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The Boy with the Bookstore
When a baker meets the bookshop owner of her dreams, and he turns into her nemesis, they’ll both have to read between the lines to avoid a career-ending recipe for disaster.
Max Boyson looks good...from a distance. But up close and personal, the tattooed hottie Joelle Prima has been crushing on for the past year and half has turned into the prime example of why you shouldn’t judge a book by his delectable cover.
When she first learned about the massive renovation to the building they share, Joelle imagined that temporarily combining her Filipino bakery with Max’s neighboring bookstore would be the perfect opening chapter to their happily ever after. In her fantasies they fed each other bibingka and pandesal while discussing Jane Austen and cooing over her pet hamster, Pumpkin. Reality, however...is quite different. Her gallant prince turned out to be a stubborn toad who snaps at her in front of customers, dries his sweaty gym clothes in her oven, and routinely helps himself to the yummy pastries in her display case without asking.
But beneath Max’s grumpy glares, Joelle senses a rising heat—and a softening heart. And when they discover the real reason for the renovation, they’ll have to put both their business senses and their feelings for each other to the test.
Max Boyson looks good...from a distance. But up close and personal, the tattooed hottie Joelle Prima has been crushing on for the past year and half has turned into the prime example of why you shouldn’t judge a book by his delectable cover.
When she first learned about the massive renovation to the building they share, Joelle imagined that temporarily combining her Filipino bakery with Max’s neighboring bookstore would be the perfect opening chapter to their happily ever after. In her fantasies they fed each other bibingka and pandesal while discussing Jane Austen and cooing over her pet hamster, Pumpkin. Reality, however...is quite different. Her gallant prince turned out to be a stubborn toad who snaps at her in front of customers, dries his sweaty gym clothes in her oven, and routinely helps himself to the yummy pastries in her display case without asking.
But beneath Max’s grumpy glares, Joelle senses a rising heat—and a softening heart. And when they discover the real reason for the renovation, they’ll have to put both their business senses and their feelings for each other to the test.
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First published September 6, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 856 reviews
January 4, 2023
Awww this is sweetest, cutest, extremely swoon read and absolutely best work of the author! A shy- gold hearted, quirky baker, wearing clothes covered in flour and a gentle, lovely, hottest bookshop owner carrying eccentric bad boy image with skull tattoos, tatted up, clad in leather.
It’s advertised as enemies to lovers but the troupes in this book are actually sunshine meets the grump, friends to lovers and a good girl meets bad boy ( correction: our sweet but hot blooded hero is not bad boy, let’s call him badass, survivor. I cannot call a kind man who reads books “bad boy” even though his harsh tone and some mean remarks he’s made about our doll heroine Joelle made me scream at him and call him “jerk”)
Let’s get a closer look to the plot line and learn more about the characters:
Joelle gave up her dreams to go to the culinary school, traveling around Europe, becoming a pastry chef in Paris for her family who lost everything they’ve worked for. She stayed at home, supporting them, opening her own little bakery named after her middle name. She’s selfless, motivating everyone with her cheerful enthusiasm. Yes, I told before she is a doll!
And she has a long time crush for bookshop owner Max at next door. She wants to ask him for a date and it seems like Max also likes her enough for quick hookup at his office.
But when their landlord tell them both of their buildings will be renovated and they have to share a small place during construction, Max loses it and says things he wants to take back as soon as they spitted out from his mouth. He breaks Joelle’s heart even though he has feelings for her.
Poor Joelle has to share a place with a brooding man who is dealing with his own issues. Could they stay intact till the construction is over without being each other’s throats or ripping each other’s clothes off ?
Let’s read to find out!
Overall: I love both of the characters. I loved angsty, heart warming parts! I just devoured in one sit and fully enjoyed it!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.
It’s advertised as enemies to lovers but the troupes in this book are actually sunshine meets the grump, friends to lovers and a good girl meets bad boy ( correction: our sweet but hot blooded hero is not bad boy, let’s call him badass, survivor. I cannot call a kind man who reads books “bad boy” even though his harsh tone and some mean remarks he’s made about our doll heroine Joelle made me scream at him and call him “jerk”)
Let’s get a closer look to the plot line and learn more about the characters:
Joelle gave up her dreams to go to the culinary school, traveling around Europe, becoming a pastry chef in Paris for her family who lost everything they’ve worked for. She stayed at home, supporting them, opening her own little bakery named after her middle name. She’s selfless, motivating everyone with her cheerful enthusiasm. Yes, I told before she is a doll!
And she has a long time crush for bookshop owner Max at next door. She wants to ask him for a date and it seems like Max also likes her enough for quick hookup at his office.
But when their landlord tell them both of their buildings will be renovated and they have to share a small place during construction, Max loses it and says things he wants to take back as soon as they spitted out from his mouth. He breaks Joelle’s heart even though he has feelings for her.
Poor Joelle has to share a place with a brooding man who is dealing with his own issues. Could they stay intact till the construction is over without being each other’s throats or ripping each other’s clothes off ?
Let’s read to find out!
