A Bookish Story

by Heatherly Bell

A female ghostwriter is recruited to be the face of the bestselling novel in the country, secretly written by a man.

Luci Santana believes in love, especially when it comes to books. Since being forced to give up her apartment, she’d love to get out of her over-involved family’s backyard she-shed and resuscitate her life. She’s given a chance to supercharge her career when she’s recruited to be the face of the country’s bestselling novel.

The romance book secretly written by a man.

Years before he wrote the book that changed his life, literary author Ryan Brady was caught shaming the romance genre in a video. When his book is chosen by a celebrity morning show, a face to face interview is required. Suddenly his secret
pen name desperately needs a woman’s face.

Enter Luci.

Luci hates the book everyone else raves about but it becomes her job to defend the book, the genre, and try not to get caught falling in love with the enemy.

A secret identity, enemies to lovers, workplace romance

Genres: Romance, Books About Books, Humor

215 pages, Paperback

Expected publication March 10, 2026

Reviews

[Marisa Batista · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a soft spot for books whose main characters are bookish people.

It doesn’t matter if they’re writers, booksellers, librarians, or literature teachers… that’s my cup of tea.

Needless to say, I loved “A Bookish Story” by Heatherly Bell.

I just couldn’t put it down. I loved the characters (even the secondary ones), the plot, the challenges, the writing… it felt all very relatable. Which is something I really appreciate in a romance book.

This was, without a doubt, a great read to start the year with.

Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing for this ARC.

[Mallory Moureau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op and Heatherly Bell for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5⭐️ This book was cute and very quick (215 pages). The writer/ ghostwriter/face of the book storyline was fun.

The book was interesting enough to keep me reading but not something that will stay fresh in my mind for long.

I enjoyed that the FMC was focused on more than just her love life. Her main priorities were her career, friends and family. Both the FMC and MMC were easy to root for and want to be together.

That being said, the book did more telling than showing and I think if it did more showing the pacing would have felt better.

Also, why was our FMC so ignorant to the MMC feelings - he literally spelled out his feelings and she still waited and was surprised.

I did feel personally attacked by the FMC’s unnecessarily strong feelings against dating apps “All those apps go about love in the wrong way. Trust me, I’m a romance writer, I know these things.” Her claiming she was an expert on love because she was a romance writer made me roll my eyes many times

[Rachel Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much! I literally couldn’t put it down. As a huge Jane Austen lover there were some lines that made me laugh out loud. I instantly fell in love with both the characters. I’ll be honest, when I read about the end of the romantic book he wrote I was so worried this book would end the same way. I didn’t want it to end. The chemistry between Ryan and Luci was strong from the beginning. I love a romance between two authors. Just fabulous! Will be checking out some of Heatherly Bells other books!

A big thank you to netgalley and Heatherly Bell for providing me with a copy of this fabulous book!

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a romance reader whose hubby teases me about it being just corn. I loved this book. So cute
"These books represent the life and relationships we all want but are afraid to demand. Family, love, friendship. It's easier to just say they're about sex and demean the genre as nothing more than mommy porn"

Also a very interesting look into the world of publishing.

[storieswithlizzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Bookish Story is a character-driven, slow-burn romance with a well-balanced grumpy/sunshine dynamic. Luci and Ryan navigate grief, secret identities, and workplace boundaries as their connection develops with emotional intention.

The dialogue blends witty banter with heartfelt moments, and the grumpy/sunshine pairing feels grounded and authentic. While the pacing may be slower than some prefer, it ultimately enhances the emotional payoff and left me wanting more.

A strong pick for readers who enjoy emotionally authentic romances focused on growth and vulnerability.

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, both of the main characters were well written and also very likable. The story has just the right amount of romance and realistic characters. I also enjoyed that some of the side characters actually helped make an impact on the main storyline.

[Virginie Provencher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books with a literary setting are always my favourite ; this one is no exception. The story had juste the right amount of romance, realistic characters and literary stuff.
The plot is imaginative and well researched, I love that it gave me the same feeling as an Emily Henry book, but with its own specialness and originality.
I secretly wished I was also part of Luci’s family, they were perfectly imperfect.

4 ⭐️
Also, a huge thanks to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing this ARC.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a cute fun read. I was able to finish this one really quickly. I was glad there was a epilogue because if not I would of felt like the FMC in the book (IYKYK).

