"The Bookshop Sisterhood" sounded like it would be right up my alley, but honestly, I didn't enjoy it...

In theory, the story is about four longtime friends who decide to open a bookshop together. They consider each other their "ride or dies." But the way they talk to each other most of the time was not comfortable to me at all. A lot of the book was spent calling each other out on their schtuff, while they each were facing life-changing situations.

I found the bickering between them tiresome, and even at 80% of the way through the story was forcing myself to keep going. (Usually, that far into a book, you're on a downhill slide to the ending. But for this one, it was still a slog as characters were continually making bad choices that you knew weren't going to turn out well for them.)

And there wasn't a single one of the characters I actually liked, except Toni (a little bit) and Edwin (the only upright male in the bunch!). Leslie is just nasty to people. Celeste is manipulative. And Yasmeen is a hot mess. And the bookshop that's supposed to bind them all together plays a very minor role in the story...

Thank you to Michelle Lindo-Rice, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

This book was good. I think it’s a mild book that can be enjoyed when you just want something to read. It didn’t blow me away but I don’t regret reading it. I don’t think I was in the right mood for it but I did have a pleasant time. The plot was what drew me to it but the characters made it difficult for me to stay. It had some parts that were just dragging and I wanted it to end but the drama was really interesting to me. The characters felt childish and whiny at times and it really felt so unnecessary. I might reread it just so see if I was thinking too critical but I was hoping for so much more from this book.

This book was such a feel good moment. I really enjoyed the character development within the storyline. AND anything about a book store sign me up!

Thank You to NetGalley and Michelle Lido-Rice for allowing me an Advance Reader Copy of this book!

I had high hopes for this one, but I was disappointed that the majority of the story had nothing to do with a bookshop. I wanted to see how they worked to open it and how it went, but it was too focused on their own individual issues. A middle of the road read for me. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Four best friends - Celeste, Yasmeen, Toni, and Leslie - will finally make their dream come true and open a bookshop together. But everything in their lives gets upended before they even start and they'll have to decide what they truly want and what they're willing to fight for.

It's a solid story. It takes a hundred different turns that make it a little bit complicated if you're not paying attention, but I liked that it showed that things can pile up and everything is happening at the same time just like in real life. Getting a story of women stepping up for themselves and their friends when things really get tough is fantastic and I would have given it a high rating even if it wasn't that good, which makes the fact that Lindo-Rice made it easy to connect with everyone an amazing detail. Even with everything and everyone involved, it does feel like you're getting a full story from each character and getting to experience things with them. It's not something you often see pulled off so well.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and MIRA for the read!

This book kept me on my toes. All the drama, secrets, and tears. While all of these ladies are going through their own personal struggles, they're trying to open a bookstore. Their love of books is what keeps them grounded when everything else is falling apart. I gobbled this one up, because I couldn't wait for the next shoe to drop in the next chapter.

I was really excited for this book, I love a book about books and people who love to read. I really enjoyed how these four friends had books at the center of their lives, their book club got them through some of the toughest times in their lives. I just had a problem with the characters and the way they acted throughout the book. Unfortunately, as great as an idea as this was I had so much trouble with the lying and the way the characters held themselves and it took too long to really get anywhere. I felt in a way all four of these women acted spoiled and stuck up.

The premise of this book was so promising. I really wish it delivered more. I liked the storyline threading through the lives of four friends. It was interesting to get to know their individual relationships with money, with theirs families, and with each other. However the central play point, the bookstore, seemed so forced. At so many points in the book, I would have expected to see or feel a much stronger reaction to some pretty cataclysmic log events. However, the only real drama of reactions are shown toward the bookstore. And I just couldn’t get myself to care for that so much.

Having said that, the writing style is definitely easy to read. I just wish the book focused on books a bit less.

Thank you @netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Lota of drama leading up to 4 friends opening a bookshop. The characters were endearing and their storylines were believable and sometimes could be heartfelt. I enjoyed this story.

