This story is brought to you Worst Boss Ever front runner, Xander
He is one of those “special” bosses, that somehow manages to make his indie business plans seem even more soulless than a corporate gig. Which is an accomplishment …of sorts.

He owns a coffee shop, with two bookshops on either side. One managed by Ryan (NOT Brian) that’s romance focused, and the other
managed by Josie and is lit fic centered

He wants to improve the flow by opening it all up and turning them into a one stop shop. Which wouldn’t be bad, if he wasn’t making them compete against each other to keep their job, or any job in the new combined store at all.
Not only is this unfair, and destined to be a terrible business decision, he’s also super shady and dishonest about it

While tensions rise between them as Ryan and Josie are being pitted against each other to save their jobs, they’re unknowingly growing closer as friends on an anonymous book review site
The drama of it all!

If you like tropes and pop culture type references to other books and shows, you’re in for a treat. There’s a danger your tbr might be longer when you finish this one than it was when you started
Them name dropping The Hating Game fit, and there’s vibes of You’ve Got Mail as well

In the beginning I identified more with the Ryan than the Josie - even actively disliking her for a minute - but, just like he did, once more of her motivations came to light (and she loosened up a bit) I grew to like her more and more

When the enemies became friends, and then the friends became lovers, I couldn’t have been happier for them

If an epilogue could ever catapult a book to five stars, it’s this one
Leaving out details - because spoilers - I can safely say it’s everything I could have wanted and more

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC!

I have loved all of @alibradybooks (and @thishammer & @bradeighgodfrey ) standalone books as well, but this one is next level - their absolute best to date!! A love letter to indie bookstores, a Jewish FMC, enemies to lovers and a little bit of You’ve Got Mail - this was an absolute 5 star.

First and foremost, thank you to the publisher and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I loved this story and it was definitely worth the read! Loved the You've Got Mail feel of this one! The rivals to lovers trope was really well done in this one!

✨enemies to lovers
✨rival bookstore owners
✨you’ve got mail vibes
✨he falls first & hard

When I say I couldn’t put this book down… I seriously couldn’t put it down - I was consuming any which way I could - whether it be listening, reading or talking about it with my book bestie. I felt completely immersed in this story

This book felt like a warm hug and a love letter to all the book lovers out there. This book is why I absolutely adore romance books and the feelings they are able to evoke in me.

I was laughing out loud, swooning, giggling, kicking my feet and knee slapping (yes I do this) throughout this whole book. My husband literally had to pop downstairs to ask what I was giggling so hard at🤣

I loved the tension, banter and chemistry between the two main characters. It was very opposites and rivals attract but under it all a lot of similarities. I loved watching these two connect on multiple different levels and create such a deep and special bond

This book had everything I needed + a little more. There was book and pop culture references, book genre inclusivity, great competitive spirit, sweet moments, mental health rep and some good spice.

Thinking about this book just puts a smile on my face. It was so stinking cute & I can’t wait for you to read it too

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. Author Ali Brady writes a beautiful story that is both an adorable spin on the movie You’ve Got Mail and a love letter to romance readers.

𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀:
Josie and Ryan are the managers of two rival bookstores on the same street in Boston. Josie’s bookstore sells serious literature and Ryan’s bookstore specializes in romance novels. The new owner of both bookstores has plans to merge the stores, which means Josie and Ryan are now competing for the same promotion. Josie and Ryan have very different management styles and personalities that result in frustrating interactions. Their only solace during this chaos is the friendship they each struck up with an anonymous friend in an online book forum. Little do they know, they’re actually chatting with each other!

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱:
💁‍♀️Josie is a relatable character, especially for me because I’m extremely detail oriented and type A. She tries her best to be put together all the time and cover up her insecurities. I really enjoyed her journey of opening up more to Ryan and gaining confidence.

💁‍♂️Ryan is an ideal book boyfriend who is lovable and supportive. His POV chapters are great because we learn how self-conscious he is of his dyslexia and height. We also learn his anti-kink is an enemies to lovers trope, which is comical because he and Josie end up playing out that trope.

