Sarah Chamberlain has done it again!

This book was so adorable I can’t even fully describe it. We start with Leo, a bookshop owner in London who’s struggling to make ends meet. He wants to keep his family’s legacy alive but can’t really figure out how to do it. Then comes Mari, someone’s who job is literally to help failing bookstores come back to life, and things really start falling into place.

I loved the chemistry with the main characters first of all. The stolen glances from across the store were 👌🏻 chefs kiss. It’s a slowburn which I love, and especially love with Chamberlains books, and I felt that it really added to the story overall. It wasn’t rushed like some tend to be.

I think the only complaint I have is why doesn’t Leo exist in real life 😭

A charming plot. While I liked the author’s debut something about this story didn’t click with me. I didn’t sense any chemistry between Mari and Leo and the events throughout all seemed too convenient. I think readers who enjoy romances set in bookshops, opposites attract storylines, and dual points of view may enjoy this.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

The best thing about having tropes that you enjoy reading is the spin that the author can place on the story. This particular one captured the struggles of Indie bookstores that don’t have a niche or don’t change with the times.

I love the English vibe, and the detailed descriptions became so real. You can almost feel the ice and cold. You can visualize the bookstore as it once was. You can feel the sadness and apathy. The reader has an urge to curl up and absorb the atmosphere with a warm blanket and soft music.

Chamberlin crafted a cozy story that is strong on character development and a blossoming love. Her characters are unique and have their struggles. But they also have a light in their eye when thinking about the future, even if you have to dig a little deeply.

The two lead characters bonded early and developed a great connection that was fostered and steadily grew throughout the book. The ending was an unexpected but brings a wonderful twist, allowing you the chance to find oneself, love life, and the person you’re with.

An enveloping story for those who love this trope. Love Walked In is definitely one to enjoy as you sink into the depths of these two lost souls who found themselves

3.5 stars. This book was a bit slow for me. It had a cute story and felt cozy but it was just ok. I liked both characters but I think their love story could have had some more depth to it.

Sarah Chamberlain latest rescued and revitalized this readers love of indie bookstores.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

A struggling family-run bookstore in London?? SIGN. ME. UP. 📚✨ I was already halfway in love before Leo or Mari even said a word. There’s something about a love story nestled between shelves of dusty hardcovers and that just hits so right. And this book didn’t just toss that setting in for vibes—it honored it.

Now let’s talk about our leads: Leo and Mari.

Leo, sweet bookstore boy with a heart full of quiet longing and a life he never really chose. Mari, a woman with walls built high and scars from her past but still with so much warmth inside. 👑 These two had the bad first impression > mutual understanding > emotional pining pipeline down to a SCIENCE. I was living for their awkward beginnings, their slow slide into comfort, and the way their connection simmered instead of bursting all at once.

And when I tell you the chemistry was CHEMISTRY-ING?! 😮‍💨 Those pining looks across the bookstore, the tiny gestures of care, the soft understanding when one of them needed space?? I WAS ON THE FLOOR. ON. THE. FLOOR. Slow burn stans, gather around!!! The journey Leo and Mari go on—both individually and together—is so satisfying. It’s not insta-love. It’s not a rush. It’s a slow, meaningful walk to a happy ending that felt well-earned and totally worth the wait. They grow, they stumble, they talk (imagine that!! actual healthy communication!!), and by the end, you’re rooting for them so hard.


I don’t even have any major complaints. Like?? Who even am I?! 😂 If I had to nitpick, maybe I would've loved just a teeny tiny bit more angst or pinning, but even without that, it worked beautifully. This was just one of those stories that felt good to read—comforting, romantic, and satisfyingly real.

Cozy, British romance with a bookstore backdrop. Main characters who both have past romantic and familial relationship issues they need to work through. Great secondary characters. A really enjoyable storyline!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Watch for Love Walked In to come out September 2, 2025.

It was an okay read, but nothing more for me. The pacing was utterly slow, I never found myself wanting to pick it up. I managed to get through it, the romance was cute overall, but nothing that I will be raving about unfortunately on my end.

I liked the premise a lot - basically a love letter to small bookstores. Mari goes to London to help revive a local bookstore that has 100years of history. While there, she doesn’t just fall in love with one of the bookstore owners, but she builds a life for herself - exploring London, building a new-to-her family, and living a life she hasn’t allowed herself to in California.

