I absolutely ADORED The Bookshop Sisterhood! This is the first book I've read by Michelle Lindo-Rice, but it won't be my last. This story of four best friends, each facing a crisis in their life as they work towards opening a bookstore together, was exactly what I needed to get me through this cold, dreary January. It made me feel sooo cozy inside, like I was enfolded in the lovely friend group Michelle created. Each of the four friends is so different, and so easy to root for.
Reading this book feels like sinking into a hot bath with a glass of wine. Highly recommend!!!

3.5 ⭐

“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”

Entrepreneurship can be lonely, so when besties, Celeste, Yasmeen, Toni and Leslie, decide to open a bookshop together, they understand that there’s support in having friends in the trenches! One of the benefits is that they already know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

As often happens, once a decision to move forward has been made, the universe has other plans. The friends soon learn that things aren’t always in their control. I loved how they came together and supported each other.

As much as I love books and the superheroes who write them, the inclusion of book titles and authors was overdone. I found myself skimming. I also thought some of the drama was a little OTT and would have loved the bookstore to have more presence. These are merely personal preferences and no reflection of the author’s writing ability.

I really appreciated the time clues on the chapter titles and the theme of friendship and sisterhood. Lindo-Rice’s ability to draw me in with her characterization was remarkable. I can see this being a popular book for many and a sequel is a good possibility.

Thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA, and NetGalley for an opportunity to read with no pressure to review.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I loved this book. I couldn’t stop reading it.

I didn't love this one. I liked the idea of a bunch of friends opening a bookstore together. But then a bunch of drama happened and it almost doesn't even happen.
Some of these characters were just too high maintenance for me.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

I was absolutely drawn to this book initially because of the cover, bright and full of books will always catch my attention, and then the summary absolutely hooked me.

Four lifelong best friends, passionate about books, are opening a bookstore. Excited to open their Black owned, independent bookstore, filled with diverse authors and stories, and to get to work with their best friends, these four woman are finalizing a lifelong dream. But their worlds all get upended at once. Their friendship is the only thing keeping them from collapsing, but is it strong enough to hold them all up at once.

This was a one sitting book, I was so invested in these women’s lives I could not walk away. I love books featuring found family and sisterhoods and this book is filled with it. I love flawed characters and none of the woman in this book as presented as perfect, but they feel more real because of it and they are all treated with so much love and care from their friends and from @michellelindorice
Also always love reading titles of books and authors I love referenced in a book, and I got to do that a few times.
Thank you so much to @netgalley and @_mira_books_ for letting me read this one early in exchange for a review. Look for it July 30 2024, definitely one to add to your summer reading list.
#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookworm #thebookshopsisterhood #bookreview #bookrecommendations #booklover #booknerd #bookaddict #bookcommunity #readersofinstagram #readersofig #readerscommunity

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing. This review is my own.

Even though I firmly believe friends shouldn’t go into business together. These 4 best friends Celeste, Leslie, Toni and Yasmeen decides to open a book shop. Immediately after creating their plan, one by one, each friend’s life started to take a turn for the worst. Throughout their troubles, they supported each other 100%.

I started off really excited with each of their stories. About half way through I stated to feel like some parts of the storylines were just too much for me or not enough. Like the overuse of book titles and authors - it’s great that they showed their love for books but it was a little overboard each time 10+ authors and books were mentioned in one paragraph so I got lost. The ending also felt rushed and I didn’t feel like I got a closure with each of their stories.

I would rate this a 3.5/5

3.75 Stars Not my genre but I had fun this book. The characters are likeable and relatable. Part of it was each character POV has its own chapter. I appreciate the chapters are dated so there are clear time differences when it goes from present to past and back.

This was a very emotional read. It was a strong story about friendship and sisterly love. I felt like this story was very authentic and felt real. It gave me Sisterhood of the traveling pants vibes. I didn’t want this story to end and I need more. I really hope Michelle writes a sequel.

I loved this book, but I wish the ending wasn’t so rushed. This is an emotional story of friendship and sisterly love. The characters and their bond were authentic and beautiful. I would love if the author decided to write a follow up novel!

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand.

