A review by scorpireads
Last Chance Books by Kelsey Rodkey

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A

2.0

light romance, romcom

• tropes: summer romance, rivals to lovers, forced proximity
• medium-paced, stand-alone pov

“just a few days ago, i thought i had enough of him. marked him as did-not-finish. but now i feel every part of him will remain to-be-read.”

the story follows madeline, a young teenager who had just graduated from high school, and is currently working in her family's bookstore. but her world collapses after her aunt announces that due to financial problems, the store is going to close at the end of the summer—and that her mom is moving back. at the same time, she has an ongoing (book) war with jasper, the guy who works at prologue—a chain bookstore that opens across the street, who seems intent on ruining her life.

first of all, the premise of this book looked very promising. plus, the cute cover. but am i satisfied with what i've just read? no. when i read the first chapter, it seems interesting for me. however, it was getting boring as the story progressed to the point that i almost dnf it. the plot is very inconsistent. . . and messy. the story is a typical rivals to lovers but it really did not focus on that. to be honest, i feel like i am just reading a series of paragraphs but it lacks feelings and excitement. yes, i love the bookstore setting because everything related to books is heaven. i also like the dysfuntional family concept as it somehow provided emotions in the story. and some of the main characters' banters are cute and funny. 

the female main character—madeline, i like her obsession in books and her passion in saving her family's bookstore. her anger towards her mother is also understandable and i completely get her frustrations with everything that's happening to her life, but sometimes i think she's being rude just for the sake of being rude. on the other hand, the male main character—jasper, i think his life story deserves to be highlighted more in this book. it would be so much better if the story was written in dual pov. 

overall, for me, there are lots of things in this book that are still needed to be improved.