Overall: I love both of the characters. I loved angsty, heart warming parts! I just devoured in one sit and fully enjoyed it!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.
March 20, 2023
the thing about this book is that it is, ostensibly, a romance. we are all, by reading it, agreeing to a social contract in which we will receive approximately 300 pages covering life's grandest topic: two randos deciding they like each other more than anyone else on earth.
fun stuff. just one problem:
these people do not like each other. and i do not like them either.
they're always yelling at each other in, like, various states of undress. in between taking turns completing gratuitous acts of charity-level kindness while monster people look on and criticize them and/or innocent bystanders.
it's absurdly unrealistic, but, far more offensively, it's annoying.
i read books i don't love all the time and i never have a problem finishing them. until now! this was a nightmare to get through.
bottom line: a book unpleasant enough to make me write an actual review.
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
fun stuff. just one problem:
these people do not like each other. and i do not like them either.
they're always yelling at each other in, like, various states of undress. in between taking turns completing gratuitous acts of charity-level kindness while monster people look on and criticize them and/or innocent bystanders.
it's absurdly unrealistic, but, far more offensively, it's annoying.
i read books i don't love all the time and i never have a problem finishing them. until now! this was a nightmare to get through.
bottom line: a book unpleasant enough to make me write an actual review.
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
July 11, 2022
3.5 stars
A bookseller and a baker that are next-door and fall in love…. what could go wrong? First and foremost, I did like this book and I liked the authors writing. I loved Joelle’s family dynamic and overall I loved her as a character. Max though… I struggled with him. I understood he had a lot of family issues and I was sympathetic to that but he wasn’t the kindest more than once.
I love a good friends to lovers and I love a good enemies to lovers, but this one gave me whiplash. Friends to enemies to friends to enemies to friends and finally- lovers. I can see so many people loving this book and it did have a lot of high points, but it fell in the middle for me.
A bookseller and a baker that are next-door and fall in love…. what could go wrong? First and foremost, I did like this book and I liked the authors writing. I loved Joelle’s family dynamic and overall I loved her as a character. Max though… I struggled with him. I understood he had a lot of family issues and I was sympathetic to that but he wasn’t the kindest more than once.
I love a good friends to lovers and I love a good enemies to lovers, but this one gave me whiplash. Friends to enemies to friends to enemies to friends and finally- lovers. I can see so many people loving this book and it did have a lot of high points, but it fell in the middle for me.
September 12, 2022
They never had sex in the bookstore. Thumbs down.
September 11, 2022
Honestly it just seemed like Max was a prick and Joelle was incredibly immature..
Full RTC
Full RTC
August 30, 2022
DNF at 30%
I am in the minority in not loving this book. I found the 2 main characters way to immature and petty to continue. When Joelle purposely messes a bookclub order to sabotage Max, I was done. How can someone purposely be so spiteful to hurt someone's livelihood. I also didn't care how they were attracted to each other and turned and became so mean so quickly.
Thank you @berkleyromance @prhaudio for a copy of ARC and ALC.
I am in the minority in not loving this book. I found the 2 main characters way to immature and petty to continue. When Joelle purposely messes a bookclub order to sabotage Max, I was done. How can someone purposely be so spiteful to hurt someone's livelihood. I also didn't care how they were attracted to each other and turned and became so mean so quickly.
Thank you @berkleyromance @prhaudio for a copy of ARC and ALC.
June 14, 2022
I really wanted to love this one. There were many things that drew me to this book. It's about a baker and her romance with a guy who owns a bookstore. Books + dessert = pure heaven! And it's set in Portland, one of my favorite cities.
This book had too many things that bothered me to say that I liked it. I felt like both Joelle and Max were really immature. She was self-deprecating in an annoying way and he was just a plain jerk. The hate that they had for each other in the middle of the book sprang out of nowhere and wasn't grounded in anything substantial. And then suddenly, they didn't hate each other anymore and I felt like I had whiplash.
What I disliked the most was Max. He was a jerk to Joelle over and over and over. And I get it - he was reacting to some crappy situations, but why should a woman accept his situation as an excuse for repeated instances for why he is an asshole? I need my heroes in my romance novels to be likeable and I just couldn't get myself to like Max.
I thought the sex scenes in this book were hot! And I enjoyed the look into Filipino culture and family dynamics as well.
Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥
⚠️: mention of infidelity, alcoholism, liver disease
I received a complimentary eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.
This book had too many things that bothered me to say that I liked it. I felt like both Joelle and Max were really immature. She was self-deprecating in an annoying way and he was just a plain jerk. The hate that they had for each other in the middle of the book sprang out of nowhere and wasn't grounded in anything substantial. And then suddenly, they didn't hate each other anymore and I felt like I had whiplash.
What I disliked the most was Max. He was a jerk to Joelle over and over and over. And I get it - he was reacting to some crappy situations, but why should a woman accept his situation as an excuse for repeated instances for why he is an asshole? I need my heroes in my romance novels to be likeable and I just couldn't get myself to like Max.
I thought the sex scenes in this book were hot! And I enjoyed the look into Filipino culture and family dynamics as well.
Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥
⚠️: mention of infidelity, alcoholism, liver disease
I received a complimentary eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.
March 4, 2023
Absolutely not.
Bad writing, cringey dialogue, an immature 32 year old pushover and a massive fucking asshole does not a romance make.
Now, just to be clear, am I a hater? I absolutely am, but I tend to not be one when it comes to reading because, after all, these books are people's life's work, but whenever I come across a book as genuinely bad as this one, my hater tendencies kick in and I just have to vent.
I did ask for this book on Netgalley, before even looking it up on Goodreads, which was a very bad move on my part.
Had I seen the average rating, which wow, I wouldn't have requested it because I wouldn't have wanted to get stuck with it, but I did and reading it was a necessary sacrifice in order to get it off of my Netgalley.
I'd like to do an honorable mention of the VERY few things I enjoyed about this book:
. Our main character is a woman of color, which is something that I always appreciate and tend to enjoy in romance books.
. The concept of a baker and bookshop owner romance is very cute. Mind you, I said concept, not execution, because again, just wow.
. I really appreciated Joelle's dedication to her family, which was heavily shown throughout the book.
That's it, yep.
Moving on to the drama:
. Max, said bookshop owner, second main character and love interest, was truly atrociously written.
Throughout this book, he was consistenly written as a major, and I mean Major with a capital M, asshole, dick, and generally unlikeable person.
He did fucking mistreat Joelle, at least verbally, for half of this book, and then it got worse when they got together and he couldn't control his temper.
Max is 100% someone who could easily become an abuser, and that is not something you want to see in a love interest and main character.
Yes, he had his struggles, but you do not treat people that way, especially someone you claim to be in love with.
. Joelle, albeit nice and a dedicated family oriented person, who's supposedly 32, seemed very immature throughout the book, a pushover and just someone who's got no spine.
. The writing itself was just not good. Very amature, clunky, with some of the worst dialogue I've ever seen and I do believe I won't be picking up another one of this author's book.
. The sex scenes, which should've been the saving grace of this book, were also badly written, although they did manage to turn me on so at least there's that.
. As I mentioned beforehand, Joelle and Max's relationship was very much tense for half of the book, as their interactions were just fights, not cute banter, which was very unappealing to me.
. Shit got even worse when the third act conflict kicked in, as Max insulted, berated and verbally abused Joelle, who did end up fighting back, albeit in a way that left her on the same level as Max, so I ended up disliking both of them even more than I already did.
. The ending didn't do anything for me, as I would never take someone back when said someone berated and insulted me to my face and then proceeded to ghost me for weeks afterwards, and it shows a lack of good judgment on the part of Whitney to be a willing participant in Joelle and Max getting back together.
I know that this review comes across as very harsh, and I truly don't mean to insult the author by doing so, but when a book is this bad, and contains a character like Max who's just not a great person, it really surprises me that it got published, and by Berkley out of all the publishing houses, and I can't help but need to vent and get all of this off my chest.
Not recommended, like at all.
Bad writing, cringey dialogue, an immature 32 year old pushover and a massive fucking asshole does not a romance make.
Now, just to be clear, am I a hater? I absolutely am, but I tend to not be one when it comes to reading because, after all, these books are people's life's work, but whenever I come across a book as genuinely bad as this one, my hater tendencies kick in and I just have to vent.
I did ask for this book on Netgalley, before even looking it up on Goodreads, which was a very bad move on my part.
Had I seen the average rating, which wow, I wouldn't have requested it because I wouldn't have wanted to get stuck with it, but I did and reading it was a necessary sacrifice in order to get it off of my Netgalley.
I'd like to do an honorable mention of the VERY few things I enjoyed about this book:
. Our main character is a woman of color, which is something that I always appreciate and tend to enjoy in romance books.
. The concept of a baker and bookshop owner romance is very cute. Mind you, I said concept, not execution, because again, just wow.
. I really appreciated Joelle's dedication to her family, which was heavily shown throughout the book.
That's it, yep.
Moving on to the drama:
. Max, said bookshop owner, second main character and love interest, was truly atrociously written.
Throughout this book, he was consistenly written as a major, and I mean Major with a capital M, asshole, dick, and generally unlikeable person.
He did fucking mistreat Joelle, at least verbally, for half of this book, and then it got worse when they got together and he couldn't control his temper.
Max is 100% someone who could easily become an abuser, and that is not something you want to see in a love interest and main character.
Yes, he had his struggles, but you do not treat people that way, especially someone you claim to be in love with.
. Joelle, albeit nice and a dedicated family oriented person, who's supposedly 32, seemed very immature throughout the book, a pushover and just someone who's got no spine.
. The writing itself was just not good. Very amature, clunky, with some of the worst dialogue I've ever seen and I do believe I won't be picking up another one of this author's book.
. The sex scenes, which should've been the saving grace of this book, were also badly written, although they did manage to turn me on so at least there's that.
. As I mentioned beforehand, Joelle and Max's relationship was very much tense for half of the book, as their interactions were just fights, not cute banter, which was very unappealing to me.
