I'm conflicted. I liked the premise of the story. The boy next steps with his books and his tats, yum. Yes please! The girl and her family love. I will take more of that. Strong small town business owners. Hell yes.

The romance though, this felt a bit forced. I love a good forced proximity/yearning over time. I'm just still on the fence on whether is was just meh.

Overall, I enjoyed the read. Thank you to Berkley Romance for the advanced copy

Joelle has had a huge crush on the man who owns the bookstore next door to her bakery from the moment she first saw him. Now that the building they share is getting renovated, they will have to share a space, which seems like the perfect opportunity for them to get together. However, the reality of sharing a space is not at all what Joelle imagined, instead Max turns out to be the biggest grump. Will they be able to put their differences aside and learn to get along?

What could be better than a romance set in a bookstore? Oh wait…a bookstore/bakery romance! This book combined so many of my favorite things and I could not have been happier to read it. I was sucked into this story right away, and before I knew it I had finished the whole book. I loved the main characters - it was so cute that they had both been secretly crushing on each other, and while they had to work through the shared space and some personality conflicts, I really enjoyed them together and thought they had great chemistry. Max had a deep, layered back story, and getting to know him was heartbreaking at times, and gave him so much depth. Joelle was a literal angel of a human and truly a gem. Plus her family was so fun. Add a few sometimes mischievous and always very loved pets and I was so sold for this one.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for the advance copy. Another thank you to @berittalksbooks and @dg_reads for hosting a great buddy read for this one!

This book felt like a classic rom-com in all the best ways. Filled to the brim with a sweet romance, forced proximity, angst that makes your heart ache, and supporting characters that you wish you had in your own life, The Boy With The Bookstore was pure joy in book form. I flew through it in one sitting, and I couldn’t put it down until Max and Joelle got their happily ever after.
Joelle was a heroine that every introverted book lover can relate to, but she’s also a person that I wish I could be more like. She always sees the best in others, and I greatly admired how caring and selfless she was toward those around her.
Max was the ultimate cinnamon roll hero. I loved that this book was dual-POV, because I got to see just how head over heels he is for Joelle. His and Joelle’s relationship was great because she brings out the best in him and forces him to confront the trauma of his past. Watching his character development in terms of his relationship with his mother was one of my favorite parts of the book, and I was brought to tears when he finally worked up the courage to go see her.
Overall this was a sweet and light-hearted book that is perfect for anyone looking for a pick me up rom-com to brighten their day. Be warned, however, that the pastries at Joelle’s bakery sound so incredibly delicious that reading this WILL make you hungry.

The Boy with the Bookstore by Sarah Echavarre Smith stars Joelle Prima, the owner of a bakery, and her long-time crush turned nemesis slash bookstore owner, Max Boyson. An unexpected renovation in their building causes them to work together in a cramped space for what should be a month. Tension arises and so does romance.

What worked well? I enjoyed reading about Joelle and Max separately, especially on the issues they were dealing with at the family level. Joelle and her guilt towards her family while they also feel guilty towards her, something a lot of eldest/only daughters face. Max and his estranged family, plus the loneliness he felt that caused hyper independence and unhealthy reactions to anger/stress. Both characters working through this by themselves were the most interesting parts of the story!

What didn't work well? The romance between Joelle and Max. Like other reviewers, I got whiplash with the number of enemies from lovers to enemies again and back to lovers throughout the book. Both characters had major faults that just didn't convince me they worked well together. Joelle overstepped a lot of Max's boundaries and offered advice that Max clearly didn't want, based on her own family's dynamics. And Max was plain angry. When he was in love, he was the sweetest. But when he was stressed or angered, he lashed out in a very unhealthy way. For two people who didn't understand each other's boundaries, I'd put them on my list of couples who break up post-epilogue.

Thank you Berkley and Netgalley for a copy of this novel.

Sarah Echavarre Smith knows her way around an adorable romance.

I've been a fan of her work in the past and The Boy with the Bookstore was right up my alley with the male main character owning a bookstore. Perfect, right?! And this book starts with such hilarious situations that I was just grinning ear-to-ear while I read. There's heart in this book while providing a saucy and fun relationship between the heroine and hero.

Add this to your TBR today.

