💥 Pub Date: 5/27/2025

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

• friendship & romance
• love triangle
• Seattle setting

I love books about books! This one has an interesting premise and feels like a warm, cozy hug 🤗 or blanket. I found some parts a little slow, but the ending felt rushed. This is a debut, and I will definitely keep my eye out for this author in the future.

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

This was a cute story, albeit a bit confusing in direction at times. I wish the mixup had been resolved 2/3 of the way in as it was unclear that the goal of this book was friendship (which was honestly refreshing). Considering neither of the women had spoken to Westley I guess it was obvious enough, but the build up felt overdone and I enjoyed seeing more of the side friendships flourish. Not sure about the side character interlude chapters - reminded me a bit of when Harry met sally or early SATC, but perhaps that was the intention. A decent debut.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This rom-com has it all: romance, an interesting and convoluted love triangle, and a wonderful message about the importance of friendship.

UM??? This book had no right being this cute, cozy, sweet, lovely, and wholesome!!

The story focuses mainly on three characters: Westley (a handsome, shy fellow who works at the local indie bookstore), April (a woman who leaves a note in a book for Westley to find), and Laura (the woman who finds the note and mistakenly thinks it's from Westley!). Thus ensues a series of epistolary correspondences and a sort-of love triangle situation. All three characters are feeling rather "stuck"; there are several moments when each of them laments that they are perpetually "waiting for something to happen." The letters are a bright light for both April and Laura, and when the truth comes out (i.e., it's not actually the cute boy who's writing the notes), the focus of the novel switches from romantic prospects to that of friendship, both are which are rather lackluster for all three characters.

This is a VERY character-driven novel; there are a lot of descriptions, and not much "happens" in terms of plot. The characters joke that they're living in a rom-com, but the tone of the book is more general or literary fiction. It is ultimately an ode to books and bookstores everywhere, as well as one of romance and friendship. With a cast of quirky and unique side characters, I felt this book was SO beautifully written, with both some lighthearted quips about, and wonderful insights into, human nature. Trust me, you'll find yourself highlighting a lot, too!

2.5⭐️ {ARC}
(ARC review) — Thank you to author Moira Macdonald and her publisher Dutton Publishing. I received an Advanced Reader Copy for the May 2025 release of 𝑆𝘵𝑜𝘳𝑦𝘣𝑜𝘰𝑘 𝐸𝘯𝑑𝘪𝑛𝘨 in exchange for my honest review.

I struggled with this book. It was promoted as hilarious, comical and a romance. Not sure where the marketing team got those branding buzz words. This book was about friendship and family, with a tease of romance through love letters. So wasn’t anything that I was expecting, when I started it.

It was very slow and felt like not a lot was happening. It had a cuteness factor but overall this one just wasn’t for me.

FAVORITE QUOTE:
“𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛, 𝙄 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙.”

Overall a very cute book! I definitely went into this book with a different expectation based on what it was described as but once I continued to read and began to connect to the characters I really enjoyed the story. The author does a great job of portraying a variety of characters in different phases of life who all feel their own version of stuck. The cozy setting and the different POVs gave a great storyline. Loved the ending showing how lives can end up connected and how each person found something to gain from the experience of this "love triangle".

I might have liked this more if it wasn't cataloged as a romance in Netgalley. The best storyline was an ode to female friendships. My least favorite was a lump of a man getting out of a rut with some luck and good looks.

🧼Squeaky clean.

‘Storybook Ending’ by Moira MacDonald is a love story of mixed signals and mishaps. A bookshop clerk, a personal-shopper single mother and a lonely work from home marketer. The unlikely three are bonded by a series of letters left in books at the bookshop.

The setting is immaculate. The cosy vibes of the bookshop and homely atmosphere around all three characters made the perfect light-hearted read. The near accidental encounters especially displayed by side characters were great.

I loved the concept and was really sold by the love triangle concept but found the execution a bit lacklustre. I didn’t feel connected to the romantic relationships and found the ending a little rushed. The lead up would sometimes drag romantically and was enhanced by the other events in the novel. The movie was a unique and interesting addition but I felt brought in some unexplained and confusing elements.

I would recommend this to someone looking for a cute and light-hearted read.

Thank you to #netgalley for this edition of #storybookending
3/5 stars

Storybook Ending by Moira Macdonald was such a delightful surprise! It’s a fun, quirky love story about two women—April, a lonely remote worker, and Laura, a widowed single mom—who get tangled up in a love triangle when a note April wrote for Westley, a bookstore clerk she’s crushing on, ends up in Laura’s hands instead. Laura thinks it’s from Westley, and, of course, that sets off a whole series of misunderstandings.

The best part? Westley doesn’t even notice either of them at first—he’s too busy with a movie filming at the bookstore and his own ambitions. But as April and Laura start writing back and forth, they begin to shake up their otherwise quiet lives, and that’s when the magic happens.

I loved how this book is all about fate, mistaken identities, and the unexpected things that can happen when books (and notes in books) connect people. It’s heartwarming, funny, and definitely a love letter to bookstores and the hidden moments we find in between the pages. If you’re a fan of stories about romance, friendship, and, of course, books, Storybook Ending is a must-read!

