La librairie des rêves suspendus

by Emily Blaine

Entrez dans un monde où tout devient possible…

Sarah, libraire dans un petit village de Charente, peine à joindre les deux bouts. Entre la plomberie capricieuse de l’immeuble, les murs décrépis et son incapacité notoire à résister à l’envie d’acheter tous les livres d’occasion qui lui tombent sous la main, ses finances sont au plus mal. Alors, quand un ami lui propose un arrangement pour le moins surprenant mais très rémunérateur, elle hésite à peine avant d’accepter. C’est entendu : elle hébergera Maxime Maréchal, acteur aussi célèbre pour ses rôles de bad boy que pour ses incartades avec la justice, afin qu’il effectue en toute discrétion ses travaux d’intérêt général dans la librairie. Si l’acteur peut survivre à un exil en province et des missions de bricolage, elle devrait être capable d’accueillir un être vivant dans son monde d’encre et de papier… Une rencontre émouvante entre deux êtres que tout oppose mais unis par un même désir : celui de vivre leurs rêves.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Books About Books, Chick Lit, Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Ebooks

320 pages, Paperback

First published June 5, 2019

About the author

Translated in six countries including the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain, Emily Blaine has established herself as the ambassador of modern French romance with more than 600,000 copies sold. Moving, funny and anchored in real life, his romances approach with accuracy and finesse the major actual themes.

Reviews

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book checks every boxes of my irresistible romance cravings :
Sunshine meets the grump troupe ✅
Enemies to lovers or let’s rephrase sweet guardians to grumpy prisoners premise ✅
Opposite attract✅
Undeniable blasting chemistry ✅
Burning desire flames around the couple drag them into like magnets ✅
Dysfunctional families and traumatic pasts of MCs are the common thing which help them understand each other✅

Maxime is aspiring, rising star of French film industry, always suffer from anger issues, causing trouble any time he goes out and drinks with his best friend/ colleague/ good guy who always stays out of trouble Simon.

But when he flirts a guy’s fiancée and beat him till he turns into pulp, he finally finds out, this time he’s truly out of line and he’ll pay for his mistakes.

His agent Mathilde, his childhood Damien and lawyer come with plan: a community service in his small hometown where he sweared to never go back because of his traumatic childhood and abusive father.

But his friend Damien pushes hard to take him some responsibility in his life. Damien also wants to help Sarah who is about to lose her bookstore because of her financial crisis. If Maxime donates enough money to pay her debt and works free for the reparations, Sarah can save the place she’s worked so hard since her childhood.

Damien’s plan works and reluctant, ultra unhappy, brooding Maxime moves to spare room of Sarah which is located above the bookshop. At first he insists they never be friends so he barely talks with her a few words. But shy, golden hearted, bookworm Sarah has her ways to steal this bad boy’s heart with her innocent charms.

Shy bookish falls for bad boy actor and bad boy cannot resist to fall for her, too. But this community service will last only for two months. What will happen those love birds? They’re coming from different lives, pursuing different dreams. Could they find a way to meet in the middle?

So sweet, easy to read, extremely feel good and perfectly translated, lovely reading I truly recommend.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for providing me this digital reviewer copy in exchange my honest opinions.

[Sofie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins UK / One More Chapter for the eARC for review.


______

TW: Suicide


I'm going to chalk up some of the pacing issues to the fact that this is a book translated from French.

Still.

This book is about a ~bad boy~ a-list actor who, after beating up a guy at a nightclub for the 50th time or something has to do COMMUNITY SERVICE (for some reason, instead of, you know, jail) at Sarah's dying bookshop in small-town France. She's ~pure~ and ~shy~ and Maxime just KNOWS she's too good for him 😤 so he tries to keep his distance.

If you could read the notes I made as I read this, I think you would laugh. Here are the highlights:

Spoilers!

At one point, Maxime says something to the likes of "Sarah calmed me," which honestly just reminded me of those ridiculous tiktoks where the guys is about to punch the mirror and when the beat drops to the song, his girlfriend / wife appears in front of him to catch his fist and give him a hug.

Damien (Maxime's childhood BFF) is so involved in negotiating Maxime's punishment? This guy literally beat a guy to a pulp and is being accused of sexual harassment (the encounter was consensual BTW, but those were the charges), and his agent and lawyer were just like "you know who we need? Max's old friend who owns a VINEYARD to come in and talk to the judge"

HUH??