. Shit got even worse when the third act conflict kicked in, as Max insulted, berated and verbally abused Joelle, who did end up fighting back, albeit in a way that left her on the same level as Max, so I ended up disliking both of them even more than I already did.
. The ending didn't do anything for me, as I would never take someone back when said someone berated and insulted me to my face and then proceeded to ghost me for weeks afterwards, and it shows a lack of good judgment on the part of Whitney to be a willing participant in Joelle and Max getting back together.
I know that this review comes across as very harsh, and I truly don't mean to insult the author by doing so, but when a book is this bad, and contains a character like Max who's just not a great person, it really surprises me that it got published, and by Berkley out of all the publishing houses, and I can't help but need to vent and get all of this off my chest.
Not recommended, like at all.
September 6, 2022
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Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Romance for inviting me to read The Boy with the Bookstore and for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
A review will be up on my blog on September 6, 2021 at 10 am CST on Honey Roselea Reads for you guys to check out!
My review on The Boy with the Bookstore will be accessible using this link from September 6, 2021 at 10 am CST and onward.
For now, here is a preview to what the review will look like:
❀❀❀❀
Joelle Prima has worked side by side Max Boyson for years, but after the owner of the building they both work at wants to renovate, they are forced to share a space, a bookshop owner and a baker in one tight area. But, it gets even harder when Joelle has had the biggest crush on Max since they first met.
I gave The Boy with the Bookstore four stars, really enjoying the forced proximity of Joelle and Max having to work together. They were both really cute together and the chemistry from the start was amazing. I felt their connection from day one and since the first chapter, you can see just how funny and cute they would be together. Their relationship was… [ continue reading ]
May 4, 2025
Previzibilă dar cute.
Ce poate să nu mearga în combinația cărți+ patiserie și cafea?
Avem protagoniști drăguți care comunică cât de cât ok, probleme de familie care dictează parcursul personajelor, câteva scene mai spicy și un vibe cozy pe tot parcursul cărții.
Ce poate să nu mearga în combinația cărți+ patiserie și cafea?
Avem protagoniști drăguți care comunică cât de cât ok, probleme de familie care dictează parcursul personajelor, câteva scene mai spicy și un vibe cozy pe tot parcursul cărții.
July 23, 2022
A hot guy with a bookstore? Yes please. But there were too many issues with this story and these characters for me to get behind their HEA.
Joelle Prima and Max Boyson have neighboring stores. Max often starts his day at Joelle's coffee shop and Joelle and her family frequent Max's bookstore. In the last year and a half, there has been a bit of subtle flirting going on and one kiss leads to quite the heavy petting session. Joelle is hoping that this is the beginning of the relationship of her dreams but it all comes crashing down when her landlord announces renovations to their building.
The landlord moves Joelle and Max's businesses into a smaller garage area around back of the building. Both businesses need to scale back in order to fit together in this smaller area and while neither are happy with the situation, Max seems to be taking out his frustrations on Joelle.
I had a lot of issues with this story right away. Where to start...okay, let's start with the fact that Joelle put her post-graduation plans of culinary school on hold. This is because a money manager stole all her parent's, Aunt's and Grandmother's savings so Joelle gave the money set aside for culinary school so that her family had a nest egg. Everyone in the family has been working overtime for the last few years to rebuild their family funds. First, good for them working together towards their collective future. Getting their money stolen sucks. But here's my issues, Joelle's family doesn't need her to work to support them. Her parents are abled-bodied (and probably my age) and still have time to work for their own retirement. So why doesn't Joelle get a student loan and go to Culinary School? I am certain that culinary school is cheaper than a Yale degree. Many people have to finance their own way through post-high school education. Getting a student loan is actually quite common so why does it seem outside the realm in this story? I have read many stories where a character needed to give up their dreams in order to support their family due to a death or some other health issue. Joelle didn't need to walk away from her dreams. Her parents, aunt and even grandma were still working. Maybe she couldn't afford to go to Paris after finishing, but was it really Joelle's responsibility to help rebuild her parent's retirement fund while they were still working and abled bodied? Shouldn't she be working towards her own retirement once she begins working full-time? Her family constantly thanking her for her sacrifices seems over the top especially since Joelle already owned her own business--a coffee shop--was was making food. Wouldn't that have been her plan after culinary school anyway?
I was feeling a little prudish over Max and Joelle's first kiss. Joelle was trying to work up the nerve to ask Max to go for drinks. Suddenly she kisses him, and their make out session ends with Joelle in his lap and a lot of grinding. An ill-timed phone call stops this from going further. Would have had sex in Max's tiny office with customer's outside? It seemed awfully fast when Joelle was just wondering if she was misreading his flirting as Joelle didn't look like the women he usually dated. She was questioning his attraction but never thought to pull back and put on some brakes when he starts rubbing her intimate areas. Maybe he's the kind of guy who takes up any woman's offer from free sex. She hasn't seen Max with any one woman for more than a few dates. She doesn't seem to know Max very well. He is just flirty, hot guy with a bookstore who talks about his pets. Is he husband material or a psychopath?
