Thanks to @berkleypub and @berkleyromance for the gifted e-ARC and to @prhaudio for the ALC!

This delightful book was my 100th read of the year! And it had all my favorite things— Delicious banter. A romance bookstore with very suggestive pins and bookmarks. Quirky side characters. That fine line where hate turns to passion. The You’ve Got Mail plot where enemies are secretly friends online. A one bed situation. Secret pining. Bookstores that hold awesome events. And lots of book reading and reviewing. I mean, isn’t that the perfect book right there?

Ryan and Josie are bookstore managers. Ryan’s is romance themed with a perfectly diverse product line and staff. Josie’s is highbrow and minimalist with literary fiction and no staff at all. When the owner of their stores decides to combine them and lay off whoever has the lowest sales, they go from mutual dislike to competition. But the contest brings them into close proximity and sparks fly. They both have baggage, from family trauma to learning disabilities. And watching them work through those issues and learn to trust each other was delightful.

It’s a dual narration, with each narrator reading the chapters with their character’s POV. They both did a great job. The characters really came alive with their voices.

If you love books and bookstores, you have to read this book. It’s like a big warm hug to book lovers everywhere.

I don’t really read a lot of contemporary romance ( maybe 2 or 3 a year) but I’m so glad this one made it to my TBR

This story with all the “You’ve Got Mail” vibes is a witty, funny and sexy enemies to friends to lovers story that I enjoyed from beginning to end and didn’t want to put down and even though it is pretty long at over 400 pages, it never really felt like it

My rating 4.5 ⭐️

This book was enjoyable little romp with fun references to you’ve got mail. It was interesting seeing the role reversal in which our FMC loves literary fiction and our MMC love romances, as I think Brady did it in a way that felt not too heavy handed.

This is a fun and breezy read. Josie and Ryan are rival bookstore managers: Josie’s bookstore specializes in literary fiction, while Ryan’s exclusively sells romance. They both lowkey resent each other, a dynamic that becomes even more toxic when the owner of both their bookstores tells them he is merging their stores and only one of them will get to keep their job. Josie and Ryan begin a fierce competition, but they don’t realize that they’ve been anonymously DM-ing other for months.

There were parts of this book that felt pretty trite to me, and although the characters were often tongue in cheek about the various tropes going on, sometimes it felt like a bit much. But overall, this was a really fun read. There’s a lot of talk of different books and authors and bookish things, which I enjoyed, and the characters are interesting and dynamic. I always love an enemies-to-lovers story, and it was enjoyable seeing the sparks fly between Josie and Ryan and both of them slowly reconcile their misconceptions about each other with the reality. Overall, I enjoyed this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review!

Really loved this book! The nods to romance tropes were a cute touch. Having grown up in the area, I loved the references to places in Massachusetts/Maine. Would def read more of her books!

I wanted to love this book so so bad. The FMC was just so insufferable and it was hard to get past that. It made it feel like a chore to listen to the book. I will say that I did really like that the audiobook was narrated by a man and woman. The details about running a bookstore and the stress that comes with it was fun to listen to since I run a bookstore.

Sadly I just don’t think this was the book for me. It was just a bit too cringy. Probably more of a 1.5 ⭐️ rating for me.

This enemies-to-lovers romance, with a swoonworthy bookstore setting, unfortunately is more of a miss than a hit. The romantic plotline follows trope after trope, and while there are some cute elements and plenty of book-love, the overall story feels pretty basic. I loved this author duo's previous books, but this one doesn't deliver the same emotional payoff., and simply isn't as interesting a story.

This is a fun romance between two competing bookstore owners. Josie and Ryan are in a competition to see who can outsell the other to become the manager of one bookstore that will encompass both of their current businesses. Their landlord has decided to consolidate their stores into one space. They both sell different genres than the other and don’t really see eye to eye on their business ideas so there was already some friction between them. As the competition continues they slowly begin a romantic relationship. It turns out they anonymously already know each other online but they initially are unaware they are unknowingly confiding in each other. This was a cute story with great dialogue and an interesting plot. Who doesn’t love a book with bookstores? Josie and Ryan were perfect for each other and you are invested in seeing their attraction grow. Overall a great romance story!!

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC opportunity.
Abby Jimenez blurb on the front sums it up perfectly—modern You’ve Got Mail.
3/5 stars
Favorite Supporting Character: Eddie
I enjoyed the characters and the plot. There were a few major moments I wish would have lasted a little longer or went into more depth. I do think it is a title our public library will purchase.
Now I want to go to a literary conference and get physical ARCs!

