
Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady
Battle of the Bookstores is delightful, cozy, and swoony enemies-to-lovers contemporary romance with enough bookish charm to make any reader’s heart melt.
Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady

Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady
Publication Date : June 3, 2025
Publisher : Berkley
Genre : Contemporary Romance
Pages : 432
Source : Many thanks to Publisher for eARC via NetGalley.
Previous Books I Read By The Same Authors-
Synopsis
Rivalry and romance spark when two bookstore managers who are opposites in every way find themselves competing for the same promotion.
Despite managing bookstores on the same Boston street, Josie Klein and Ryan Lawson have never interacted much—Josie’s store focuses on serious literature, and Ryan’s sells romance only. But when the new owner of both stores decides to combine them, the two are thrust into direct competition. Only one manager will be left standing, decided by who turns the most profit over the summer.
Efficient and detail-oriented Josie instantly clashes with easygoing and disorganized Ryan. Their competing events and contrasting styles lead to more than just frustration—the sparks between them might just set the whole store on fire. Their only solace during this chaos is the friendship they’ve each struck up with an anonymous friend in an online book forum. Little do they know they’re actually chatting with each other.
As their rivalry heats up in real life, their online relationship grows, and when the walls between their stores come tumbling down, Josie and Ryan realize not all’s fair in love and war. And maybe, if they’re lucky, happily ever afters aren’t just for the books.
Review
Battle of the Bookstores is a heartwarming contemporary romance about two bookstore owners forced into competition for the same managerial role. What begins as rivalry, banter, and barely restrained disdain slowly morphs into heartfelt friendship, emotional connection, and swoony love.
Josie Klein and Ryan Lawson run bookstores on the same street, separated only by Beans—the local coffee shop. Josie champions literary fiction, while Ryan unapologetically sells romance. They’ve never spoken with each other until their profit-obsessed boss, Xander, drops a bombshell: he’s combining both bookstores and Beans. By the end of summer, whichever store sells more books wins the managerial position, and the other will be out of job.
Both Josie and Ryan have poured their hearts and souls into their stores. This isn’t just a job—it’s their life and dream and the thought of losing it will be unbearable.
What adds spice to this battle is a shared secret: they’re actually anonymous online friends on BookFriend, a Goodreads-style site for booksellers and librarians. Without knowing each other’s real identity, they’ve shared opinions, confessions, and built a genuine emotional bond. While as the compete with each other for bookstore they form physical attraction.
It was interesting to find out how and when they will figure out their online identity and how that is going to affect their competition for bookstores as well as growing feelings.
The writing, as always with Ali Brady, is engaging and immersive. The story flows at a cozy pace, letting you fully sink into the warmth of Josie and Ryan’s world. The authors call this a love letter to indie bookstores, but it’s also a love letter to readers. There are bookish references galore—from pet peeves to trope debates, and shoutouts to beloved romance authors. If you’re a romance reader, you’ll feel seen. If you’re a literary fiction fan, Josie’s side of the spectrum has you covered.
I adored both characters. Josie may come off as an uptight ice queen, but beneath that armor is a woman who’s been burned—by a chaotic childhood, an absent mother chasing men instead of responsibility of two daughters, and sacrifices she made as an older sister.
Her vulnerability, especially around not finishing college and fearing she’s not enough, hit hard. She wasn’t just fighting for her store—she was fighting for self-worth. She deserved the best and more over she deserved someone who would stand by her side and take care of her which she found in Ryan.
Ryan is a golden retriever in big tall body. The youngest of four competitive brothers, he’s always felt “less than” until he found solace in romance novels. His backstory was tender and surprisingly emotional. He’s kind, flustered, and endearingly awkward around Josie. And when he realized she was BookShopGirl, it was a total game-changer. I loved how being with Josie made him get over his insecurities and made him better at running his bookstore.
Their slow shift from enemies to lovers was done beautifully. Their connection was layered with understanding, support, and mutual growth. Even during their messy moments (and yes, Ryan absolutely fumbled a few times), you root for them.
Climax was interesting. Though Josie meeting Ryan as RJRead was anticipated from the beginning, it didn’t turned out predictable. She handles it with maturity. Their team-up against Xander goes sideways, threatening everything—but ultimately, they choose each other. Josie’s final conversation with her mother was something I was waiting for the whole book, and what she decided to do was satisfying. Ending was a book lover’s dream proposal and epilogue was just perfect.
Overall, Battle of the Bookstores is delightful, cozy, and swoony enemies-to-lovers contemporary romance with enough bookish charm to make any reader’s heart melt. A must-read for fans of romance, bookstores, and stories.
What to Expect :
A bookstore setting
Enemies to lovers with banter
Secret online friendship
Soft, emotional character backstories
Bookish convos
golden retriever hero + an ice queen heroine
emotional healing
Book Links
Goodreads | Amazon.in | Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Have you read this or any book by these authors?
What’s is you favorite book with bookstore setting or book about books?
Just in case you missed,,,
- Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady
- June 2025 Wrap Up – From Tragedy to Turning Pages
- Until Next Summer by Ali Brady – full of heart contemporary about friendship

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3 Comments
nickimags @ Secret Library Book Blog
Sounds fun and reminds me of the film You Got Mail with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan!
satyam rastogi
Nice post
Books Teacup and Reviews
thank you