The Boy with the Bookstore had a pretty cute premise, but failed to keep my attention. Plus I didn’t really like Joelle or Max very much (he was kind of a huge douche). There’s also a ton of miscommunication between the two of them, and I hate that trope so much.

Overall: cute, but not my favorite

This book is a sweet, heartwarming. I am so happy I got a ACR of this wonderful book to enjoy. I did see some red flags on Max but so happy he saw it too and fix it. And because of the author’s I love listening to Whiskey to my soul by Roan Ash so much.

As soon as I read the synopsis of this book I knew I had to read it cause it combines two things I love books and baking. Joelle is a caring and hardworking bakery owner who’s close to her family. Max is your classic tattooed bad boy who owns the bookstore next door to the bakery. Joelle has had a crush on Max ever since his store opened and one day their conversation leads Joelle to kiss Max. What should have been the start of a new relationship quickly turned into a disaster when their building gets renovated and they have to share a cramped space. Tensions run high but eventually they find common ground and contemplate restarting their almost relationship.

Joelle is insanely caring and generous and goes out of her way to help others. Max had a difficult childhood and has always been a loner and grumpy from time to time but he recognizes the goodness in Joelle and knows that he’s the luckiest man in the world to know her. They definitely have some communication issues they needed to work out but they are opposites who fit well together.

This is a quick and enjoyable read combining two of the most enjoyable things in the world, books and baked goods. I liked the dual POVs because that helped the reader better understand Max and his mindset-it doesn’t justify what he did but it lessens the blow.
On a side note, Max needs some therapy to work out the issues he has surrounding his childhood and how to express them in a healthier manner.

Thank you @berkleyromance and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

"It’s raw. It’s real. And it’s gut-wrenching."

This pretty much sums up what I thought was going to be a light and fluffy rom-com.

It's not.

I really didn't much care for the main characters and their "romance" was horribly dysfunctional throughout the vast majority of the book. There was a bit too much anvil carrying and not enough swoon.

I get it, though.

Dysfunctional is real.

It's also not at all what I was hoping for when I got the book from Berkley on NetGalley. I liked her friends and family, though, and kept hoping ... but as it turned out, the best part of the book was probably that it didn't even take me a full day or keep me up too late to fly through it.

Full teaser review to be published August 30th at https://wellreadpiratequeen.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-boy-with-bookstore-by-sarah.html

The Boy with the Bookstore by Sarah Echavarre Smith is a contemporary romance that is currently scheduled for release on September 6 2022. Max Boyson looks good, from a distance. But up close and personal, the tattooed hottie Joelle Prima has been crushing on for the past year and half has turned into the prime example of why you shouldn’t judge a book by his delectable cover. When she first learned about the massive renovation to the building they share, Joelle imagined that temporarily combining her Filipino bakery with Max’s neighboring bookstore would be the perfect opening chapter to their happily ever after. In her fantasies they fed each other bibingka and pandesal while discussing Jane Austen and cooing over her pet hamster, Pumpkin. Reality, however...is quite different. Her gallant prince turned out to be a stubborn toad who snaps at her in front of customers, dries his wet clothes in her oven, and helps himself to the yummy pastries in her display case without asking. But beneath Max’s grumpy glares, Joelle senses a rising heat—and a softening heart. And when they discover the real reason for the renovation, they’ll have to put both their business senses and their feelings for each other to the test.

The Boy with the Bookstore has a great premise and some really high points to it, but I have to admit that I had trouble staying engaged. I think that Max and Joelle had great depth of character and I enjoyed getting to know them. Since they had been crushing on each other for a while at the start of the book I feel like I missed a good portion of the getting to know each other and coming to care about each other- which is often my favorite part of any story. I felt like the romance progressed very naturally, and it all felt right, I just missed getting that initial meeting and I think that is why I had so much trouble getting engaged. I have the same problem with other subgenres- like the second chance romance- for the same reason. I thought the crisis and emotional baggage of both Max and Joelle were well done and realistic, and I liked that time passed and was mentioned but unimportant moments and time that made the pair more comfortable with each other were mentioned but not focused on. Overall I liked the book, and I thought there is some great potential here, it just did not grab me the way I was hoping it would.

The Boy with the Bookstore is a solid, emotional romance with a dose of heat.

Oh. My. God. I loved this book so unbelievably much. Joelle was one of the most amazingly written characters. I adored her so much and even reading as she grew through out the book. Max sounded so dreamy even if there were times when he came off as so incredibly toxic. But, he always owned what he did and fixed it. They were such a great couple and complimented each other so well. Between laughing and crying, I absolutely could not put this book down. So wonderfully written.

I highly enjoyed this book from start to finish. I thought it was an absolutely adorable read with a bit of depth. I was a big fan of the execution of the grumpy/sunshine trope throughout the story. I also loved some other tropes that popped up such as forced proximity and miscommunication.

Joelle was a self proclaimed “mousy shy girl” ands she considered Max a “stereotypical bad boy”. I loved the family dynamics throughout the book. Having such a close knit family must be such a blessing, even if they are in your business a lot of the time.

I enjoyed getting mainly Joelle’s point of view, with a bit of Max’s thrown in. It’s nice to see things from both points of view. Don’t let this cutesy cover fool you, this book has a bit of spice to it!

This is the first book I have read by this author. I loved the synopsis, and the story didn't disappoint.

The Boy with the Bookstore could be considered a enemies to lovers' romance but I don't think Max and Joelle were ever enemies. There has always been a spark between these two, and it's just never the right time. During the book, they are definitely on the outs but never enemies.

Joelle, the bakery owner who's the business next to Max's bookstore, is a great girl. She gave up her dream to help her family and Max who has worked his whole life to succeed. He might be seen as a bad boy -he's tatted up and has a prickly demeanor, but he's really a good guy!

They are put into a big space and have to share the space and it's not all they hoped it would be! I enjoyed the push and pull - some serious angst was definitely present in this book!

Both these characters were multi-dimensional - there was so much more to them than meets the eye. I enjoyed learning about them while reading and seeing them grow as people and as a couple!

I would classify The Boy with the Bookstore as a “tough love” romance. It was refreshing to see real life problems and issues being addressed. Not every love story is sunshine and roses. You need to deal with the thorny issues that always seem to crop up in real life.

Things between our MC’s get hot and heavy quickly in the story. But this is because neither Joelle nor Max was aware of the others interest! But fires that start that fast usually burn out quickly. Will this be the case?

I loved seeing the growth Joelle and Max must each go through before they can have their HEA. Family relationships play a big role in this story. I was not all that convinced Max is the right person for Joelle and was afraid of things getting physical at one point between them. Other themes are sunshine/grumpy, friends/lovers and good girl/boy looks bad on the outside but really is not (is that even a thing?)

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. I love books which feature coffee, baked goods and of course, books.

Thank you to Net Galley and Berkley Publishing for my eArc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a sweet read! I don’t know how but it’s my third in a row set in the Pacific Northwest and I’m just loving the vibes of that region!

Joëlle and Max are everything a romance reader is looking for: workplace romance, a tinge of enemies to lovers, hot sex but not overly descriptive scenes (your imagination can do the rest) and a solid plot to carry us through to the finish (definitely in the HEA category).

Joëlle is a pastry chef and Max runs a bookstore next door. They’ve been crushing on one another for over a year when an apology croissant and a bit of verbal diarrhea actually does some good and lands Joelle in Max’s lap. Insert the tinge of enemies to lovers as we experience max’s lack of communication skills for the first (and not the last) time.

Thankfully Joelle is a patient and understanding person (perhaps a bit too much so!?) and the couple navigates some scary professional and personal challenges before the book is out.

Recommend for fans of: Sadie on a Plate, Donut Fall in Love or Booked on a Feeling

Joelle is the sweet, girl next-door type who runs her own bakery and at age 18 gave up her dreams of moving to Paris and studying at culinary school to help her family. Now she works hard and has secretly crushed on the guy who runs the bookstore next to her bakery for over a year. She's sweet, awkward, generally has low self esteem, but is the awesome-and-doesn't-know-it type of person. She tries to see the best in everyone, helps people whenever she can, and is willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. She deserves happiness and love and everything good.

Then there's Max. He seems ok. He's hot, loves books and animals. Casual flirty with Joelle that turns into something more one day. Then, not. The landlord decides to do renovations to their spaces so shoves both their businesses into one small garage to share. Not ideal but Joelle rolls with it because there's no option. Max gets furious and says mean things to Joelle along the "this was all a mistake" line. Then spends months being a jerk to her in their shared space. Anytime something happens that is out of his control and he doesn't know what to do, his reaction seems to be to take it out on others (generally Joelle) instead of even thinking things through before reacting. I spent the first half of the book so uncomfortable I was almost crying because of his actions and the only reason I kept reading was that I assumed Joelle would talk him into therapy or something and he'd come around. (also, I promised NetGalley a review and felt like I should finish the book). Somehow something happens, she forgives him, they click and everything is great and I loved how they were together- as long as things stay fine for Max. But let something come along and Joelle voice an opinion he disagrees with or a suggestion he doesn't like and he's terrible to her again.

Max had a hard time growing up. An alcoholic mother who abandons him means a rough time as a teen and feeling unwanted and alone and those have clearly left serious psychological damage. And for a long time Max was a loner. But when he started trying to have a relationship with Joelle and realized that any negative reaction he had meant he pushed her away, he should have considered therapy. Because from Joelle's point of view, (well, from my point of view), what he was doing when he wasn't happy was emotional abuse. Not intentional, but it still happened. The POVs in the book changed just often enough to redeem Max just enough that I was willing to finish the book, but it was close. Max and Joelle have a big fight, he leaves town and turns his phone off for two weeks? Never checking emails, messages or anything? Yes, he was dealing with something else major during those two weeks but that was a horrible thing to do to Joelle. Frankly, I wouldn't have taken him back.

