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librarybookfamily's review against another edition
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I love a book about reading and bookstores. So this was an easy sell for me. It was a cute quick romcom. Maggie, who hates books is tasked with watching over her besties bookshop while she is on maternity leave. She is quickly in over her head as she fights with the head of the local historical society. She and Malcom, a man working for the society start to hit it off. Yay! He teaches her to love books. Yay! She makes friendship with others and thinks outside the box to help her friend. All great things. Unfortunately Maggie wasn't my favorite character. I was mad with some of the choices she made and it kind of ruined the book for me.
"Rochelle was a firm believer that books were the answer to everything—a belief that has never rubbed off on me, no matter how many novels she’s gifted me over the years."
"There must, undoubtedly, be an endless supply of unique and bizarre books to suit every reader’s interests."
“Should I be offended that you’re recommending a children’s book to me?” “You should be honored that I’m gonna lend you my favorite book in the world.”
"What’s something you hope readers learn from The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks? We spend a lot of time and energy trying to follow rules that don’t exist. For some of us, these imaginary rules might dictate small things, like the types of books we think we’re supposed to read. For others, these rules might govern bigger things, like milestones we think we need to reach by a certain age. But these rules aren’t real. Taking a closer look at the rules we’ve set for ourselves—and deciding what to keep and what to discard—might, I hope, help each one of us forge a better, brighter path ahead."
"Rochelle was a firm believer that books were the answer to everything—a belief that has never rubbed off on me, no matter how many novels she’s gifted me over the years."
"There must, undoubtedly, be an endless supply of unique and bizarre books to suit every reader’s interests."
“Should I be offended that you’re recommending a children’s book to me?” “You should be honored that I’m gonna lend you my favorite book in the world.”
"What’s something you hope readers learn from The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks? We spend a lot of time and energy trying to follow rules that don’t exist. For some of us, these imaginary rules might dictate small things, like the types of books we think we’re supposed to read. For others, these rules might govern bigger things, like milestones we think we need to reach by a certain age. But these rules aren’t real. Taking a closer look at the rules we’ve set for ourselves—and deciding what to keep and what to discard—might, I hope, help each one of us forge a better, brighter path ahead."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Infidelity and Misogyny
Closed door sex mentioned. Non essential character affairblewballoon's review
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I always struggle with books about main characters who are lying and keeping secrets from the important people in their lives. It's especially difficult for me when a romance is involved, since I feel like it undermines the level of consent due to one member of the pairing not being able to make a fully informed decision. This is one of those books. Maggie's reasons for lying to her best friend, love interest, and boss are all spelled out clearly, but it made me uncomfortable.
I think the character journey of Maggie starting to figure out what her talents and passions were and why other jobs and career paths hadn't worked for her in the past was done pretty well, with some balance between showing and telling. I liked seeing her make connections with the townspeople, not just befriending them but creating a network that benefited everyone. I thought the old curmudgeon character was done much better in this book than The Lonely Hearts Book Club. I also liked the ending and the resolutions to the main plots.
This falls into the contemporary fiction sub-genre of books about books, but Maggie the POV character isn't actually that much of a book worm. It feels more like one of those books about a woman in their 20s-30s still figuring their life out like Georgie All Along. I'm not sure how much the romance was supposed to factor in, but it felt like a sub-plot to me. (For those curious: There is one "sex scene" but it's basically just "and then we had sex" without any significant detail.)
So, I guess in summary I didn't love or hate this book, it does some things well, and I wouldn't dissuade anyone from reading it who was already interested. The audiobook narrator did a good job, but I listened to her at 1.65 speed.
I think the character journey of Maggie starting to figure out what her talents and passions were and why other jobs and career paths hadn't worked for her in the past was done pretty well, with some balance between showing and telling. I liked seeing her make connections with the townspeople, not just befriending them but creating a network that benefited everyone. I thought the old curmudgeon character was done much better in this book than The Lonely Hearts Book Club. I also liked the ending and the resolutions to the main plots.
This falls into the contemporary fiction sub-genre of books about books, but Maggie the POV character isn't actually that much of a book worm. It feels more like one of those books about a woman in their 20s-30s still figuring their life out like Georgie All Along. I'm not sure how much the romance was supposed to factor in, but it felt like a sub-plot to me. (For those curious: There is one "sex scene" but it's basically just "and then we had sex" without any significant detail.)
So, I guess in summary I didn't love or hate this book, it does some things well, and I wouldn't dissuade anyone from reading it who was already interested. The audiobook narrator did a good job, but I listened to her at 1.65 speed.
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
lizzie_b99's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Misogyny, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Classism
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
sarah984's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
This was a quick read with a breezy, conversational style I liked, and the setting and most of the characters are pretty charming.
The plot and the main character were just really, really bad. The protagonist, Maggie, hates classics and makes no effort to learn about or sell them and then is disappointed when no one buys them. She has a little bet with her boyfriend where she reads a book he recommends and he does an activity she chooses, and while he at least tries everything she doesn't take her part seriously at all and doesn't even read one of the books. She lies constantly, including in a cover letter for a job she applied for (about her availability!!! Girl if they hire you that's the one thing they need to be true!), things that affect the livelihoods of people she claims to care about (including stealing something from her boyfriend), falsifies her sales reports at workand breaks into her boss's office to blackmail him about his grandfather. No one stays mad at her for long about this, which is absurd.
No idea how the "society" that runs the businesses in town was supposed to work, since it seemed like one guy just calling random shots and not a board or anything. No place in the history of the world would operate like this.
Also this is more pedantic but the author apparently majored in English and this bugged me: the bookstore didn't carry any books published after 1968 for Reasons (for a guy who wanted to make money the boss was really into making it hard to sell anything) and another character (who likes classics) implies that the only books by Black authors that it's possible for them to carry are slave narratives. I can buy Maggie not knowing about the Harlem Renaissance because she's stupid but Malcolm? Come on.
The plot and the main character were just really, really bad. The protagonist, Maggie, hates classics and makes no effort to learn about or sell them and then is disappointed when no one buys them. She has a little bet with her boyfriend where she reads a book he recommends and he does an activity she chooses, and while he at least tries everything she doesn't take her part seriously at all and doesn't even read one of the books. She lies constantly, including in a cover letter for a job she applied for (about her availability!!! Girl if they hire you that's the one thing they need to be true!), things that affect the livelihoods of people she claims to care about (including stealing something from her boyfriend), falsifies her sales reports at work
No idea how the "society" that runs the businesses in town was supposed to work, since it seemed like one guy just calling random shots and not a board or anything. No place in the history of the world would operate like this.
Also this is more pedantic but the author apparently majored in English and this bugged me: the bookstore didn't carry any books published after 1968 for Reasons (for a guy who wanted to make money the boss was really into making it hard to sell anything) and another character (who likes classics) implies that the only books by Black authors that it's possible for them to carry are slave narratives. I can buy Maggie not knowing about the Harlem Renaissance because she's stupid but Malcolm? Come on.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
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
greatexpectations77's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
4.5
I had a lot of fun with this book, and I love that Ms. Robinson is a local author. The writing was solid and the storytelling was extremely fun. It really made me want to help out my local independent bookstore. I'll definitely read this author again when I'm looking for something cozy!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy
Moderate: Bullying, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
Minor: Misogyny and Slavery