What a tearjerker. A perfect romance set in a bookstore and in the wilderness. Clarrie the bookseller and Wilderness Clarrie were so much fun and so relatable, and Declan was the perfect mix of grumpy and whimsical. Highly recommend!

Love on a Bookshelf 📚

Thank you to Kiah Thomas, Headline, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Love on a Bookshelf is written from the POV of Clarrie, a struggling bookstore owner. This book begins with Clarrie running into Declan Archer, a best selling author, at her bookstore. As the lighting goes out, Declan suggests that she invest in better lighting and Clarrie suggests that he write a better book. Two years later, Declan’s second book comes out and the dedication happens to be targeted at Clarrie. As the bookstore continues to struggle and the media finds out who the dedication is about, Declan’s publicist suggests they join forces as Declan goes on a book tour. Clarrie agrees to sell the books during the tour so she can save the bookstore, but will it become more than that?

If you’re looking for a quick read with no spice, then I definitely think you’ll enjoy this one! Personally, I wish there was more sarcastic banter with the enemies to lovers storyline. I also prefer my books to have more spice, but again that’s a personal preference! I’m glad I stuck with it, as this was a book that got better the more I got into it. Altogether, I ended up rating it 3.75 stars ⭐️

Love on a Bookshelf is available now! ✨

3.75⭐️ This was better than I expected! I read it in one sitting between two flights (with a very chaotic connection) and for how simple the plot and set up were, I was really really in it.

Clarrie (short for Clarence, not sure how I feel about it) and Declan were your typical stressed, overthinking, thrown into business together and still mostly uncommunicative main characters. Though we eventually got to understand that his behavior is from social nerves rather than hating Clarrie, Declan had very little personality for the beginning 50% of the book. Clarrie found him very charming, but in moments we didn’t get to see. His staying at Knit&Stitch, his speeches at the events, his participation at book club, etc etc- all were timelapsed away and superimposed with Clarrie’s own description of “wow he was charming!” …where?

But my favorite thing about the book was that it wasn’t an insta-love / “him pining the whole time for her.” I thought it was going to be, re: the dedication, but I was pleasantly surprised at the turns it took! I was delighted with Clarrie’s “back from book tour responsibility tour” between her shop, her mom, and her grandmother. I wish we had gotten to see a bit more regarding Declan’s developing longer term feelings for her and decision to put her above his (seemingly long time, dedicated to his father) life plans.

For what this book was, it wasn’t overcomplicated and it made you want more, and while there really wasn’t strong character development, they found a way to accept themselves, their situations, and the other, and honestly what more could you want from an easy romcom!

A nice easy read and for a first adult novel I feel like Kiah Thomas has done well.
I did find in places the pacing felt a little slow and while I do enjoy a slow burn romance and enemies to lovers as this book is advertised as, I couldn’t really understand the stakes which made them enemies and often it felt like the romance wasn’t ever going to get off the ground.
I did enjoy the secondary characters and the friendship between Clarrie and Yumi felt authentic and really fleshed out.

Sweet is the best way to describe this book. I feel like bookstore owners and authors have become really popular as jobs for main characters in romance novels lately, and this one has both! It’s also a very quick read, and just very charming overall.

I enjoyed this slow burn story, but I believe that the longer part of the title made me expect a different story. Act two takes place entirely in the wilderness, not in the bookstore, as I expected. Besides that, I found the characters well-developed and loved Clarrie's journey. I suffered alongside her because of her grandmother with dementia and fell in love with Declan. His book intrigued me and the book tour was a great story line, just not the one I expected.

Love on a Bookshelf by Kiah Thomas was a sweet charming story of self discovery for our main character Clarrie. There were a number of moments while reading that made me smile. The characters were all different and I liked their interactions and individual arcs.

I enjoyed the premise and the bookish setting but the pacing was too slow for me. As a huge fan of slow-burn romance, I was excited to dive into this story, but this isn't a true enemies to lovers romance. Which is a bit disappointing if that was what attracted you to this read in the first place.
I liked the writing style and the quieter moments full of emotion. The characters had potential, and I enjoyed their individual arcs, but I just wanted more from their relationship earlier on—more chemistry, more longing, and more of that heart-racing tension that makes a slow burn so satisfying.

This book had a sweet premise and was charming, but the pacing left me wanting a stronger emotional pull earlier in the story. If you love an extra slow burn, this might be for you, but I personally prefer a bit more angst sprinkled throughout.

Overall, I think this is a decent debut novel for Kiah Thomas and I would recommend this to lovers of slow burn romance who don't need too much angst, banter, etc.

