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boba_nbooks's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Spice Rating: 🌶️ / 5
One of the most comedic and heartwarming stories I've read in a while.
Maggie is a 28-year-old woman who doesn't know what she wants. To get our of her parents' house, and to stop the questions about her ambiguous future, Maggie moves in with her friend, Rochelle, in the small town of Bell River to work at Rochelle's bookstore when she's on maternity leave. But Maggie's expectations of running a quaint small town bookstore are smashed when she realizes the store can only sell books by the famous town figure, Edward Bell, or ones that were written before or during his lifetime. Rochelle and all Bell River residents figure that Maggie will just go along with the status quo. But what the town didn't count on was Maggie's free spirit and willingness to create a community where everyone is welcome. Soon enough, Maggie is selling "banned" books under the table and running an underground, genre bending book club. Maggie has to decide what's most important: Bell River's history or its future.
At its heart, The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks is about community. Maggie has always felt like an outsider stumbling her way through life while everyone else has a perfect plan for their futures. Through the friends she makes in Bell River, Maggie figures out that maybe the way she's living her life might be unconventional, but that doesn't mean it's wrong. Even the people who look like they have it all together can still be fearful about the future.
Maggie's character is so relatable, funny, and hopeful. I love how she effortlessly brings people together and creates a community where there wasn't one before. She even wins over two of the grumpiest, most stand-offish men in Bell River! Robinson wrote Maggie's character so well that I want to be her friend.
This novel does include romance (and it's well done, if I do say so myself), but it's not at the forefront of the novel. The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks is about the power of community, visibility, and inclusion. I loved watching the town of Bell River come together to bring out the truth about the past so they can move forward together.
I highly recommend this novel to anyone who loves heartwarming stories with unique characters and poignant lessons.
One of the most comedic and heartwarming stories I've read in a while.
Maggie is a 28-year-old woman who doesn't know what she wants. To get our of her parents' house, and to stop the questions about her ambiguous future, Maggie moves in with her friend, Rochelle, in the small town of Bell River to work at Rochelle's bookstore when she's on maternity leave. But Maggie's expectations of running a quaint small town bookstore are smashed when she realizes the store can only sell books by the famous town figure, Edward Bell, or ones that were written before or during his lifetime. Rochelle and all Bell River residents figure that Maggie will just go along with the status quo. But what the town didn't count on was Maggie's free spirit and willingness to create a community where everyone is welcome. Soon enough, Maggie is selling "banned" books under the table and running an underground, genre bending book club. Maggie has to decide what's most important: Bell River's history or its future.
At its heart, The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks is about community. Maggie has always felt like an outsider stumbling her way through life while everyone else has a perfect plan for their futures. Through the friends she makes in Bell River, Maggie figures out that maybe the way she's living her life might be unconventional, but that doesn't mean it's wrong. Even the people who look like they have it all together can still be fearful about the future.
Maggie's character is so relatable, funny, and hopeful. I love how she effortlessly brings people together and creates a community where there wasn't one before. She even wins over two of the grumpiest, most stand-offish men in Bell River! Robinson wrote Maggie's character so well that I want to be her friend.
This novel does include romance (and it's well done, if I do say so myself), but it's not at the forefront of the novel. The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks is about the power of community, visibility, and inclusion. I loved watching the town of Bell River come together to bring out the truth about the past so they can move forward together.
I highly recommend this novel to anyone who loves heartwarming stories with unique characters and poignant lessons.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, and Infidelity
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Minor: Misogyny, Racism, and Pregnancy
leannanecdote's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Pregnancy
angievansprang's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was a fun and cute, low-stakes read. The plot was engaging and characters were easy to get attached to. This is one of those cozy, happy ending type reads so if you don’t like predictability, maybe skip this one. Overall I had a good time with it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Pregnancy, and Classism
knunderb's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A quick, fun read! I really enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism and Sexism
d0505's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism
amberinpieces's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Cursing, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
onegalonelife27's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Minor: Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism
bzliz's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was the cutest book I’ve read in a while. It’s sweet without being saccharine and has just the right amount of gentle twists. It’s proof that sincere romcoms need to make a comeback because this would be a perfect movie.