Most importantly here, I have big issues with Max's attituded. I understand that Max didn't have a great childhood. His parents suck and Max has a hard time with relationships. Max tells us he doesn't really have any friends. His parents are trying to get in touch with him at the same time that this move takes place. So Max is overwhelmed first by the unwanted contact from his parents and then being forced into a smaller area. Max seems to be taking out his frustrations on Joelle. We kind of accept this since we did have a chapter from Max's point of view where we see that Max is very attracted to Joelle and can't understand why he was being such a jerk to her. But does this really excuse his behavior?
Some of their issues with misunderstandings but some were definitely generated by Max. Looking at this potential relationship from the outside, all I am feeling is do you want to get in a relationship with someone who is going to take out all their outside frustrations on you?
I am almost surprised over the fact that Max, who had a horrible family, didn't latch onto Joelle when he was welcomed so warmly by her family. Ever since Max opened his store next to Joelle's, her family has been kind to him and supportive. If he wasn't the hero of this story, I could see him jumping into a relationship with Joelle, whether or not she was his type, just to be included into this giving family unit.
Hell, even the idea of a landlord making thousands of dollars of improvement into a building with two thriving businesses who aren't complaining of the conditions seems bizarre, and neither one questions this. The landlord doesn't even consult with them on these renovations. Shouldn't Joelle have a say in what her new space will look like? And while Max is bitchy about having to squeeze his business into the shared space, the landlord could have simply shut him down for the duration of the renovations. Again, it's all negative with Max. Also, what goes better together than books and coffee? Well, books and anything, but two stores that are perfect for joining are books and coffee. That why B&N added coffee and snacks to some of their stores. This shared space should have been beneficial to both businesses.
Unfortunately, this story hit too many negative boxes for me to get beyond our introduction of sweet Joelle and sexy, hot Max to overlook their collective issues.
See more at EBookObsessed.com
Joelle Prima and Max Boyson have neighboring stores. Max often starts his day at Joelle's coffee shop and Joelle and her family frequent Max's bookstore. In the last year and a half, there has been a bit of subtle flirting going on and one kiss leads to quite the heavy petting session. Joelle is hoping that this is the beginning of the relationship of her dreams but it all comes crashing down when her landlord announces renovations to their building.
The landlord moves Joelle and Max's businesses into a smaller garage area around back of the building. Both businesses need to scale back in order to fit together in this smaller area and while neither are happy with the situation, Max seems to be taking out his frustrations on Joelle.
I had a lot of issues with this story right away. Where to start...okay, let's start with the fact that Joelle put her post-graduation plans of culinary school on hold. This is because a money manager stole all her parent's, Aunt's and Grandmother's savings so Joelle gave the money set aside for culinary school so that her family had a nest egg. Everyone in the family has been working overtime for the last few years to rebuild their family funds. First, good for them working together towards their collective future. Getting their money stolen sucks. But here's my issues, Joelle's family doesn't need her to work to support them. Her parents are abled-bodied (and probably my age) and still have time to work for their own retirement. So why doesn't Joelle get a student loan and go to Culinary School? I am certain that culinary school is cheaper than a Yale degree. Many people have to finance their own way through post-high school education. Getting a student loan is actually quite common so why does it seem outside the realm in this story? I have read many stories where a character needed to give up their dreams in order to support their family due to a death or some other health issue. Joelle didn't need to walk away from her dreams. Her parents, aunt and even grandma were still working. Maybe she couldn't afford to go to Paris after finishing, but was it really Joelle's responsibility to help rebuild her parent's retirement fund while they were still working and abled bodied? Shouldn't she be working towards her own retirement once she begins working full-time? Her family constantly thanking her for her sacrifices seems over the top especially since Joelle already owned her own business--a coffee shop--was was making food. Wouldn't that have been her plan after culinary school anyway?
I was feeling a little prudish over Max and Joelle's first kiss. Joelle was trying to work up the nerve to ask Max to go for drinks. Suddenly she kisses him, and their make out session ends with Joelle in his lap and a lot of grinding. An ill-timed phone call stops this from going further. Would have had sex in Max's tiny office with customer's outside? It seemed awfully fast when Joelle was just wondering if she was misreading his flirting as Joelle didn't look like the women he usually dated. She was questioning his attraction but never thought to pull back and put on some brakes when he starts rubbing her intimate areas. Maybe he's the kind of guy who takes up any woman's offer from free sex. She hasn't seen Max with any one woman for more than a few dates. She doesn't seem to know Max very well. He is just flirty, hot guy with a bookstore who talks about his pets. Is he husband material or a psychopath?
Most importantly here, I have big issues with Max's attituded. I understand that Max didn't have a great childhood. His parents suck and Max has a hard time with relationships. Max tells us he doesn't really have any friends. His parents are trying to get in touch with him at the same time that this move takes place. So Max is overwhelmed first by the unwanted contact from his parents and then being forced into a smaller area. Max seems to be taking out his frustrations on Joelle. We kind of accept this since we did have a chapter from Max's point of view where we see that Max is very attracted to Joelle and can't understand why he was being such a jerk to her. But does this really excuse his behavior?
