Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.
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This book was a simple romance. There was a little mystery involving Cady's bookstore but for the most part, the plot was thin. I did still enjoy the story though. The small-town aspect was cute and I loved her bookstore.

This book is written in 3rd POV. And that’s a ME problem, not the author or the book problem. And I tried so hard to read it cause it was amazing as it sounded when I applied for it but I just couldn’t finish it cause the 3rd pov bothers me so much (unfortunately). But please, if you can enjoy books that are written in 3rd person, pick this one, I’m sure you’ll have so much fun.

Okay, this book is wonderful. Some spooky vibes here and there along with a wonderful romance? Yes, please!

This book wasn't for me. I really liked the idea of the Nevermore Bookstore and Cady's love for it. I found the romance to feel off and stalkerish at times. Some of the dialogue was cringey.

Where to start with this one, it's adorable and creepy in equal measures, with everything from spying ravens to steamy late-night phone calls this one has a little something for everyone.

In what I thought would be a light-hearted rom-com we have an empathetic look at chronic health conditions and what PTSD can do to people.

While this book is fun cute, and spicy there's a depth here that I enjoyed and makes me want to see what happens next for the people of Townsend Harbor, in particular, I would love to see some back story for some of these characters, they're completely fascinating to me.

If you're looking for a book that is real, filled with the good and bad of real life, the ups and downs of what makes a person a person, well then, this is the book for you.

Thank you to Oliver Herber Books and NetGalley for providing a copy of this E-Book, I have voluntarily read and reviewed it and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was expecting a fun, cozy, paranormal romance type. Not creepy Rambo. He's invasive and she's super naive and trusting

This was an interesting romance set in a bookstore named after an Edgar Allen Poe story. Cady has inherited a bookstore from her aunt who took her in after her mom no longer could be around. She has a long-standing customer, “Fox”, who puts in orders every week and is basically single-handedly keeping her bookstore up and running. When there’s a break-in at the shop, Fox shows up as a handyman and helper to ensue she is safe. While they both have feelings for each other, they don’t agree on how to act on those. It was a very baggage heavy read, though the romance and spice were great.

<strong>For what it’s worth… the ending is cute</strong>

The last 40ish percent of this book saved it. Honestly, we could throw out the first 30% and it would be fine.

I almost DNF this one. Idk what I was expecting but most of the beginning of this book seemed like word vomit that didn’t fit together. I am a sucker for grumpy-sunshine books and this one just did not do it for me.

Aside from sentences that just didn’t make sense to me, it seemed like over explaining parts when it wasn’t necessary, details seemed missing in conversations, and parts of the story just did not flow.

The saving grace is the ending. It ramped up, characters developed, writing was pieced together well, and we get the HEA we want. For that I’m glad I stuck with it.

3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Being an avid reader and lover of Kerrigan Byrne's historical romances, I was definitely interested and curious to see what she would offer in a modern small town setting. This novel weaves together the interesting and quirky qualities of a small town mystery romance with the layering of more difficult topics. Knowing Byrne's writing style that delves carefully into deeper moments, I was not overall shocked by this direction in the story and writing, even with a sweet and simple cover design that gives off "Cozy Small Town Mystery Romance". I have never read anything from Cynthia St. Aubin, so I don't have much context to go draw fully informed conclusions on Byrne and St. Aubin's contributions to this story. Overall, they both seemed to blend well together and I found this start to a new series to be interesting and left with curious about the continued building and exploration of this world. I definitely think if you are a fan of one or both of these authors this is a read well worth your time.

This one was a bit tough for me. I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting, but I found it very difficult to pick up a good plotline in the story. There are so many hilariously funny quips and phrases which kept me reading, but I found that ~60% of the way through the book, I was still not sure where it was going or what it was all about. The character development was clear, just felt a bit lost for direction, and found this to be more spice than substance. The authors did a great job with all the witty repartee, and I found myself laughing out loud numerous times, especially at the introduction of a Maine Coon cat named Kevin Costner. I think this had a lot of potential to be fabulous, but unfortunately missed the mark for me. Thank you to Kerrigan Byrne, Cynthia St. Aubin, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this e-arc!

Such a quick, easy read!

SPOLERS AHEAD!!!

I fell in love with the gruff MMC immediately. He was a mountain man teddy bear, and the gradual progression to clean cut military man was my favorite. The mental health representation was comforting, and the way the two main characters cared about each other's health and tried to take care of each other was incredible.

I love that the FMC was able to admit that things that felt true to her at the time could be hurtful to others. A lesson I'm sure we could all stand to learn.

This book had a little bit of everything and was a super fun read. A little cringy at times, with some questionable choices, but it was entertaining and a quick read.
Would recommend.

