Like many other reviewers, I thought this book was mainly going to focus on four friends opening a book store together. The book shop plot is definitely secondary to everything else that these women face in this book!

From a child’s illness & an adoption reveal, to a separation, past secrets coming out of the woodwork, money troubles, relationship woes, fertility challenges and a lottery win - it’s no wonder there didn’t seem to be enough time for getting their business off the ground.

I wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. I appreciate stories of people who are facing different challenges, but I found these characters tough to love and didn’t enjoy their friendship dynamic.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Took 5 years off of my life but in the best way. These four friends couldn’t be more different from each other, but they’re the perfect blend together. I appreciate that they fight like sisters and keep it 100% real.

Their struggles vary from divorce, a haunting past and fertility issues, money troubles, and family illness. All big content warnings. As someone who is triggered by money issues, that’s what kept my heart pumping, especially at the end! This story moves at a great pace. The author does a great job of giving us the details in a way where we get to know the characters and can still be entertained!

Some of these women are better than I am, because any Pookie in my life would be a pat tense!

Truly a sisterhood. The cover makes it seem like it’ll be cozy conflicts — nope!! Loved it nonetheless and anyone with a long time friend group would love this. Would absolutely recommend :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this book in exchange for an honest review.

I want to start this review by thanking Netgalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Michelle Lindo-Rice for gifting me with a digital copy of The Bookshop Sisterhood in return for an honest review. I was completely drawn in by not only the cover of the book but the blurb for the book. Everything points to this book being something that I would gobble up. So, needless to say, when I got approval to read it, I was ecstatic. I mean, seriously, who doesn’t love a book about friendship and books? This story was not what I was expecting, but to be fair, I am not sure what I was expecting. Let me jump into my review, and I will do my best not to include spoilers, but as always, if there are any, I will give you fair warning.

This book had so much going on, and the drama was YIKES a lot. In this story, we are following four friends: Yasmeen, Leslie, Toni, and Celeste. These characters irritated me to no end, which I will get into in a bit. These four women are in their thirties and have been friends for fifteen years. It is their dream to open a bookshop together since they are such big readers. Their book club is what has kept them together throughout the years and during life’s ups and downs. No matter what went on in their lives, they would always meet to discuss the book club pick and catch up on life. I thought that this book would be all for female friendship, with them wanting to open a bookshop and all, but I found their friendship to be somewhat toxic. They often picked one another apart and got in backhanded jabs, all while still being friendly with one another for the most part. Let me break down these characters for you before I go on much further. This section may contain spoilers, so skip the characters section if you do not want to see anything that might contain spoilers. The spoilers will be small and only used to help me make my point about these characters.

Yasmeen lives with her folks and is a college dropout. She dropped out of school because she had such a hard time with the coursework due to a learning disability, which she refuses to be tested for or even acknowledge. She is dating a man who wants to attend culinary school but is trapped in the cycle of hanging with the wrong crowd. He is constantly trying to bum money from Yasmeen, but the problem lies in the fact that she does not have any. Yasmeen and her family are struggling to even keep the lights on in their home, especially since her father has become disabled. Money is always tight for her, and she often relies on her wealthy friends (girls, as she calls them) to help her out. All of these things really made me feel for Yasmeen until she won the lottery, and then her stupidity and choices drove me up the wall. The mistakes she made to me are so in your face, and I could not understand how it was that she couldn’t see them.

Celeste is happily married to her college sweetheart (or maybe high school) and living the dream. They have a lovely home, drive fancy vehicles, have a nice savings account/assets, and both enjoy their jobs. Their lives seem to be going perfectly until one night, fifteen or so months prior, they are victims in a car hijacking. Celeste is held at gunpoint while the two men beat her husband and use racial slurs before leaving to escape the cops. One would think that an experience like this would bring the couple closer together; however, that is not the case because Celeste refuses to go to therapy. Her husband begs her to go and eventually gives her an ultimatum. The thing that got me about Celeste is that she is willing to lose the man that she loves because she does not want to help herself. Even with the urging of her friends, she still refuses to get the help she needs. She suffers from severe Anxiety and PTSD from that night, which is completely understandable, and it makes me feel for her. It really does, but her refusal to get help drove me crazy.