I was able to read this debut novel thru NetGalley and it was a nice light book to enjoy during some cold March days. The concept of 2 people connecting romantically thru notes left in a book in a bookstore grabbed my attention, Though it was a little predictable I enjoyed the main characters journeys.

I enjoyed this book! I initially thought it was a romance, but it really isn’t. It has romantic elements but I think this book focuses more on the beauty of friendship, which is really nice.

This books is a triple POV book with a couple of other POV’s sprinkled into it. It took me a bit to get used to because I’m not used to reading so many POV’s but I really liked it actually.

Would definitely read another book by Moira Macdonald 😍

This is a love story for everyone who loves books! What a fun premise! Lovable characters, it’s a breath of fresh air. Please Reece, make this a movie!

A lonely woman spices up her life by slipping a sweet love note into a used book, hoping the bookstore clerk will find it and respond. What follows is unexpected and delightful—a love triangle, a film set, letters of all kinds, and the quiet ache of modern loneliness.

This book was utterly charming. MacDonald’s prose begs for a cozy reading nook, a warm drink, and soft music. I loved how it masquerades as a mystery while capturing the essence of slice-of-life storytelling—everyone watching, everyone longing. It beautifully reminds us that we may not get what we want, but sometimes, we end up with what we need. Also, can we, as humans, write more letters?

A wonderfully quiet journey through a Seattle bookstore, filled with an ensemble cast you can’t help but adore.

Storybook Ending was a bit of a conundrum for me. It should have been a super quick and fun read. Yet for some reason, it took me almost 2 weeks to finish, and I was left feeling like 3/4 of the book was pretty much a slog while I flew through the last quarter of it in about 30 minutes. I felt like it was very unbalanced. While I enjoyed the concept of a romance created through notes left in books at a bookstore (what reader wouldn't love this?), I feel as though it could have been carried out more effectively than it was. For much of the beginning of the book, I honestly could not keep the two main characters straight. While there were very obvious differences between them (one is a widow and a mother to a young daughter while the other is a young woman with not many defining characteristics), their voices did not feel unique to me, and so I had a hard time keeping them straight. My other major complaint is that the romantic male interest of the story just seems so....lame. Sure he sounds amazingly good looking (as told to us by basically every character who runs into him), but other than that, he is completely self-absorbed and oblivious to the point where it almost seemed like a joke.

This was a sweet story about someone who leaves a note in a book, then gives it to the bookstore where she hopes it will find a handsome bookstore worker. The notes get passed back and forth between 2 people and you also meet a few of their friends and the worlds end up coming together over the course of the book.

Calling all WFH cozy core girlies ✨📚💌 This is bound to be your next favorite read. I loved this book so much, and could drone on for ages about what makes this so special (the cast of lively and lovable characters, the cozy slice of life narrative or the romcom plot that goes hilariously askew). This quote on the final pages pretty much sums it up “The whole scene felt, April thought, just like a movie, the kind you’d want to watch over and over, always wanting to enter its world one more time”.

Big thank you to Random House for giving me the opportunity to read this arc before publication 🩷

This book was fine. Cute premise but dragged. Didn’t get to the point. The characters were barely flushed out, and the male main character Westley was honestly a drag. Beyond being written as good looking there wasn’t much likable about him. And the gag about his name got old very quick. The two main female characters were not very remarkable and I honestly mixed them up until 3/4 of the way through. It wasn’t a memorable book with memorable characters.

So wholesome, so cozy!!! Maybe I'm biased being from the Seattle area myself but this book captures the Seattlelite experience and the different types of personalities very well. I hope other readers appreciate the location too :)

I loved the three way POV and how different yet alike all the characters were. This was a story of love in all forms from friendship to romantic to self-love and even just general loving of life. I enjoyed the additions of emails and bookstore employee anecdotes. A very lovely read, would highly recommend!

Who knew I needed a sweet little cozy litfic book in my life. This was so wholesome and is meant to be read slow with a cup of tea. Although this book might be too "slow" for some it was perfectly paced for me. I loved that I could hop in and out of this story and be transported to a cozy bookshop in Seattle. Lots of sweet references to Norah Ephron {my fave} which is appropriate since this book did really feel like one of her movies. I really enjoyed my reading experience with this one and LOVED how it all wrapped up in the end!

Thank you NetGalley and Duttonbooks for this ARC! :)

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the e-ARC!
This was a cute and simple read! The characters and the setting made it very cozy.

- I will say that I was hoping for this to turn out as a 5 star read. While this was a fun story to read - the premise keeping me interested in how things would turn out - I felt pretty let down with how little bit of information we ended up with. I wanted the ending to be a bit more fleshed out, especially in regards to Westley and Alejandra's story. I loved that they ended up getting together after all of this! I just wish we could have experienced more of them falling in love as a wrap up to that story line considering Westley seemed against the idea of opening himself up to a relationship again - it would have been great to see how he worked on that and ultimately fell in love again. There was more telling and less showing.

- At times, the dialogue felt a bit robotic, but nothing to the point where's it's unreadable.
- I would have liked to see April develop a more positive relationship with her brother in terms of boundaries. That would have been a good growing point for her.
- Ultimately, I still found the story to be sweet. I just think there was potential to dive deeper into each person individually. They all felt like three main characters to me and maybe writing their POV's in first person would have helped to feel even more connected.

PS: I think this would do well as a limited TV series :)