Damien also negotiates several furloughs during Maxime's community service. WHO IS DAMIEN AND WHY ARE THE POLICE NEGOTIATING WITH HIM??? It literally makes no sense soz

The first few chapters are out of order. Like, we see Maxime on his way to Chateaurenard after Damien tells him about his community service BEFORE we get Sarah's POV of Damien coming to her with the offer to have Maxime do his community service at her bookshop??

On a more serious note, there were lots of issues with this relationship. It's toxic AF. Maxime goes on and on in the beginning about Sarah's childlike innocence, how sweet and shy she is, and how SEXY he finds that 👀

Maxime has major jealousy, anger and violence issues, but it's okay because Sarah ~changes~ him. He's also a major player and slight misogynist in the beginning, going so far as to describe an encounter with a woman at a club as boring because she didn't put up more of a challenge. And an actual quote from his chapter:

"I didn’t really care about what she was feeling – I just wanted her body and to do whatever I felt like with it."

Can we have problematic characters who have real and meaningful arcs in a book? For sure. But this is straight up gross and I'm not convinced meeting the ~right woman~ would "fix" a guy like this. Ah, but it's okay, because Maxime has a secret heart of gold 🥰🥰 and inner shame 🥺🥺 because he can't read 😢😢 and has daddy issues 💔💔



I signed up for this ARC because of the premise of enemies-to-loves in a bookshop!!! Should have been a fluffy, fun, quick opposites-attract romance. But we got a (TW!!) suicide subplot???

Don't waste your time on this one. Sorry. Cute cover, though!

[Ptiteaurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

J'étais tombée sous le charme de la couverture du nouveau roman d'Emily Blaine car je le trouvais très poétique et sublime. Je me suis régalée avec ce nouveau roman qui nous emmène dans un domaine de prédilection et qui sera parfait pour les book addicts que nous sommes. Notre héroïne ne rêve pas de sublimes bouquets de fleurs mais de livres et j'ai trouvé cela original et même très parlant. L'histoire nous emporte dans un petit village et Maxime sera un personnage masculin qui saura lui aussi nous faire succomber.

une fois de plus , je me suis régalée avec la plume d'Emily Blaine qui nous fait entrer dans un univers si proche et si génial. Ses personnages n'ont pas fini de nous surprendre et nous allons forcément nous attacher à eux et à leur histoire. Nous tournons une nouvelle page pour découvrir une histoire prenante et touchante et on a envie d'intégrer ce monde fictif qui nous semble pourtant si réel

Chronique complète : https://thelovelyteacheraddictions.bl...

[Simply Love Book Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I’m not going to lie; I requested this book for review because it revolved around a bookstore. The Bookshop of Forgotten Dreams was a fairly straightforward romance with few surprises and I found it enjoyable. This novel was translated from French to English and there were a few issues with the translation, things that didn’t made sense but I was able to figure out by context. My biggest issue with this book, the overuse of exclamation points; I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many in one book and it felt as if the characters were constantly shouting at each other and the reader and I found it to be very distracting.

Max is a well known actor who resides in Paris and is known for his bad behavior often involving his fists, after one such row with a woman claiming sexual assault and her boyfriend in the hospital, he is given an ultimatum, jail time or he will return to the small town in which he was raised and work in a bookshop for a woman who needs help both labor and monetary and he’ll provide both. He isn’t happy these are his only choices; he’s always been given a slap on the wrist before. Furious he fires his agent, screams at his attorney, and wants to fight his best friend from childhood. Resigned he agrees to the two months in what he considers hell not realizing that time will change him forever.

Being abandoned by her parents and raised by her grandmother, Sarah has always lost herself in books. Books took her away from her life, gave her a wealth of information, showed her faraway places and have made her crave love like she’s read about. When the shop suffers a leak, Sarah faces the truth that she may have no choice but to sell the store and her apartment above it, she’s broke and not even the upcoming tourist season can save her. Then her neighbor Damien asks her to help with his friend and it’s the only way she can save her shop.