[Heatherly Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Early praise:

I'm in love with Luci and Ryan! The unique premise of A Bookish Story hooked me from the get-go, and even the need for sleep couldn't pry it out of my hands. This is the most fun I've had reading a romcom in forever. Luci and her family will steal your heart and Ryan is to die for, the cinnamon roll hero we've been craving for a long time. Do NOT miss this one! ~ Darynda Jones, NY Times bestselling author

[Gen · Rating 3 out of 5]

"That's the trouble with real life. Tropes aren't as cute and endearing because you have to live with the ramifications. If only I could live in a romance novel. Life would be perfect."

3.5⭐

When I was browsing NetGalley this book's cover immediately jumped out at me because I really enjoy books written around books themselves and writing or publishing etc. The premise immediately hooked me too, a ghostwriter becomes the face of ghostwritten book working with a grumpy author whose opinions she disagrees with, but I will have to say this book did not quite deliver what I was expecting it to. Emotive language like "try not to get caught falling in love with the enemy" and "Ryan Brady was caught shaming the romance genre in a video" made me think we were going to get more of a rivals to lovers type story with him learning to outgrow his sexist opinions and her teaching him how to be romantic or fall in love, or something along those lines. But instead this was more of a story about love itself, and it's many facets, the different types of love that exist and how we respond to them. For the most part I did enjoy this book, it held my attention relatively well and I wanted to know how the story ended, plus the characters were very sweet and the writing was pretty good. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work for me as well as I had hoped it would with many of those enticing promises not being met and in the end I felt a bit underwhelmed, like this story needed another few goes over with an editing lens.

I think the main thing that stood out to me was how many subplots we had going on in this story and how much I felt they detracted from the main storyline about Luci becoming the face of Ryan's book and the tension between them brought on by his apparent hate for the romance genre, despite writing a romance book himself. I thought this premise would create some interesting suspense and build up to their relationship but instead it just felt like another one of the subplots. I think, in the end, there wasn't really one main plot and this book was mostly about the vibes surrounding the ups and downs of publishing, writing and love as theme. We had Eddie and Geneva's storyline, as well as Luci's father's storyline and Luci romanticising her parents love story, we had Luci's struggles with finding an agent and writing her own work while being a ghostwriter, needing to earn enough money to move out of her she-shed, we had a few brief sidelines with her friend Holly (who mostly felt like an afterthought), we had her drama with her ex-fiance and his story, Ryan's drama with his ex-wife, a sudden 'car accident' and then out of nowhere we get a story about Ryan's sister dying when he was only 11, and all of it piled on top of one another just overloaded this story to the max and detracted from what could've been a really great story. I get that this was added to ensure the characters had backstories and emotional depth, but I think because we were mostly told and not shown this, through roundabout indirect characterisation, it fell flat for me sadly.

The characters themselves were mostly lovely and I think there were some good messages wound throughout. I found Geneva's backstory touching with her realising that she had been so male-centered her entire life that she'd overlooked the love she should've been building and sharing with her daughter. Luci's own backstory with her feeling like she was never good enough, making herself smaller both physically through her weight and through how she acted around people she loved, had some well thought out and quotable passages. Plus, I liked Ryan as the love interest, he was adorable and kind, the banter between Luci and Ryan was funny at times. Though I sometimes got lost with the winding dialogue and run on sentences from Luci's inner monologue, their connection was nice. The running joke about "the lean" could have been pushed more to up the romantic tension between the two love interests and despite how sweet their discussions with each other were, I didn't feel a lot of the chemistry between them outside of a standard friendship/coworker relationship. I definitely think the jump to saying "I love you" was overly rushed as well.

Ultimately, this book was ok, it held my interest enough to continue reading it and I never felt like I wanted to DNF it but I wasn't drawn into it and the emotional connection mostly felt surface level. I think it had a good premise and there were glimmers of where this book could've shone, but the execution felt too jumbled and a lot of plot points that were brought up didn't have the weight I think they needed to carry this story closer to the 4 or 5 star mark. I wonder if the author wasn't sure which genre to market this for because it falls somewhere loosely between women's fiction and romcom while not quite hitting the mark for either. I think it would be a nice story to read as a palate cleanser but I'm afraid to say I don't think I would go out of my way to recommend this book. I would not have been surprised to find out that this was a debut but learning that this author has quite a number of other works hit home how disappointed this book left me feeling overall. I want to say a big thank you to Heatherly Bell and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for giving me the opportunity to read this story early and give my thoughts about it.