Thanks to Net-Galley for the gifted eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really, really, really enjoyed this read! I may or may not have hugged my kindle once I finished it.

The story follows Carrie, who takes over her gran's bookshop, which is slowly inching towards closing down. Archer, a local author, ends up shaking things up.

It's a romance novel but also a journey of self-discovery for both Carrie and Archer, and I'm pretty sure this novel features in the dictionary under "ultimate slow burn" (we only see the first something-something around the 70% mark) and to me it was absolutely perfect when it comes to the pacing.

It's a cozy, romantic read with no spice which is something I appreciate in a world where everybody writes smut, whether the story needs it or not.

4 ⭐️ This cozy, romantic story follows Clarrie as she tries to save her bookshop, but she stumbles (literally) across Declan, an author who’s maybe a little grumpy, and after an embarrassing book dedication by said author - she finds herself on Declan’s wilderness book tour.

This story was charming and cozy and the sarcastic deadpan banter between Clarrie and Declan were cute! I relate so much to Declan, you can love people so much and still have a hard time talking to them and socializing. I loved seeing their friend/relationship grow and equally enjoyed the side characters. Yumi! Everyone needs a Yumi in their lives. Bri is SO bubbly and Jed, well Jed and his birds lol. And the knitting club! They are so funny! I may have cried a little at the end 🥹

Happy Release Day, Kiah Thomas 🥳💖

** Thank you Netgalley and Headline for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review **

Thank you Netgalley and Headline for yhis wonderful ARC.
This was such a nice pallete cleanser for me. I really loved the pacing it was wonderful. this was dont in a way that showed character development for both our main characters even though it was a single POV I love carrie, her character is so nice and she is relatable.
I really did like this.
Solid 4⭐️

Thank you Headline books and Net Galley for this arc!

I love reading books which make a shitty day better. Despite having the longest day of my life, I devoured Love on a Bookshelf in one sitting. It made me smile and got me giddy, and I love escaping into worlds which have a tendency of helping me bolt from reality. 🤍

I’d say a fair few of us have always had this fantasy of romance being interwoven with a bookstore, I did when I was a teenager. Kiah Thomas’ words certainly achieved this 🌸🫶

I loved reading about Clarrie’s relationship with her gran. I was just as attached to mine if not more, and their relationship made me reminisce fond memories. Anytime a book does this automatically gets a star from me.

Can I also say without giving away anything that it was incredibly well thought out to put the ‘dedication’ in the first chapter. You will know when you read, but I really enjoy finding a hook to the book early on which helps me steady through the read. 💛

Clarrie and Declan are a breath of fresh air, their banter is adorable, it’s sort of a slow burn (almost!) and I enjoyed the fighting and yearning a lot 🥹🥰

Funny spoiler alert, I was pleasantly surprised at the inclusion of Bend It Like Beckham. Having watched the film, I cackled. I think I’m super ready to read more of Kiah Thomas’ works because the writing flows very smoothly and I connected with my Sweet Home Alabama wannabes a lot 🫶

This was a cute story. I could relate to Clarrie and Declan was Declan. It started out slow but did pick up, and overall a cute read.

Mein Leseerlebnis

Den Einstieg in den Liebesroman fand ich faszinierend. Nach den ersten Seiten war ich wirklich gespannt auf den Rest der Geschichte und davon überzeugt, dass mich das Buch insgesamt sehr gut unterhalten würde. Ganz so ist es allerdings nicht gekommen.

Ja, ich fand die Idee der Geschichte frisch und die Charaktere waren mir zudem sympathisch. Doch leider konnte ich mit dem Teil im Buch, in dem die beiden Hauptcharaktere gemeinsam auf eine Werbetour für das Buch des Helden gehen, wenig anfangen.

Auch konnte mich die Liebesgeschichte im Buch leider nicht so tief berühren wie erhofft. Ich fand sie ganz nett, aber für mehr hat es leider nicht gereicht. Ganz nett ist rückblickend auch mein Eindruck von der Heldin und dem Helden. Ich konnte sie mir eher schlecht als echte Personen vorstellen, was immer ein Zeichen dafür ist, dass ein Liebesroman für mich nicht perfekt ist.

Ich fand es zudem etwas verwirrend, dass die Heldin in Bezug auf ihren Buchladen so wenig Initiative gezeigt hat und Neuerungen im Laden ausschließlich von anderen kamen. Ich hätte es gerne gesehen, dass sie aktiv an neuen Ideen für ihr Geschäft arbeitet und man ihre Leidenschaft für ihren Laden besser spüren kann. Beides war in meinen Augen leider nicht der Fall.