Leslie is a stay-at-home mom to her twelve (or maybe it was ten) year-old daughter while her husband works in pharmaceuticals. Her life appears to be perfect from the outside, with a beautiful home, a talented daughter, and a hard-working husband, but trust me when I say all is not what it seems. Leslie enjoys an orderly life, but when someone she loves falls deathly ill, a secret is revealed that threatens to upend her whole world. The stress Leslie is put under is enough to break a person even before the secret is revealed. I am not going to reveal this secret, but I will say that I think she did a terrible job of handling the situation, and it infuriated me. When a second secret comes to light, it again turns Leslie’s life upside down, but this time, I can say I think she handled part of it really well. This secret is kind of a two-part deal, and for me, the main part of it she handled well, but the delivery part of it not so much.

Toni is a social influencer who has recently become engaged to the man of her dreams. There is only one little problem: he does not know the real Toni, and frankly, neither do her friends. Toni made some very bad choices as a teen, which led to her leaving her home in New York and ending up in Delaware. She made some choices that are not staying in her past but threatening to bring down the life that she now lives. Instead of asking for help from her boyfriend and her long-time friends, she decides it is best to lie to them and try and figure it out on her own. This is not the only secret that Toni has been keeping from her boyfriend; she also recently got some devastating news that will change the future that they want together. I found Toni annoying because she had so many opportunities to share her secrets with her loved ones but refused to do so, allowing them to build up in her mind all the more. Toni always wants to be there for her friends, but when it comes to her and her problems, she does not trust them enough to see and love her despite her past. She simply did not trust them or her boyfriend; she never wanted to give them a chance to get to know her beyond what she presented to them until her past crept in to destroy her and everything she had worked so hard for.

I thought this story was going to be about four friends opening a bookstore together and their day-to-day lives. I did not expect that this story would be about all their drama, lies, and picking at one another. I think that each one of these characters could have a story written just about themselves with the amount of drama each one was carrying. If you love a story filled with drama and secrets, then I think that this story would be right for you. If you are looking for a story about women opening a bookshop, and that is the main focus of the story, then I am afraid that you might be disappointed. Did I enjoy reading this book? I think I did, but for me, it was more of a how stupid can they get kind of a read rather than a rooting for them kind of a read. This is my first book by this author, and I hope to pick more up from her in the future.

Again, I want to thank Netgalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Michelle Lindo-Rice for gifting me a digital copy of The Bookshop Sisterhood in exchange for an honest review. Everything I have written above is completely my own thoughts and opinions.

Trigger Warnings:

Gang Member Talk
Racisms
Car Hijacking
Violence/ Being Held At Gun Point
Divorce
Gambling Addiction
Sick Child With Hospital Scenes
Arrest
Strained Parent/Child Relationship Due To Life Choices
Adoption

I think you will like this book if you enjoyed the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Jane the Virgin, and First Wives Clubs. It has high drama and comradery/sisterhood throughout this read. I am a mood reader and recommend reading the book with friends in the spring or at the end of summer. There are some great moments that you would want to discuss with others. Book Club Anyone?!

Overall, the book is good and I hope you all enjoy it.

Thank you, #Netgalley and #HTP, for eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book gives adult Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants friendship vibes.

Celeste, Toni, Leslie, and Yasmeen are a close knit group of friends in Delaware whose friendship is centered around their monthly book club. Now, as they make moves to open their own Bookshop together, each of them has major drama unfold that may threaten their collective dream.

I grew quite attached to the diverse group of characters but I gotta admit, I also had a fair bit of secondhand anxiety as I spent a lot of time mentally screaming at each of them to stop making stupid choices at various points in the book 😅

I love books about bookstores. Four friends come together to open their dream bookstore. On the week it’s supposed to open, each one other friends is going through something big. Now more than ever they have to lean on each other to get through.

This book is full of twists, turns, and the unexpected. The story follows four best friends ready to make their dreams come true by opening a bookstore. Instead, they encounter some of the biggest surprises of their lives. They have to figure out how to work together to overcome their challenges and work on new opportunities. Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The Bookshop Sisterhood by Michelle Londo-Rice is about four long time friends who love books and decide to open their own bookshop. However, as things with the business get rolling, each friend has drama come up in her life.