[Lily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apologies in advance, this is gonna be a long one.

Okay, I'm going to be completely honest: this book was much different than I expected. It was much less of a romance, and more focused on romance as a genre, if that makes any sense. Both of the main characters are authors, and it was interesting to learn about their writing processes and the publishing world. I also previously had no idea that ghostwriting was a thing. It was a unique insight and definitely gives me more respect for authors who use pennames. Also makes me question how much the gender of an author matters to me. Food for thought for sure.

As some of the other reviews have said, this book was kind of low stakes for me. It was just interesting enough that it held my attention, but the pace was slow, and it didn't really feel like much was happening. The writing style was also more telling, less showing. All this being true, there really was some sweet little gems hidden inside. I found myself highlighting sentences often.

Some include:

"Love can simply be the effort of standing still and having the sense to recognize it when it rotates around you like the sun."

"'Why? Are you dying?' She laughs. 'A little bit every day, mi amor, but that's life. We are all getting older. Best to enjoy every day and stop making happiness so hard. It's everywhere if you look. Look at those two. Your papi is smiling down from heaven with love.'"

"My mother. Damn, I've missed her. I love her. This love has a way of chasing you, of burrowing inside of you to find shelter, of never letting go. It's the kind of love I feel for my mother. The type of love that is simply...inevitable. I never made the choice to love her. Loving her is uncomfortable. Imperfect. But it is undoubtedly the most real thing in my life."

Oof. See what I mean? Some real gems, especially where I wasn't expecting it.

I appreciate the significance of the main character to the story. This book wasn't just about the love interest and their relationship, but it was about her family, friends, and dreams. Her own career, and her own life. There was a wonderful storyline with her uncle and mother's relationship, and I found myself enjoying it more than I thought I would. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting going into the book, but her mother's character arc was so sweet, and it really pulled on my heartstrings.

Another aspect that I found interesting about this book was the parallels of the characters lives to the stories that they were writing. It was a wonderful reflection of an artist in their art, and the reasons why they make it. Even though I'm not an author at all, this book inspired me to write.

One of the reasons why I only gave this book two stars is because the romance didn't connect with me as much as I wanted it to. The love interest was sweet, but he felt a little one-dimensional to me. Or maybe a little too romanticized. He feels real enough, but I feel like I didn't really get to know him as much as I should have.

Like I said before, the main character has a wonderful personal story, but I would have enjoyed a little more push and pull in their relationship. I think it falls a little flat because it was so unrealistic. It was sweet, but there wasn't much build up. The characters say that they love each other, but I had a hard time believing it. Maybe because of the writing style with the telling, not showing.

I also would have enjoyed a little bit more embellishment on the whole acting/ghostwriting/
pretending to be the author thing. It sounded fun and entertaining, but it wasn't really explored very much in the book. It was a good hook, but it was a little lacking in my opinion. Also, the tags describing this book are entirely inaccurate. It most definitely IS NOT enemies to lovers. Also not really a workplace romance. I mean, she is his research assistant but it is very informal and takes place in his house. With no one else around. So. Do with that what you will.

On the whole, this book was a little flat but there were some sweet gems. Not super romantic, but surprisingly heavy on the familial love. Good entertainment if you need a break from books you have to think about.

Big thank you to NetGalley, NetGalley Co-Op, and Heatherly Bell for sharing this ARC. Much love!

[✰ Bianca ✰ BJ's Book Blog ✰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute story about two very different authors.
I liked many parts of it, but there were also many parts I didn't like. The writing for one wasn't my kind of writing. No idea what bothered me, but it did. It felt too forced and just too much somehow.
And the fact that the book in the book is told in the male POV - what is so strange about that? I've read lots of those books. It's not a super rare thing - maybe it doesn't happen every day but it's not unheard of - I love male POVs! So weird.
The love story was too slow and not sparky enough. I loved Ryan but I wanted more of him - maybe the male POV would've helped here.
I liked reading this - there were cute and funny and adorable moments - but it could've been so much better! It definitely had potential and I would totally watch the movie!

A BOOKISH STORY was just that - a cute book/author/publishing world romance with a few family problems thrown in.

[Jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Bookish Story is a cozy, book within a book romance that leans heavily into its love of storytelling. At its core, this is a novel about writers, publishing, and the blurred lines between who creates a story and who gets credit for it. If you enjoy romances centered around the writing world, this one definitely embraces that niche.