Y’all should have told me HE was the romance enthusiast!

Ryan breaks every preconceived notion by being a giant supporter of romance—I mean that literally. The man is 6'7"! But since he hates the size-difference trope, I’ll move on in solidarity (but omg omg omg).

Two neighboring bookstores are being forced to merge by their new, money-hungry owner, putting managers Ryan and the prim-and-proper Josie in direct competition. Only one of them will get to stay on and manage the new store. Josie, a die-hard literary fiction bookworm, tends to lean into the “literary snob” stereotype, while Ryan couldn’t be more different. In person, they clash at every turn... but online? They’ve actually been anonymous book besties for years!

The magic of this story lies in the bold, laugh-out-loud chemistry between these two as they battle each other—and their own biases. As a proud member of Team Romance, I loved every trope Ali Brady (the author duo) managed to weave into Ryan and Josie’s enemies-to-lovers relationship. I usually cringe at meta references, but here they felt like a celebration of romance readers. It was playful, joyful, and made me feel "seen."

The lust? HEAVY in the air. Like, bring your own O2 mask! This is a slow burn, but the yearning is absolutely salacious from beginning to end. And when they finally give in, Ryan puts all that romance knowledge to very good use.

It’s not "just smut" (eye roll). There’s real emotional growth and development too—but you’ll need to read it yourself, or we’ll be here all day listing all the great elements packed into this book. That said, special shoutout to the epilogue because THAT is what reader dreams are made of.

Also, I listened to the audiobook and HOLY HELL. Karissa Vacker is already an auto-listen for me, but Brandon Francis? Genius-level casting. I’d never heard him narrate before, but turns out he also voiced Nordika Knight’s "Garron Park" series (iykyk). He’s now my new audiobook bias.

This book is a cute, hopeful read for all the book-ish people out there! While cheesy at times, there was so many fun references and nods to beloved books, the amazing community, reader interactions, etc. If that's the love story you are looking for here, you will be very pleased.

It seems like a few others agree that the beginning of this book was a bit rough - to me, the romance between Josie and Ryan initially felt forced with sometimes random out-of-pocket internal dialogue. But once I hit around the 45% mark, I was invested. The main characters really grew on me as they opened up to one another, and by the end, they felt far more grounded and real.

I also ended up really loving the role reversal with the man being the romance fan and the woman being more into literary fiction. Did it always feel realistic? Maybe not, but their individual reasons for loving each genre were both so valid and precious.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkeley for providing this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I think the biggest issue with this story for me was the MMC- anytime there was a thought of the FMC it was overtly sexual for no reason? and he spoke like he was texting (I.e. saying "loml" and "tbh") which totally through me off. Another concern is the way the characters speak regarding books, they mention big named authors and tropes/sub genres which is totally fine, but I think it alienates potential readers who are not chronically online or in the booksphere of social media to understand everything they're discussing, like mentioing the omegaverse or saying bookish acronyms like MFM, knotting etc. I understand the love for this book, it was truly made for the book lovers, but unfortunately for me the characters felt surface level and had a bit too cringey of dialogue for my liking. I'd definitely still recommend this to my followers and other fellow readers, as I think there's a huge audience for this story, just wasn't for me.

Thank you PRHAudio for the audiobook and Berkley for the advanced reader copies.

Looking for a love letter for a bibliophile? This book will make you bite your lip and smile. Battle of the Bookstores has a way of highlighting so many bookish things like ARC reading, getting to know people by reading from their favorite book lists and some reading faux pas like reading the last page of a book before finishing. This book had me constantly repeating - just one more chapter.

Literary Fiction lover and bookseller at Tabula Inscripta, Josie must compete against Romance reader and bookseller at Happy Endings, Ryan to see whose store can get the highest sales for a summer. Whomever wins gets to keep their jobs. In a wonderful enemies to friends to lovers this book has all the fun. From flair lanyards with pins to match your wine to your book to crocheted bookish items, this book has it all.

Karissa Vacker & Brandon Francis did a fantastic job bringing both Josie and Ryan to life. I am adding them to my favorite narrators list. I am grateful to both PRH & Berkley for allowing me to read via audio and ebook.