Max and Sarah don’t get off on the best foot mainly due to Max’s attitude, but Sarah also realizes there’s more to Max than his brusque behavior. I loved the way she peeled back his layers and it was interesting to see how much she made him think about this behavior, his life, and the people in it. Max made Sarah bolder, made her realize she didn’t want to just settle for mediocre, and that she wanted some excitement in her life even if her life was smaller than his. I think they were very good for one another and I also appreciate when characters grow during a story and they both showed quite a bit of growth throughout.

While I had some issues with this book, mainly things that should have been handled in editing, I liked the story. The characters were interesting from the main ones to the supporting and while it was a bit predictable, it wasn’t filled with unnecessary angst which I appreciated.

Review copy provided for a voluntary review.

[Tracie Gutknecht · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a quiet surprise. It's a redemption story, it's a love story, it's an homage to books and booksellers and was a lovely way to spend the day.

The author is French, but the translation was done very well and except for towns, character names and a very few turns of phrase you wouldn't know that it wasn't English originally.

Sarah is the owner of a used book shop 5 hours from Paris. The town itself has a few tourists in the summer but is pretty quiet. She inherited the store and the apartment above from her Grandmother. She is in financial straits and things are only getting worse as the building needs some major repairs. She is very sweet and innocent and the townsfolk love her.

Maxime is a movie star, but he is a bad boy. He has a pretty uncontrollable rage that gets him into all kinds of scrapes because he likes to assuage that rage by punching people. His latest mishap has landed him in jail with the possibility of prison. His agent, his attorney and one of his oldest friends come up with a potential solution. He will be under house arrest for 2 months in Sarah's building with 2 hours of freedom a day. He will pay her a huge fee for this inconvenience and he will help her with repairs and anything else the building might need. If he doesn't take the deal, off to prison he goes and with it, probably his career.

Both reluctant to be in the situation, the meeting between Sarah and Maxime doesn't go well. They are vastly different people and Maxime has a chip on his shoulder for being back in the town where he grew up with no good memories. Living together and spending 22 hours a day with someone forces them closer than expected. They both learn that their pasts have more in common than originally thought, bonding them further.

Once the two characters come together, their romance is achingly sweet. Is the story perfect? No. I felt like the characters backstories could have been explored in more depth, so we would have a better understanding of them. It didn't take away from what was a lovely read. Perfect for summer!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for my ARC of this book.

[Lucinda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately, there are several things that are not working with this book. I picked it up because the premise sounded great, but I didn't connect with the story or the characters.

It's a translation from the French and several things are badly done with this translation.
In French, you can have each chapter in a different 1st person POV and you'll know which character's it is (his or hers) because of the language gender pronouns. In English, that doesn't work. It should have been signaled at the beginning of each chapter which character it is. That was a bit of a mess.

Maybe French readers like exclamation points, but they don't work in English. Please, remove ALL the exclamation points! ALL of them!!! Unless a character is being murdered and asking for help, there shouldn't be any exclamation points at all. They make all the characters sound like petulant children throwing fits.

I saw on Amazon this book is being compared to Emily Henry's—please, it's nothing like it. Such a disservice to readers with that comparison.

The main characters have nothing to endear themselves to readers. There's no growth and they're very inconsistent. Sarah is very shy, she doesn't even date, but then she acts like a pro at sex.
Maxime is a mess of a guy and he acts like a 13 year old. His reformed guy act at the end of the book is not genuine.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

[Muffinsandbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Une jolie romance, douce et pleine d’émotions ! Je me suis beaucoup attachée à Sarah et j’ai adoré évoluer dans sa librairie !

[Helen - Great Reads & Tea Leaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

‘I’d been afraid, afraid to throw myself into real life, without the possibility of closing the pages of my book if a scene frightened me.’

One picks this style of book up knowing how things will play out. It’s the ‘quick fix’, the light and fluffy between the heavier reads. So imagine my surprise to discover that this book delved a little deeper than others of its genre. I liked the two lead characters and their journey of redemption. Of course, throw in homage to all things bookish and it’s a great little read.

“Why do you want to save this awful dude so much?” He took my cup of coffee out of my hands and finally answered: “He’s not awful, just lost.”

