Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here aer my own.
I will admit, I didn't even read the blurb for this one. I saw it was Ali Brady and I requested it. I loved their book Until Next Summer, so I was convinced this one would win me over just as much. Then I read the blurb and all I could think was a book about bookstores? What book lover wouldn't love that story?
Josie Klein and Ryan Lawson are rival bookstore owners pitted against each other by their mutual boss. Both are determined to make their store the winner and keep their jobs. As their rivalry fires up, they both turn to their online book friends for advice. But when Ryan finds out Josie is really his online friend, he's determined to move them in the direction of real life friends, even if it means giving up the one thing that has gotten him through the toughest times in his life.
Josie was a fun character with so much emotion. She is a giver and someone who takes care of those around her. She gives a lot of herself. So much so, she is missing out on giving things to herself. I truly enjoyed her relationships with books. It was very relatable for me. I would have liked to see her grow just a bit more. Her trust issues don't resolve for me. 
I think Ryan was probably my favorite character in this book, besides the cats in the bookstore! I love that he has a found family. People who surround him and lift him up and show him his true potential. I also love his connection with books. How they helped him throughout his teens years and into his adult years. I will say it was hard for me to actually picture him. His a giant of a man with Clark Kent looks, but it just didn't click with me. My only issue with him was his knowledge of who Josie is, his online friend, and how he uses that to find out more information about her. It felt unethical and secretive. Knowing Josie's trust issues, I can't believe the guy who is falling for her would do this.
This writing in this book was very different from other Brady books I've read. I have to admit it didn't pull me in as much. I found it difficult to completely connect with the characters because of this.
The story gives a bit of You've Got Mail vibes with is online relationships where people are connecting through their love of books. I really liked this idea. It took You've Got Mail into this century. With all the online forums we have now (Discord, Reddit, etc), it was great to see this woven into a story line.
I will admit, I went into this story with very high expectations having loved Brady's other works. Unfortunately, it didn't meet them as much as I would have liked. Was it cute? Sure! Did the author make it fun to read? Yes! Did I want to put it aside? Nope. As a matter of fact, I read it rather quickly. I just didn't think the writing had the same quality as the other stories I've read. This one read almost like a YA book. The characters did not strike me as what age they were supposed to be. This is what kept me from truly loving the story. I was looking for an adult romance but I didn't get that.
The story is fun with good banter, some fun side characters, and some cute romance. I'll definitely be keeping Brady on my list of go to authors and hope future books are just a bit better than this one.