Some of their issues with misunderstandings but some were definitely generated by Max. Looking at this potential relationship from the outside, all I am feeling is do you want to get in a relationship with someone who is going to take out all their outside frustrations on you?
I am almost surprised over the fact that Max, who had a horrible family, didn't latch onto Joelle when he was welcomed so warmly by her family. Ever since Max opened his store next to Joelle's, her family has been kind to him and supportive. If he wasn't the hero of this story, I could see him jumping into a relationship with Joelle, whether or not she was his type, just to be included into this giving family unit.
Hell, even the idea of a landlord making thousands of dollars of improvement into a building with two thriving businesses who aren't complaining of the conditions seems bizarre, and neither one questions this. The landlord doesn't even consult with them on these renovations. Shouldn't Joelle have a say in what her new space will look like? And while Max is bitchy about having to squeeze his business into the shared space, the landlord could have simply shut him down for the duration of the renovations. Again, it's all negative with Max. Also, what goes better together than books and coffee? Well, books and anything, but two stores that are perfect for joining are books and coffee. That why B&N added coffee and snacks to some of their stores. This shared space should have been beneficial to both businesses.
Unfortunately, this story hit too many negative boxes for me to get beyond our introduction of sweet Joelle and sexy, hot Max to overlook their collective issues.
See more at EBookObsessed.com
October 12, 2022
3.5? 4? I think it's more 3.5 very cheesy stars. I rolled my eyes at our heroine who needed a page and a half of convincing from a man that she was insanely attractive and special and soooooooooooooooooooo silly for not realizing it. But I absolutely loved the family aspect, the asian American representation, and the raw realistic conflict. Our heroine is shutdown by our hero for being too caring of others while our hero was always too logical. I found this be on the mix of an indie published rom com mixed with a traditional published book.
August 14, 2022
Such a good book! I mean…romance, a bookstore owner and a baker? Yes, please! And Sarah always nails it with the steam level. Pun intended. She knocks her books out of the park and this is a must read. If you’re a Meghan Quinn or Tessa Bailey fan, you’ll need to full immerse in all of Sarah’s books! To notch!
Watch my Amazon live interview with Sarah: https://amazon.com/live/broadcast/3c4...
Watch my Amazon live interview with Sarah: https://amazon.com/live/broadcast/3c4...
September 8, 2022
Check out my reading / thought dump thread on Twitter. Full review to follow.
December 28, 2022
A bad boy bookstore owner and a bashful sweetheart baker find that mixing business with budding romance result in more than burned cookies or botched book orders. A new to me author and a tempting book and baking romance had me salivating even before page one.
The Boy With the Bookstore was as cute as its cover in many ways. I’ve heard it touted as an enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, bad boy and good girl, or even cranky vs. sunshine. And, the story would be a little of each actually rather than strongly one or another.
Joelle Prima has been to Paris and had dreams, but her deeply connected Filipino family needed her back home in Portland. There are compensations though beyond the joy of baking- there’s the hottie bad boy running the indie book shop next door. She loves his easy smiles and way with people when he comes into the shop and turns out they’ve both been secretly crushing on each other.
Right when they move from secret crush to doing something about it with an encounter that leaves her tingling, the building owner announces renovations are in order so the pair must share a smaller space. Max loses his suave cool and says words that he regrets, but the damage is done. They go from romantic to hostile to romantic to hostile to… in their close proximity shop world.
I noticed a previous book by the author and thought it sounded fun, but then this one really caught my eye. I enjoyed the author’s writing style and the cute presentation of the pair who are gradually falling in love though I’d say they were well on their way during their ‘secret crush’ time since they saw each other all the time and were neighboring shop owners. The story felt very intimate because it is told first person and alternated between Joelle and Max.
Joelle is a generous, warm-hearted woman who naturally was a nurturer whether it was family, friends, customers, or even someone who hurt her. Max is friendly, but his personality is very different because he’d been abandoned and mistreated from a young age by his own parents. He has built a new rewarding life for himself, but it is a thin veneer over the roiling emotions that lash out at times and particularly on the woman he least wants to hurt.
I confess to struggling through the painful swings of the relationship blowing hot and cold because they were in a forced proximity situation and they both did their fair share of sabotage to the relationship. Max said the most cutting things and Joelle acted out. There was misunderstanding and miscommunications to really fuel the drama.
However, the fun, sexy, and tender moments were there as well. Delicious baking, fabulous family on Joelle’s end, a charming bookshop guy who is book boyfriend material when he’s not dealing with inner demons, and a pair that learn to be stronger together and connected when they were able to form an understanding.
So, it was a qualified success for me and I would definitely reach for more of the author’s books particularly if food and Asian heritage are present. A hard-fought relationship and a struggle to keep their small shops alive made for an engaging contemporary romance premise.
I rec'd a finish copy from Berkley to read in exchange for an honest review.
My full review will post at Caffeinated Reviewer Dec 14th.
