3.75
I was totally going to overlook this book on Netgalley. I was going to scroll right past it and not give it a second glance. Ok that's a bit of a lie, I was going to go back to it because the title definitely had me hooked but I didn't really think I was going to actually request it. Surprise, I did. Second surprise, I got it. Third surprise, I freaking loved it. Did I completely understand what was going on through a majority of the book? No. No I didn't.

Honestly I truly enjoyed this book. The characters felt real in a very raw way. Cady with her disability (ankylosing spondylitis) and with the familial loss she's dealing with, Fawkes (Fox) with his PTSD and night terrors, and Gemma with her fierce loyalty towards her best friend. I think my genuine enjoyment from this book stems from my obvious love of the book aspect but also from how they fell for each other over phone calls and the flirting over books. I felt myself falling in love with the semi-slow burn romance between the two of them and felt my heart break as both of thiers did and even though there wasn't much sense through the whole thing I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would.

Admittedly a lot of the book didn't make a whole lot of sense. Did he just happen upon Cady's bookstore and decide he was going to order from there? Where is he keeping all of the books since he's sleeping in caves and a tent? I know why he didn't tell her what happened to him in the military but why wouldn't he at least tell her who he really was instead of keeping it a secret? Another slight issue I had with the book was the verbage. Some of the words used didn't feel like they necessarily belonged where they were placed or sounded strange within the sentances. It almost felt as if the author was just using big words to make it seem more intelligent.

This book was a completely solid and extremely quick read for me and I am extremely grateful to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review it early! Look for this book in stores on March 28, 2023!

Nevermore Bookstore by Kerrigan Byrne and Cynthia St. Aubin 🦊

This one just didn't work for me. It's a fun idea, but the whole book I was just kind of weirded out by Fox and never got invested in Cady and his relationship. Plus I know what the authors were going for with the small town quirks, but they felt a little bit too much here.

I didn't mind Cady, she is probably the reason for the 3 star rating and not something lower despite me not liking some choices she made. Fox on the other hand I just found creepy. I'm all for an outdoorsy man that's a bit protective of his girl but he took it to the extreme.

I'm never a fan of a bunch of pop culture references in books either, and felt this one had quite a bit. I also just don't think I followed how the characters thought all that well, it jumps around a lot and let's just say they can be creative with descriptions.

I'll be honest, I am not someone who dnfs books but I will skim read if I'm not really enjoying it. That's what I ended up doing here after I was 40ish percent in and not into it all that much. Give this one a chance if you are looking for something quirky with a little bit of steam.

dual POV
3/5 stars ⭐️
2/5 spice level 🌶️

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

Finished my first ARC! Thanks @netgalley

Nevermore Bookstore by Kerrigan Byrne and Cynthia St. Aubin

Pub. Date: March 28, 2023

I really enjoyed this book. The beginning third of the book is slow to start and there’s no real lead in to the story- it just kind of starts that Cady has been talking to a mysterious stranger on the phone. A relationship has already been established and it would have been nice to see how it all started from the beginning. Later on in the book, you do get a few flashbacks to when they started talking.

The book definitely improves and it left me thinking about it. We all could use a Fox in our lives!

There are many different representations in this book: plus size, lgbtq, disability, mental health and many other interesting characters.

There is definitely some spice that leaves an impression!

I enjoyed this book and I hope you do too!

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

this book gave me the feels. i was drawn by the title of the book and then i was sucked in completely. really liked this and want to find more of her books. they had me at bookstore. i am sold

Thanks to NetGalley and the authors for letting me read this book in advance.

I gave it 2.5 stars.

This book was so promising, I was really excited to read this book. The cover was really cute , I wish the story was too. I didn't like the characters at all, especially the main male character.

I finished the book however I wasn't feeling it at all. It had so much potential. I wish it was better but I needed to be honest.

I love Kerrigan Byrne's books...all of them so when I heard she had a new release I knew I had to have it. I'd not read anything by Cynthia St. Aubin before this but I've added her to my list as I thought this book was well done!