The pacing is brisk and approachable. At just over two hundred pages, it reads quickly and works well as a light, low angst palate cleanser. The tone stays warm and generally upbeat, with a soft, closed door romance that focuses more on emotional development than physical intensity. There is a sweetness to the dynamic between the leads, particularly in their shared understanding of what it means to create something meaningful and vulnerable on the page.

One of the stronger aspects of the book is its exploration of identity and ambition. The main character’s professional frustrations and personal insecurities are relatable, especially for anyone who has ever felt stuck behind the scenes while wanting recognition for their own voice. The family elements add another layer, giving the story some emotional grounding beyond the central romance.

That said, the execution feels uneven at times. Much of the character development is conveyed through explanation rather than immersion, which can make it harder to fully connect. Some dialogue feels overly polished and less like natural conversation, and the romantic chemistry, while present, does not always spark as strongly as it could. There are also several subplots woven throughout, and while they aim to add depth, they occasionally dilute the focus of the main storyline.

Overall, A Bookish Story is a pleasant, easy read with a charming premise and heartfelt intentions. It may not be the most unforgettable romance, but it offers comfort, a touch of humor, and an affectionate look at the world of writers and the stories they tell.

3.25 stars.

[Maddie Blackham · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Bookish Story

My first ARC review.

Thank you to the author, Heatherly Bell, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of A Bookish Story in exchange for an honest review.

I was initially intrigued by the fun cover and the premise of this rom-com, especially the idea of a ghostwriter who unexpectedly becomes the face of a ghost-written work. One of its strongest aspects was the author’s obvious passion for the literary world, which shines through her writing. I even learned quite a bit about ghostwriting through this book, which was a new and fascinating concept to me.

That said, I have a few significant issues that ultimately impacted my enjoyment of this book. The writing itself often felt off, with run-on sentences, awkward word choices, and occasional disjointed dialogue that made the story harder to follow. The book would benefit from additional editing to improve clarity and polish. While emotional stakes were thoughtfully included, they were often told rather than shown, which made them feel out of place rather than plot-building events.

I also struggled with the romance. This book was marketed as a rom-com, but the romantic relationship felt more like a subplot, with limited buildup and tension between Luci and Ryan. I never quite felt the spark you find in other rom-com’s. Additionally, and this may be an unpopular opinion, but I wasn’t a fan of the relationship between Luci’s mother and her uncle. This also detracted from my connection to the characters.

Overall, A Bookish Story is a pleasant, cozy story. If you’re looking for a cute, light read or enjoy books featuring the behind-the-scenes of the writing and publication process, this book will be right up your alley.


Content Notes
- Spice: Kisses only
- Language: Mild swearing

[Prapti]

This book follows Luci Santana, is a romance-loving author, who gets an unexpected career boost when she’s hired to be the public face of the country’s bestselling romance novel. The catch? The book was secretly written by a man. That man is Ryan Brady, a literary author with a past of publicly shaming the romance genre, now scrambling to protect his secret pen name when the book lands a major media spotlight. What follows is a grumpy-sunshine, secret-identity, slow-burn setup where Luci has to defend a book she actually hates, the genre she loves, and try not to fall for the very person she’s supposed to be covering for.

I DNF’d this at around 30%. I just couldn’t connect with any of the characters, nothing about the story really clicked for me. Ryan felt pretty bland, and while I wanted to like Luci, she came across as a bit over the top (which might be more a writing issue than her personality). There was also basically no chemistry between them — no spark, no tension, nothing — at least up to the point where I stopped reading.

The writing itself was pretty meh. It lacked depth, and a lot of it felt more told than shown. I also agree with others who’ve said the book leaned more into being about writing romance or being an author in general, than on actually developing the romance between the MCs, which probably explains why I felt so disconnected overall.

Very low-risk, safe read. I can see other readers enjoying it, but it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. I appreciate the opportunity to read and share my thoughts on this book.

[Aga · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for this ARC, out March 10th.

This wasn’t a favourite for me, which is a shame because I genuinely love books about books. Unfortunately, I think this one suffers from a mismatch between how it’s marketed and what it actually delivers.

The novel is promoted as a slow-burn, closed-door, funny women’s fiction—but there’s very little humour here. Going in with those expectations set the story up to disappoint.