The Bookshop of Forgotten Dreams is the classic stereotypical bad boy meets good girl, yet … I found there to be this little added dimension that, for me, made all the difference. On this occasion it was the fact that both leads were on a journey of self discovery and I just loved learning about them and their backstory. Then, more importantly, how they sought to move towards their goals together. It was the realisation that they both needed to change in order to grow and with the positive influence on each other, they were able to achieve their individual evolution. Nice.

‘Sarah had succeeded where most people had failed … or given up. She’d taken the time, talked to me, given me time. She’d hung on, despite my warnings, and that was what attracted me to her: her selflessness.’

Now let's just talk about this massive focus on all things bookish - a delightful escapade for any bibliophile. Sarah’s passion for books is music to our literary souls and her bookshop somewhere I would love to visit and spend time. Being an introvert, Sarah’s life revolves around books and her bookstore as they provide her safe place and an escape. The way she speaks of books is sweet and intoxicating:

‘I thought about books every minute of the day … and I talked about them just as much … books had always been my passion. I read ardently, almost in a sort of uncontrollable binge. I would have done anything to escape my life, and books had quickly allowed me to do it.’

So if you are looking for that in between read then reach for this classic retelling of opposites attract for some light escapism.

‘… my passion for books had saved me from a reality that was too hard to take. I’d fallen in love with fictional men, dreamed of an ideal family, led investigations with great detectives.’




This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://clife.blog/2022/02/09/book-re...

Max is a French film actor with anger management issues. When his temper takes him too far, his friend offers a solution: to do community service under house arrest at a friends bookshop in his tiny hometown. It’s either that or prison, so he doesn’t have much choice. At first he is angry and resentful toward bookshop owner Sarah. She is extremely shy and nervous to be sharing her home with tattooed and angry Max, but she needs help with repairs to the shop to keep her business afloat. As time goes on and she sees that his attitude is more to keep people away, she grows more attracted to him. But how can a relationship work when her whole life and livelihood is in this tiny town and he needs to be in Paris for his film career?

It seemed as if he was analysing her in every way possible in order to seduce Sarah that’s how it seemed like it was a game for him and then for him to suddenly change.
This book was just an ok read for me. Translated from French, I think some things just didn’t translate well. The idea that someone that shy and nervous would accept living in close quarters with a complete stranger, friend of a friend or not, seems implausible to me. I did love Sarah’s love of books, stuffing her cozy bookshop to the rafters and beyond. It really seems like someplace I’d really love to visit.

[maddison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maxime is an actor in the French film industry who struggles with anger issues. When he flirted with some guy's fiancée one night, his anger got the best of him, and he beat him to a pulp. After spending the night in jail, he must choose between going to prison or returning to his hometown for two months to help out a certain someone.

Sarah is the owner of a bookstore that is on the verge of closing. She inherited the store from her grandmother, and she lives above it in a little flat. When her financial position becomes too much for her, she considers closing the store.

What she doesn't realize is that her friend Damien, who is also Maxime's best friend, has devised a plan to assist her. For the next two months, Maxime will be assisting Sarah in her bookstore. Isn't it simple? No, not at all.

They are two very different people who are drawn together by showing each other their true selves. Despite the fact that their relationship isn't perfect, it's clear that they make one other happy and are the best for each other. But what will happen when his time comes to an end? What exactly is the source of Maxime's rage? Is Sarah willing to give up her bookstore just so she can return to Paris with Maxime when his two-month deal ends? Well, you'll have to find out for yourself :)

*Thank you to NetGallery for the ARC in exchange for an honest review*

[GaffersGirl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Something really does get 'lost in translation' I have found. I never really understood that saying until this book.

There was an awkwardness to the writing throughout and I couldn't tell if it was the translation or just the author's writing style. I'm leaning towards mostly translation though, at least I'd like to believe that because in general the book wasnt awful. It seemed like it could've been sweet with a bit of work and editing.

There were issues beyond the translation though. The author does ask the reader to suspend disbelief ALOT. I do not live in France, nor have I ever visited but I find it difficult to believe that the Paris Police are going to release a guy charged with (not the first time) assault to his buddy who lives five hours from Paris to do community service even with an ankle monitor.

I also find it difficult to believe they would say, "Sure, this guy who is also charged with sexual assault should be under house arrest in the apartment of a young single woman who lives alone." While we as readers know those charges were not true, no one negotiating this guys release, nor the police, could know it was false so...just, 🙄.