💬The online chat is my favorite part of the story. It’s flirty and fun but vulnerable at the same time. Josie and Ryan are completely open with each other since it’s anonymous, and it’s nice to see how they fall in love on a deeper level.

🔥The writing of the intimacy scenes is top-tier and very sex positive!! Josie and Ryan communicate their insecurities and feelings so well, and they encourage each other so they both feel safe.

📚The references to popular books, book tropes, bookish language are fun to read!

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 @berkleyromance 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬! #BerkleyPartner #berkley

“𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘯.”
“𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘳, 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘦.”

This book!! It’s absolute perfection. If you are looking for a book that feels like a love letter to the bookish community, this is the one! It’s filled with tons of book references, talks of the book world, books, and obviously bookstores! When Josie and Ryan are forced to compete against each other after finding out that their two bookstores will be merging, the battle and sparks fly. The bookstore rivalry and the online, unknown-to-them friendship really had me swooning over the two. I honestly just adored this one from start to finish and feel like everyone should add it to their reading list. It was everything I needed in a romance.

Thank you to Berkley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Josie Klein and Ryan Lawson manage bookstores located just two doors down from each other. Josie is proud of her organized store full of prize-winning literature that's ripe for book club discussions. Ryan adores his romance-only bookstore where he helps customers find their happily ever afters among the pages. As their stores sell different books, they've never been in direct competition--until now. The owner of both bookstores and the coffee shop in between has decided to combine all three stores with one bookstore manager. So, whoever sells the most books over the summer will get the job. Josie and Ryan are immediately at odds and find themselves increasingly hating each other as they work to out-sell the other. But as Josie and Ryan find out, you can't judge a book by its cover. It turns out that the pair are actually close friends in an anonymous online forum for booksellers. As they spend more time paying attention to each other's stores and to each other, it seems that they may have more in common than they thought. But with their jobs on the line, will this battle end with a love story or a tragedy?

I absolutely adored this story! It's an ode to books and their ability to shape a person. Josie and Ryan are both "book nerds" and I loved being in their heads, as I am one myself. I feel like I know their characters so deeply, and frankly, I am going to miss them until I re-read this book. Their struggles beyond what was happening with the bookstore were so real and relatable. This book was achingly romantic, deeply heartfelt, and laugh-out-loud funny. I highlighted so many passages because the poignant messages about love and relationships hit me right where I needed them. It made me want to visit a bookstore so badly, too! This book is peak enemies-to-lovers with a slow burn that has firecracker-hot payoff. Ryan took notes from those romance novels and it shows! Also, Ryan's bookstore has cats named Persephone and Hades, which made me smile from the first chapter. If you are a book lover, this is the one for you. I will be recommending it to everyone. An absolute must-read!

Follow me @smorebooksplease on Instagram for more reviews!

Thank you for the free book @penguinrandomhouse and @berkleyromance! #penguinrandomhousepartner #berkleyIG #BerkleyBookstagram. Thank you for the free audiobook, @prhaudio

Okay bookish friends who love a bookish swoony ending, preorder this one because you will love it! It comes out next Tuesday!!!

Basically the plot is this:
He manages a romance bookstore
She manages a literary bookstore
But because the bookstores’ owner is trying to cut business expenses, these two managers have to battle it out to maintain their current managerial position.
So basically your enemies to lovers trope with lots and lots of bookish references!!! From wine night book pairings to blind dates with a book, it’s literally written for us bookish people 👌
And it’s so refreshing to have a male lead who knows all about the romance tropes 😂

It’s a very quick read because you cant help but bingeread this. It was funny, it had depth, and it will make you swoon!! Highly recommend to all the romance book lovers out there!!!

The audiobook is dually narrated and was also very easy to follow and help with your binge reading needs!

Spice level- i say 2-3🌶️

This was such a fun romance! I haven’t read anything else by Ali Brady but this made me want to.

I enjoyed the setting a lot and it made me want to run a bookstore lol and I also just love a Boston setting as well since it’s “local” to me.

I enjoyed the online messages in the book, I always feel like text and stuff can make a book more engaging. The main characters themselves were enjoyable to read about. I loved seeing Ryan’s patience and Josie’s growth.

