Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3.25 Stars

“The Bookshop Sisterhood” by Michelle Lindo-Rice is my first read from this author, and overall, it was an enjoyable experience. The story centers on four best friends—Celeste, Yasmeen, Toni, and Leslie—who share a deep bond over their love for books and their dream of opening a bookshop together. What worked well in this novel is the authenticity of their friendship. The dialogue, banter, and drama between the four friends felt natural and believable, making their connection truly come alive on the page.

Each character had her own storyline, and I appreciated how the author managed to balance these multiple perspectives without sacrificing depth or interest. It’s often challenging to maintain equal engagement across several POVs, but Lindo-Rice nailed it. The pacing of the drama was also a highlight, as it was fast enough to keep me turning the pages.

However, there were a few drawbacks that impacted my overall experience. The plot felt a bit too familiar, as if it followed a well-worn path seen in other novels of this genre. The author includes a cameo by Kimberla Lawson Roby, and while it’s a nice nod, it also made the story feel even more derivative, almost as if it were a continuation of one of Roby’s books. Additionally, the characters were somewhat predictable, and I found myself accurately guessing the ending long before I reached it.

Another issue was the heavy use of pop culture references, which can be a double-edged sword. While these references are relatable now, they risk dating the book in the future, potentially diminishing the reading experience for later audiences.

Overall, “The Bookshop Sisterhood” offers an engaging story of friendship, love for books, and personal drama. While it didn’t break new ground for me, it was an enjoyable read that kept me interested until the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

This was a beautiful and heartwarming book that I would highly recommend to anyone who is an avid reader (essentially all of NetGalley I suppose!)
This book is very positive and puts a smile on your face.
I am proud to be a member of the Harlequin Hive influencer program which granted me access to this delightful book. This is a perfect beach read!

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Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

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This book packed a punch of drama, a little too over the top most of the time. I loved the premise of best friends wanting to open a bookstore and cafe together but it seems just as they start planning everything in their lives starts to fall apart.

While I was expecting a nice cozy read, with some best friends and some best friends that is not at all what we got. They were mean to each other, judgmental and condescending at the best of time. At the worst of times they just down right didn't support each other. From a lottery win, secret gambling, a child illness, infertility, and PTSD from a car jacking months prior. All of this leads to each woman spiraling on their own journey.

It didn't end how i was expecting it to, and that did make it a little more enjoyable for having gone through it, If you can get through all the drama there are some underlining themes that are worth reading about even if just for the book recommendation they sprinkle throughout the book.

I had a hard time with this book. The story description didn't really prepare me for the true nature of the story.

Yes, it's a story about four long time friends who are planning to open a bookstore together. But that is really just the backdrop against which the real stories take place.

The book follows the stories of each of the individual women as they struggle with personal problems and family tragedy. The chapters flow from one character to the other, delving into the trials each of them are facing. Though they look to each other for support, they are unwilling to listen to advice they are seeking, often keeping secrets they fear sharing with even their closest friends.

This story is full of angst. At times I wanted to reach in and a slap a character, encourage them to listen and get a clue. I can admit the story was well written and the changing point of views didn't detract from the continuity of the story. I just wish I had been prepared for the amount of anxiety and uncertainty threaded through the story

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing MIRA Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the new book by Michelle Lindo-Rice. I have to say it was compelling reading and I raced through the book to see how things worked out for these 4 besties living in Delaware who planned to open a bookstore together when each of their lives began to unravel in record time. The drama ensued for each of them and other than the fact that it was completely over the top and unrealistic that so many things would happen to each of these women all at the same time, it was fun to take the ride with them. It wasnt believable but it was enjoyable. For much of the book, the women weren't even that likable but they stuck together through all the drama and ended having all grown as individuals and were more able to be a 'team' by the end of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the chance to read and review this book.

The Bookshop Sisterhood by Michelle Lindo=Rice had a great premise: 4 longtime friends decide to open a bookstore together to fill the void in their community of physical booksellers. They especially want to focus on diverse books and have lots of offerings of titles written by and for people of color. All of this seems like a great premise.

But from the very first page, I simply could not relate to these characters. They constantly name-dropped fashion designers and judged one another for their "last-season's" clothing. They just weren't realistic characters; they were superficial, deceptive, immature, and lacked common sense. A bit of that is the human condition, but when all four characters are constantly making every wrong decision, it's a bad soap opera.

I really, really wanted to enjoy this book. There are so any good bookstore tales out there right now, but this one wasn't for me. The bookstore was really a distant secondary consideration to the drama in the characters' lives. I would have liked more realistic dialogue, characterization, and plot development.

This story follows the friendship of four women and the ups and downs of their lives all while trying to open a bookstore together. There is so much going on in each of their lives that the bookstore storyline is secondary. I would have liked more details about key moments in their stories.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC in exchange for a review.

What a dream, to be opening up a bookshop…with friends. 😍 I’ve always thought it’d be amazing to own a bookshop/cafe that sold local art. That’d be the life.

This story was such a great reminder of the highs and lows of friendships and the results of tough decisions.