Nevermore Bookstore is the first in the Townsend Harbor series and I'm especially happy this is going to be a series as there were some great secondary characters in this one that I'm dying to see more of. In this book, Cady is the fmc and the owner of Nevermore Bookstore. Her backstory is interesting and I won't go into a lot of detail but how she ended up with the store drives a number of pieces in the book. With that said, every Thursday night, she stays late for a phone call from "Fox". What originally started out as a call to place an order for books has now transitioned into lengthy calls and they both find themselves drawn to each other even though they have never met and probably never will...for reasons. Until one night when their call is interrupted by a break in at the store and Fox decides he is going to save / protect her.

I loved everything about this book. The cast of characters and their stories, the setting, the relationships, and even the mystery of what was truly going on with Cady and her bookstore. If you get the chance, pick this one up. I'll be grabbing any future stories by these authors (separate or together) for sure!

Thank you for letting me read this arc! Overall I was not vibing with this book. Candy seems a little scatter brained and fox mysterious past wasn't making a lot of since to me in the beginning of the book. Some of the comedic lines were not my thing like fox needing to turn from the fire so he doesn't have a Weiner roast. I do think some will find this enjoyable just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, Kerrigan Byrne and Cynthia St Aubin for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4 - 4.5 Stars

Spice Level: 3.5


General Thoughts: I love the premise and the romance. The writing and verbiage threw me off occasionally, especially with use of word choice or "slang" terms. I am glad I read this on a Kindle, because I used more of the dictionary then typical for cartoon cover romance.

That being said, I feel that the writing style and approach of the writers works in the favor of the story! Giving a modern feel, with terms that are used in a social media society.

The protagonists are certainly a pair together, broken in their individual ways. While not wanting to give spoilers, I appreciate that the ended was not a magic spell, but a situation that took into account the actuality of the situation.

The romance for me was super sweet. The phone conversations were adorable, there was some taboo / mysterious topics that other books skirt around, and generally the spice was well done.

Overall a great read!

DNF at 26%. I expected a cute romantic comedy that perhaps had a magical twist but this was not that. I'm not even entirely sure what this book was about. The male main character gave off MAJOR stalker vibes. He seemed to be struggling with PTSD, but that didn't explain why he just sat outside the female main character's apartment and watched her while refusing to meet with her in person. The characters were also not that interesting and a little boring. I was hoping I would enjoy this book, but it was not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, Kerrigan Byrne and Cynthia St Aubin for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this just wasn’t for me. My main issue was the MMC POV chapters. It felt like there were gaps in the story that started to get really confusing when we switched POV’s. Also he’s a literal caveman???

Overall the whole thing felt really forced, which made it fall flat for me.

A more sex based romance than I normally read but the story of Cady and Fox is really good. I enjoyed the story and these characters.

I absolutely adored this! So hard to put down. The plot twist, the mystery, the romance! The characters are beautifully human and flawed. Cady is a strong representation of physical disabilities and how it can effect mental health. While struggling herself she still finds a way to shine with kindness. The rendering of PTSD with Fox and the way he had to deal with himself really hits the truthful way. Not to mention the AMAZING and hilarious side characters. I cannot get over the love for Ms.Vee and Myrtle. The comedic relief these woman gave! This whole book gave a rollercoaster of emotions. One minute you're questioning everything the next you're crying. It flawlessly switches from a romantic and hot setting to the awkwardness of how to interact with someone you like. Only tiny tweaks and it would be 5 star to me. But those are my own personal thoughts due to some times it being a bit difficult to connect some parts, not the mystery but just with the flow of the story. I'll be 100% adding a physical copy to my shelf!


This is my Goodreads review. Due to connection issues I wasn't able to connect mine from here at this time. Thank you for the wonderfully fun story!

This was a not so fun ride. I received an arc of this book and was very excited to get started but I honestly had to DNF at about 50%. The quirky heroine was cringe-worthy and the whole alpha male trope just didn't work in this case. Also... what's up with calling her "woman" all the time. She has a name. Both main characters were so far from believable or relatable.

On a separate note I found quite a few typos that should have been caught during editing.

A former army officer with lots of issues and a woman with chronic illness are the main characters in this contemporary romance, by Kerrigan Byrne and fellow author Cynthia St Albion.

I’m afraid that this was not a hit for me. Fox is unusual to say the least. Casey is trying so hard to make it on her own. Some steamy love scenes, but I just didn’t buy the whole relationship.