Lovely! Cute friendship story and I love the way that the books were added. This would be a good series. I loved the personalities of the friends. Hope to see more of them.

I loved the mention of so many books, although at times it seemed forced. The overall story arcs of the characters were ok, but there were a lot of times throughout the book that I found their decisions and actions plain annoying.
Side note: I think this book might win the award for the most uses of the word "sniffled". lol

We have four women who have different lives in society. They love to read and want to open a bookshop.
I thought this book was interesting because each woman had a challenge to overcome.
A great read on the beach.
Thanks to the publisher Mira and to Netgalley for the ARC.

Who wouldn’t love a group of black bookish friends with a white token girl and all of them trying to open a bookshop cafe! It was filled with drama, of course! But overall, this was a great read of friendship, love and finding yourself!

I love books about sisters and books set in bookshops so when I saw this I jumped to read it. Unfortunately, it fell so flat and I was so incredibly bored I skipped the second third of the book to finish faster.
Celeste, Yasmeen, Toni, and Leslie have been best friends since college. They love reading and one day at their book club meeting they decide to open a bookshop together. The book follows them on a multi month journey in which all four of them face massive life challenges that threaten to upturn their bookshop plans and quite possibly their friendship.
As I stated before I love books about sisters and books set in bookshops (neither of which this book has). I hate books with characters that make bad decisions and all 4 of the women in this do exactly that. In addition to that there are so many times something happened that didn’t add to the story and in some cases, so much bad happening to one character that it made this book beyond unbearable. The cover and title grabbed me, but I’ve really got to get better at actually reading the synopsis because this is not the first (or even the second) time I’ve been fooled by the actual story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for an advanced copy of this. I’m sorry it took me so long to get to it. The Bookshop Sisterhood hit the shelves on July 30th.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC. When I saw the title and cover of this book, I knew I had to read it. I am so happy I did. This story of 4 friends who are planning to open a book shop together. There lives seem to be going on the right path, until one friend's daughter gets sick and a secret is revealed that sets so many things in motion. This is a must read.

I honestly DNF’d this book 10 chapters in. The storyline up until chapter 10, made me question why the book was titled as it was. There wasn’t much going on with the “bookshop” and seemed to be a lot of drama. The one woman that got mad and overreacted on just about everything was irritating and the main reason I had to stop reading it.

This was my first time reading this author. The Bookshop Sisterhood. Not sure exactly what the thought process was for this book as it took a while to get into.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

I expected more about the bookshop and books based on the description, but it seemed like a loose idea that didn't really tie together all the drama going on in these women's lives. And that drama was far from believable: not that it couldn't happen to a group of friends, but the likelihood of ALL of them going through major crises/changes at the exact same time.

Leslie was the only one who seemed to have a legitmate problem that she did not cause: her daughter's illness. However, her treatment of her father after finding out she was adopted was appalling. Toni's hesitancy to tell everyone about her past was somewhat understandable, but hiding her medical issue from Kent was shady. Celeste caused all of her marriage problems by refusing to go to therapy and work through her issues. Yasmeen was clueless and reckless with her spending.

The drama was just too much and I had to force myself to keep going just to see if these women ever got over themselves. Less drama and more bookshop would've been better.

This was less of a romance than a women's fiction story about four Black best friends who decide to open an indie bookstore/cafe together. Told from alternating POVs, we get to know each woman's current life problems, from a sick child, infertility, blackmail, lack of money, impending divorce and much more.

There were a lot of characters, back stories and secrets to keep straight and keep track of in this story and to be honest it wasn't my favorite to listen to. Just an okay read for me by a new to me author. I think I would have rather watched this as a movie than slogged through the audiobook. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

As a thriller reader, this was such a fun change of pace! I loved the story and the author did a great job of storytelling. I would absolutely recommend to anyone who is a fan of general fiction!