I struggled a bit with Max. I honestly checked the cover and the blurb again as I was reading the first chapter because I thought I had stumbled into like a Mafia Romance instead of a RomCom. He's portrayed as a bit darker than you'd expect and truly for his arc to realistically take him from there to where he ends up at the end of the book the author probably should have used a few more pages.

There was also an issue with the timeline. We meet Damien when he's helping negotiate for Max's release, because the Paris Police listen to the small town farmer they've never met (Like through the whole book. He negotiates alot). But the next chapter jumps back in time to Damien explaining this plan to go to Paris and get Max to Sarah. It's the only time in the book that happens but it's weird.

While I'm ranting, there are odd plot points. Max's difficulty reading isn't even hinted at but suddenly it's a thing. Max was abused as a child by his father. It's mentioned but never explored which would've made sense. He has anger issues, why not tie that together. Instead we get this plot point with him like making up with his father toward the end out of like nowhere. Also, Simon's suicide is just out of the blue and confusing because we don't get to know Simon at all, he and Max interact only briefly so the reader has zero emotional connection to Simon. It seems it was only used as an emotional catalyst for the MC which is sorta cold for an author to do. But then there is no emotional catalyst because Max has already made all these emotional changes prior to that...I don't know, confusing.

So honestly it's kind of a jumbled mess throughout. Now that I think about it, I guess I didn't enjoy it that much but...maybe it's the translation. I'd recommend trying it in the original French...if you, ya know, read French. Otherwise...maybe skip it.

[Michaela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nechala som sa zlákať obálkou (krásna modrá) a názvom. Lebo knihy o kníhkupectvách a knižniciach sú moje ❤️. Žiaľ, toto je úplne predvídateľný romantický príbeh, kde to skončí presne tak ako aj tušíte. Max je zlý, výbušný a bohatý filmový herec, ktorý sa musí venovať verejnoprospešným prácam, aby nešiel do väzenie, Sarah je milá a hanblivá majiteľka kníhkupectva, ktorá sa neustále červená a obaja sa navzájom potrebujú. Max pritlčie poličky a vymaľuje, ona zase zisťuje, že pod jeho tetovaním sa skýva utrápená duša... Úlohu kulís zohráva aj prostredie kníhkupectva, kde kraľuje ona ako vášnivá čitateľka a kníhkupkyňa antikvariátnych kníh (ha, toto jej hromadenie kníh mi je dosť blízke 😊), a ktoré stojí na pokraji zániku, samozrejme je tu aj niečo z "jeho" prostredia (amatérske divadlo), ich spoločné nútené bývanie, vzájomné obchádzanie sa, postupné tolerovanie a spoznávanie sa, jedlo, vášnivé milovanie, no všetko trvá len na určený čas, kým Maxovi nevyprší trest. A sused z kvetinárstva sa okolo motká ako ten tretí. Napätie, či prekvapenie žiadne, ale na zresetovanie je to ok kniha...

[RateTheRomance · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had a great concept, but fell way short on the delivery. The parts about books and the bookshop are enjoyable for bibliophiles like myself. But aside from that there are some major issues that the book just cannot overcome.

Having a male lead who is prone to violence, says he "likes fighting", and speaks to those who work for him like a raging a**hole is very hard to like and root for, no matter how much he may grow during the story. I just could not force myself to like him and that's something that will pretty much ruin a Romance every time.

DNF at 31%

[Mariiine · Rating 3 out of 5]

C'est une lecture sympathique mais qui ne me marquera pas plus que ça.
J'ai eu du mal à trouver un intérêt à ce roman la premier moitié et après c'est assez facile et cousu de fil blanc.
Je n'avais pas lu Emily Blaine depuis un moment et en vérité, ça ne m'avait pas trop manqué.
Dommage.

( par contre, cette couverture ... superbe !! )

[Francesca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une trame classique, entre un acteur célèbre qui pète les plombs et une libraire de province sur la paille. J'ai beaucoup aimé l'évolution de l'histoire et l'alternance des points de vue entre Maxime et Sarah. Je suis plus mitigée par la fin qui me parait très précipitée.

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like it’s safe to say that this book has gotten me out of my very long reading slump! It was just nice to read something that was to the point and didn’t require pages and pages of unnecessary scene setting or character description!