It was a good premise of a story, but the lottery win and blackmail line got a little cheesy (2 different character events).

The end did wrap it up for me and made me long for friendships such as these. It was a sweet story with lots of drama.

amazing, show stopping and I can't stop thinking on how amazing and telling this book is. I really like this book. this book made think a lot about sisterhood and, friendship is so important to me and the way this women care so much about each other and I just want to be able to find more friendship like that the way the support each other is one in a kind,

This book turned out to not be what I expected from the title. No cozy bookstore mystery (or romance), but a slightly over the top soap opera. The characters are all flawed, immature, and overly dramatic and treat each other poorly. But, the book is well written and I ended enjoying the ride.

From the very first chapter of this book, was clear that things were going to go sideways fast. However, for as predictable place as it started, The elemental groundwork continued to keep coming back around and be a main theme throughout.
Four friends who love books, and have gotten together for book club for years, Decide to open their own bookstore, have money down and are ready to start the process of opening. They are mostly all in a great place and are willing to support the friend who is not in the best place. They have all their ducks in a row, So clearly something has to happen to the ducks and the row and the idea perfection, friendship, sisterhood.

This book covered so much about what it means to be a family, forgiveness, personal faults, friendship, supporting each other, the way you show that support, mental health, overcoming past failures... All with a backdrop of books and literature.

#arc
#netgalley
#thebookshopsisterhood

This book kind of felt like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants for grown ups. I liked seeing how their stories flowed separately and together. The references to other books were fun too.

My main issue with the book was that it was pretty boring for me. It just never fully grabbed my attention. I did like the characters though and the premise seemed like a dream - owning a bookstore with your friends. Ultimately, this was a pleasant skim read for me.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

thank you netgalley for the e-arc. this one did not hit with me, maybe it will for others. i chose this title for the fact it's called "bookshop sisterhood". where is the bookshop in the story?? i also thought the supporting characters were just dumb, no common sense or critical thinking whatsoever. these people would never associate irl.

Ummm... me and this book aren't friends.

As a former bookseller and a member of a tight friend group, nothing in The Bookshop Sisterhood made sense to me. Four best friends meet at the beginning of the year to celebrate and plan to implement their dream of opening a bookstore together. Sounds like a perfect scenario. Then, every single one of their lives starts to fall apart and creates tension within the group. Tons of juicy drama. Still could be good, but:

- Way too much namedropping of other popular books. To the point that it took me out of the story because it made the dialogue unbelievable.

-Not a single member of the friend group made wise decisions. Not one. There's usually at least one level-headed, voice of reason to talk some sense into her girlfriends. Nope. When faced with a dilemma, or stressful situation, they all picked the choice that would bring even more stress. And, trust me, some of this stuff was just plain stupid

Loved the premise and direction of this book but unfortunately found myself skimming through some parts. While it was an enjoyable read, it just wasn’t what I was expecting. I love reading books about books which is why I was initially excited for this ARC. That’s where I wish the book was a little different: more about the bookshop/bookish content and less drama because there was literally always something happening.

I really wanted to love this book! Seriously, a book about four friends, each with their own strengths and challenges bound together by their love of books. It sounded perfect. However, while I liked the book, I found the drama surrounding each of the characters a little too much. I typically enjoy stories that reference great books and authors but again, just a little too much. Thanks #NetGalley

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing MIRA Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the new book by Michelle Lindo-Rice. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

Celeste, Yasmeen, Toni and Leslie are the best of friends. They are finally close to achieving their dream of opening a bookstore together when each of the friends finds their personal lives blowing up. Will their friendship be strong enough to sustain them?

I love books about books and bookstores! This one delves mostly into the lives of these four friends and the personal issues each face. There's a lot of issues too - infertility, adultery, money issues, and more - and sometimes things get a bit confusing, but basically we can all relate to life interfering with our plans. A good read about the importance of friendship!

This book was not what I expected. I thought the focus would be on the four friends getting the bookshop opened. Instead it's about the drama in their lives. The bookshop was an afterthought. There's so much going on in these women's lives there's no room for the writer to focus on the bookshop. I hoped for an easy read but this was too heavy for me to finish. Sadly is a dnf for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin for this ARC.

Wow, what an exhilarating journey! Initially, I anticipated a cozy and book-centric experience when I requested this read, envisioning a gathering of bookworms bonding over literary conversations and sharing their insightful wisdom (which did have a presence). However, it quickly veered into full-fledged soap opera territory! Drama with a capital D.

The dynamics within the so-called "sisterhood" were undeniably toxic. Constant clashes, secretive behaviors, and a series of questionable choices characterized their interactions.

Here comes the interesting part – I was captivated! Despite not typically gravitating towards soap operas, this book had me utterly engrossed. The exaggerated drama was irresistibly compelling, akin to witnessing a train wreck – you know it's not right to revel in it, yet you can't tear your eyes away.

There is just SO much going on in this book. I felt very confused, the timeline seemed all over the place and just didn’t make a whole lot of sense. I wasn’t a fan of this book or the writing.
All of the characters had so much going on, I feel like a lot of little details got overshadowed by all the bigger details.