While the idea behind the book, two people with secret crushes having to share a small space, was great, and Joelle was a lovely character (these being the only reason I gave the book two stars), that was as far as this book made it for me. Depending on how you read it (and potential trigger issues or past issues of the reader) Max is either an emotional stunted jerk in serious need of therapy or an emotionally abusive jerk who is only lovely when he gets his way on everything. Either way, not a book that left me with happy feels along the way or by the end.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Baked goods and books go hand in hand in Echavarre Smith’s deliciously spicy romance. The first kissing scene sizzled off the page and the chemistry between Joelle and Max took a natural and realistic course. I absolutely adored sweet, kind Joelle and could relate to Max. No spoilers, but this stirs up the perfect balance of heat, grumpy/sunshine, and family/relationship dynamics.

This book had a cute storyline, it just didn’t really keep my attention very well. The writing style seemed a little inexperienced. But, I did enjoy the book in itself, and would read something by this author again.

Get your favorite Filipino baked good and settle in for a sweet and fun read! The book had some grumpy/sunshine, friends to lovers and a dash of found family! The Boy With The Bookstore grabbed my attention from the beginning and didn’t let go till I was done the book.

The book follows Joelle who is a good hearted, shy, baker who’s owns a Filipino bakery right next door to Max who owns a book store. Max and Joelle have been secretly crushing on each other for two years but neither has had to courage to do anything about it. One day Joelle and Max’s flirting finally turns into something more only for it to be derailed when they find out they have to share a non ideal retail space while their respective stores get renovated.

Max and Joelle’s relationship goes through some ups and downs because of their stresses of owning a small business and personal family problems. I felt the relationship was pretty realistic to how relationships go especially when one of the people in the relationship has had a traumatic up bringing.

All the characters were great including Joelle’s family and best friend, the spicy scenes were excellent, and it was paced well. Overall i really liked this book and definitely recommend it!

The story follows Joelle, a filipino baker who risked her whole savings to help her family and Max, the boy with the bookstore who works next door. On the outside he's all bad boy tattoo's and leather jackets, but does his insides match? When their landlord decides to renovate their building they are stuck sharing a cramped space until it is finished. Both have crushes on each other but have never been able to express their feelings. Will they be able to keep their feelings in check in such close quarters?

This was such a fun and easy read. There was angst, passion, family drama and so much more. There's books, there is baking, there is more steamy scenes than I anticipated. What more could I ask for? It was a great balance of steam/romance to plot/substance. I feel like there was a lot the blurb left out. Both characters have a strong focus on family, Joelle's is close knit and always around while Max shut his family out after a rough upbringing. Even with some of the side characters it is prevalent.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 8/6

I've always enjoyed reading Sarah's books and while this one wasn't my favourite of hers, I still think it was a sweet and charming read with an enjoyable premise. The only reason I didn't love this book as much as her other books is because of the constant miscommunication between Max and Joelle. There were just a couple of instances of miscommunication that didn't really make sense to me and made me wish they weren't included.

Otherwise, it was a cute story and I'm looking forward to her next book!

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for access to this eARC.

I'm trying to decide how I felt about this one. ADORE the premise, the writing flowed nicely and was easy to get through, but I didn't love the MMC.

He has a traumatic past, which is fine and probably pretty true to life for a lot of people, but he was terrible to the MFC. He could be sweet and then flipped into a raging jerk. Did not love that. Seemed borderline abusive to me.

The ending was sweet, but I couldn't get over how I wished she had just kicked him to the curb.

Such a good book! I mean…romance, a bookstore owner and a baker? Yes, please! And Sarah always nails it with the steam level. Pun intended. She knocks her books out of the park and this is a must read. If you’re a Meghan Quinn or Tessa Bailey fan, you’ll need to full immerse in all of Sarah’s books! To notch!

Watch my Amazon live interview with Sarah: https://amazon.com/live/broadcast/3c4135ea-058d-4f10-a884-8bde05c3b25e?tag=erinmbransco-20&linkCode=ilv&ref_=social

Just the images of ube latte and Filipino baked goods are enough to present a visual overload of sweets, treats, and goodies. enough to make me want to be a baker myself. Since I am not, I am content to let Joelle Prima handle the baking as well as dealing with the handsome Max Boyson in very close quarters. Secretly crushing on each other, they are suddenly thrust together into a temporary space where they learn more about each other, but also learn that things can get a little "tight", threatening the possibility of their happily-ever-after. In tis modern-day romance, it is nice to see old-fashioned values as family and the notion of helping out the family in times of need--sometimes at the expense of one's personal needs and wants. It is something that is somehow lost on all the modern day shuffle and I am glad to see these brought back into the forefront. The book is easy to read though you may want to stop at certain points to grab yourself an iced drink because some scenes can get hot!

Joelle is a warm character from a close-knit family. She is devoted to her family and to her business; she has a crush on Max, the owner of the bookstore next door. Unbeknownst to Joelle, Max has a crush on her as well. However, he has had a difficult and rocky relationship with his family which has left him with anger issues. My problem with their relationship is how it blows hot and cold, loving vs antagonistic, leaving me to question what keeps them interested in each other. While the conclusion seems to resolve their many issues, it is almost too easy. I liked the concept behind this novel - loving the boy-next-door – better than how things actually played out. It is a fast read but more fluff than substance.