[Clarabel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Je n'ai pas du tout accroché... d'entrée de jeu.
Les personnages sont trop caricaturaux. La suite ne pouvait que s'écrire sans grande surprise.
Sauf que je n'étais pas réceptive !
Soupir d'ennui.

[GONZA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice, but the topoi of the genre are all there, so that I could have numbered them one by one (she shy and kind, he tormented and grumpy, she bookworm, he viveur, etc.etc.).
Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading it and quickly too, I'm just saying that I'm not surprised, even the big plot twist that the author maybe imagined, I even imagined, but okay, I just read too many books.

Carino per caritá, ma i topoi del genere ci sono proprio tutti, tanto che avrei potuto numerarli uno per uno (lei timida e gentile, lui tormentato e scontroso, lei topo di biblioteca, lui viveur, etc.etc.)
Ciononostante, mi sono divertita a leggerlo e anche velocemente, dico solo che non ci sono sorpresa, anche il grosso plottwist che l'autrice magari immaginava, io lo avevo pure immaginato, ma ok, ho solo letto troppi libri.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

[Layla Crowie · Rating 4 out of 5]

TW for violence and suicide.

This book gave me very much adult contemporary Beauty and the Beast vibes. Set in France - check, bad boy who's depicted as bit of a 'monster' - check, book loving girl who sees the good in people being romanced by a slightly self involved smarmy man - check.

A book that book lovers will enjoy for Sarah's commitment to books. However there is a slight romanticism surrounding Maxime's violent tendencies, so this may not suit readers who are triggered by violent outbursts.

[Keira · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books that you read super fast, which is exactly what I wanted to read so I was really happy with it.
It was a super cute love story and I really enjoyed reading it. If you’re looking for a quick, slow but also fast paced read, this is definitely the one for you.

[Wendy(Wendyreadsbooks) Robey · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
A sweet story with the added bonus of being about a bookshop. Sarah and Max were engaging and interesting main characters and although the story was a little predictable, it was a fun and easy read. The supporting characters were good fun and I especially liked Anita.

[em · Rating 2 out of 5]

*2.5 stars

Am I the only one that found Max a little bit toxic. Like he literally in the beginning was saying how easy he would be able to manipulate Sarah. Like I get you can’t read and hate yourself but some of the earlier comments he made about Sarah rubbed me the wrong way. I kept reading in hope that he would redeem himself and he did this by buying her a library? In hopes it would convince her to date him??

[Zaza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily Blaine est de retour en librairie, et je pense que son dernier roman va beaucoup vous plaire ! Je l'ai lu très rapidement, et j'ai passé un chouette moment. C'est toujours sympa de retrouver l'écriture fluide de cette auteure et de s'immerger dans une de ses histoires.

Ici, elle nous offre l'histoire de la rencontre entre deux personnes diamétralement opposées : Sarah, timide libraire vivant en Charente, et Maxime, acteur très connu, surtout pour ses coups d'éclats et ses frasques. La dernière en tête lui fait franchir la ligne jaune et c'est la raison pour laquelle il va débarquer dans la vie de la jeune femme.

Forcément, les premiers contacts seront ... piquants,et il faudra un certain temps pour qu'une confiance s'établisse entre eux. Personnellement, j'aurais préféré que l'auteur exploite plus longuement ces tensions, car ces passages sont réussis, et justement, j'en aurais aimé davantage !

J'ai aimé cette ambiance de petite ville, ce cocon sur cette petite place, avec des habitants et voisins charmants, qui veillent jalousement sur leur petite libraire. L'ambiance générale du livre est très chouette, et ça m'a donné envie de partir en vacances là-bas et bien évidemment, de squatter la librairie de Sarah.

La romance est jolie, avec ce qu'il faut d'émotions et de tensions, d'un côté comme de l'autre. Après, je dois dire que pour les personnages, ils accumulent tous deux pas mal de traits caricaturaux, et c'est fort dommage, mais bon, j'ai taché de ne pas trop me focaliser sur ce point. Bien qu'improbable sur le papier, Maxime et Sarah forment un beau couple, et ils vont beaucoup s'apporter mutuellement. Cependant, ce n'est pas cet amour là qui m'a vraiment marquée.

