhhhh.

Joelle (best character name ever) owns a bakery next door to Max's bookstore. When the owner of their building wants to renovate the two are forced into close proximity in the same workspace. I think you know where this plot is going.

The things I loved about the book: long-term crushes, the FOOD descriptions, the way each character pushed the other to grow, her family loyalty while Max had to come to terms with his family estrangement, the pets, the sizzle.

The one thing I would like to see change in romance books is the issue of ghosting when things get difficult. The two characters have a falling out and one of them disappears and goes off to solve their internal issues or figure out a way to solve "the exterior obstacle" keeping them apart. The character, usually the male, never communicates what he's doing so the heroine is left to think she's been dumped forever.

I always think "well, a phone call would solve this" - but I get that the characters need to see what life without each other would be. I know it pushes forward the plot and gives them another obstacle to overcome, but sometimes it feels overused.

This is the third Sarah Smith book I've read and I just love everything she writes.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me an e-copy of THE BOY WITH THE BOOKSTORE to review.

I rate THE BOY WITH THE BOOKSTORE four out of five stars.

Bookish read and it's all I need!!! I really enjoyed this book and that's saying a lot because as a book lover we all really want a book that portrays a bookish life just right. I have yet to find a book where I could find that and this one fits the bill. I love it! Now I'm not a big fan of this author's writing style but I didn't have such an issue that I wasn't't able to get through it. I can really appreciate this book and I will definitely recommend it to my friends.

This was such a fun read! The moment I knew the premise of this book I wanted to read it. I mean who could resist the combo of a bakery AND a bookstore as the setting?!

This is the 2nd book I’ve read by Sarah and I really love her writing style. Joelle & Max’s story was so sweet! I loved the character back story & seeing how everything played out throughout the book.

I would definitely recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC!

I have read some of Sarah’s other books, which I completely loved, and this one was no exception. Sarah has such a way with words that will hook you from the very beginning and keep you interested & invested throughout the entire book. I fell in love with the premise of a sweet bakery shop owner & a grumpy bookstore owner in Oregon who have to temporarily share a workspace during the building’s renovations. I grew up in Portland & I just love when books are based there, it brings back all of those wonderful memories. Another thing I love is all of the yummy foods Sarah always includes in her books. Her writing is very descriptive and it made me super hungry.

Joelle & Max are forced to share a workspace and spend unwanted time together. Aside from the obvious sexual tension all their bickering brings, Joelle & Max come from very different backgrounds and have a very different look on almost everything. They undoubtedly get close, not just physically but emotionally, and they realize they have true feelings for each other. But when they’re put in a difficult situation regarding the renovations & future of their businesses, will the be able to work together & put their differences aside for their happily ever after?

You can expect:

* Sunshine x Grump
* Enemies to Lovers
* Based in Portland, Oregon
* Great Filipino Rep
* Cinnamon Roll Hero
* Witty Banter
* Open Door Romance
* Family Dynamics

The Boy with the Bookstore was my first read by this author. I did find the story itself cute, but I didn't really feel a strong connection to the characters. So, this one didn't unfortunately didn't work for me.

I will still try other books by this author.

I was pleasantly surprised to be almost instantly approved to read one of my most anticipated reads from a favorite author of mine & I basically threw everything aside because I of course had to read it immediately.

Sarah had let me know it was her first dual POV title which had me even more excited because for me no one writes swoonworthy romance like her and getting that male POV made the story so much fuller.

This one captured me immediately with characters around my age that I felt an instant connection to. As I get older I realize there aren’t as many books with characters my age that I relate to as much as Joelle. Thirty-somethings with family + career problems, still working on finding that happily ever after just speak to me, and I loved how kind, caring and sweet her character was. There’s something to be said about the nice girls, who don’t realize inner beauty is just as important.

Every girl deserves a Max 😍
Now searching for hot, bookstore owning, stack of books tatted male to call my own, gona go ahead and claim Max as my current book boyfriend, okay?!

Nobody knows how to write hot and bothered characters with just the right of steam like Smith, and this enemies to lovers, cinnamon roll love story had me from the start. Books about books always have a special place in my heart, and I loved the bookstore + bakery setting. As always I love the food featured in Sarah’s books, reading them should always require a snack. & I have ALL the questions about bone marrow now 🤣

I really enjoyed the differences in our main characters upbringing that made their struggles with family, the building’s renovations and their relationship come together. While the story was light and fun, easy to binge in a day I found the depth of characters and their flaws, and the close proximity setting had me swooning.

Thank you Berkley Romance + NetGalley for the advance reader copy to read and review, can’t wait to add this title to my shelves!

Awww this is sweetest, cutest, extremely swoon read and absolutely best work of the author! A shy- gold hearted, quirky baker, wearing clothes covered in flour and a gentle, lovely, hottest bookshop owner carrying eccentric bad boy image with skull tattoos, tatted up, clad in leather.

It’s advertised as enemies to lovers but the troupes in this book are actually sunshine meets the grump, friends to lovers and a good girl meets bad boy ( correction: our sweet but hot blooded hero is not bad boy, let’s call him badass, survivor. I cannot call a kind man who reads books “bad boy” even though his harsh tone and some mean remarks he’s made about our doll heroine Joelle made me scream at him and call him “jerk”)
Let’s get a closer look to the plot line and learn more about the characters:

Joelle gave up her dreams to go to the culinary school, traveling around Europe, becoming a pastry chef in Paris for her family who lost everything they’ve worked for. She stayed at home, supporting them, opening her own little bakery named after her middle name. She’s selfless, motivating everyone with her cheerful enthusiasm. Yes, I told before she is a doll!
And she has a long time crush for bookshop owner Max at next door. She wants to ask him for a date and it seems like Max also likes her enough for quick hookup at his office.

But when their landlord tell them both of their buildings will be renovated and they have to share a small place during construction, Max loses it and says things he wants to take back as soon as they spitted out from his mouth. He breaks Joelle’s heart even though he has feelings for her.

Poor Joelle has to share a place with a brooding man who is dealing with his own issues. Could they stay intact till the construction is over without being each other’s throats or ripping each other’s clothes off ?
Let’s read to find out!

Overall: I love both of the characters. I loved angsty, heart warming parts! I just devoured in one sit and fully enjoyed it!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

I really really enjoyed this book! It was super cute! The characters and storyline were pretty brilliant!