While this wasn't my favorite of this author's work, I still enjoyed the story. Written about a small town in my homestate, it's always fun to read about locations I know and have visited. I liked reading about the close relationship Emma had with her grandmother, especially with how horrible and snobbish the rest of her family are. It took me a while to get into this one but things started to pick up after the halfway point and I did enjoy the satisfying ending although I had guessed it fairly early on.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Started to read the story and I kept thinking I am not liking the start of this story and I hope it gets better. Halfway through is when the story really starts getting interesting and nostalgic. Ended up really enjoying the story.

This was an okay read! Not my favorite but maybe also not the intended audience. Would check it out !!

Really tried to get into this one and eventually accepted this one just isn't for me. I thought this was going to be a RomCom type book and it wasn't.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was not at all what I was expecting. From the cover and the description, I was led to believe it would be a romance but it's not. I enjoyed it, mostly because it took me out of my comfort zone. It was alright in the end.

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Meh… this took me over a month to read, if that tells you anything. Very odd opening with a young man pretending to be Julie Andrews from The sound of music . I have zero clue what this had to do with our story….
We follow Emma a new graduate as she meanders her life just after college , this goes on way too long….like 75% of the book…. Het family’s Book Business is the focus and will they ir won’t they survive…Finally we get to the family secret which doesn’t seem like such a big deal…
The author just seemed to want to go on and on and on about the Bechdel test. We get it, good to have women as focus and this definitely passed the test, but we had to hear it repeatedly in case we were too dense to understand!?
Just not a fan of those book.
Thanks Net Galley for the copy.

Synopsis:
Emma Page grew up the black sheep in a bookish household, raised to believe fine literature is the only worthy type of fiction. Her parents, self-proclaimed “serious” authors who run their own vanity press, The Mighty Pages, mingle in highbrow social circles that look down on anything too popular or mainstream, while her sister, Jess, is a powerful social-media influencer whose stylish reviews can make or break a novel.

Hiding her own romance manuscript from her disapproving parents, Emma finds inspiration at the family cottage among the “fluff” they despise: the juicy summer romances that belonged to her late grandmother. But a chance discovery unearthed from her Gigi’s belongings reveals a secret that has the power to ruin her parents’ business and destroy their reputation in the industry—a secret that has already fallen into the hands of an unscrupulous publishing insider with a grudge to settle. Now Emma must decide: As much as she’s dreamed of the day her parents are forced to confront their own egos, can she really just sit back and watch The Mighty Pages be exposed and their legacy destroyed?

I didn't know what I was getting into when reading this synopsis of this book but I'm so glad I got approved for it. The dysfunctional family becoming one that's restored was so well displayed. The way that this books shows that books provide meaning and love is another reason why this is a must read.

I love Viola Shipman's books and was thrilled that THE PAGE TURNER is about the book publishing industry. I also enjoyed the western Michigan setting and the dynamics of the dysfunctional family unit set around the book industry . It is a story of family restoration and the love of books. I highly recommend the book and Wade Rouse's note at the end.

Synopsis:
Emma Page grew up the black sheep in a bookish household, raised to believe fine literature is the only worthy type of fiction. Her parents, self-proclaimed “serious” authors who run their own vanity press, The Mighty Pages, mingle in highbrow social circles that look down on anything too popular or mainstream, while her sister, Jess, is a powerful social-media influencer whose stylish reviews can make or break a novel.

Hiding her own romance manuscript from her disapproving parents, Emma finds inspiration at the family cottage among the “fluff” they despise: the juicy summer romances that belonged to her late grandmother. But a chance discovery unearthed from her Gigi’s belongings reveals a secret that has the power to ruin her parents’ business and destroy their reputation in the industry—a secret that has already fallen into the hands of an unscrupulous publishing insider with a grudge to settle. Now Emma must decide: As much as she’s dreamed of the day her parents are forced to confront their own egos, can she really just sit back and watch The Mighty Pages be exposed and their legacy destroyed?

Thanks to NetGalley and Graydon House for the advanced digital copy of the book.

I went into this one blind, purely picked this for the cover alone. Unfortunately the old adage is true for this, as I feel the cover is a bit misleading (this is obviously a subjective opinion). This is not a romance novel and not a rom com. It’s a critical insight into book publishing encapsulating a family drama. The villain in the story is so cartoonish that I kept waiting for a redemption arc that never came. The Grandmother-Granddaughter aspect was a sweet idea in theory but I never felt attached to their relationship. What I really wished the plot was, is the story within the story that is written by the narrator. Instead, we get a caricature of the publishing process and some nepotism and family issues.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC and opportunity to review this book with my honest opinion.

Unequivocally the best! The Page Turner is just that, a page turner, in many ways: a "can't put it down" book, shattering misogynistic beliefs about "romance" and "rom com" genres, and shouting from the rooftops that "voice" can be used for good or evil, but that good must prevail. Viola Turner (pen name) honors strong women, family, and doing what is right and good.

Emma Page is a force to reckon with: young, fresh our of college, and greatly influenced by the love and strength of her late grandmother, GiGi. As she tries to find her own way in the cut throat publishing world, she encounters good and evil, and an enlightening about the importance and love of family, honoring those who love and have helped shape you into the person you are becoming, and using your voice - sometimes loudly. Marcus, the antagonist, is intelligent, but truly evil, unloved and unloving.