Luci is a likeable character for about 80% of the book. She’s a ghostwriter trying to sell her own manuscript while living in a she-shed in her abuela’s garden, which is a setup I initially enjoyed. She has a complicated relationship with her mother and begins working as an assistant to Ryan, a handsome professor with strong Superman/Clark Kent vibes. On paper, this promises a sweet grumpy-vs-sunshine romance.

In execution, though, several elements didn’t work for me. Ryan remains underdeveloped, Luci’s naivety becomes frustrating, and some relationship arcs—particularly with her mother and her ex-fiancé—felt implausible and emotionally unearned. The story also drags in places, and the ending didn’t feel particularly satisfying.

This is very much a book about the writing process, literary agents, and the publishing world, with a love story layered over the top. Readers who enjoy behind-the-scenes looks at publishing, introspective storytelling, and very gentle romance may find more to appreciate here than I did.

Ultimately, this one wasn’t for me—but I can see it working for readers who enjoy quiet, publishing-focused women’s fiction.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Love is something far deeper when it grows like wildflowers, which thrive even in the worst elements as long as the soil is rich.”

Thank you to Netgalley for the Advance Reader Copy in return for an honest review. This was a sweet and charming contemporary romance, but I would argue the biggest romance here is not between the two leads but rather of books and writing. It's a small exploration into writing today, and I felt a lot of resonance with our characters in that regard. I really liked the premise and the story on the whole, but some plot points fell a little flat and felt redundant (such as the ‘friendship’ with Holly and the ‘car accident’). It touched on some really interesting and heart warming topics but I did struggle with the main character at times because she felt very young and whilst I did see her grow throughout the book, there were one too many cringey inner dialogue moments that took me out of it and I just couldn’t get to like her as much as I wanted to (the opening few scenes has far too many mentions of Jane Austen). However, the love interest was a welcome change from the typical ‘Alpha male’ we see in lots of romance books, and he appeared to have depth: there was just a lot of untapped potential to add a real emotive element that I think was missing.

I wanted to love this book, but I think it’s a solid 3-star read for me. Enjoyable and memorable in places, but I’ll remember the potential it had more than anything. The book is released on 10th March!

[The Balcony Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

“There are many kinds of love stories. They are all around us every day. From the older couple who has waited a long time to be together, to the couple who jumps right in. With love, anything is possible.”

This book is an ode to family, healthy relationships, and believing in yourself. Bubbly and cheerful Luci is a life-long romantic, even if she is living a less-than-charmed life. Her job as a ghostwriter means NDAs that prohibit anyone from ever knowing she wrote multiple bestsellers.

After losing a place to live after breaking up with her fiancé, she moves back into a she-shed in her grandmother’s backyard. As much as she loved her boisterous, loud family, she wanted a place of her own. So she finds a second job as the assistant of a brusque Clark Kent lookalike: Professor Ryan Brady.

This story is equal parts cozy romance and a self discovery journey for Luci. She wields optimism and self-deprecating humor as both a weapon and armor. But what she needed more was to realize her immense potential. The pacing is on the slower side with a few laugh-out-loud moments. Both characters are mature with heavy character development for the FMC. The HEA is fairytale level sweet. Fade-to-black spice.

Thank you so much @heatherly.bell @netgalley for this advanced reader copy!

Tropes: opposites attract, workplace romance, humor, brusque/sunshine, self-discovery, fade-to-black spice, close proximity, slow burn, he falls first, trauma healing

[Chrissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luci is a successful ghostwriter, who is trying to sell her first book under her own name. Ryan has written a hugely successful romance novel (even though that is not his usual genre), and now he has a problem: He published his romance using a female pen name, so when the book takes off, he needs someone to play the author for a morning show TV appearance. You can probably tell where this is going to go... Luci ends up being his "reverse-ghostwriter".

I love rom-coms, especially bookish ones. So, I should've loved this one. I can't say why I didn't. I didn't dislike any of it. The plot was good, the characters were fine. I liked it well enough. But I didn't love it. When Luci is querying her book, the feedback she gets from some agents is that it's great, but they'll pass because they didn't connect to her characters on a deep enough level. That's how I felt about this book. Picking it back up never felt like a chore, but putting it down in between was easier than I would've hoped. Still, if the premise sounds interesting to you, I do recommend giving it a chance. You might have more luck connecting to Luci and Ryan than I did.

Thank you to Heatherly Bell and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing a review copy via NetGalley. This review reflects my honest opinion.

