A review by booksalacarte
The Secret Book Club by Shauna Robinson

funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

The secret book club 2.5⭐️ 1.5🌶️

Contemporary Fiction
Bipoc FMC
Small Town
Book Clubs for Banned Books
Town Secrets
Found Family


This was an interesting story about a woman, unable to find her place, so she offers to run a bookstore during a friend’s maternity leave. the book store only sells books from a certain time period because of a historical society that owns and runs a lot of the town. To rebel against the strict rules, she forms a bookclub and sells banned books so the bookstore can make a profit. 

While the premise of the story is great, and I wanted to like the characters… for some reason it fell flat for me. Maybe it’s because of the juxtaposition of a bookseller that isn’t a reader? Maybe it was hard to believe that a small town author kept this tiny tourist town on the map? Maybe it was the FMC being (kinda accurately) compared to Lydia Bennet? Or maybe a lot of the conflict could have been avoided with a little communication and action.

Thank you NetGalley, Harper Collins UK and One More Chapter for an Advanced eReader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.