This book is boring, despite the stunning cover, and I owe it to the fact that two authors collaborated on it.

The start is slow but good. Chapter one had me making friends with the dictionary. The sentences are structured such that they are difficult to read; this isn't one of those books you just dive into and it's 3 a.m. by the time you take your head out of it. The rest of it is an agonising slow burn, but the book redeems itself in chapter eighteen.

Cadence has ankylosing spondylitis, which causes immense physical pain. It's good to read about the representation of a chronic illness. Fox is a high-value provider man. Despite Cady grovelling for him (a trope I dislike), it didn't bother me at all in this book. The way he cares for her in the epilogue will make everything worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this early!

I was quite excited for this book after reading the blurb but unfortunately I didn’t love it as much as I had hoped.

The beginning and lead up was cute but i’m not sure how i felt about all the lying and catfishing.

An upcoming contemporary romance by Kerrigan Byrne & Cynthia St. Aubin -

𝘊𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘴 "𝘍𝘰𝘹", 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️ /5

I jumped into this expecting a cute cosy little contemporary romance and it was for the most part. The wit and humour of the main character was consistent and positive throuhgout, despite constant hurdles and roadblocks she faces. Nevermore bookstore also touches on themes of chronic illness, CPTSD and mental health - which from an outside perspective, the MC handles authentically and delicately for the most part.

There were several throughout where it felt like it was leaning on a paranormal romance situation (Fox could easily be confused for a paranormal shifter dude living out in a cave and embracing the wilderness)?

Overall enjoyed this one, it was a fun time and wrapped up in a cute HEA.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc!

This was fun and sexy. I loved the bookstore and the town. The banter between Fox and Cady (dumb name) was entertaining and I looooved brooding Fox. Also loved all the foul language—upped the entertainment value for me. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC

well, i really wanted to enjoy this book more than i did. i tried so hard. i read the entire thing and it just still wasn't for me. tragic, but it happens! so. that's that. thank you so much, netgalley! you're the bees knees!!!

I picked up Nevermore Bookstore on a bit of a whim and was sincerely delighted by how absorbing and transporting it was - Cady, Fox and their seaside town all felt real and fully realized. The characters were interesting and complex, the romance compelling and the chemistry between the two leads fiery hot! Would recommend to romance readers or anyone looking for a quirky mental vacation. Thank you to Kerrigan Byrne, Cynthia St Aubin, and Oliver Heber Books for the ARC.

This is definitely a romcom for reading while in a very particular snarky mood! The dirty jokes were extra ridiculous, silly in the best of ways. There’s lots of petty bickering and quippy one liners. With humor and extra nerd appeal, this book is perfect for fans of Penny Reid. I was laughing, and hard, from the get go. Honestly I feel like I shouldn’t have been so taken by surprise by this book, but I was and I’m happier for it!

A quick note that there were a few fumbles on the editing. Nothing that bothers me and I won’t dock points as that tends to not affect my enjoyment of a story. But, if it does bother you, there are a few confusing sentences sprinkled throughout.

It kept my attention and had good pacing. There were some times it seemed to skip something/went from one thing to another and I had to go back and see if I missed something. That’s caused some confusion but I kinda just continued with what I could put together. I was also kinda confused at first with how Fox talked about himself and was describing stuff (didn’t know if this was a supernatural book or not). I think there were some potholes in Fox’s side of things but I enjoyed Cady’s POV a lot more. I liked the back and forth they had on their phone calls and some of the mystery that was going on in the plot. Things wrapped up well in the end and we got a lot of answers. Overall a good but average book, enjoyable to read.

I feel conflicted about this book. I love this author and was intrigued by the premise. I've been reading a lot of books lately featuring a protagonist with a disability or emotional trauma, and I thought the authors did a great job showing what it's like to live with this type of autoimmune disorder. BUT... I just felt creepy reading about this super creepy hero. At one point he even says himself that he recognized that he was being a creep. I recognize that Fox suffered from extreme trauma, but that was a bit of a buzz kill. The binoculars and spying, lying, etc... I get that he's supposed to be a damaged hero. But by the time we found out his backstory, I couldn't dredge up very much sympathy for him. And his final act of redemption was a little too little, too late for me. Cady was too good for him!
The mystery was interesting, if guessable. I would not classify this book as a cozy mystery or rom-com but there were elements of them in there. I would *maybe* read a sequel if it starred Cady's bff, who was just an excellent friend.

My thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC via netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'm sorry to say this book was not for me. The story had me cringing throughout the story. It had a creepy stalker like vibe to it. And the ending! Oh boy! There were just way too many ideas being thrown in.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I am not even sure what to say about Cady and Fawkes - they have a unique relationship throughout the whole story, and you cannot help but fall in love with them. Cady inherited the Nevermore Bookstore from her Aunt, and Fawkes is a mysterious voice over the phone who calls Cady the same time every week. They both have their own difficulties they are dealing with and they lean on each other (even when they don’t want to!) to help them through. And, I mean, who DOESN’T love a story about a bookstore?!

I loved this story - watching the relationship and characters evolve was a wonderful ride to go on. There were several point in where I felt like I was in on a secret with one of the characters, and that made it all the more fun to read. It took me a bit longer to read than normal, but if I would have had a full day to sit down and focus, I would have easily been sucked in to finish the book in a day. The story was different from others that I have read, and really stood out to me.