This was cute! I wasn’t sure what to expect and it was a bit sillier than I’d expected but it was enjoyable and provided a pretty different cast of characters than is typical. I could do without a cop character obviously intended to get his own story down the line, but the two main characters of this one were unique and well crafted.

Mein Leseerlebnis

Zu dem Liebesroman habe ich gegriffen, weil ich das Buchcover toll finde und sich der Klappentext faszinierend anhörte. Gelesen hatte ich zuvor von den beiden Autorinnen noch nichts. Daher bin ich recht erwartungsfrei an das Buch herangegangen.

Beim Lesen der Liebesgeschichte bin ich hier und da über den Schreibstil gestolpert. Mal war es ein Wort, mal ein ganzer Satz der mich aus meinem Lesefluss gerissen hat. Vor allem die Dialoge hörten sich für meine Ohren etwas unnatürlich an.

Dafür gab es im Buch sehr interessante Charaktere, über die ich gerne mehr erfahren habe. Vor allem die Hauptcharaktere hatten je ihr Päckchen zu tragen und wirkten auf mich faszinierend.

Diese Faszination mit den Charakteren hat leider nicht dazu ausgereicht, dass mich ihre Liebesgeschichte emotional tief berühren konnte. Ganz kalt gelassen hat mich die Beziehung nicht, aber ich hatte auf mehr gehofft. Das lag vor allem daran, dass ich die Gefühle zwischen den Hauptcharakteren nur bedingt fühlen konnte.

Zusätzlich fand ich vor allem in der ersten Hälfte des Romans einige Geschehnisse und Entwicklungen verwirrend. Nach und nach legte sich die Verwirrung glücklicherweise, dadurch verbesserte sich mein Leseerlebnis und mein Lesefluss wurde flüssiger.

Blicke ich auf mein Leserlebnis zurück, so war das Buch interessant, aber leider nicht perfekt für mich.

🖤🖤1/2

Für wen?

Wer Liebesromane mit besonderen Charakteren mag, die ihr Päckchen zu tragen haben, sollte sich das Buch mal näher anschauen.

Mein Fall war das Buch nur bedingt, ich kann mir aber gut vorstellen, dass andere Leser:innen mehr Freude mit dem Liebesroman haben könnten.

Based on the cover and the title, this book wasn't at all what I expected. However, this was a very enjoyable read for me! It was incredibly well-written and laugh out loud funny at points. The authors did an incredible job of portraying the daily challenges of both chronic illness and PTSD.

That being said, I did feel like there were still some unanswered questions by the end of the book. We don't really get to see the beginnings of Cady and Fox's phone relationship. Why did he call the bookstore that first night? While we learn why Fox has chosen a life of solitude in the wilderness, we don't necessarily learn how he ended up in the PNW after his time in the military.

Overall, a very cute, enjoyable read that does a great job of showing that finding and fighting for love isn't always easy. Would be a great fall read!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Cady Bloomquist is desperately trying to keep the bookstore she inherited after her aunt's death afloat. However unresolved tax issues, building repairs, a break-in, and other strange happenings all seem to be conspiring against her. The one bright spot is her weekly phone calls with a mysterious sexy-voiced fellow book lover named Fox. This is a lighthearted quick read full of quirky townspeople, humorous dialogue, and of course plenty of steamy chemistry that kept me turning pages until I finished it in one sitting.

** May Contain Spoilers **
Personally, this is not my type of book. (Reading the synopsis, somehow I figured it was YA. So that's a personal issue, not one with the book.) So, I may not be the best judge of this book.
Anyway, I thought the writing was okay. I liked the words and definitions as chapter titles. The beginning was cute, and I love the setting (which is honestly what drove me to pick up this book). The chronically ill representation was nice since it is normally so rare.
Some of the language made me uncomfortable, and not just because I don't normally read adult romance. One line, "I'll tell you what I'd like, woman. If you do what I say." especially weirded me out. Not to mention the fact that he's kinda stalkerish.
If this sounds like your kind of book, by all means read it. I'm sure it's a great book, but I'm definitely not the target audience.

DNF @ 23%

I was expecting a vampire, but it turns out he's a stalker.

"Cady." He didn’t realise he’d said the name aloud until it landed south of his belly button, and he had to turn from the fire to avoid a Weiner roast.

A lot of what I read just didn't make sense.

eARC provided by NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity.