Ah! This was so cute. Every character was so likable and I am glad it had multiple POV. As soon as I started it I was hooked from the first page and I honestly had no idea how the mistaken idenitity of the letter writing would work out. Having all three involved as the main POV's each chapter made me root for all 3 and I was glad they all really did get a storybook ending, along with the other characters in the shop. I liked that the author included diverse characters as well as the bookshop setting!

I had a hard time getting into the book because there wasn't much to it. The idea of using a book to pass a letter is cute, but I didn't like the execution.

While I do enjoy multiple POVs, three is too many for this particular story. The characters seem interesting and the story had a good flow to it.


Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

2.5 stars. The gist of the story is that a woman writes a note to a man that works at a bookstore but he does not find the note, instead another woman finds the note and begins to write back. They both think they are writing to the mysterious bookseller. But the story takes the two women on their own journeys and opportunities for character growth.

I was visiting my family in Seattle when I was reading this so it was very fun to be at the scene of the book! The writing is also funny and was very thoughtful at times.

It pains me to give this book 2.5 stars because I did enjoy reading it!

Several misses in this book. 1) It was SO slow and repetitive. Felt like it was taking me forever to read! 2) The love interest, Westley, was super annoying, flat and under-developed as a main character/POV. Everything revolves around his good looks and how he’s named after some character in Princess Bride. I don’t remember anything else about his character. He was so dull. Why would so many women even be interested in him? One of the women even questions how he doesn’t pay attention to her lol. Like babe, he’s not interested and not interesting…3) It felt like there were too many characters? I’m not sure why but I kept getting confused with April and Laura’s friends and Westley’s coworkers. It would’ve made more sense to spend less time introducing so many people and more time creating real and relatable characters. 4) I honestly thought this was gonna be a bi/queer love story (maybe I didn’t understand the blurb fully lol) but it was just a nice story of female friendship. Nice, but I got got.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Long story short, a young woman puts a letter in a book for a cute guy that works at the bookstore, and it accidentally falls in the wrong hands.

For me, the entire book just felt like I was watching it all play out inside a fishbowl. I didn't feel particularly connected to the characters, and the fact that a strong 85% is the dramatic irony/miscommunication of these letters... It just fell flat for me. I felt like nothing was happening for most of the novel and the chapters were very samey in voice and syntax even though we were supposed to be in multiple POVs. It just felt very repetitive and almost gave groundhog day vibes. I just wish the "reveal" could have happened sooner because it was quite frustrating reading about the very insulated and singular lives of each character. Some of the coincidences were very "small world" and cute, but perhaps there were a few too many to make it feel believable.

I like "no plot just vibe" character study books when they're done well, but all of these characters just felt a bit 1-dimensional unfortunately.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

This was good! It was just a bit meandering and the pace is really slow, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I would suggest advertising this as a cozy read. Character development was really good, and the characters were unique and likable.

Storybook Ending by Moira Macdonald is a beautifully written, emotionally resonant novel that explores the blurry boundaries between fiction and reality, love and loss, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive. Macdonald’s voice is lyrical yet grounded, weaving a tale that feels both timeless and intimately personal. The protagonist, Clara, a weary bookseller with a hidden past, discovers a forgotten manuscript that parallels her life in haunting ways. What follows is a quietly gripping journey of self-discovery, redemption, and healing.

Macdonald's characters feel lived-in and relatable. Clara’s emotional arc is satisfying, and her relationships, particularly with the author of the manuscript, are layered and nuanced. The novel’s greatest strength lies in its ability to evoke a sense of quiet wonder, much like the stories Clara adores.

The reason for one star off? The pacing occasionally lags in the middle, and some secondary characters feel underdeveloped. However, the ending is poignant and rewarding, tying together thematic threads with care and precision.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

A charming little small-town summer read! I appreciated that the end relationships were different but just as fulfilling as the happily-ever-after set up at the beginning of the story. As a bookseller, it was a cute and cozy book.

What a stunning debut! Moira's voice is going to leave a mark on me for sure. I was blown away by her character execution and loved the immersive writing style. Creativity and love were at the center of the story, and as a bookseller myself, I found myself in little pockets of each character. As its been mentioned, this is a gorgeous tribute to bookstores and makes them the centerpiece of the table. Everyone needs to take a seat.

Thanks Dutton for the early copy!

This book was written just for me! Or that's how it feels. A local independent bookstore in Seattle is the focal point for the story. Books are used to propel the plot. Secret messages are used to build relationships. I do not want to reveal too much as this book unwraps so sweetly. This is a love story and I did love it!

I was so excited to read this book since I love books that take place in bookish environments and whose characters are bibliophiles and when I saw that “charming” was used to describe the book, I was even more excited. Unfortunately, I didn’t find this to be as charming as I did annoying.
April leaves an anonymous note (signed only with an “A”) in a book for the cute bookseller whose name she doesn’t know. Laura buys the book and finds the note. She thinks it’s from the cute bookseller whose name she doesn’t know. The note instructs to leave a reply in a certain book, which Laura does, signing it simply with an “L”. The two women continue writing anonymously notes to each other each thinking they are communicating with the cute bookseller (whose name is Westley). Westley has no clue about either woman and is focused on his own complicated life.
Overall I found this book to be annoying because I can’t stand miscommunication (in any genre as it would seem) and that’s the entirety of it. I found it hard to like any of the characters until the end and even then I only liked a handful of them.
I really did enjoy the ending, until the last page which I feel wasn’t needed at all and squashed whatever higher rating I was thinking back down.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for an advanced copy of this. I’m sorry it took me so long to get to it. Storybook Ending hit the shelves May 27th.