En fait, ce livre, c'est pour moi surtout une déclaration d'amour aux livres, à la lecture, et à tout ce qu'elle peut nous apporter. Profondément amoureuse des livres et de la lecture depuis que je suis toute jeune, j'ai été touchée par cet univers livresque, par tout ce que Sarah met en place dans sa librairie, par toutes ses petites manies et ses pratiques, par tout ce qui est exprimé à ce sujet au cours du livre. Sur ce point, Emily Blaine a vraiment mis le paquet, au risque parfois d'en faire un peu trop, mais en même temps, quel bonheur ! ♥

Voilà donc un livre rempli d'émotions en tout genre, dont la couverture et le titre me laisseront rêveuse encore un bon moment ...

[Alistair · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started this book not knowing what it was about, I picked it because of the title (it has bookshop in it). 400 something pages, easy, I could do it in one evening and enjoy my time while doing so.

I, sadly, was very wrong.

It took me a full week to finish this book because I couldn't force myself to get through it. I had to, as I don't like to start a book and not finish it. But it took me a few days of reading bits here and there, without really being into the story.

A few points made me feel like this. First, the characters. By god, they were too much. Although their flaws and quirks were written, black ink on white paper, I couldn't get with it. They were very poorly-written (remember it is only my opinion) and made me clench my jaw a few times. I couldn't relate to them or tell myself "oh yeah seems legit he/she would act this way because of this or that". They made me cringe, and I think since the beginning of 2022 I have read a few cringy romances books (plus the ones I've read before), but these two were too much for me to handle.

Their love story was boring. First dude is cold to her, ok seems legit; I mean he has a bad temper and is a "bad boy". Then from one day to the other he's lovestruck? How about writting one chapter or two about how that happened. I really felt like it was rushed. And I am TIRED of books were the connection the characters have is spiritual or some shit. Like they understand each other just by blinking twice or looking through the window. There were a few times where they chatted and such, but it wasn't described enough in my opinion. Ok maybe you only have 400 pages to write a story but if it doesn't feel real, was it really worth it?

The woman was truly annoying. I was hyped to find a shy character and all but she was so shy it sounded staged. And I know there are different levels of shy but that was truly annoying. I barely could relate to her obsession with escaping in books, although I do that daily. I guess the writing didn't get to me or something.

They would have stayed apart that it would have been the same for me. Didn't get attached to any character, or to the story in itself. But I guess this book will fits other readers preferences. Wasn't for me.

[readingwithkarin · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Proč chceš toho protivnýho chlapa za každou cenu zachránit?"
"Není protivný. Je jenom ztracený."

Táto kniha od autorky ma celkom bavila. Priznám sa, že som nemala bohvie aké očakávania, keďže ani na databázeknih kníh nemá nejaké extra veľké hodnotenie, ale príjemne ma prekvapila. Písané to bolo pútavo, vtipne a ľahko. Kapitoly sa rozdelovali najprv o Maximovi a potom o Sáre. Mňa viac bavili kapitoly o Maximovi, nie pre jeho sprostú povahu, ale vždy jeho kapitoly autorka písala tak prekvapivo a nečakane, že ste nevedeli ako sa zachová alebo povie. Týchto bad boyov v knihách ja môžem, aj keď celú knihu na nich dokážem nadávať a frflať, aj tak si ma nakoniec vedia získať. Napriek tomu ako bola písaná celá kniha, prišlo mi to veľmi urýchlene a čakala som od neho, že bude z neho väčší "hajzlík" než aký sa ukázal reálne, ale nevadí. Kniha ma aj tak pohltila natoľko, že som ju nedokázala prestať čítať, a úplne som sa do ich vzťahu vžila. Koniec ma v niečom vedel totálne prekvapiť, ale v iných veciach to bolo zas úplne predvídateľné a ku koncu to bolo aj trocha smutné.