We love a rivals to friends to lovers book and this one delivered!! I enjoyed it so much more than I expected and read it much quicker than I’ve been reading other books

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC

Battle of the Bookstores was written for the girlies who love love and books. This was such a love letter to indie book sellers and readers as mentioned in the dedication and I absolutely adored it! I read it in less than 24 hours because I did not want to abandon my cuties, Josie and Ryan.

I loved the references to authors and bookish terms and tropes. Especially the omegaverse reference… I was absolutely dying!!! I seriously loved all the characters especially Ryan’s book staff.

BOTB is rivals to friends to lovers with a side of secret online pals via a book review site. Ft a black cat girl x golden retriever boy who are two bookstore managers on the same block selling opposite genres until the owner decides to combine them and tries to downsize the managerial staff thus leading to their “battle”.

Ryan is the definition of a man written by a woman and like… idc??? Give me 50 of them. I need all my fictional golden retriever men like Mr. Lawson. Josie is a misunderstood ice queen and I loved seeing her open up and learn to trust people.

Def read this if you love books where the characters are in literary spaces, banter, and slowburn tension! It’s so stinking sweet.

This book begs the question: Which is superior, romance or literary fiction? And can two people with different answers to that question compromise? Maybe even fall in love?

I loved how Ali Brady wrote Boston in a way that made it feel like a small town. With a cast of quirky characters and the challenge to save their bookstores, Josie and Ryan’s rivalry becomes a tension filled animosity of barely restrained passion.

The You’ve Got Mail inspired romance set my romcom loving heart soaring. So much fun!

4 ⭐

“Love is like swimming in the ocean.”

This book is for the book lovers and indie bookstores! Josie manages Tabula Inscripta and Ryan manages Happy Endings, indie bookstores on either sides of a cafe. Both are told that the bookstores will be merging and staffing chances will be made at the end of summer. They’re put in a competition against each other to see who will win the one manager position. I really enjoyed the dual pov because we were able to see Josie and Ryan’s thoughts. As things heat up in the competition, they turn their annolnomas online Bookfriends friendship for comfort…little do they know though that they’re speaking to each other. I enjoyed seeing the relationship blossom both online and in person. It was interesting to see how open and honest they could be behind a screen but in person there was obviously a bit of guard up that was slowly being knocked down. This book is very diverse in its representation with dyslexia, disability, and LGBTQ. I like how the reveal played out, I was expecting a third act breakup, but Josie and Ryan were shocked, but nonetheless so over the moon that they were each other’s person all along. The banter between Josie and Ryan is playful. I loved the rivals enemies to lovers trope (one of my favorites). This is the perfect cozy, summer read by the pool!

This book is for all book lovers! Two bookstore managers, one who loves romance books, and the other who promotes only serious literature, appear to be polar opposites in how they run a bookstore but the one who sells the most books will be promoted. Throughout the story, each manager learns a little more about the other and soon each see a benefit to reading all types of books and to be more inclusive of all readers. They also learn something about themselves! I really enjoyed getting to know the two MCs, Josie and Ryan, and found their backstories extremely touching and relatable.

I ADORED this one SO much!! I loved the relationship between Josie and Ryan. Josie had such strong character growth and it was beyond wonderful to see. I loved the way both of them really learned to help each other and eventually fall in love. This was wonderful as is every book I've read from Ali Brady!

Battle of the Bookstores is a rivals-to-lovers, You’ve Got Mail inspired romcom. Set at rival bookstores, this romance pulls out all the stops with tropes like grumpy sunshine, fake dating, only one bed and more. Ali Brady has created a light, fun story that’s great for reading by the pool or beach this summer.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Josie and Ryan manage Boston bookstores, Josie focusing on literary fiction and Ryan focusing on romance. They are both stunned when the owner decides to combine the two, and they have to compete to see who gets to keep their job. Josie’s serious attitude conflicts with Ryan’s seemingly disorganized and relaxed style. Their only outlet is venting to their anonymous pal in their online booksellers forum, with neither realizing their confidant is actually their nemesis. And then what happens when they begin spending more and more time together in real life?

