This is the second Ali Brady book I have been lucky enough to receive an ARC for. The first, Until Next Summer, received a glowing 5-star review from me last summer. I was excited to jump into their newest release and was hopeful for another 5-star reading experience.

The premise of the book would have hooked me had I not already been a fan of this author. Two rivaling bookstore managers with polar opposite reading interests? Love it! While the bookish aspects of the premise hooked me, it was also a big downfall for my reading experience. Battle of the Bookstores uses lots of buzzy reader words (STFUATTDLAGG, "book boyfriends", omegaverse, etc.) and popular author name drops (Rebecca Yarros, Sarah J. Maas, etc.) throughout the entire book. It made the book cheesy to me and gave it a fanfic-esque quality that I was not a fan of.

The two MCs, Josie and Ryan, I quite enjoyed. One of the only issues I had with the characters is that I could not picture Ryan to save my life. I feel like the authors threw together all the MMC traits they could think of into one. A romance book conglomerate hottie. A big, massive dude (who hates being tall btw), who seemingly never works out but is super toned, but is a cardigan and TORISTESHELL glasses aficionado. While I am sure people like Ryan exist, I just couldn't get a coherent mental picture.

As I got towards the end of the book, I had my fingers and toes crossed that the dreaded third-act breakup would be left out. I am happy to report there is no third-act breakup in this book!

While Battle of the Bookstores had some issues, I enjoyed reading it too much to give it anything under 4 stars. It is just a silly, goofy time, with a hint of seriousness here and there.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for sending me an ARC of Battle of the Bookstores in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts above are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

• enemies to lovers
• online epistolary
• great characters

For book people, by book people. 🥰 A modern twist on You've Got Mail. This one packs a lot of literary references, witty banter, and fun tropes! If Ali Brady writes it, I read it.

🗣 Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book via gifted eARC! All opinions are honest and my own.

Book Review
📖📖📖📖
Thank you to @netgalley and @berkleypub for this ARC, released on June 3rd!
I enjoyed it. I did. I love a good competition and Josie and Ryan battle it out to become the soul manager of their combined bookstores.
I was all in, until the end. I loved the way these two main characters grew to enjoy each other’s company. I loved the cast of characters in Ryan’s bookstore and the solidarity of Josie in hers. I loved Beans, the coffee shop that connected the two spaces.
The end was just too hokey for me. I found myself wanting to just skim right through it. I DIDNT! Who would ever! But I thought about it.
I did enjoy this book. Anything written about books, selling books, authors, you name it… it’s for me. I’m just not a fall in love and everything is roses kind of reader.
#bookstores

Super cute romance with the normal character types flipped on their head. Ryan owns the romance store, has a bunch of cats, drinks sugary coffee drinks while Josie owns the fancy literature store, drinks her coffee basically black, and doesn’t really believe in romance. I was hooked from the beginning, and I loved the references to other authors and novels from real life. The third act break up was a nice change too, because they were adults the whole time and talked about what they wanted!! A romance novel that doesn’t involve the classic miscommunication breakup but still sells the big issue to be solved in a meaningful way?? Amazing!!

This was an adorable romance about 2 bookstore owners. I loved how vastly different the two main characters were & the whole hate to love premise. Overall super cute & perfect for summer!

The Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady is a total win for romance readers and book lovers alike. Centered around two rival bookstore owners one charmingly stubborn woman and one frustratingly attractive man this story delivers the perfect blend of enemies-to-lovers tension, small-town charm, and emotional depth. Only one book store can stay and whoever has the best sales by the end of the summer gets to stay.

The chemistry between the leads is undeniable. Their banter is sharp, their backstories add real heart, and the way their relationship unfolds is both fun and surprisingly moving. Ali Brady does a brilliant job balancing light, feel good moments with deeper themes like grief, second chances, and the power of community. I even teared up a little bit reading this.

this book pushes gender norms in the best way. I loved how each shop was so different but I could see myself shopping and finding something in each one. I really enjoyed the events that each shop came up with. There was very much a you got mail feeling to this book which I loved! Seeing the difference from Josie and Ryan on and off screen felt like something I could relate to. Plus the wedding scene will be living in my head rent free.

And of course, the setting is a dream dueling bookstores, quirky locals, a staff you can’t help but fall in love with and book store cats what more could you ask for.

This one had me smiling, swooning, and rooting for love (and literature) until the very last page. This book went by so fast. It did not feel like it was over 400 pages! A must-read for fans of smart, heartfelt romance with a literary twist. 5 stars!

Thank you, NetGallery, the author and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

I love this author duo, but sadly this one was a bit of a flop for me. I really liked the idea of a man managing a romance bookstore, that was a fun twist, and the storyline had potential, but it just didn’t quite work for me. It’s told in dual POV and has a little spice, but overall it didn’t hit the way I hoped.

Bookstore managers Ryan and Josie each run their own niche bookstore: Josie’s, Tabula Inscripta, catering to literary fiction and Ryan’s, Happy Endings, focused on romance. They’re pitted against each other when the owner decides to consolidate the bookstores into one and keeping only one manager. They get off on the wrong foot and the battle between them begins.

I am not a big fan of literary fiction or tragic, heartbreaking stories, but could totally understand why Josie gravitated to them as her backstory was revealed. And the same with Ryan going for romances.

Ryan and Josie don’t realize that they actually are friends online, confiding on a book community forum, Bookfriends, where they commiserate, trade book recommendations and slowly fall in love. Their romance was a slow burn that turned into a scorcher!

Battle of the Bookstores was an enemies-to-lovers kind of romance, very much in the style of the movie You’ve Got Mail, one of my all-time favorite rom-coms, but with more spice. I appreciated there was no third act breakup. I fell for Ryan and Josie, both likeable and full of heart and was captivated by their journey! A definite recommend!

I actually really enjoyed this. I am always excited for books about books but I do tend to be harsher on them. But I really enjoyed this one. I am always a fan of an unknown online relationship and also the enemies to lovers aspect and I feel like this knocked it out of the park. And I may be bias, but as someone in the process of opening an indie bookstore, I loved the references in this book to the process of running on and details about inventory and ARCs etc, it added SO much to the book!

This was such an enjoyable read from start to finish! I am a huge You’ve Got Mail fan, so this totally worked for me. Just a spicier/raunchy version of that movie. I thought the main characters were very well-written. It was just such an entertaining read overall.

The MMC isn’t for me, but I’ve had friends rave about this one- if you like a bookish romance, give it a try!

Thank you to NetGalley and @BerkleyRomance for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Battle of the Bookstores was such a fun, feel good read. Josie and Ryan are total opposite. She runs a serious lit focused shop, he’s all about the romance section. They’ve coexisted peacefully on the same Boston street... until a new owner decides to combine their stores and pit them against each other for the same job. That's when chaos, banter, and some pretty undeniable chemistry comes in.

Their rivalry is full of great back and forth energy, but what makes it even better is that they’re unknowingly also bonding through an anonymous book forum online. So while they’re clashing in real life, they’re also connecting on a deeper level behind the scenes, and it adds this sweet, layered touch to the story that I loved.

The setting is a total dream for book lovers, and the pacing hits that great balance of lighthearted and emotionally grounded. Josie and Ryan both have their own personal arcs too, which makes the romance feel more satisfying. Plus, their differences actually complement each other in a way that feels earned not forced.

If you're into enemies to lovers, bookish settings, and a touch of You've Got Mail energy, this is the book for you!

4.25 Stars!

#NetGalley, #BerkleyRomance, #BattleoftheBookstores, #AliBrady, #EnemiestoLovers

When their landlord decides to combine their bookstores with a coffee shop, Josie and Ryan find themselves in direct competition for the one manager position. What follows is a charming romcom filled with heart, humor, and undeniable chemistry. The witty banter, emotional depth, and swoon-worthy male lead made this such an enjoyable read. I especially loved the twist of Josie being the literary fiction lover while Ryan champions romance, it added a fresh dynamic to their relationship. I’ll definitely be picking up more books by Ali Brady!