The Boy With the Bookstore was as cute as its cover in many ways. I’ve heard it touted as an enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, bad boy and good girl, or even cranky vs. sunshine. And, the story would be a little of each actually rather than strongly one or another.
Joelle Prima has been to Paris and had dreams, but her deeply connected Filipino family needed her back home in Portland. There are compensations though beyond the joy of baking- there’s the hottie bad boy running the indie book shop next door. She loves his easy smiles and way with people when he comes into the shop and turns out they’ve both been secretly crushing on each other.
Right when they move from secret crush to doing something about it with an encounter that leaves her tingling, the building owner announces renovations are in order so the pair must share a smaller space. Max loses his suave cool and says words that he regrets, but the damage is done. They go from romantic to hostile to romantic to hostile to… in their close proximity shop world.
I noticed a previous book by the author and thought it sounded fun, but then this one really caught my eye. I enjoyed the author’s writing style and the cute presentation of the pair who are gradually falling in love though I’d say they were well on their way during their ‘secret crush’ time since they saw each other all the time and were neighboring shop owners. The story felt very intimate because it is told first person and alternated between Joelle and Max.
Joelle is a generous, warm-hearted woman who naturally was a nurturer whether it was family, friends, customers, or even someone who hurt her. Max is friendly, but his personality is very different because he’d been abandoned and mistreated from a young age by his own parents. He has built a new rewarding life for himself, but it is a thin veneer over the roiling emotions that lash out at times and particularly on the woman he least wants to hurt.
I confess to struggling through the painful swings of the relationship blowing hot and cold because they were in a forced proximity situation and they both did their fair share of sabotage to the relationship. Max said the most cutting things and Joelle acted out. There was misunderstanding and miscommunications to really fuel the drama.
However, the fun, sexy, and tender moments were there as well. Delicious baking, fabulous family on Joelle’s end, a charming bookshop guy who is book boyfriend material when he’s not dealing with inner demons, and a pair that learn to be stronger together and connected when they were able to form an understanding.
So, it was a qualified success for me and I would definitely reach for more of the author’s books particularly if food and Asian heritage are present. A hard-fought relationship and a struggle to keep their small shops alive made for an engaging contemporary romance premise.
I rec'd a finish copy from Berkley to read in exchange for an honest review.
My full review will post at Caffeinated Reviewer Dec 14th.
January 13, 2023
Adorable and with a good mix of topics, this was a charming book! Max and Joelle were so cute together, and their pets were the star of the show, as most pets are...
February 27, 2023
1.5 ⭐️ I really wanted to love this book, it had such a cozy vibe to it! But the never ending fighting and miscommunication between the two main characters got redundant pretty fast. Joelle, acting like a child, and Max, always grumpy and regretting his words after speaking them. It felt like two kids arguing and then apologizing for over 300 pages.
September 16, 2022
I hated the main character more than I have ever hated anyone
May 16, 2024
4.5 okay I love her
September 13, 2022
📚 Hello Book Friends! I really tried loving THE BOY WITH THE BOOKSTORE by Sarah Echavarre Smith but it was a disastrous love story. Joelle was weak and needy. Max was rude and way too moody. I just could not enjoy the characters and the ups and downs of their relationship. Not all is lost; the sex scenes were steamy, and the ending was good. It might have not been for me, but don’t let this stop you from picking up a copy. I saw good reviews for this book, so it might be just me not connecting with it.
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April 19, 2024
The Boy With the Bookstore is not for me. I can not connect with the plot, characters and conversation.
Moving on...
2 stars
Moving on...
2 stars
October 9, 2022
Terrible sophomoric writing. Read like a bad YA novel.
December 8, 2022
this book gave me the ick so bad from the start i am genuinely in disbelief. like, it started bad and got worse.
do you ever read a romance book and think ohhh, these people do not like each other?
-----------
the dreamiest type
do you ever read a romance book and think ohhh, these people do not like each other?
-----------
the dreamiest type
October 23, 2022
Thank goodness that's over.
I was ready to give this 3 stars and call it "mid," but man did it grate on my nerves after a while. There's not really anything unique or interesting about this book, and a lot of the scenes that were intended as dramatic high points were mishandled. The language was super repetitive, often overexplaining things and drawing out conversations or character trains of thought in a way that really made the book drag. It's also one of those books where the things said in the third act breakup scene are so nasty that I didn't think the characters should be together afterward.
I also don't understand why this was dual POV when the majority of chapters were still told from Joelle's POV, with Max's sections only showing up every 2-3 chapters or so. Plus we didn't learn a whole lot from his sections that we didn't already know, or couldn't have learned, from Joelle's.
This wasn't offensively bad or anything, it was just SO uninteresting and I should have saved myself some time and DNFed it at the halfway point.
I was ready to give this 3 stars and call it "mid," but man did it grate on my nerves after a while. There's not really anything unique or interesting about this book, and a lot of the scenes that were intended as dramatic high points were mishandled. The language was super repetitive, often overexplaining things and drawing out conversations or character trains of thought in a way that really made the book drag. It's also one of those books where the things said in the third act breakup scene are so nasty that I didn't think the characters should be together afterward.