Max is the bookstore owner who works next door to Joelle's bakery and who Joelle has had a secret crush on for the last year and a half. When they are both informed by their landlord that their building will undergo renovation, he also asks them to share a temporary space rent free, while the renovations are underway. Could this be the start of Joelle and Max's happy ever after?

Oh my, this book was so adorable! I loved the main characters and their sweet romance but even more so, I loved how the importance of family was highlighted throughout the book. With POV's from both Joelle and Max, I flew through this one.

A bookstore and a bakery! Forced into a shared, temporary space while the landlord renovates their shop spaces. Joelle and Max have instant chemistry, but not without its challenges, of course. Interesting, different yet complementary backstories offer the chance for understanding as they fall deeper in love. The Boy with the Bookstore is told from dual points of view, giving the story a fullness. The importance of family is explored well. Threaded throughout with wonderful and delicious Filipino culture. Catchy cover art!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: parental abandonment (past), parent with alcoholism, parent experiencing liver failure, financial difficulties

This was a cute book with a premise so many can appreciate, a crush on the bookstore owner next door.

Steam: 3

Smith does a great job of mixing sweet and smexy and she hit the mark again with The Boy With the Bookstore.

Max and Joelle have worked next door to each other for a year and half and they’ve had crushes on each other without the other knowing. One day their friendly acquaintance turns into hot sexual chemistry when they share a drink after work in Max’s tiny office at the back of his bookstore. But just as things get started on the romance side it gets put on hold by the news their landlord is going to kick them out of their retail spaces to do a renovation.

Joelle and Max are both under stress with the temporary combined and much smaller work space that they take out their stress and frustrations out on each other. Their road to HEA does run hot and cold. When it’s hot, it’s really hot and sweet. When it’s cold it’s due to miscommunication or Max’s habit of going from sweet guy to grumpy guy in the span of zero to sixty in a blink of an eye.

The Boy With the Bookstore is a very enjoyable read featuring a 30 year-old sexy “bad boy” on the outside with a heart of gold (most of the time) on the inside and an always smiling, 32 year-old baker who is super close to her family. If you’re looking for a sweet romance with a healthy dose of sexy, funny and touching moments where the couple really deserve a HEA then you should give this stand alone romance a read.

Super steamy, open door romance that I wasn’t expecting. The title hooked me but I wish I had known it was open door.

Max was really mean to Joelle on a number of occasions and she should have just left him behind.

Besides those two issues, I really enjoyed Joelle’s storyline. She was a great protagonist and the descriptions of her pastries had me drooling at times.

Super cute read!
The kind of neighbor trope is always so fun, but I feel like the angst of their time sharing the space wasn't drawn out enough as it could have been!
Both main characters Joelle and Max were easily lovable and relatable, but I feel like could have been developed a little further.
Overall a fun book, will definitely recommend to friends!

The Boy with the Bookstore has a cute premise. Two neighboring store owners have a crush on each other, and when their stores are forced to combine space due to a renovation, we get a forced proximity. If found both Joelle and Max hard to feel for. While Joelle is a wonderful daughter and takes good care of her family, she keeps telling us she is shy. Her actions and words aren't those of a shy person. So there was a disconnect. Max seemed to have a dual personality as well. He could be very unkind and I really didn't like him in the end. The story has a fun story line, which I enjoyed and the authors writing is rich and enjoyable. I just couldn't connect to these two. There are some good secondary characters that I did enjoy as well. The story has some delicious food descriptions and nice cultural representation.

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the eArc. This is my honest review.

LOVED this book so much! Absolutely swoony and adorable. Friends/Enemies to lovers at their very best. Will definitely be reading more by this author.

This book has a cute premise. A baker meets a bookshop owner and he seems like the guy of her dreams. Except he turns into her nemesis. Such a fun, flirty, summer book.

DNF at 30%

I am in the minority in not loving this book. I found the 2 main characters way to immature and petty to continue. When Joelle purposely messes a bookclub order to sabotage Max, I was done. How can someone purposely be so spiteful to hurt someone's livelihood. I also didn't care how they were attracted to each other and turned and became so mean so quickly.

Thank you @berkleyromance @prhaudio for a copy of ARC and ALC.