I think three stars is generous for this book and it’s a good example of nothing being wrong with it, but it won’t be for everyone.

This book is sloooooowwww. There were multiple times I wanted to put it down but I felt obligated to finish it and leave a fair review since it was an ARC. The writing here is fine. My biggest problem is that it is entirely too long while having almost no character development until *maybe* the last 15 pages.

It felt like a lot of lamenting about how cluelessly good looking Westley was, while almost nothing significant was happening in April and Olivia’s storylines other than writing notes and reflecting on how passive they both are.

Certain readers will really like this, and I will say I think the author did give a true to its name storybook ending I just think we didn’t need to take so long to get there.

Thank you Dutton and NetGalley for this eARC!

When April leaves a letter in a book meant for the man who works at the bookstore, she couldn't have guessed how it would unfold.

This was a cute and cozy read that was mostly set in a local bookstore. I did want more out of Westley's story at the end, he felt very one dimensional compared to the other characters. Overall I really did enjoy it. I went into it thinking it would be a romance, but it really ended up being a beautiful story about friendship.

This one was sweet. I really enjoyed getting the povs of April, Laura, and Westley. I couldn't wait for them all to find out what was actually happening. In the end I wanted a bit more from Westley's story. I was hoping there would be more interactions between him and the women, especially since he was the center focus for them.

I believe this would be classified as a cozy read. The story is slow and steady, a woman wants to quietly get the attention of a man she has seen working in a bookstore so she puts a note in a book and she donates it to the bookstore. Someone else finds the note and they start corresponding without knowing each other’s true identity. There are many references to the movie “You’ve Got Mail” - but I’ve never seen the movie, so maybe some references are lost on me. I found the story to be very slow and there’s a bit of miscommunication which drives me crazy, so I’ve rated it 2 1/2 stars.
Thank you Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for the digital ARC.

After reading several graphic horror type thrillers I was looking for a sweet, frothy rom-com. From the title I expected to find exactly that - my error. Unfortunately Storybook Ending left me wondering why Macdonald made her characters so naive and simpering over a pretty face, which was a huge miss for me. I found the book too long and frustrating for over 200 pages and the constant references to how good looking one character was completely off putting. However, in the latter part of the story Macdonald tightened things up and produced an impressive ending to a fairly nonsensical, who are you kidding, story.

The biggest fail for me was that there was potential among the characters but c’mon sticking notes in a book hoping it is going to be received and correctly interpreted - maybe fairytales do come true somewhere. I think Moira Macdonald has great potential and I will be on the lookout for her next book.

Thanks to Dutton and NetGalley for a copy

The story started out really strongly, set in a bookstore in Seattle. April has a crush on a handsome guy working at the bookstore. Shy and introverted, she decides to leave him a letter in a book, since he goes through them to take out anything left behind. At the same time Laura, a personal shopper, a widow with a young daughter, finds the note and thinks the handsome employee, Westley, is leaving the notes for her. The book needed a bit better editing, as there was some repetitive moments, and it took just a little too long for the involved parties to figure out the truth. Just okay for me. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This book unfortunately a miss for me. While the premise of the story was really cute, the story really slogged on and the MMC who both the FMC thought they were corresponding with was perhaps the least interesting character. There was an overemphasis on his looks but I feel like that’s due to the flat personality.

A book lovers LOVE TRIANGLE. Thank you SO much to the publishers and to netgalley! A little bit of a slow start but builds! It is triple POV,; Westley, April and Laura. A quieter novel with themes of loneliness, found friendship and finding yourself. Read if you love a book about book lovers and a character driven novel!

I wanted to love this book but did not get very far. I hate not finishing a book but I couldn't finish this. It seems like it was a cute story but just didn't capture my attention

Reactions 💕:
This FIVE STAR read, with its gorgeous cover, was screaming “read me!” You can always count me all in on any book set in a bookstore!
This is yet another “must read!”

Summary 📝:
April is a quiet woman who works from home. One day, she goes WAY outside her comfort zone and writes a love note to the handsome desk clerk and hides it inside a book at her favorite bookstore. But instead of the guy finding it, a woman named Laura—who’s a mom going through a tough time—finds it instead. Whoops!
With a movie being filmed at the bookstore, three people’s lives get all mixed up in the best way as they find themselves in a humorous, and unknown, love triangle!
Will the notes continue? Does the original message find its way to the correct recipient? And can anyone really find love through paper and pencil in a world that prefers to swipe right?

This one is available now so go check it out!

Thank You 🙏🏼:
Thank you NetGalley, Moira Macdonald, and Dutton Books for letting me read this fun and cozy story in exchange for a review!