I also don't understand why this was dual POV when the majority of chapters were still told from Joelle's POV, with Max's sections only showing up every 2-3 chapters or so. Plus we didn't learn a whole lot from his sections that we didn't already know, or couldn't have learned, from Joelle's.
This wasn't offensively bad or anything, it was just SO uninteresting and I should have saved myself some time and DNFed it at the halfway point.
March 29, 2022
I love her books! Releases you start in the morning and are sad to finish in a single day - but they're so delicious you really cannot put them down.
I adore how she incorporates her Filipino culture and mouth-watering recipes in each release, along with fiercely bonded family kindship, and emotional themes that every reader can identify with.
With her delightfully relatable dialogue, and admirably salaciousness - it's perfect to preorder now!
Galley borrowed from the publisher.
I adore how she incorporates her Filipino culture and mouth-watering recipes in each release, along with fiercely bonded family kindship, and emotional themes that every reader can identify with.
With her delightfully relatable dialogue, and admirably salaciousness - it's perfect to preorder now!
Galley borrowed from the publisher.
June 19, 2022
A solid romance with a book loving boy! Forced Proximity! Lovers to enemies to lovers!
The only challenge was the romance overall wasn’t as compelling as I hoped. I’m not sure if it was the writing style or the overall dynamics between the main characters. It just wasn’t as strong as the other incredible romances out this year.
The only challenge was the romance overall wasn’t as compelling as I hoped. I’m not sure if it was the writing style or the overall dynamics between the main characters. It just wasn’t as strong as the other incredible romances out this year.
June 23, 2022
Joelle and Max were really down on themselves which was exhausting to read. Max is a bookworm with a perfect gym body and “bad boy” tattoos, which feels like it’s feeding stereotypes. The story felt too contrived. The pacing was off and the ending didn’t feel right for the characters after what they went through. Everything was overly convenient.
Thanks to NetGalley and Berkeley for the ARC.
Thanks to NetGalley and Berkeley for the ARC.
January 28, 2025
i did not like it, not one bit and i'm not even sorry. it was bland and meh. i've already lost my memory of reading this
September 11, 2022
3.5 rounded up.
Much thanks to PRHAudio for a complimentary audio copy and NetGalley and Berkley for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
This was a super cute enemies to lovers, dual POV with lots heart and secret pining. Bookshop owner Max gets forced to share a temporary business space with baker Joelle when their buildings need renovations. These two neighboring business owners have had crushes on each other for over a year and when they finally act on their attraction things go sideways. Max decides they're better off as friends while they have to work so closely together but a series of misunderstandings quickly ratchet up the tension and hurt feelings.
I thought this was good but was hoping for a little more depth to the story if I'm completely honest. There were a LOT of little misunderstandings which I didn't love either. I've really enjoyed the author's previous books but this wasn't her strongest in my opinion. Recommended for fans of books like The enemy by Sarah Adams or Kiss my cupcake by Helena Hunting. Overall this one felt too formulaic with the enemies to lovers trope and then an easy HEA marriage and baby included.
Much thanks to PRHAudio for a complimentary audio copy and NetGalley and Berkley for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
This was a super cute enemies to lovers, dual POV with lots heart and secret pining. Bookshop owner Max gets forced to share a temporary business space with baker Joelle when their buildings need renovations. These two neighboring business owners have had crushes on each other for over a year and when they finally act on their attraction things go sideways. Max decides they're better off as friends while they have to work so closely together but a series of misunderstandings quickly ratchet up the tension and hurt feelings.
I thought this was good but was hoping for a little more depth to the story if I'm completely honest. There were a LOT of little misunderstandings which I didn't love either. I've really enjoyed the author's previous books but this wasn't her strongest in my opinion. Recommended for fans of books like The enemy by Sarah Adams or Kiss my cupcake by Helena Hunting. Overall this one felt too formulaic with the enemies to lovers trope and then an easy HEA marriage and baby included.
November 24, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I really wanted to like this as the premise of a bookstore and a bakery owner getting together is really something I'd enjoy but unfortunately this book fell flat for me. The main reason being the MMC Max. He was a jerk to our FMC time and time again. Now I understand he was going through somethings but that's not an excuse to treat someone as poorly as he did Joelle and he said some really nasty things to her.
I did enjoy how family was central to this book. Being South Asian and coming from a really close knit family myself, I found that I could relate a lot to the family dynamics in Joelle's life.
I would have liked more chapters from Max's POV, most of the story is told from Joelle's with the odd chapter from Max.
I really wanted to like this as the premise of a bookstore and a bakery owner getting together is really something I'd enjoy but unfortunately this book fell flat for me. The main reason being the MMC Max. He was a jerk to our FMC time and time again. Now I understand he was going through somethings but that's not an excuse to treat someone as poorly as he did Joelle and he said some really nasty things to her.
I did enjoy how family was central to this book. Being South Asian and coming from a really close knit family myself, I found that I could relate a lot to the family dynamics in Joelle's life.
I would have liked more chapters from Max's POV, most of the story is told from Joelle's with the odd chapter from Max.
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