I would recommend this one if you love a good, unconventional love story…you will love going on this journey with Cady and Fawkes and the other quirky townspeople :)

This book was so cute! I loved the romance between these two... so honest and endearing. And the fact that it all started with some phone calls about none other than.. BOOKS. For me, the lack of stars comes from a bit of confusion. I just felt so confused at the end of each chapter... not quite sure why. I loved Cady's character as well... she was so wholesome and sometimes even too sweet. I looked up to the way she could stand up for herself. I appreciated the chronic illness representation. As someone with an autoimmune disease, it's rare to find an accurate portrayal of how these things can affect an individual.

It was a very interesting book but maybe just not the right book for me personally. I don't think that it was bad at all. I probably would not pick it up again. I did finish it but I had a hard time getting through the plot.

I really enjoyed this twist on the traditional romance novel! I like that you have survivalist as the main hero! It really hooked me in and I could not put it down! It had moments of sweetness and moments that made me laugh out loud. A highly enjoyable romp!

Yeah, I couldn't deal with this one. I hated how easily these characters "fell in love" and got overprotective after just some weekly phone calls for BUSINESS PURPOSES. I mean, I get liking the sound of someone's voice, but FALLING in LOVE with it? Nah man.

But I was willing to put up with that for a romance book because I was in the mood for one.

But THEN it dipped into stalker territory and seemed to be glorifying how protective the stalker guy was and that just immediately turned me off from the story. I couldn't get back to it, even though I didn't want to DNF a NetGalley arc.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy of the ebook. Sorry I didn't finish it, but it just wasn't the story for me.

DNF @ 23%

I don't normally give a DNF a star rating, but in order to send my review I have to - so, 1 star it is.

Let me first start off by saying thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and authors for providing me with an Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Characters:

Cady: A lovely woman who happens to have a chronic illness (yay disability rep that isn't erased at the end of the book!!), a kind heart, a bit naive and mounting stress due to the situation that happens to unfold

Fox: He's a dark, brooding 'mysterious' MC (Whom I have Head-Canoned with a Bat Man voice as his character is very angsty for reasons we later find out)

I was a little bit annoyed by Cady from time to time, especially when she found out that Fox was peeping on her when they had phone sex, and watching her even before that.

Fox made me want to roll my eyes from time to time, He sometimes read as though he were an angsty teenager rather than a 33 yo man

Plot:

My likes:
I had a genuinely good time reading this, it sort of felt and had the pacing of a not so great Netflix show that you keep on for background noise because it's just amusing enough to keep you interested in it.
It was a fun mystery and it was still fun when our angst filled hero was introduced and interacted with the little burst of sunshine Cady.

I loved seeing chronic pain and disability rep (especially when it wasn't erased when Our two MC's got together)

I also enjoyed seeing mental health rep as I think that's super important (it was mostly resolved off page and fair enough) I was so happy to read that he was trying out medication and therapy again

I also enjoyed the side characters in this book, none of them felt flat, I just wish I got to know more about Myrtle and Vee.

A happy ending yay!

My dislikes:
The writing was a little cringe inducing at times but in a good way (not a soul-sucking kind of way)

A lot of the sex scenes in this book made me laugh.

I also didn't vibe at all with the super duper angsty and alpha stance from Fox though the book

quite a few of the jokes just didn't land how they were supposed to I think and kind of left me looking around searching for someone who got it.

All that being said it was enjoyable and I'm likely to look into either of the authors other books

"Fox" by Kerrigan Byrne & Cynthia St. Aubin is a captivating and steamy romance novel that will leave readers swooning. The book tells the story of Cady Bloomquist, a bookstore owner who finds herself intrigued by a mysterious customer who identifies himself only as "Fox." Despite never meeting in person, their phone conversations become the highlight of her week, sparking a fire within her that she never knew existed.

The mystery of "Fox" adds an element of intrigue and excitement to the story, as readers are left wondering who he is and what secrets he might be hiding. The author does an excellent job of building tension and creating a sense of anticipation throughout the story.

Roman Fawkes, the man behind the "Fox" persona, is a complex and fascinating character. He's a hermit, living in seclusion to protect himself and those around him from his troubled past. Despite his reservations, Roman can't resist Cady's charm and finds himself falling for her. When Cady's safety is threatened, Roman must confront his past and risk everything to protect her.

The chemistry between Cady and Roman is electric, and their love story is both tender and passionate. The dialogue is witty and engaging, and the secondary characters add depth and complexity to the story.

Overall, "Fox" is a delightful and satisfying read that will leave readers with a smile on their face. author has crafted a charming and entertaining romance novel that is sure to appeal to fans of the genre.

i couldn't finish this book.I don't know if it was the writing or the characters but something felt off.I'm so sad because I really liked the fact that the main character had a chronic illness because you don't see that a lot

I really enjoyed this book. It was funny and sweet. I will say I was a little confused about Fox at the beginning. I loved the setting of the bookstore. I wish it was real. It’s a fast paced romance with a side of suspense and mystery. I loved Fox so much he’s the sweetest. Candy is amazing too and she’s so strong. I loved all of the representation in the book. It’s a cozy small town romance. It’s also spicy but some of the scenes were a little cringy.

I liked this! I didn’t love it but I liked it. I felt like it was a little slow going at first and could have picked up a lot faster. I also thought the writing style was a little juvenile for the fact that it’s a spicy romance.