Sára je tiché, hanblivé dievča s kníhkupectvom, ktoré zdedí po babičke. Keď sa povie vášnivý knihomoľ, zaručujem vám, že je to práve Sára. Ja sama tiež milujem knihy, ale ona bola do nich tak zamilovaná, že pred všetkými dôležitými vecami uprednostnila samozrejme ako inak - knihy. A keď poviem pred všetkým, tak fakt pred všetkým. S prísľubom financí je potom nútená prijať Maxa ako pomocnú silu do kníhkupectva. Maxim je úplný opak. On je taký narcis so strašne veľkým sebavedomím, ktorý si myslí o sebe, že je najdokonalejší na svete. Samozrejme okrem toho, že je aj narcis, je aj totálny bitkár a po poslednom prúsere, ktorý vyvedie, tak musí ísť pomáhať na dva mesiace verejne prospešné práce v kníhkupectve...a tam to celé začína....

Ona hanblivá. On drzý bitkár. Ako to dopadne, kým budú spolu tráviť čas celé 2 mesiace?

Knihu určite odporúčam pre všetky romantické duše, ktorí aspoň trochu ľúbia čítať o zlých chlapcoch a nevinných dievčatách :)

[Belly (Books 4 Girls) READ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pendant mes vacances, j'aime emmener des livres papier pour me déconnecter de ma liseuse/téléphone. C'est donc tout naturellement que le dernier roman de mon auteure française favorite est venu avec moi à l'océan !

Avant de me lancer dans le contenu, je voulais juste dire que la couverture est magnifique et attire la lecture de ce petit bijou.

Sarah et Maxime n'aurait pas dû se rencontrer. Si Maxime avait réussi à canaliser sa colère, et si Sarah n'était pas financièrement au bord du gouffre, ils ne seraient probablement jamais tombés amoureux. Leur histoire n'est pas évidente, ce ne sera pas un coup de foudre non plus. La douceur et la positivité de Sarah va apaiser l'orage intérieur de Maxime, et voir leur relation grandir et s'intensifier m'a vraiment emportée.

J'ai dévoré ce roman en 2 jours, malgré le planning survolté que des vacances avec 2 enfants de moins de 6 ans peut engendrer. Et je me suis beaucoup identifiée au personnage de Sarah. J'en ai même parlé à l'auteure tellement la ressemblance avec moi (la librairie en moins) était saisissante.

A l'image de ses romances précédentes, Emily prend le temps de décrire les lieux, approfondir ses personnages et cultiver les jeux de séduction. Une fois de plus, cette lecture "feel good" tape dans le mille et emporte son lecteur dans une romance pleine d'émotions.

Un nouveau coup de coeur pour moi que je vous recommande vivement !

En bref, une romance entre un bad boy en colère et une libraire passionnée, entre un être écorché qui cherche à se libérer de sa colère et une belle âme qui a besoin d'un coup de pouce et d'être aimée. Sarah et Maxime vous emporteront dans leur histoire et, si vous avez de la chance, vous pourrez la découvrir sans poser votre précieux roman et en savourer chaque seconde.

[Bookgrrl · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a booklover myself I really wish that I enjoyed this book more than I did. But I had almost constant issues with the story and the writing. For one thing Max is a horrible human being. He is incredibly self-centered to the point of almost being a sociopath. He talks to his agent and his lawyer like they are dirt beneath his shoes. On top of that he is prone to violence at the drop of a hat. He has gotten into multiple scrapes with the law, and even states himself “I like to fight“. After he is arrested his agent and lawyer work out a plea deal for him to do community service at a bookshop, and the owner Sarah doesn’t seem particularly bothered by his penchant for fighting.

When I requested the book I didn’t know that this was originally written in French, and then translated to English. This leads to my major issue with the book, which is that there are entirely too many exclamation points in the book. Most of the sentences with exclamation points shouldn’t have them, it should just be a period. This changes the entire tone of the book and makes it really jarring to read, because my brain keeps putting a certain inflection on those sentences that shouldn’t be there. I don’t know if it’s something that’s common in French or if it is from the translator, but it’s a shame that there wasn’t an English editor reading this after the translation who could have caught this.

Thank you to NetGalley & HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for this advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

[Rowenabookine · Rating 5 out of 5]

La plume de l’auteur est très douce, très belle… C’est un livre que je ne peux que conseiller. Une magnifique romance, un bonbon délicieux à savourer et qui réchauffe le cœur.

[Mdg2810 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Une belle romance, douce mais prévisible. J'en attendais un peu plus

[Mia · Rating 1 out of 5]

All I liked about this book was cover, I mean seriously false sexual assault allegation is plot....seriously.