I enjoyed this book, but it wasn’t what I expected. The bookshop storyline was almost secondary to the things that go on with each woman and with their relationships with each other. Still a fun read that I think readers will enjoy.

Happy Publication Day!
This had a loooooot more drama than I was prepared for. I was sort of expecting a sweeter story about girlfriends and, as a mood reader, the amount of drama just wasn't what I was in the mood for. I DNF at 48% this time, but I can definitely see myself going back and starting it from the beginning when that's something I'm in the mood for!
Thank you, NetGalley, Michelle Lindo-Rice and Harlequin Books for the ARC.

3.5 Stars rounded up.

Wow, this book had Real Housewives levels of drama!

Four best friends are on the verge of opening the bookstore of their dreams, a welcoming place for their community to gather and foster friendships. But with their goal finally in reach their personal lives are thrown in upheaval. As each friend struggles with their own disaster they need each other now more than ever if they're going to make it to the store's grand opening.

I will admit, for a book called The Bookshop Sisterhood I thought the bookshop would be featured more. That being said, I did think the book was well written and I enjoyed the exploration of female and familial relationships. This friend group was extremely toxic, and at times I questioned why they even continued to stay in each other's lives, but it was also a little bit addictive in that reality show/train wreck kind of way. If you like to watch trashy tv and you live for the drama, I think you'll like this one!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Four friends plan to open a bookshop together. However, life gets in the way and they have to figure it all out. There was a lot more drama than I expected. I love books about bookstores and libraries, but this was too much.

I requested The Bookshop Sisterhood with high hopes for a cozy novel about friendship and a love of books. What I got was unnecessary drama with one-dimensional characters, simplistic and kinda lazy writing that didn't always make sense or was unrealistic, and questionable content like minor fatphobia, the normalization of adult/minor sexual relationship, and weird misogynist elements. I have a laundry list of quotes from this book with comments.

Some of my issues
- saying an audiobook-only reader read 10 books in three days
- a doctor immediately diagnosing someone as infertile with only an ultrasound and a urine test (which btw it never said she took the urine test & was there even enough time to test the sample AND have the doctor interpret the results, also how does a vaginal ultrasound show shrunken ovaries clear enough to diagnose infertility? she had eggs, could she not do IVF or a surrogate? she had enough money for that)
- three incredibly financially privileged women & one working class woman solving her money issues with winning the lottery
- the only woman in an executive position at a law firm being pit against a main character as if she's trying to steal her husband
- completely out of character reactions from said husband, like why did he lie to her?, he said so many terrible things!
- weird commentary on adoption
- positively talking about a sexual relationship between a 20 & 16 year-old (he's a "considerate lover" um no he's a groomer and a rapist)
- first chapter has one character judging one of her best friends for being plus size shading her for a decade of baby weight & allegedly overindulging in sweets--fatphobia much? peoples bodies change after they have children & as they get older. also... why did that have to be said?
- and more

This book is just.... not good--at least what I read. I DNFed at 43%. Kept avoiding the book for two weeks making me avoid reading altogether.

Thank you NetGalley & the publisher for the ARC! Though I didn't like the book, I appreciate the chance to read and review.

Four friends from different walks of life bond over their love of books and strive to open a bookstore together. I was immediately sold.

I was reminded of the black girls must die exhausted series, because I was truly spent by these ladies. While I appreciate each ladies individual journey, their friendship, stressed me out. These ladies were dramatic af and honestly rude. Their reactions were soooo extreme I was shocked. There was way too much here to try to wrap up seamlessly.

The bookstore opening also felt like a back drop to all their drama and I wanted more of that. But I did love the name drops of amazing book recommendations. My TBR definitely grew :)

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin publishing for this digital Arc

I am all for a book about best friends, books, book clubs and some drama, but this this book takes the DRAMA out the PARK yall. Each and every single one of these women have secrets, and drama on drama. There is more of the drama and everyone has their own issues, which it took away from the bookstore they wanted to open up. The first thing I thought after I read 30% of the book that these women should not get into business together. I was so invested in their drama which was at times so childish, the book should’ve been named something else at this point, but this book falls into the category of the urban books I used to read back in the days. Not that the book was BAD, but change the name of the book and make the synopsis match the story line.

