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l1nds's review
2.0
I wanted to like this book - bookshops! feminism! - but it just didn't do it for me. I was hoping for something akin to Holly Bourne's Spinster Club series but the writing just fell a bit flat for me. The 'voice' of the teenage narrator seemed more cringe than authentic. However it may just be me, I'm not a teenager any more so I'm not the target audience. It was quite a fun read, and anything celebrating books and reading is to be praised, so I hope it finds an audience.
greenvillemelissa's review
5.0
Cute, quick read about a teenage girl who works in a bookshop which is scheduled to close and she decides to try to save it.
eviemoon's review
3.0
Even though this novel is a quick, lighthearted and fun read, it has some problematic parts to it. The story is sweet, a young girl who tries to stop the bookshop she works at from closing down, with a little romance in it. But the main character Paige is quite flat and unlikeable for most of the story. The book is about activism and the author tried to also make the character have feminist views, but these bits seem to be thrown in without being linked to the story whatsoever and they’re not well written. It makes Paige seem like a grumpy, bitter person who cannot even stand a man telling her to have a nice evening. She is also just a feminist when it is convenient for her. She’s also quite a bad friend, completely disregarding her friend Holly’s feelings when her cat died, because she wants to chase some boy (how very feminist). The activist part is lovely, because it shows that everyone can stand up and make change. The story has so much potential, so hopefully the characters will have some more depth to them in the sequel.
booksandlemonsquash's review
3.0
I received this book from the publishers via Net Galley, in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed parts of this book, but others massively less so. I loved Paige’s determination and antics to save the bookshop, and I loved her life drawing crew. I didn’t love he characterisation as much otherwise though - especially the way her thought process was written. I have no issue her behaving, thinking and speaking like a teen, but it was written for teens too, in a way a lot of YA books aren’t.
I also like Paige’s love for books and some of her feminist rants, they were brilliant.
However, the setting felt a bit off - from technology it’s definitely set now, but it also talked about BHS which I felt dated it a little.
That aside, I did like Holly and the rest of the bookshop crew! And it’s funny and light and easy reading. Just a little young for me.
I really enjoyed parts of this book, but others massively less so. I loved Paige’s determination and antics to save the bookshop, and I loved her life drawing crew. I didn’t love he characterisation as much otherwise though - especially the way her thought process was written. I have no issue her behaving, thinking and speaking like a teen, but it was written for teens too, in a way a lot of YA books aren’t.
I also like Paige’s love for books and some of her feminist rants, they were brilliant.
However, the setting felt a bit off - from technology it’s definitely set now, but it also talked about BHS which I felt dated it a little.
That aside, I did like Holly and the rest of the bookshop crew! And it’s funny and light and easy reading. Just a little young for me.
missoliviareadsbooks's review
3.0
Really good, heart warming story that as a book lover I could totally relate to. Could I guess the ending early on? Yes! Did that take away from the enjoyment this gave me? HELL NO :)
sgvaz51's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
chloemills's review
3.0
Sixteen-year-old Paige Turner loves her job working in her local bookshop, the only good thing about the small town she lives in. That is until she is told her beloved bookshop is going to be closed down to make way for a bigger shopping complex, but Paige decides she's going to fight to save the shop she loves so much.
I was lucky enough to be granted an ARC copy of this via NetGalley and this is a book I've heard a lot about. I thought the subject matter was great. A teen who has a cause and does something about it? Count me in and about bookshops which are one of my happy places. So I could get behind this novel.
I really enjoyed the fact that Paige had other interested rather than just books too. She's an artist, she's thinking about uni and the wider world, something I could relate to. There was also a really strong feminist message too, did I think it entirely went with the book, no, but I appreciated it being there.
There were points where I felt the novel was trying too hard to be young and cool. There were a lot of OMG and LOL's which I kind of cringed at. Maybe that's just because I wasn't like that as a teenager but, yeah, I felt like it needed to calm down and just be rather than trying to be overly teenager.
One of my other gripes was the love interest, I felt like it was quite predictable and the twist at the end I saw coming from quite early in the novel. That and I don't think it added to the plot or character development, he could have been cut out and I would not have been bothered at all.
Overall I gave this a 3.5 stars, I did really enjoy this and will definitely be picking up the second novel, but felt it was a little young for me. I fully appreciate that I am not 16 but some of the language used seemed a little young for me, hence it not quite hitting 5 stars. This is an easy summer read and I would recommend it!
I was lucky enough to be granted an ARC copy of this via NetGalley and this is a book I've heard a lot about. I thought the subject matter was great. A teen who has a cause and does something about it? Count me in and about bookshops which are one of my happy places. So I could get behind this novel.
I really enjoyed the fact that Paige had other interested rather than just books too. She's an artist, she's thinking about uni and the wider world, something I could relate to. There was also a really strong feminist message too, did I think it entirely went with the book, no, but I appreciated it being there.
There were points where I felt the novel was trying too hard to be young and cool. There were a lot of OMG and LOL's which I kind of cringed at. Maybe that's just because I wasn't like that as a teenager but, yeah, I felt like it needed to calm down and just be rather than trying to be overly teenager.
One of my other gripes was the love interest, I felt like it was quite predictable and the twist at the end I saw coming from quite early in the novel. That and I don't think it added to the plot or character development, he could have been cut out and I would not have been bothered at all.
Overall I gave this a 3.5 stars, I did really enjoy this and will definitely be picking up the second novel, but felt it was a little young for me. I fully appreciate that I am not 16 but some of the language used seemed a little young for me, hence it not quite hitting 5 stars. This is an easy summer read and I would recommend it!
melissapalmer404's review
5.0
Cute, quick read about a teenage girl who works in a bookshop which is scheduled to close and she decides to try to save it.