Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

I am a huge fan of both Romeo and Juliet and You’ve Got Mail, so I was so excited to hear about this book. Our FMC is Jules and our MMC is Roman. They were so cute together but I felt like we missed most of their journey. They fell in love off page for the most part, so it seemed to not be the point of the story. It kept being mentioned that no one knew what started the two families feuding. When the diary from the past ancestor was found, I thought the point would be to find out the origins of the feud. Instead it was a totally separate side quest, with a nice result but still. I adored Aunt Flo and Charlie was an interesting character I’d like to know more about. Cute read!

Very cute and quick read. I enjoyed reading the book and love the Romeo and Juliet themes in the book (don't worry there is a happy ending). Aunt Flo was great. Well done enemies to lover book with Jules and Roman. I will be adding Poppy Alexander to my list authors to read.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun book. I really enjoyed this book!

This book is will be published in August! Early copy was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for a review.

What they say this book is about: Romeo&Juliet/Shakespeare themed enemies to lovers. They own competing bookshops across the street from each other….

What this book is actually about: Jules trying to sell an ancestor’s 1600s manuscript— all so her sick great Aunt Flo can die with some money to her name.

Back and forth pacing. Random side stories. Childish characters. Jules & Roman never talked and then all the sudden they were in love. I also couldn’t figure out the time period ? Old language that just didn’t flow made me think the time period was long ago, but then mentions of Instagram posting, BookTok, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and gender pronouns made me realize this was a modern setting.

Not for me, but maybe someone else might like it.

Romeo and Juliet meet You’ve Got Mail in this cute and enjoyable story.

Jules has returned home to Portneath to help take care of her great aunt after she was injured. She gets fired from her job after extending her visit and decides to stay to help run the family’s bookshop rather than return to London and look for a new job.

Roman, her former crush but current nemesis, has returned home from NYC and opens a bookshop right across the street. His family is looking to shake things up in town. Unbeknownst to Jules, Roman also had a bit of a crush on her back in high school, so he finds it is easy to seek her out and be kind despite the current competition, where he clearly wants to win both her heart and her customers.

Jules and Roman know they are supposed to dislike each other because their families have been feeding for over a century, but does that mean it has to continue? Can the two of them overcome the feud, both in business and family history, and finally have their happily ever after?

This is a quick and entertaining story with a clean and sweet romance sure to please the everyone.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing the ARC with me. All opinions are my own.

An absolute gem for book lovers!
Coming August 19, 2025, The Battle of the Bookshops by Poppy Alexander is a heartwarming, charming read that will make you want to hug your favorite bookstore. Set in the idyllic seaside town of Portneath, this delightful novel is a love letter to stories, community, and the power of perseverance. Jules Capelthorne is a wonderfully relatable heroine, smart, determined, and full of heart, as she takes on the challenge of saving her great-aunt’s beloved (if slightly shabby) bookshop. But when the competition comes in the form of Roman Montbeau, her childhood rival turned infuriatingly attractive businessman, the stakes, and the sparks, only get higher.
Perfect for fans of You've Got Mail and Jenny Colgan, this is a cozy, uplifting story about rivalry, romance, and fighting for what matters most. Don’t miss this irresistible read!

⭐️ ⭐️ 2.5/5

I just couldn’t get into this one as much as I wanted to. It was a fun, light read and the setting was strong. I enjoyed the Romeo and Juliet references.

Ahhh guys I’m a little bummed because I was really excited about this one after reading the premise! However, I really just could not be sold on the romance aspect in this one. It was really hard for me to stay engaged and it felt like I had to trudge through. The FMC seemed to detest the MMC and then we had to believe they were in love? It just was too clunky and messy in structure. I also felt there was waaaay too much reference to the Romeo and Juliet retelling here and it wasn’t hitting for me.

This is so cute! I love enemies to lovers, and it was a cute play on Romeo and Juliet. It’s a little slow in places but overall, it was a fun read!

I wanted to love it, I did! The beginning was cute and I loved the Romeo and Juliet themes. But near the middle I started to be disappointed. They got together in a weird, unsatisfying moment; where I still hated him and thought the main character did too? And the ending felt very rushed. A bit disappointed overall.

Cute twist with the Romeo and Juliet ties but the story troupe is one I have seen before many times. The story was very slow moving and there is zero spice in this rom-com. I did enjoy the banter between the characters when they interacted which wasn't nearly enough.