A very good story about the ups and downs of friendship and family, whether by blood or by choice, with true-to-life characters (and a little bit of whimsy!) -- all of whom share a love of books that brings them and keeps them close together!

This surprised me, but not in a good way. I love stories about book stores, book clubs, and books, books, books. It is supposed to be about 4 best friends that were going in together to open a book shop, but the shop itself takes a back seat to the bickering that goes on between the "besties" right from the get go. It got on my nerves, all the snide remarks and innuendoes.

Each female partner in the book shop has their own drama going on, back stories are featured here and the focus was on those not the opening of a cozy book shop.

I really wanted to like this and gave it a good try, but alas, this was just not for me, and a 2-star rating is being generous from my personal point of view.

If you're in the mood for a book that's like a soap opera on steroids, you might have better luck with this one. The story revolves around four best friends—Celeste, Yasmeen, Toni, and Leslie—who are on the verge of opening their dream bookstore. Sounds cozy, right? Well, prepare yourself for loads of drama.

Each friend faces a massive personal crisis. Fifteen months prior, one was hijacked at gunpoint, leading to a marriage ultimatum. Another wins the lottery and makes a series of disastrous choices. A third uncovers shocking family secrets while managing her daughter’s health issues. And the last is grappling with infertility amid threats from a gang member. It’s a lot to take in.

The bookstore opening, which should be the heart of the story, gets overshadowed by these over-the-top subplots. Honestly, I had trouble keeping track of everything. Each woman’s conflicts could have easily filled its own book, so cramming them all into one felt very overwhelming.

Round up to 3.5. Ho hum drama filled novel. I thought it was going to be a book based on books and how a bookstore plays into the ecosystem of books. Nope! It’s a silly book about friends that have an idea to open a bookstore, but their friendship dynamics keep getting in the way in mostly silly ways. Missed the mark for me. Thanks to Netgalley and MIRA books for advanced DRC.

now see, i thought this was going to be a sweet, fun, cozy, and heartwarming story about four best friends opening a bookshop together but from page one you are trauma dumped into their lives and it doesn’t get any better as the book goes on. there was so much devastation and drama that happened to each character, around their relationships with their partners, and each other, that there wasn’t any room for me to take a breath from it all. it was just one thing after the other, to the point where the bookstore was a simple afterthought instead of the main plot and every time something came up i was thinking to myself, they really should NOT be opening up a bookstore lol. they each were going through so much and honestly, they acted immature in every situation. these grown women were acting like high schoolers for a majority of the book. they were dramatic for no reason! no logical thinking. they were self-absorbed and totally unlikeable.

and they were rude to each other. they were always bickering and arguing and half the time i wondered how they were even friends because if i said some of the things they said to each other to my own best friends, there’d be no friendship to fix lol.

the writing wasn’t cohesive and the dialogue was awful. and again everything was just so sad and over the top, there was more sadness than joy in this book. the author tried to do way too much with this. too many plot points, too much drama. and i never thought i’d be the one to say that there is such a thing as TOO much drama in a book. it got exhausting to read.

the ending…lol they didn’t deserve their endings. their endings were too good for them.

overall this was not what i was expecting and i didn’t enjoy a single plot line or character. this was a flop for me.

The Bookshop Sisterhood is a roller-coaster ride of friendship, drama and life's unexpected events. I was not ready for the amount of drama among the four ladies (and their significant others)! It felt like I was watching an episode of "Girlfriends" or "The Real Housewives of..." as I turned each page! I was definitely entertained.

This is written in each of the four ladies' point of view and each has their own unique personality (& issues). It was easy to distinguish who was who. I laughed, shook my head, was annoyed and felt bad throughout the book for all the situations they went through. The book touches on a LOT of topics, such as depression, anxiety, being taken advantage of, etc. and actually felt believable.

The topic of opening the bookshop is not as prominent as I hoped, but was still touched on in the background. Friendship & relationship issues definitely took center stage. There were many author/ book mentions sprinkled throughout (in case you were unsure of your next read).

The words "sniffled" and "flailed" were used TOO much for my liking! 😂 Everyone was doing it almost every other page!!

I did enjoy this book - it reminded me of why I dislike hanging around a bunch of females!

Thank you to NetGalley & Harlequin Trade Publishing for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.❤️