[Isis · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐️ Listen, I really tried loving this book but I think it just wasn’t my thing.
The plot sounds promising enough: Luci is as ghostwriter who gets a job helping Ryan, a historical literature author. He has written a romance book under a penname and Luci agrees to pretend to be the author. The pacing is quite slow, and it doesn’t help that the stakes are low. I think the whole secret identity/ghostwriting story idea could have been explored on a deeper level.

I also didn’t really connect with the main couple. Their chemistry felt off and their love story felt rushed. However, I loved Luci’s mom’s character development and her relationship with Teddy. A beautiful lesson about the value of platonic love and the danger of looking for the perfect relationship.

The book is described as a romance, but the focus lies much more on the struggles of being an author and finding romantic love. Perhaps that is why I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. However, I still found the book an enjoyable read and would recommend it if you’re looking for a short and sweet story about writing and love.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Victory Editing and Heatherly Bell for providing me with an ARC!

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a cute book, I'm surprised it's rated lower. It's a quick read, the pacing is good, the drama is good, and the dimensions were well plot out.

Story is about Luci who's a ghostwriter, working to forget her broken heart plus earn some money to pay for all the wedding stuff that her ex left her to pick up. With a ghost writing job she also picked a research assistant job just to meet a hot prof and make ends meet.

Turns out the prof is also a writer too. Except he's grumpy and write historical sad books. Only for her to find that he was against romance, which is every fiber of her being. Only, he needs a favor from her....

The whole thing is cute, how they come together, the tension. There are opportunities for second chances for both of them, but which one will they pick?

There's a bit of book inside a book(ish). Storyline of her mom is what Luci wanted in her heart of hearts, but also her growth to see thru the pain she bear growing up. Don't worry, Mr. Hot Prof has his pain and his growth to go thru too. What I find funny is, as authors, the characters both write spicy scenes in their books. But this book is all closed door. That's funny to me.

Thank you to NetGalley & Victory Editing Co-Op for the ARC.

[Meliss · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

A Bookish Story lives up to its name in that it is a story heavily focused on writing and publishing books. It is a romance and a light read.

The story centers around two writers, one stuck ghostwriting and in the query stage for her own story and another who has just accidentally hit it big. The premise is intriguing- a ghostwriter who becomes the face of a book she didn’t write. There are some challenges she faces taking on this role, but the bulk of the story centers on the relationship of the two MCs as it grows from professional to something more.

A main subplot of this story was Luci’s relationship with her family and the return of her mother who I found unlikeable. As a mother, I found her actions questionable and reasoning flimsy.

There is chemistry between the two MCs and you get a feel for their personalities, however, the dialogue felt unnatural and clunky. One specific issue I had was that for someone who did not like or read romance but accidentally wrote one, Ryan spoke a lot about romance tropes and discussed his favorites.

[Jessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for early access to "A Bookish Story" by Heatherly Bell. While I loved the premise of this book and do think that character development and language used got better as the book went on, I struggled to get through this one. It felt as though the author was missing a voice or an authentic connection to the characters. At the start, I noted that some of the language felt stiff and robotic. Honestly, it had an AI nature to it. I will say that I appreciated the family relations and fleshing out Luci the FMC as the story continued, but it did seem to almost take away from the chemistry between the two love interests instead of adding something. In my opinion, it lacked that sparkly zing that makes romance novels so craveable. I was also feeling a little bit annoyed because these things that I was noting while reading were the very things that Luci seemed to critique in others' writing. This left me with a bitter taste in my mouth as she came off almost elitist at points. Willing to try a different story from Bell, but this one missed the mark for me.

[Joyce · Rating 1 out of 5]

First and foremost, I want to thank NetGalley, publishers, and author for the ARC.

This book was not my cup of tea. I was very intrigued by the summary— a ghostwriter standing in as a ghostwriter for another author. How cute!

I found the writing to be extremely challenging to read in the sense that it was entirely first person monologue and internal monologue. There was so much word vomit. It was just run on sentences after run on sentences with really awkward dialogue and very strange wording. And if it wasn’t a run on, it was a short and choppy sentence with a mixture of perspectives. I’m not going to quote something from the book but I’ll write a sentence that’s representative of the writing in this book-

“I will stop liking him! I am not ready, if you know what I mean. Just like the last time..”

I couldn’t connect with the characters at all due to the writing style. It’s not easy to write a book so I commend the author for writing so many. However, this style of writing was just not for me.