Ryan is a cinnamon roll, and I liked having him as the romance lover and Josie as the doubter. As the story develops, it’s easy to see how their lives have influenced their reading and vis versa. The Jewish rep is well done here too. And, I always like an epistolary element, even though the gap between one of them figuring out who they are messaging to both of them knowing is longer than I’d like.

This book has lots of romance name dropping, with familiar authors and tropes getting plenty of mentions. It was fun for me, but might be overwhelming if this book is your first foray into romance. And there are times when Ryan and Josie’s antagonizing each other seems more like petty miscommunication than actual conflict.

Battle of the Bookstores is an entertaining romcom, and perfect poolside reading this summer. Ryan and Josie are both likable characters and it’s fun to watch them get their HEA. And what could beat a romance bookstore as a setting? This book is my first from writing duo Ali Brady, and I’m looking forward to reading more.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Okaaaaay what the heck I loved this!!! Truly ate every bit of this story right up.

This is a book for book lovers and even more so, a book for romance book lovers. Ali Brady took such good care with my favorite genre and put so much feeling and realness into this story it’s hard not to absolutely fall in love with this book.

Ryan is everyone’s dream man - a guy who runs a romance bookstore AND reads the books. And Josie is such a real character with so much depth you can’t help but relate to her in some way. I loved both of them so much and their relationship growth.

This book also had me so hot and bothered!!!! For such a slow burn we were perfectly compensated once the heat finally hit and definitely were NOT left disappointed.

Hidden identity/You’ve Got Mail trope is one of my favorites subgenres and it did not disappoint here. I was so giddy when we were getting close to the reveal that they’d been the ones messaging without knowing who each other was!!! I love that moment so much and it was so satisfying!

Read this book!!! Also so great on audio with dual narrators for the two POVs.

Read if you like:
🌶️ medium spice
👀 hidden identity
📱 flirty DMs
❤️‍🔥 rivals to friends to lovers
🙂‍↕️ an MMC who loves romance books

Thank you so much @berkleyromance @berkleypub for my free book! #Berkley #BerkleyInfluencer

Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady
Romance
Pub day: June 3, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Let me first start off by saying, I opened this one night and read over 150 pages in one sitting! It hooked me right away and I clearly wanted to keep reading! It was an easy read, and enjoyable enough to just get lost in the pages.

I loved the premise of this story - 2 bookstore managers have to compete against each other to become the sole manager of the new big bookstore they’re turning into. BUT they are also online friends, and they don’t know it! So it adds a little “You’ve Got Mail” vibe to the plot, which I loved!

I love the topics this book embraced and discussed, and it adds some more serious moments to a classic enemies to lovers romcom.

I have read every Ali Brady book that’s been written, and I have loved each and every one of them! This best friend duo writes amazing stories together and I already cannot wait to read more from them in the future!

Read if you like:
🩷 enemies to lovers
🩷 romantic comedies
🩷 secret penpals
🩷 a little fake dating
🩷 deeper topically

While this is a romance, it's also a love story about books, and that's what makes it so wonderful. Josie (who only sells literary fiction) and Ryan (who only sells romance) are bookstore owners who have been pitted against each other as they're told only one of their stores can stay open. Meanwhile, Josie and Ryan are both part of an online book community. However, they don't realize they're the people behind the usernames where they've formed a strong connection. And so the fight to stay open begins! This was so, so good as much of the story is told through books and their bookstores - I loved the depth that this part of the story had. And I loved how Josie and Ryan's online and offline relationships progressed! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the look at this June 2025 release! It's a perfect summer beach read (or anytime read) to have in your life!

Battle of the Bookstores is one long love note to those who love reading. This brought me quite a bit of joy, but I’ll be upfront- I wasn’t hooked until around 40%. I decided to stick with it and there was payoff. What I found annoying in the first half, became somewhat endearing in the second. This will be perfect for readers who love: bookstore vibes, romance novels, and literary pop culture.

The cutest romance I could’ve asked for. Full of witty banter and is very easy to get into.

Classic case of rivals to working together to lovers with a dash of hidden identity 👀. I loved how the whole social media friends bit worked out, but I would’ve loved more for them to find it out earlier.

Overall, a solid 5 star read that I kept thinking about days after finishing. Also, bonus points for dyslexia rep.