2.5 stars, maybe?

This is a tough review to write. I really wanted to enjoy this book, but there were so many factors that made it very difficult for me.

To start, I can’t count how many times (more than a few) where I felt myself cringing and/or laughing at the (lack of) quality in the writing. I’m not an expert by any means, but I read a lot, and while some of it might have been a style choice, I felt like two writers plus their editors and teams should have been able to do better. The descriptions. The adjectives. The attempts at humour…yikes.

Much as I was hoping to get on board with the main romantic relationship, there was just too much toxic masculinity/possessiveness/stalker-ish behaviour that was reminiscent of a certain vampire series from my youth. Back then, we romanticized that type of intense and overwhelming affection because we thought it was the definition of love, but now, we should know better.

On that note…the sex? Yikes again. Some of it was written okay, but the lack of any discussion about contraception, protection, etc. felt like a gap, and something about the treatment of consent just felt a bit wrong. I don’t know if I can pinpoint exactly what it was, but it didn’t all sit well with me.

Also…based on the descriptions, the protagonist is clearly supposed to be plus sized, but that was not at all evident in the cover design/art. I understand that the authors may have little to no control over that piece, but although it was a beautiful cover, it felt like a miscalculation. Like others, something about the title/cover/blurb also had me expecting more of a paranormal romance, but it wasn’t that at all.

Mmm, okay. Then there’s the racism. I’ve been accused of being overly sensitive about depictions of race and racism on more than one occasion, so I sometimes find myself second-guessing my interpretations of various words, phrases, descriptions, etc. That being said, the line about Kaepernick as well as one of the male protagonist’s flashback scenes did not sit well with me at all. I understand that the writers were probably trying for humour and realism, respectively, but I don’t think that’s what they achieved. I could break down the word choices and descriptions into much smaller bits and talk about what I noticed, the bigger implications, the links to ongoing social inequities, etc. for quite a while, but I’ll leave it at saying that I think the writers did more harm than good with those moments.

And then add on the glorification of small-town cops, and I just can’t. Honestly, I almost DNFed this one a couple different times.

Some pieces of the story were interesting, I didn’t dislike everything about the two protagonists, and I appreciated the attempts at some different types of representation (body diversity, chronic pain/physical disability, PTSD, etc.)…but all of that, unfortunately, just wasn’t enough to make up for the rest of the book. This one really didn’t work for me, and although I was initially looking forward to one of the other books in this series, I probably won’t bother with it now.

I just couldn't get past the characters. I mean, apparently, she is plus-sized, but the cover shows (at most) a mid-sized at most. Also, she's obsessed with this weird (almost stalker) man that basically just kidnaps her for the library. Ya no. Also, the weird obsession with pube hair is a big HELL NOPE

Not going to lie I loved this one despite it being more on the steamy side of a rom com. I.E. on the page steamy scenes. But I loved the banter between Cady and the Fox. As well as having a wounded warrior hero. And a heroine with a chronic illness quite frankly we need more of that in rom coms. Just a warning there is miscommunication and I know that that's a troupe lots of readers don't like but for this story it works. And there is language as well that some readers will not like.

This book is like a cute and cozy romance with a hint of mystery that keeps you hooked! Cady is such a sweetheart, and I totally vibed with her feisty attitude. She goes after what she wants, and her kindness shines through. But let me tell you, Fox stole the show for me. His point of view was a blast to read, and peeling back the layers of his character as the story unfolded was pure gold. Learning about his past and dealing with PTSD made him such an intriguing and enjoyable character. And the chemistry between Cady and Fox? It's off the charts!

I thought this was a paranormal book.
I was disappointed.
The plot was boring and there was just nothing to this book.

I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately I just could not get into it. As a book lover I love anything to do with bookshops and fellow book lovers, so knowing that this was about a girl who inherited a bookstore I was excited to start. However, I think I was expecting a bit more of a cozy romcom than what it was and as someone who enjoys the tension and flirting stage of a new romance, I was thrown off to realize that the book started with the characters having already been flirtatiously interacting for months so it felt like we kinda just jumped in right away. It just made it feel weird to me, that when we first really meet his pov and are getting to know him, he was already so obsessed with her and got off on just the idea of her and I just couldn’t really move past the stalkerish vibes. I’ve seen some good reviews so I think I might try to read again when I’m more in the mood for a romance/mystery but for now I am going to have to DNF it.

Honestly, I am SO disappointed in this book.

I cringed at the spicy scenes, the plot needed to be elaborated, Cady was awful.

The only redeeming quality for me was Myrtle and the book club.

This wasnt it for me.

this was so cute!! i loved fox and cady and their dynamic so so much. love the action and romance mix.