I would love to tell you more about the book would do it a disservice, you must read this amazing page turner and warm your heart.

If you are looking for a story to get lost in this spring, pick up a copy of the newly released The Page Turner. When Emma Page returns home following college, she’s expected to take her place in the family publishing business. The only problem? She doesn’t quite fit in with the image her parents have created for themselves with the high-brow vanity press; she would rather read and write romance and women’s stories (gasp!). In Viola Shipman’s newest novel, readers are given an inside look into publishing with a powerful ode to the power all of us have within us to follow our dreams.

I have read and loved many of this author’s books, but the first chapters felt like I was reading something different, and to be honest, I did not love it. The story had a different vibe and some of the language stood out as too modern. In the past I have felt that the stories radiated a timeless quality. However, I stuck with it and soon fell in love with the story of Emma and her family. As per usual for Shipman’s novels, the heroine has to overcome some predicament and experience personal growth along the way. I particularly appreciated that this novel was not at all a romance. If anything, it was about Emma’s relationship with her recently deceased grandmother GiGi and her sister Jess.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

The synopsis of this one is so good! I always enjoy a book about books. But…

The overall theme is girl power, let’s be strong and independent women! But the vibe was just kinda off for some reason. I wish the main character was a little more likable, she didn’t really make me root for her like I should have. And the villain…oh dear. I didn’t like the way it resolved at the end. That was not handled well in my opinion.

I read the authors note at the end and he is very passionate about using his grandmothers name as his pen name. I would really like to encourage him to use his name. The whole book is about standing up for yourself and being yourself and reaching for your goals…not hiding behind a pen name. It was odd that he used a pen name after all of that dialogue.

This tried to cover heavy topics and to be inspirational but it just missed the mark with some immature moments. However as the book says there is a reader for every book and this might be a favorite for a lot of readers.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to read this as an ARC.

I read anything written by Viola Shipman! I love all of his references to our beautiful state of Michigan. And in this book, I loved his references to some movies, especially sound of music, which is one of my absolute favorite.
Wade rose never lets me down. I’ve read everyone of his books and they’re all of the same high-quality with wonderful characters. Absolute amazing description. And this one is no exception!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC

One of my favorite books of the year! Still coming to terms with the death of her beloved grandmother, Emma is trying to figure her life out. Her parents don't understand her, they run a publishing company for only "serious" writers. Emma has secretly written a romance novel. When she goes back to her childhood home, long hidden secrets will be revealed..

I love everything that this author has written and this book is no exception
A wonderful relationship between a granddaughter and a grandmother
and a little insight into the publishing world for the rest of us

The Page Turner was such a sweet read - exactly what I needed right now!

Emma comes from a family of writers and others in the publishing industry. Now that she’s graduated college, she’s trying to figure out her next steps. Does she follow the plan her parents expect of her? Does she uproot her whole life and move on following her beloved grandmother’s passing? Or does she forge her own way that feels deeply true to her, even if those closest to her may be adverse?

I loved reading about Emma’s journey of coming into her own. I also enjoyed that there was a sense of family mystery. Emma’s grandmother has secrets of her own. And so does a rival author who has formed an unexpected partnership with her parents. How far is she willing to go to protect her family?

If you’re looking for a sweet read with family drama and personal growth, The Page Turner is one you’ll want to pick up!

Wowowowow did I like the second half of this book so much more than the first. That's not to say that the first half was bad, by ANY means. It was just nice to see our main character working together WITH her family, specifically her sister. It made me sad at the beginning to see them all as their own islands, and it was really nice that we got that happy ever after.

Now onto the book in earnest. In this story, our main character just graduated from Michigan and wants to be an author- she even has completed her first novel already. She is navigating post-grad life. Her parents run a publishing house, but it's very "academic" or "pretentious," and she feels that her family would look down on the book that she wrote. She is also dealing with the loss of her grandmother. Then, the story turns into a sort of mystery when a very famous (infamous) male romance author starts to force/convince Emma to turn against her family and help bankrupt their publishing house. Emma and her sister need to figure out WHY he's decided to take down their family and then figure out a way to STOP IT.

As I said, I much preferred the second half of the story where Emma and Jess work together. I would have read hundreds of pages about their sisterly exploits. This book also made me want to go to Michigan, I really need to make a trek there sooner than later.

The characters in this book are well written and honest. The family is complex, but it's clear they love each other and are as real as book characters can get. Gigi (the deceased grandmother) was also incredibly present in the story, even if she wasn't necessarily there herself. Shipman does a very good job of writing about characters and places that feel so real that I forget I'm reading fiction. I also cannot tell you enough how much I appreciate a happy ending and I am so glad this book has one. :)

Campy, as in the characters are just a smidge too over-the-top. Provides and interesting behind the scenes look into the publishing world but not much else. Will be a fun read for those that like books about books. The author's note at the end is enjoyable.

“Every book is important to someone.”

Good grief. No. Just…no. DNF @ 23% and it was painful just getting that far.

The female protagonist is insufferable. God a man can’t even breathe in her presence without her taking some kind of offense to it.

I had hoped her character arc would find me noticing some maturity but nope. And how many times can you say nepo baby in the same book?? Ugh hard pass on this one.

Thank you to Netgalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This is a review of the audiobook.