Really enjoyed this book! Very cute, and I liked all of the book references. Thank you! …………… nnnmmnnnnn

I absolutely adored "Battle of The Bookstores" by Ali Brady! I raced through this book in a mere four days, which, for me lately, is nothing short of a miracle. What truly made this story shine was the dynamic between the two main characters: rival bookstore managers who are sworn enemies in person but, unbeknownst to them, online confidantes. The evolution of their relationship, sparked by a fierce competition, was incredibly well-executed and utterly charming. Plus, as a book lover, I was thrilled by the embedded book recommendations throughout the narrative. A definite 5-star read that I enthusiastically recommend!

This super cute rom-com revolves around two rival bookstore owners on the same street. Josie runs a highbrow literary shop, while Ryan manages a cozy romance bookstore. When their landlord decides to combine the two stores, plus the café in between, he throws down the ultimate challenge: whichever of them proves they’re the better bookseller will get to run the new combined store. Meanwhile, Josie has been developing a strong online friendship with a fellow bookseller, RJReads, through a site for indie bookstore owners—unaware that he might just be her real-life rival.

I absolutely loved this book. It’s delightfully fun and witty, but also gives depth to its characters by showing the emotional baggage they carry. I especially appreciated the role reversal—Ryan runs the romance store while Josie is the one skeptical of love. The story cleverly leans into beloved romance tropes with a knowing wink, includes a heartwarming You’ve Got Mail feel I laughed, I swooned, and yes, I even teared up.

This is Ali Brady’s fourth novel, and in my opinion, their best yet. It cements them as major players in the romance world. If you enjoy Abby Jimenez, Katherine Center, and Annabel Monaghan, pick this one up. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy.

Despite managing bookstores on the same Boston street, Josie Klein and Ryan Lawson have never interacted much—Josie’s store focuses on serious literature, and Ryan’s sells romance only. But when the new owner of both stores decides to combine them, the two are thrust into direct competition. Only one manager will be left standing, decided by who turns the most profit over the summer.

When I started reading this my first thought was this is just like You've Got Mail, only to realize it's actually compared to it. It was cute and had its funny moments, but I had some serious issues with it. (1) How are two store managers/book sellers so incredibly intolerant and opinionated about genres other than what they sell? I have never met a book lover like that, never mind a book seller. (2) I had issues with Josie's character and some of her decision making. She just irked me, I guess. And (3) I felt like this book was entirely too long, and unnecessarily so.

I realize I'm in the minority here, and I'm actually surprised that I landed where I did since this book contains so many of the elements I love in books. It must be a me thing. But if you enjoy enemies to lovers, forced proximity, playful banter, quirky characters, and some steamy scenes you'll probably enjoy this one a lot more than I did.

As someone who not only works in but manages a bookstore this was perfect for me!!!! It was witty, sweet and sometimes emotional. I love the competition between our two main characters and I loved seeing them fall for each other both online and as they got to know each other I'm real life.

This one has me a tad conflicted on how I feel about it. On one hand, I love any books about books, but on the other hand I just didn’t feel the connection to the characters.

I also felt that it was a bit of a stretch for some of the scenarios in the book, but realizing it is just a book, I went with it.

3.5/5

Battle of the Bookstores is a sort of retelling of You’ve Got Mail. Two competing bookstores battling it out to see who gets to keep their space. One is pure romance and the other is more literary fiction. And while they are feuding, they are also getting along famously on a chat room for bookstore folks and don’t realize they are the same people. Enemies to lovers, lots of cute texting and so many book references. This book is a dream for booknerds. I felt like a member of a secret club with all of the references to books, book terminology, all of it. The romance was so sweet and swoonworthy, the witty banter won me over and it was just a feel good book that I wanted to hug. I loved it.