[Tammie Riso · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a lifelong reader AND a librarian, how could I not love a book about two "bookish" characters? I usually don't enjoy a slow-burn romance (and this one was slooooow), nor a story with a power dynamic issue (boss/employee), but this MMC (Ryan) was so noble that he handled that problem himself. FMC Luci, whose family read more like main characters rather than side characters, hated Ryan's book that he wrote under a pseudonym, but ended up having to represent it for him. As these two work through their issues and begin to know themselves and each other better, falling in love is inevitable. Although sometimes it seems that a happily-ever-after for themselves is as unattainable as the characters in "that book", they finally figure it out.
The book supports and represents the romance genre better than any I've read in a while. Luci and I both snuck books out of an older relative's collections and then fell in love with love. How could I not love her?
Well done, I so want an extended epilogue to see how these two do down the road!

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute couple of writers. The difficulty of writing, how much of their lives and themselves authors put into their books. We know ghostwriters exist, but obviously not which books they write, and it's a relatively unknown job. The mechanics behind this profession were interesting and thought-provoking.

Luci's family is very nice. There are strong internal motivations on both sides, Luci's and Ryan's, with deep family rifts. Love has many different forms, what we do out of love for our children, for our brothers and sisters were probably the main themes of this story.

The chemistry between Luci and Ryan isn't obvious; the romance between them isn't the central focus as we could imagine from the way it was marketed. This isn't a problem for me, but it might be for people really looking for a romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Heatherly Bell for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Heatherly Bell , Victory Editing and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review! All information below is based off my own opinion of the book! I also like to keep my reviews short and simple as someone who looks at the short reviews before reading books. 💕⭐️
Book rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Level Of spice: No spice
Favorite characters:
It wasn’t a bad story at all! The story was pretty good I just think the romance wasn’t there. The romance only comes in about 10% left of the book. I loved that both the fmc and the mmc both wrote books! I just wish they would have had more of a romance. And I hated Chris. In one of the last chapters she says she broke it off with Chris but they never got back together to begin with. There is no spice in the book at all
Also her mom gave me the ick. She forgave her mom too easy in my opinion. It just needed something more and the 3rd act break up didn’t hit. Also I hate what Holly did.

[Imene Oukrine · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC review
A bookish story by @heatherly.bell
4/⭐️

Have you ever pretended to love a book you actually hated? Well, our main character Luci did but not in the way you’re imagining.

A female ghostwriter pretends to be the author of a bestselling romance novel secretly written by a man who once mocked the genre. Forced to work together, their professional rivalry slowly turns into love, all while they hide the truth behind the book.

As someone who loves reading, especially romance, this book was exactly what I was looking for. It was such a cute read. I love stories where the characters are readers / writers, and the chemistry between the main characters was just perfect. They were so cute together and truly meant to be. I was honestly afraid the book would end like Soulmates with an open ending , and I loved how Luci grew and changed throughout the story.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC

[Chanda Brandt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luci is the author of a wildly-popular, best-selling romance series, the only problem is that she's a ghostwriter and can't tell anyone. Then goes to work as a research assistant for Ryan, who is skeptical about romance but has written a romance novel under a female pseudonym. When his book becomes a viral hit, he needs someone to be the face of his female alter ego. He asks Luci to be his stand-in.

"A Bookish Story" is a slow burn, low spice story not just about romance, but about how writers see romance. I love books about books and books about writers. This book definitely scratched that itch. While the romance that developed between Luci and Ryan was sweet, the side stories about their families, Luci's mother in particular, provided some additional depth and emotion.

Thank you to Victory Editing, NetGalley, and Heatherly Bell for the opportunity to read this advanced copy for an honest revies.

[Mamawattto4 Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Victory Editing and NetGalley for the ARC

3 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

A Bookish Story was a cute, cozy read that will definitely appeal to book lovers, especially those who enjoy stories centered around bookstores, reading, and literary vibes. The premise itself is charming and felt like a warm hug for anyone who loves getting lost in books.

That said, while I enjoyed the overall concept, the story didn’t fully pull me in the way I hoped it would. Some parts felt a bit predictable, and I found myself wanting more depth either in the characters, the romance, or the emotional stakes. It was enjoyable, just not especially memorable.

Overall, this was a pleasant, light read and a nice palate cleanser between heavier books. While it didn’t quite hit five star territory for me, it’s still worth checking out if you’re in the mood for something bookish, sweet, and low stress.