Josie Klein and Ryan Lawson are both booksellers whose shops are separated by a coffeehouse. Ryan manages a cozy, popular bookstore that focuses on romance. Josie manages a prestigious, high end bookshop that focuses on literature. When their landlord decides to knock out the walls that separate their stores from the coffeehouse - making one big space, with the goal to make one very big bookstore, they come into contact, with a lot of clashes. Worse, the landlord intends for just one of them to manage the combined shop. They don't realize that they are chatting - and flirting - on a bookseller message board. As they work together, sparks fly - both negative and later romantic as well.

I wanted to read Battle of the Bookstores because I really enjoyed another book by this author team last summer. I have worked in bookstores and found the setting very appealing.

This was such a fun read! It was told in alternating viewpoints with online chat transcripts telling part of the story. I love You've Got Mail and the idea of this book is very similar - enemies to lovers, in a bookstore setting. I highly recommend this novel anyone looking for a light, lively read. (It would be perfect for a vacation read!)

Battle of the Bookstores was such a cute romance and a love letter to indie bookstores and book lovers everywhere. We follow Josie and Ryan, who each manage rival bookstores on the same street, Josie’s shop leans literary fiction, while Ryan proudly sells romance. When their landlord announces plans to combine the two stores and keep only one manager, they're thrown into a high-stakes competition to prove who deserves to stay.

Ali Brady takes inspiration from You’ve Got Mail but puts a fresh spin on the story that makes it completely their own. The characters are so thoughtfully developed. I absolutely loved Josie and found her super relatable. Watching her slowly let her guard down around Ryan and open up felt like such a satisfying payoff. And the side characters? So well done. The world Brady creates feels warm, full, and lived-in.

This was the lighthearted yet meaningful summer romance I needed.

I didn’t expect to enjoy a book about books so much—but I was completely wrong. Battle of the Bookstores is such a relatable and heartwarming read, especially for anyone who loves the book world. I found myself smiling at all the bookish jargon—it felt like an inside joke I was finally in on, and I loved that.

This is a sweet and charming enemies-to-friends-to-lovers story (one of my favorite tropes!), and I adored every second of it. Josie is the perfect blend of fierce and soft—a true boss babe with a vulnerable side that makes her so real and lovable. And MMC Ryan’s bookstore crew? Absolutely delightful. The entire setting was bright, fun, and full of life.

This one is such a feel-good read and definitely a new favorite. I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Battle of the Bookstores is such a love letter to book lovers and indie bookshops. There are so many clever bookish references, the bibliophile in me was grinning the entire time while reading.
Switching up preconceived notions about book genre preferences and placing the male main character, Ryan, as the manager of the romance bookstore is such a clever choice on Ali Brady’s part, and I loved it. Ryan is a dreamy book-boyfriend, but also a character with thoughtful dyslexia representation. Depicting a main character who struggles with traditional reading, and who is also an avid reader and leader in the book community, is such a meaningful message that “readers” do not have to fit a specific mold.
Josie is carrying the weight of perfectionism and expectation on her shoulders, and her transformation from a literary-only reader to someone more accepting of the romance genre is more layered than I anticipated it would be. I enjoyed her character’s growth, and the creative way it culminated.
The “You’ve Got Mail” style interaction between Josie & Ryan is an ode to the classic rom-com, and worked well as a counterpart to their real-life enemies-to-lovers dynamic. I enjoyed how it added to their banter and upped the romantic tension.
Battle of the Bookstores hits all the right notes for a contemporary romance- strong characterization with authentic-feeling representation, woven together by an entertaining and believable growing intimacy and connection.

Bookish rivals, swoony vibes, and all the feel-good fun!
Battle of the Bookstore is an absolute delight from start to finish. Ali Brady nails the enemies-to-lovers tension with clever banter, heartwarming moments, and a charming setting any book lover will adore.

It’s like a cozy rom-com wrapped in your favorite bookstore—sweet, sassy, and totally unputdownable! 📚💘✨

Honestly, this book was just ok. It was fairly predictable and the characters didn't really draw me in. I didn't care which one won. It's a You've Got Mail/Shop Around the Corner retelling and not very well done, in my opinion. It's not a book I'll read again, or even remember much from, to be honest.

I was fairly put off by the characters' snobbishness about their chosen book genre and how cliché each store was. Also, can we be done with miscommunication tropes?

2.75 stars

I loved this book so so much. The writing was great and I loved the dual perspectives. The snark between characters had me laughing all the time. I loved it so much I ordered the rest of the books by them. Simply amazing!