However, the writing fell flat for me. It was a bit too direct with a lot of ‘just in time’ details, making it unrealistic (e.g., the conversations with Becca and Leo’s dad). The writing style also led to Mari and Leo feeling more like tropes than fully thought through characters (e.g., Mari is the stereotypical American - brash, direct, too worried about her own issues to think of how her actions impact others).

Thank you to Sarah Chamberlain, St Martin Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5, rounded up to 4

Marli Cole has traveled to London from California to help out a friend of her boss, bookstore owner, Suzanne. Marli brings with her a record of success at helping independent bookstores flourish despite competition from chains and online sellers. Her goal during her three months in London is to figure out how to bring Ross & Co., a prestigious 100-year-old bookseller, back to life after the death of its charismatic, second-generation owner, Alexander Ross.

The current owners are Alex’s widow, Judith; his son, David; and his grandson, Leo. With David uninterested in the store, the future of Ross & Co. rest most heavily on Leo’s shoulders. Leo has been groomed since childhood to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps, even though his true interests lay elsewhere. Devasted by the loss of his grandfather following on the heels of the end of his marriage to his best friend, Rebecca, Leo has kept the store running but is unable to come up with a plan to restore it to profitability. He reluctantly agreed with Judith’s suggestion to bring Marli in as a consultant.

Marli ends up working primarily with Leo, who at first clings stubbornly to the idea that everything should remain the same as his grandfather left it. But forced to face the reality that the store is no longer attracting sufficient customers, he eventually agrees with Marli’s suggestion to use a 100th anniversary event to start to rebuild the business.

Although on the surface, Marli seems more positive and extroverted than Leo, a difficult childhood has left her with an aversion to letting people in, and a lack of faith in long-term relationships. She and Leo get closer as they work on the anniversary event, letting down their walls and learning to trust again.

“Love Walked In” is a solid example of an opposites attract, friends-to-lovers story. The dual viewpoint allows the reader to understand the factors that are affecting Leo and Marli as they work to envision a future together that will make each of them happy.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the ARC.

Love Walked In is a warm and wonderful love letter to romance readers and book lovers alike. From its dreamy London setting to the charming indie bookstore backdrop, this story swept me up like the perfect cozy read on a rainy day.

Mari has my dream job where she revives struggling indie bookstores and her latest assignment brings her across the pond to save a historic shop in London. But there’s a catch: she has to work alongside Leo, the grumpy and resistant British manager who wants nothing to do with her help. Cue the delicious tension, snappy banter, and a whole lot of mutual pining.

This book shines with some of my favorite tropes: enemies to lovers, forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine, and a dual POV that gives readers insight into both Mari’s guarded optimism and Leo’s emotional walls. The slow burn here is intentional and satisfying, building real chemistry that feels earned. I especially loved the little moments, like when Mari gets sick and Leo steps in to care for her, or when their shared love for books softens their edges.

The London setting was the cherry on top. Sarah Chamberlain painted the city with so much charm and coziness, I was tempted to book a flight and hunt down my own Ross & Co. to get lost in. The supporting cast of booksellers added heart and humor, building a believable found family around the romance. It felt like a Hallmark romance and I really enjoyed that.

This one hit all the right notes. It was so sweet, swoony, and a little steamy, with just enough emotional depth to make it stick with you. Highly recommend to fans of Emily Henry, Evie Dunmore, or anyone who believes the best love stories are found between the pages of a good book.

Read this if you love:

Enemies to lovers
Close proximity
Grumpy x Sunshine
Dual POV
Bookish romances
A cozy HEA

Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Chamberlain, and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of this book.

Mari has the job of my dreams: helping indie bookstores stay afloat and rescuing them from the risk of going out of business. As she travels to London to help save a prestigious store, she must work with the broody British owner despite their obvious disdain for one another. After being closed off from real life love for so long, she learns that maybe the kind of love stories she reads about might be possible for her, from the most unlikely person.

This book was a love letter to romance readers and book lovers. The forced proximity and hate to love tropes were in full force with this one, which was such a fun time. And I give it bonus points for the London setting making me want to book a flight immediately!

Thank you, NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and St. Martin’s Griffin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

LOVED this book!! As a lover of indie bookstores, I find this a perfect read. The plot was very original, which is rare these days. Mari (FMC) goes to London to help a failing bookstore that Leo (MMC) manages. The way Leo treats Mari initially puts a small stain on how I viewed him with her, but it does ‘Enemies to lovers’ perfectly because of that. Over time, the two become closer, especially when Mari gets sick. The characters were very real, and there was a level of authenticity that some books fail to achieve, making this all the better. This book felt like a warm hug. Just super sweet, cozy, and fun. Cannot wait to read more from Sarah Chamberlain.