It took me a while to get into this story and the first half dragged a bit. However, halfway through, the characters motivations started to make more sense. The second half was a lot better!

I liked Flo character more than Roman.

Overall, a a cute romantic story

This books was clunky and awkward, I wanted to like it but the FMC was pretty one-dimensional and geared up to 100% at all times. The MMC also lacked the nuance to realistically sell me on the story.

Ultimately I was entertained at a base level but I finished the book out of obligation.

This book was very similar in nature to another just published recently. It came across as your run of the mill romcom playing off the book love lately. There wasnt a ton of character development. I would rate this like a holiday hallmark movie but in book form but the book isn’t way better than the movie.

Battle of the Bookshops by Poppy Alexander is a witty modern-day Romeo and Juliet story between Jules Capelthorne and Roman Montbeau. Having known of each other since they were kids, they meet as adults and have competing bookshops in the same small town where they are from. A long-standing feud between their families means fierce competition, bitter rivalry, and barbed banter between Jules and Roman at every turn.

I really enjoyed their story and finished this book in two days! I love the small town setting and the found families that are introduced throughout the book. The characters are relatable and the story held my attention as far as “What happens next?” I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of enemies to lovers with a modern day Shakespeare feel. Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Amazing, fantastic, chef’s kiss. This book was so cute and I love the characters and the story so much. I will be keeping an eye out for more stories by this author, I truly loved this book

A book that had a good premise and setup, but an okay payoff. I loved the chase, but once the couple got together it sort of dipped for me.

I was quite looking forward to this bookish story, and enjoyed it for the most part. The Shakespearian angle wasn't too overdone, and the relationship between Jules and Flo was so sweet and loving. That said, the romance aspect of the book was a little disappointing, since most of it took place off the page and it wasn't entirely clear what Roman and Jules saw in each other. The bookstore feud was interesting, though I felt the epilogue was a bit of a cop-out on the author's part.

Overall, an enjoyable light read with some witchy joy thrown in. If you like bookish novels, you'll most likely appreciate this one as well.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the opportunity to read this ARC and provide an unbiased review!

This was cute and cozy—definitely gave off autumn/cold weather vibes, if that makes sense. It feels like the kind of wholesome read you'd enjoy in front of a fireplace.
Jules returns home from an uninspiring career in London to help her aunt run the family bookstore. Amidst a centuries-old family feud, her high school rival, Roman, opens a competing bookstore right across the street. Thus begins their battle to become the best bookstore on the high street.
While the story was very sweet, the pacing felt off to me. It’s mostly told in dual POV, but we spend a lot more time with Jules than Roman. Then there’s one random POV chapter from Charlie—which felt like an odd choice. I also found the pacing of Jules and Roman’s relationship to be inconsistent: a little development, then a huge leap forward, then a backtrack—they hate each other, then suddenly want to run away and get married, then... just kidding. It was a bit of emotional whiplash.
I definitely liked the author's last book more, but this was still an overall cute story.
Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the advanced copy

Why must the publishing world give us yet another Romeo & Juliet retelling. In all seriousness who’s asking for this?!???! Because I for one am not. I also want to mention I had no clue this book was going to revolve around a Romeo & Juliet retelling, I thought this was another cute romcom with battling bookstores similar to “You’ve Got Mail”. I even went book to double check the synopsis to see if I missed something. Nope, definitely didn’t. Because if I had known I never would’ve requested to read this. But because I did request it, I sucked it up and trudged through it (begrudgingly).

Y’all I’m going to be honest this book was not fun. And trust me I kept waiting for it to be fun. The Shakespeare references in this book just wasn't for me. The first 46% of the book was just straight similarities and references to the play. Which for a hater of Romeo & Juliet made reading this book completely unbearable.

To top it off our MFC had the personality of drying paint and her approach to relationships was a wishy-washy cluster of a mess. I don’t know about y’all but going from straight hating a guy to let’s get married is a solid nope from me. Our MMC wasn’t any better he was an arrogant, misogynistic jerk wad (and that’s putting it nicely). Like if you’re looking for the definition of a red flag guy Roman would be what you’d find.

My last issue with the book falls with the ending. The entire ending and fate of the bookstore felt completely rushed. Like we spent 46% dealing with the “fued” only to have to have the resolution tied up in a rushed last chapter. I’m sorry what?!?!! Where was the editor for this?!??? But I digress, I think this book could’ve had a great premise but the poor execution regretfully did this story in. With that said I honestly cannot recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley & Avon for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.