Celeste, Yasmeen, Toni, and Leslie are preparing to make their dream of owing a bookstore come true until everything starts to crash around them. Celeste cannot move forward from a traumatic event that has made her so afraid that she finds it difficult to leave the house and now her marriage is suffering for it. Yasmeen is struggling with her finances (and trying to keep a roof over the heads of her parents too) and then one lotto ticket changes everything. Toni is a successful social media influencer who has several secrets that could destroy everything she has built. Leslie is confronted with a potential lethal diagnoses for her only child. As they each struggle, they lean on each other to try to see a way out of the difficult situations, but can their friendship survive the strain? I liked the book, but I found it predictable.

I overall liked the idea of this book, but it took me a while to get into and keep the characters straight. I found some of the drama a little too far fetched, but can see people enjoying it. I would recommend this book to people who like to read about sisterhood and close bonds.

Thank you to netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA for allowing me to read this book. This was a beautifully written story about sisterhood and friendship. I really enjoyed it and I will be recommending it.

“The Bookshop Sisterhood’ is a contemporary fictional book by Michelle Lindo-Rice. This book follows four women - Celeste, Leslie, Toni, and Yasmeen. While the overarching arc is about creating a bookstore in their town, this book really is about the bonds of friendship and family - including “what is family?” I liked the idea of this book, but it took me a while to keep the four main characters - and the males in their lives - separate. Although the bookshop is mentioned numerous times, I felt like that was a secondary (if not tertiary) character. The main focus was, for lack of a better word, the drama that came into these women’s lives. Some of the details of the dramas, to be honest, I found myself wanting to pop some popcorn. Yasmeen’s new friend was predictable … as was the issue Toni had with someone (maybe I read too many crime books?), and I found Leslie’s situation with her father to be ill-timed, but she blew it so OTT that it was frustrating. However, although I found some things a lot too much - including some of the dramatics they had with each other - I can see people enjoying this book a lot more than I did, so I would recommend it to those who want a book about sisterhood and those incredible bonds.

I really enjoyed this book about the sisterhood of Celeste, Leslie, Toni and Yasmeen. I feel adult women need a circle of friends that keep them grounded, keep them laughing, keep them real and help them to be their best selves. Lindo-Rice builds characters that draw you in and you find yourself cheering the ladies on through the obstacles they are facing. One of my favorite quotes from the book is “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” I wasn’t ready for the story to end and hope Lindo-Rice works on Book Two so we find out what’s next for each of the ladies.

Beautiful tale of sisterhood and friendship found among the stacks in a local bookshop. Main characters are female POCs. Some romance - but the focus is on friendship and found family. And - the books!!!! Loved this!

This wasn't at all what I was expecting or hoping it would be. I was hoping that the story would revolve around the ladies dream of opening up a bookstore unfortunately, there was just drama between friends. If you want to call them that. They way they spoke to one another was off putting, the chaotic dynamic between them all was just way overdone.

I wont add this one socially, but my review will stay here.

Perhaps I'm not the target audience for this book, but I found it so intolerable. We have four very different women in four very different life paths and 75% are educated to a high degree- yet together its all slang, all cat fights, all "boo boo" and fragmented sentences.

I didn't even care about the bookshop, characters, or truly anything that happened in this book. I am sincerely hoping there is a target audience for this one and I'm a major outlier!

Thank you so much NetGalley and publisher for the ARC!

Really enjoyed this story! I’d recommend everyone—especially Black women—to read this beautiful story about friendship, love, and family!

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars! Thank you to NetGalley for this arc! This was such a good book about sisterhood, the ups and downs of life, how we handle it and what effect it can have on our relationships. Celeste, Toni, Yasmine and Leslie are best friends that want to open a black-owned bookstore. Along the way, they each have their own personal issues going on in their lives that unfortunately affects their friendship and the bookstore. We are taken along their journeys to see if they recover from these issues and if they can repair their friendship. This book reminded me of the sisterhood that I have with my besties and how important they are to me in my life. Definitely recommend!!

You know when you are late for something because you just want to read one more chapter, but then your one more chapter ends up being five more chapters and then you are late? That’s what The Bookshop Sisterhood did to me. I couldn’t stop reading it because I had to know what happened.

Four great friends with the shared dream of opening a bookshop. Four great friends with very different lives and some unexpected huge life challenges. This book made me laugh, cry, cheer, swear, and clench my teeth.