Read if you like:
- enemies to lovers
- Dual POV
- Close proximity
- Grumpy x Sunshine
- HEA

I couldn’t stop licking and screaming enough! I love when authors are able to bring characters to life with CHEMISTRY and actually make me feel it. I loved this.

Thank you so much St. Martin Griffin for an early look! I truly love being on your email list, you guys never let me down! This book is very slow, but it’s a beautiful kind of slow. The realistic kind where love blossoms because of the little things. The side characters work really well with the overall plot, the main characters development isn’t something earth changing you can see where it’s headed but it doesn’t derail from the beautiful simplicity of the overall plot. I really loved this book and I can’t wait to recommend to literally everyone.

Mari Cole, una experta californiana en rescatar librerías al borde del cierre, que llega a Londres con el encargo de revitalizar una tienda que alguna vez fue el corazón literario del barrio. Pero pronto descubre que el mayor desafío no serán los estantes polvorientos ni las cuentas en rojo, sino Leo Ross, el director general.

Leo es un personaje complejo, marcado por la pérdida de su abuelo, por un matrimonio fallido y por años de expectativas familiares que lo han dejado emocionalmente agotado. Es melancólico, reservado, y vive atrapado entre el pasado glorioso de Ross & Co. y su miedo al cambio. Su dolor no es explícito, pero se filtra en cada gesto cansado, en cada respuesta cortante, en cada libro que se niega a devolver.

La novela se apoya en este contraste entre Leo y Mari. Lo que comienza como un enfrentamiento inevitable entre dos visiones opuestas de la librería y de la vida se convierte lentamente en una alianza incómoda pero necesaria… y luego, quizás, en algo más profundo.







Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest.

This was such a warm, cozy tale about two booksellers—one from the U.S., one from the U.K.—who meet and fall in love. Mari has been sent to London's century-old Ross & Co. to try to bring the struggling shop into the 21st century, much to the dismay of Leo, who inherited the store after his beloved grandfather passed away. Mari, raised by her uncaring stepfather after her mother died when Mari was 10, is used to keeping people at arm's length; when it becomes obvious that she and Leo are attracted to each other, she's happy to have a sexual relationship with him, as long as he keeps in mind that there's an expiration date—once Mari returns to California, it's over. She doesn't do love. But Leo can't help falling for her. He knows she'll break his heart, but he doesn't stop hoping that she might change her mind.
I enjoyed Sarah Chamberlain's first novel, "The Slowest Burn," and this book definitely puts her on my must-read list. The caring relationship between Leo and Mari is both hot and sweet, and the found-family relationship between Mari and the other booksellers at Ross & Co. was well-developed (even if there's kind of a whopping coincidence involved).

I absolutely LOVED Mari and Leo’s story. Thank you so much NetGalley for the ARC. 🥰🫶🏻 As an Englishwoman who immigrated and married a Métis Cree Canadian, I felt sort of like Mari in reverse, and the colloquialisms left me nostalgic and a little homesick for my birth country in the best possible way. Just an incredibly hygge, all around really beautiful and lovely book. I just need to buy a physical copy now to annotate, once it is released. The highest praise I can give this book is I hadn’t seen my husband in 11 days due to travel for a funeral, and as savourable as this book is, I did my best (and thankfully succeeded) to binge the book as my heart needed to know Leo and Mari got their GHEA. Whilst it covers some hard topics, it does so in a very gentle and respectful way. A mostly light and fluffy read, and one that every hard-core romance reader needs for their trophy shelf. 🥰

I can totally see this book coming to life in a movie! "Love Walked In" is a cute novel that lets you tag along on Mari's journey to resurrect a flailing bookstore in London, where she meets her love interest! I love a good bookish story with slow burning romance, and this hit the spot. I also appreciate the characters development as the story evolves. The spicey moments are a bonus! It's a cute, slow burning romance, emotional novel, that you will devour.

Love Walked In snuck up on me in the best way possible. I had a great time reading this one. Hopeful, emotional, slow burning - I could go on and on!I also adore how every character in this story serves a purpose and encapsulates it so well. Overall this book was really sweet and one of my favorite reads this year so far!

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a ARC in exchange for an honest review.