This book had a lot of ups and downs, and the relationship was very on-again-off-again which I didn’t really appreciate it. I also think that the shy, mousy girl protagonist trope needs to be done carefully so that it doesn’t come off as an “I’m just not like other girls” characterization; I don’t think it was successful in this case. Joelle’s character was extremely inconsistent because of the disconnect between her thoughts and descriptions, and what her actions actually were because she kept saying she was very shy but then she would be extremely outspoken without having any difficulty doing so. I also found a disconnect in the way that Max had two very different personalities, which caused him to be very hot and cold in the extreme. Other than that though, I did enjoy Max’s backstory. But all in all, I felt like the story was very contradictory due to the inconsistencies in characters as well as being unnecessarily full of conflict in situations that didn’t warrant it, even though it was a reasonably enjoyable plot and did not draw out the storyline.

If your looking for a light read that will “fill your cup” this is it for you. Perfect senecio…hot guy who owns bookstore is next to cute quirky girl who owns the coffee shop. Said boy comes in every morning to get the most delicious croissants and Ube coffee and makes the little coffee shop girls heart melt. The two can’t seem to move beyond the counter until a remodel of their stores takes place and they are forced to move into a joint space for the month. I mean a coffee shop and bookstore are the perfect combo for any booklover right? ( did I mention there is a cat, dog ,and hamster in this book too?) Not many bookstores offer a drink/snack because obviously….books, but I can imagine picking a comfy chair and sitting down with a nice warm tea and loosing myself in a book. I really enjoyed the characters and the storyline.
Joelle is a hard working female business owner with the most supportive Filipino family. They were in desperate need at one point and Joelle gave up her dreams to help save her family. She has her coffee shop now and is slowly building a name for herself. Joelle loves seeing her regulars come in, specially the hot bookstore owner Max. With his tattooed muscle clad arms and perfect smile Joelle has been crushing on him for over a year, but Max is way out of her league so she’ll need to settle on gazing into his beautiful eyes every morning when he comes in for his usual. What Joelle doesn’t know is that Max doesn’t even like Ube coffee but it takes a little longer to make which gives him a few minutes to talk to Joelle, who he has a crush on. Joelle is adorable and as Max gets to know her he’s blown away at how amazing she is.
When the building owner comes in to let the two know they will need to combine their locations while he makes some upgrades the tow are obviously upset. How can Max fit all his bookshelves in a concrete prison? And Joelle won’t have room for anything other then one oven and a tiny work space, how can she possibly make this work? The only good news is that Joelle and Max will be together, in one tiny space, and hopefully one of them will have the courage to finally tell the other how they fill. Finding love in the stacks with the scent of fresh baked goods, perfection!

The Boy with the Bookstore is a swoon-worthy enemies-to-lovers romance that is sure to take your breath away and leave you wanting more. I love both of the characters and their angsty, heartwarming relationship that keep me turning the pages. I just devoured it in one sitting and fully enjoyed it!

I enjoyed this and the juxtaposition of how familial responsibility and culture play a role in the overall narrative. Definite sexy moments, but the male love interest is rather infuriating at times.

Thank you Penguin Random House International for my e-ARC in exchange for the honest review.

Joelle, she’s been crushing to Max for the past year and a half. She owned a Filipino and European bakery. When she was 18 years old her family got a big problem. Her father’s work friend told him about the the invest of how good everything is, but in the end, everything was all a lie. A fraud. A thief. All their money was gone. Joelle was a lovely women, when the kid stole a book from Max shelf and some customer catch the stealing. The kid tried to explain why he did it. He tried to go to different libraries but the book is already taken even the ebook’s copy. He just really need that book for his school work. And what Joelle did was paid for the book. Whitney is the best, best friend Joelle’s have. She was super nice and lovable. She’s always there to Joelle and always listen to her rants.

Max owned a bookshop and he always buy a pastry at Joelle’s bakery before he open his own shop. He has a crush on Joelle too. But then when he got a chance, he fucked up and now his regretting everything he said to her. When his store currently in renovation, he and Joelle shared a small space for their business but then Pumpkin (Joelle’s hamster) ruin some of his old books and he was mad and they start arguing.

I live in the Philippines, but mentioning all those food makes me hungry and crave for those food. This book, all Joelle and Max did was argue with each other the whole time. Overall, it was a fine read.