Rating: 3.5 STARS Genre: Contemporary/YA Series/Standalone: Standalone How I got this book: ARC from Harper360YA Don’t you just love the smell of old books in the morning? Madeline Moore does. Books & Moore, the musty bookstore her family has owned for generations, is where she feels most herself. Nothing is going to stop her from coming back after college to take over the store from her beloved aunt. Nothing, that is—until a chain bookstore called Prologue opens across the street and threatens to shut them down. Madeline sets out to demolish the competition, but Jasper, the guy who works over at Prologue, seems intent on ruining her life. Not only is he taking her customers, he has the unbelievable audacity to be… extremely cute. But that doesn’t matter. Jasper is the enemy and he will be destroyed. After all—all’s fair in love and (book) wars. TW: Absentee parent (child abandonment), fatfobia (internalized), underage drinking, car accident (no permanent injury)
Okay, so, I saw this advertised as an enemies-to-lovers style YA set in rival bookshops and just knew I had to read it. After pestering Harper360YA (#sorrynotsorry) they graciously sent out an ARC copy for me to read and review. The story centres around Madeline. She's 17 years old, working at her family-owned bookshop, and dreaming of running the store herself when she's older and finished with college. I really love Madeline. She's intelligent, quirky and passionate about her bookshop. It's where she was raised by her aunt since her mom basically abandoned her and her half-brother when they were young. Understandably, Madeline is extremely mad when a rival chain bookshop opens up across the street from her indie store and begins taking customers. Things then go really downhill from Madeline as the mother who abandoned her returns, she discovers the cute guy she's been crushing on for weeks is actually stealing her ideas and using them to run the bookshop across the street and she actually has no idea whether she wants to go to college or what she wants to do. Madeline is immediately compelling and, as a book lover, very relatable. There are a couple of things I really love about Madeline: 1. She's really passionate about the things she loves. 3. She's very sex-positive/open about sex. I would have really preferred it if Madeline wasn't so self-conscious about her size/weight. I guess I'm just a bit tired of the whole 'fat person must hate the way they look' theme in a lot of YA and I think it would have really suited Madeline's confidence in other areas if she was also more confident about her body. However, saying that, she does sort of break through her fears by herself and become more self-confident throughout the book. The writing and the pace of this book were great and had me hooked from the first page. Madeline's antics made me laugh, and I struggled to put the book down, as I hoped everything would work out the way she wanted it to. I also loved the bookshop setting. Reading a book that's completely filled with books, books and more books was really enjoyable. Things got a little more fun when Madeline finds out Jasper's true identity and the prank wars began, the stakes raising until catastrophe strikes. This particular section really frustrated me, as I didn't feel Madeline deserved the blame for what happened. It was NOT her fault and I think it only highlights how awful a lot of the other characters in the book are. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I read a book that I enjoyed, where I detested most of the supporting characters. From Madeline's aunt not telling her about the store's money trouble until she's in a meeting with the rest of the staff to lies, betrayals, sabotaging her efforts, attempts to control her life and forcing her to spend time with the person who abandoned her as a child, Madeline's family do a pretty crappy job of showing they care. They almost always lay the blame at Madeline's feet, don't support her, keep her in the dark, and then attack her anytime she shows any emotion. It made my blood boil, and I was constantly hoping that things would just change for Madeline and she could grow beyond the situation she was in. I've read a couple of reviews saying that Madeline is self-centred and makes poor decisions, but she's 17 years old. She's fresh out of high school, in a difficult family situation, and with the only constant in her life facing closure. What teenager wouldn't be a bit laser-focused on doing all they could to save the place they feel most at home? Jasper is also a tough character to describe because I didn't really like him. I think after the initial war between the two characters the author gives a bit more depth to his character, BUT I don't think it negates his actions. Overall, Last Chance Books starts as a fun, flirty, rivals-to-lovers rom-com that becomes more complicated as Madeline tries to save her bookshop while dealing with her growing feelings for her new nemesis, and leading to a bittersweet-style ending that's perfect for fans of YA romance like What If Its Us. Comments are closed.
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About Kay (She/Her)
Book addict, film mad, music lover, business owner, writer and mum (not necessarily in that order), living in the UK. About Sophie (She/Her)
Sophie loves books (obviously). She has a passion for photography and spotting wildlife, and is interested in anything made with passion and creativity. THIS BLOG IS SPOILER FREE!
Rating system: 5 Stars - AMAZING!! 4.5 Stars - Almost perfect! 4 Stars - I really loved it 3.5 Stars - I liked it alot 3 Stars - I liked it (I don't typically review books that I rate below 3 stars)
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