Bookstores and Bookshops in Rom Coms and Other Books

 

Not yet published publication Aug. 18, 2026; Avon and Harper Voyager; NetGalley

Literary agent meets dashing novelist, both hiding out in a town in Devon, England in Cornwall, escaping their own pasts.

My Netgalley review: I like this friends to lovers rom com set in Devon, England in Cornwall by the sea. Petra has escaped a horrendous mistake in her job as a literary agent in London, and Ross has found refuge in Devon after fleeing a controlling editor who fed on his fame and claimed his success as her own. 

Ross's good looks immediately draws Petra's attention and their involvement in writing, reading and the publishing world pulls them closer together. The book's insight into the world of publishing is fascinating, from the point of view of the two characters.

Romance is fueled by Petra's desire to get Ross writing again, helping him with his new book based on Shakespeare's characters in The Tempest. And Petra, once fed up with reading, began her slow interest in books again.

I loved how the two characters fit into the smaller world of the town in Devon and became fast friends with the booksellers and the townspeople there. The setting in Cornwall, the cliffs, the ocean, the hills, add a certain mysterious Daphne du Maurier quality to the novel that I definitely liked. 

An enjoyable rom com especially for lovers of Shakespeare.

Publication: June 3, 2025; Berkley, NetGalley

Two bookstore managers in stores right next to each other compete for the same promotion. Rivalry mixes with romance. 

Published Sept. 6, 2022; Berkley, NetGalley

A Filipina baker likes the looks of the bookstore owner next door, but they clash when there is a planned  renovation to the building they share. Of course, romance intervenes.

Not yet published Publication: Sept. 15, 2026. NetGalley

The true story of a book lover in  Tokyo who connects with strangers online, meets with them in person, and finds her purpose in life in recommending books to them that change their lives. 

Publication: March 24, 2026; Harper 360, NetGalley

Dreams and wishes come true at this  magical bookshop which only appears when cherry blossoms are in bloom

 

Published July 2017; Berkley, NetGalley

Three women in their 50s return to a small South Carolina town, trying to find answers to the disappearance of one of their mothers years ago. Women's fiction. 

What are you reading this week?

Memes:  The Sunday Post, It's Monday: What Are You Reading, Sunday Salon, and Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday

W