Maggie has always struggled to find her place in the world and is taking a break from disappointing her parents to help her friend Rochelle with her bookshop while she’s on maternity leave. The town of Bell River charms Maggie right away but that takes a turn when she sees how behind the times the bookshop is. She butts heads with Ralph Bell- the busybody micromanager who makes sure all his investments in the town in the name of his grandfather (author Edward Bell) stay under his thumb and revolve around the Bell Society- but Maggie managed to build a community but hosting a secret book club where authors put a modern twist on the classics. This also gives her the chance to secretly sell modern books (a fiendish practice explicitly banned by Ralph, who only wants the shop to sell classics and books by Edward Bell). All of this must also remain hidden from Ralph’s little spy, Malcolm, who keeps an eye on Maggie and the bookshop per his boss’s directions and harbors a secret love of sci-fi books. And of course, he’s cute.
The characters were all fun, though I think a few too many were named when they played little to no part in the plot. I love the relationship Maggie fosters with all the people in the town. She has a gift for bringing fun sprinkled with chaos wherever she goes and is full of excellent ideas for community events. She can win over anyone, even the local curmudgeon. My only disappointment was that we didn’t get to see more of her friendship with Rochelle.
Additionally, I appreciate the resolution of the book. It’s so easy to make a cartoonish villain out of someone like Ralph but the author humanized him in a very realistic way.
Shauna Robinson gave me faith in TikTok recommendations again. As soon as I finished this book, I immediately borrowed Must Love Books and I’m looking forward to her new book next year.
Content warnings:
Alcohol:Lots of drinking throughout, not important to the plot.
Infidelity:Edward Bell cheated on his wife. This is denied by Ralph and the Bell Society who basically gaslight everyone into believing the man was perfect. The evidence of this affair becomes important to the plot and is not there just for shock value.
Sexual content:pretty glossed over, not explicit at all. Easy to skip if you’re not interested.
Sexism: (big spoiler for the end of the book)Ralph tries to gaslight everyone into thinking Edward Bell was perfect when in reality he cheated on his wife with her cousin, Louise, then tried to forbid Louise from getting married despite being married himself, and then he plagiarized her manuscript and basically threatened her to stay quiet or he’s tell his wife about their affair. Ralph semi-attempts this in the present day but Maggie comes out on top.
Maggie has always struggled to find her place in the world and is taking a break from disappointing her parents to help her friend Rochelle with her bookshop while she’s on maternity leave. The town of Bell River charms Maggie right away but that takes a turn when she sees how behind the times the bookshop is. She butts heads with Ralph Bell- the busybody micromanager who makes sure all his investments in the town in the name of his grandfather (author Edward Bell) stay under his thumb and revolve around the Bell Society- but Maggie managed to build a community but hosting a secret book club where authors put a modern twist on the classics. This also gives her the chance to secretly sell modern books (a fiendish practice explicitly banned by Ralph, who only wants the shop to sell classics and books by Edward Bell). All of this must also remain hidden from Ralph’s little spy, Malcolm, who keeps an eye on Maggie and the bookshop per his boss’s directions and harbors a secret love of sci-fi books. And of course, he’s cute.
The characters were all fun, though I think a few too many were named when they played little to no part in the plot. I love the relationship Maggie fosters with all the people in the town. She has a gift for bringing fun sprinkled with chaos wherever she goes and is full of excellent ideas for community events. She can win over anyone, even the local curmudgeon. My only disappointment was that we didn’t get to see more of her friendship with Rochelle.
Additionally, I appreciate the resolution of the book. It’s so easy to make a cartoonish villain out of someone like Ralph but the author humanized him in a very realistic way.
Shauna Robinson gave me faith in TikTok recommendations again. As soon as I finished this book, I immediately borrowed Must Love Books and I’m looking forward to her new book next year.
Content warnings:
Alcohol:
Infidelity:
Sexual content:
Sexism: (big spoiler for the end of the book)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity, Sexism, and Sexual content
chaotically_katie's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The vibes of this book are unparalleled. I, too, hate both the Red Wheelbarrow poem and The Heart of Darkness. It’s good to get validation from the fictional characters I’ve come to adore.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Cultural appropriation, and Classism
faeriefox's review
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was a nice light read, very quick and easy. I enjoyed Maggie's character and her journey. I did feel that most supporting characters were a bit flat, but it was a very sweet and inspiring story that I would recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism