Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady

Thank you @berkleyromance for the finished copy of this book and another thank you to @prhaudio for the free audiobook! #berkleypartner #berkley #PRHAudioPartner

SYNOPSIS: “Rivalry and romance spark when two bookstore managers who are opposites in every way find themselves competing for the same promotion.”

REVIEW: Opposites attract Josie and Ryan are so cute together! Their banter is fun, and the whole thing heats up quite a bit!

I love when stories mess with gender-norms and societal expectations. In a twist, he’s the romance store owner, and she runs the more “serious” literature-focused store.

This was a cute, predictable romance with nods to oh so many romance tropes…in the best way! So full of You’ve Got Mail vibes, and I’m so here for it.

There are a few things about the plot that pulled me out of the story, and I found myself struggling to stay focused. Thoughts of “that would never happen” kept flitting in and out as I read. (Can’t go further for fear of spoilers.)

Nevertheless, it’s a fun, fast, and spicy read. I’d absolutely recommend to rom-com lovers everywhere!

Publisher: @berkleyromance @berkleypub @prhaudio @penguinrandomhouse
Pub date: 6/3/25

First and foremost, I want to thank Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for the amazing opportunity to read an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.

It took me AWHILE to get through this one. Maybe it was a reading slump, maybe it was too slow? I can't be sure.

This book follows two bookstore managers that despise each other and are pinned against each other when the stores' owner decides to merge both stores into one and will only keep one of them.

It's your typical enemies to lovers trope, no surprise there. It just fell flat to me.

I'm not really sure what Ryan ever saw in Josie or why he'd ever fall in love with her after knowing the type of person she was when he met her. She literally hated him for no reason. Unless he's a masochist?

Also, there was a chapter (I think it's chapter 28) that was basically just like we had sex this day and on this day and then we made love this day. Unnecessary.

The last few chapters were better than the rest of the book, but overall, I would give this a pass.

Thank you to Berkley for the eARC and PRH Audio for the free audiobook.

Did Not Finish.

An enemies-to-lovers story about two competing book store managers? You've Got Mail inspired? Sounds exactly like my kind of book. Except the Meg Ryan of this book was not very likable. In fact, she was pretty mean and rude. I struggled with believing that her Tom Hanks would actually forgive, forget, and fall into instalove. So after one too many mean comments, I abandoned the story and decided to watch You've Got Mail instead.

Thank you Berkley, Ali Brady and Netgalley for providing me an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was the exact type of romance book I was craving. The MMC is a golden retriever who manages a romance bookstore and our FMC is the broodier, high brow one, managing the next door literary fiction booktore. Their worlds collide when the owner of the spaces they operate in decides he wants to sell one of the booktores and keep only one of them as manager. His final decision being based on the bottom line of who brings in the most profit starts the competition and an enemies to lovers dynamic that I really appreciated.

They might not like each other face-to-face, but unbeknownst to them, they've already met before... except not in real life! They've been chatting away anonymously in a You've Got Mail fashion in an online bookstore managers forum. I really do love this trope so for me it was heaven on earth to read yet another romance book with this plotline. It allowed for the emotional vulnerability between the two main characters to build up whilst we get the physical attraction mixed with loathing in-person. In other words, the romantic pacing was impeccable.

This is a dual-POV book, so each character had to go on their own character arc journey. Whereas Josie, the FMC, had to come to terms with love not being a scary thing, our MMC, Ryan, had to accept that others' opinions don't matter as long as he sees himself as worthy. And each were done in a lighthearted, fun way that was deep enough to still resonate and be relatable to what each of us goes through in our own lives.

The writing was humorous but I confess I disliked the obsession Ryan had with Josie's body at times, and his enumerous romance book references did get a little tired. I also didn't fully buy that Josie is a literary connoisseur when most of the lit fic she reads is pretty mainstream, so I do think that maybe the character would have worked better on paper if she was reading more obscure books (especially since she snarked at romance books).

All in all, I had a great time with this book and think it's perfect for anyone looking for an enemies to lovers bookish romance with a golden retriever MMC.

It's so fun that there's more books these days focused on the characters themselves being book lovers. The reverse grumpy x sunshine was great, battle the gender norms! Josie's store is literature and Ryan's is romance. It felt a bit like Hating Game but I love the secret pen pal aspect, it's such a great way for characters to get to know each other without prejudice and see what the reader sees! We get to know everything! Ryan is the epitome of a book boyfriend.

Thank you Berkley and Netgalley for the eARC.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

4.5 STARS

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
If you're a fan of You've Got Mail this one is for you!

I thought Battle of the Bookstores was such a charming and engaging read! The bookish setting made it extra cozy, and I loved the rivalry-to-romance tension woven through the story. The characters were fun and relatable, and the whole premise felt fresh and heartwarming. A delightful read for anyone who loves books about books and a sweet romance at the center.

I ended up really really liking this novel.. even though I started it with not the best impression of one of the main characters.

I LOVED Ryan from the moment he entered the chat so my problem was not with him at all... It was with Josie...

She just BUGGED ME! Her pretentious attitude towards the romance genre and towards Ryan irritated me to NO END. In the end she did grow on me, but she really bugged me at first.

However, Ryan was ABSOLUTELY delicious so this read was so worth it.

Josie Klein and Ryan Lawson have really different ideas about what a bookstore should be and which books belong in them. When their landlord decides to combine their stores—and only one can stay—they find themselves in a friendly, yet fierce, competition. The Battle of the Bookstores is a fun exploration of what we consider literature and the stereotypes tied to different genres. Both Josie and Ryan are engaging characters with big personalities, flaws, and strengths, making them really relatable. Their journey together feels genuine, and their chemistry is absolutely irresistible. The supporting characters add extra layers to the story, filling in the gaps and providing some hilarious moments along the way. Overall, it’s a heartfelt slow-burn romance that’s full of depth and charm.

Really enjoyed these main characters, and thought it was a nice departure to have the guy being the expert on romance books. Fun read, and good resolution.

Now this is how you do a contemporary enemies-to-lovers romance! Josie and Ryan are fierce competitors, racing to outsell each other to save their bookstore by summer’s end—but they’re also unknowingly connected as secret pen pals. The twist adds such a fun layer to the story, and the chaos of their sales competition made for an entertaining read.

I especially loved their text exchanges—clever, flirty, and full of tension. Ryan being completely smitten with Josie (and getting adorably flustered) was a highlight.

I did wish Josie had shown a bit more trust and empathy during the third act, but the conflict ultimately made their reunion more satisfying.

The traditional capital L "literature" bookstore must compete with the trendy romance bookstore in this must read to see which bookstore gets to stay open. As the rivalry between managers heats up and construction causes there to be less distance between them, Josie and Ryan realize that they might be more alike than they first though. Add Battle of the Bookstore to your Fall TBR now!

Click here to check out the book today.

I love books and You've Got Mail and this is a perfect book for fans of both of those things. I loved the opposites attract/enemies to lovers tropes in this. The MMC is a romance bookstore owner, and the FMC owns more of a high brow bookstore and they end up needing to compete to stay open. Meanwhile, they correspond anonymously online. I enjoyed how their in-person relationship developed and the book conversations in both "worlds." It was cute and of course it is a happy ending for both! The journey to get to that ending is fun, interesting, cute with great chemistry!

This has gotta be my favorite book about books in a long time lol Usually they annoy me because the bookish character is done weirdly and they don’t feel real at all. In this one, there’s two characters that are correctly done and I think for that reason I think I enjoyed this a little bit more.

Ok so the main characters were so well done. I was a little mad at Josie tho. Because why in the year of our Lordt Beyonce are you making me agree with a man?! Ryan was likely the best part of this book. He owned a romance bookstore, he read all sorts of romance and defended it against others, and he was also sweet until they made him not be. And let me just say, Josie definitely made him crazy lol Josie was a little different. She owned a literary store, but she was so uptight and just everything that Ryan wasn’t. I didn’t think the two of them had anything that would bring them together. But I know that was probably just me because I don’t think I would have befriended her if it was me lol I also really loved that Josie was the one who liked the literary and Ryan was the one who liked the romance. I think I would have spent most of the book mad if there was a man talking down on romance lol

Ok so when the actual competition started, I gotta say, I immediately knew who was going to win. But it wasn’t because of anything that stood out. But even with knowing that, I was super interested in knowing how they would get to that conclusion. And I was right to. It was so good. The jar they have by the register, the different book clubs, the women that always come in to embarrass him, the dates/engagements. Gah it was my kind of store. And as much as I hate to say it, I would also like to work at Josie’s store. It would be quiet and I would have so much more time to read while on the clock. And I hate to say it, but I do think it made more sense to put the two of the stores together. I didn’t agree about their jobs tho.

Now with that being said, I wasn’t completely sold on the way they got together. Again, that might just be me. As you know, I’m not a fan of people being mean and then bam, they like each other. But I gave them a little leeway because of the whole thing online. I thought that was hella cute tho. Although the big reveal could have been a bit better. It was so underwhelming. She was not mad enough for me. But I did understand because it was nearing the end and they hadn’t exactly been in each other’s good graces. But when they finally got together together, I wanted more of them together. It’s a romance book and they were already apart for so long. Why make it even longer?

If you’re a book lover, you’ll love this. There’s a little something for every reader and it will make you LOL in some places and swoon in others. I loved it so much. This was a lot of fun and I really think anyone who reads this will enjoy it.

This was such a feel good book. It had vibes like You’ve Got Mail which was so fun. I loved that she had our male lead be the one who is interested in romance novels. That was a fun switch up to keep things fresh. It was so bookish that any reader will seriously love this. Thank you to netgalley for the arc’

Ryan and Josie each own rival bookstores, and when their boss decides to merge the two, things take a turn. This was a fun enemie to lovers trope and I loved that it involved book people. It was enjoyable and a light read that I think anyone who enjoys this genre will appreciate. Thank you to NetGalley for the ebook to preview.

SO CUTE!!! I was kicking my feet at the banter from start to finish with these two. I loved the familiar setting for us book nerds of a bookstore, ARC reading, author meetups, book clubs... I felt right at home. Also I'm sorry but a tall hot bookstore owner with glasses would have had be folding long before miss main character did. My GOD he's fine AND well read!!!

I thought this was going to be a fun read, but this turned out to be so much better than expected! I loved the story and the characters, but most of all I loved all the references!

DNF at 28% — I need to stop trying to read books about books. I never like books about books. I find them upity, and I don’t like that they always have characters that hate on other characters’ taste in books. I wanted to like this because Ali Brady’s other books have been such hits with me! I would’ve LOVED it had this been about anything other than bookstores. Battle of the Cafes? Battle of the Animal Rescue? Battle of the Locally Made Goods Shops? Sure! Sign me up if there’s enemies to lovers and a precious, bespectacled MMC. Especially with dual POVs!