Ich denke, dass "Love on a bookshelf" eines dieser romance Bücher ist, das mir als Kurzgeschichte besser gefallen hätte.

Meine Bewertung wird davon gerettet, dass ich vieles im Buch ganz nett fand.

🖤🖤🖤 1/2 (mit Tendenz nach unten)

Für wen?

Wer angenehm geschriebene Liebesromane mit Büchern im Fokus mag und gerne gefällige, kurzweilige Geschichten liest, für den könnte das Buch eine schöne Sache sein.

I am not vibing with the FMC, so I had to DNF at 17%

I’m also not getting the dynamic — there’s the suggestion of chemistry with barely any interactions & I’m almost a quarter of the way through

Perhaps I will pick this back up, and if I do then I will complete this review with my final thoughts

I had no expectations with this book cause I gotta admit im not such a fan of second chances stories, but this one surprised me in the best way possible.

The chemistry of the main characters is just chefs kiss, great. I think I needed to read something funny, easy going and light and this was a perfect book for that. This is a slow burn romance, so nothing felt rushed but not too slow, and also I loved that every character felt real and relatable in some ways.

Now, I know I just said that Declan and Clarrie had good chemistry, but that doesn’t mean romantically talking, I meant more ¨friends¨ kind of chemistry?
Anyway, it was a good book and I enjoyed it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is a bookish romance book which is a cute, fun read. This book is based on Clarrie who has recently taken over her Grans bookshop due to her becoming ill, while running the store she meets author Declan, lets just say they didn’t have the best first meeting… after his recently book comes out with a dedication made towards Clarrie, they are back in the same room about to head onto a tour to sell his book…..
I really enjoyed this boo and found it relatable which drew me in even more, this is a perfect summer read if you love a good romance book with a slow burn build up, grumpy/sunshine, one bed.
Thanks to Headline and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC ahead of publication for an honest review.

I put off reading this one for ages and I’m not quite sure why, because it turned out to be a really enjoyable read. A cute, cosy romance with plenty of heart and humour, set in the kind of slightly chaotic bookshop you can’t help but fall in love with.

Clarrie Brooks is having a rough time. Her flat is falling to pieces (it’s literally raining inside), the bookshop she’s trying to keep afloat is struggling, and her boyfriend has just dumped her. Things only get worse when the power cuts out yet again, just as author Declan Archer turns up. He tells her to sort out the lighting. She tells him to write a better book. Not exactly a dream first meeting.

Fast forward two years, and Declan’s new novel is on the verge of cult status. He’s dedicated it to the mystery bookseller who gave him that brutal but honest push. As speculation swirls, Clarrie is dragged into the spotlight — and maybe into her own new love story.

I really liked both main characters. The romance is a proper slow burn, which I always enjoy, and their back-and-forth had just the right amount of spark. The tone stays light throughout, with lots of warmth and a lovely little twist near the end that tied things together beautifully.

This was such a fun, easy read — perfect for summer. I flew through it in a day and smiled the whole way through.

I’d give it 3.75 stars. A charming story with heart, humour and a hint of bookish magic.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book. It was heartfelt, cute and cosy. The chemistry between the two characters was great. I love second chance romances and anything to do with bookshops. Carrie was very relatable and it was nice to read a slow burn romance.

It's not often that a book makes me cry, but this one hit me right in the feels. Clarence and Declan's story is so cute, it's slow burn, yearning, not quite enemies to lovers, with a sweet background story. Thank you to netgally for giving me the chance to read this story before it comes out. I already know it will be a hit.

A fantastic romance which all begins with a snarky first meeting in a charming bookshop, creating tension between Declan and Clarrie that is delightful to witness in forced proximity. Their very first conversation might have sparked it all, but these two are funny and it made their story not only really fun to read but really built the chemistry between them. You won't find any spicy scenes, but I didn't miss them at all. The way Clarrie and Declan's relationship developed, from enemies to friends to something more, was really well crafted and I enjoyed falling into not only their banter but also the push and pull when they were trying fighting their battles verbally early on. At times the plot was a little slow, but overall the characters (including Jed, Bri, Yumi, and the Knit, Stitch and Yarn gang) were really fantastic so I was happy getting to know them at the same time.

Kiah Thomas is really great at weaving humour into her dialogue and plot and it's a really difficult thing to do, so hats off to her and I'm really excited to see what she writes next.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.