REVIEW: How to Find a Romance in a Bookshop by Poppy Alexander

How to Find a Romance in a Bookshop by Poppy Alexander: Petra’s career as a literary agent has imploded after a social media mistake, leaving her running a seaside bookshop for six months. Ross is an award-winning author hiding away while struggling to finish his long-awaited second novel. Neither arrives looking for romance, but their unexpected friendship gradually changes both of their lives.

HOW TO FIND A ROMANCE IN A BOOKSHOP by Poppy Alexander is a cozy, bookish romance about career setbacks, starting over, friendship, and finding connection when you least expect it.

There was something instantly comforting about the seaside setting and the little community surrounding the bookshop. Between the book club, writing group, local authors, and literary festival, Petra begins creating a life that looks very different from the one she left behind. The whole atmosphere had that cozy, bookish quality that made me want to spend some time browsing the shelves myself.

After Petra’s career implodes, she has to figure out who she is when the thing she built her professional identity around suddenly becomes a source of embarrassment. I loved watching her reconnect with books and gradually realize that one mistake doesn’t erase everything she brings to the table. Ross was a great counterpart for Petra. He’s guarded and frustrated, carrying the pressure of following up a wildly successful debut while struggling to write the book everyone is waiting for. I liked seeing the person underneath his grumpy exterior and watching Petra become someone he could actually trust.

Their relationship develops through friendship rather than rushing straight toward romance, and that worked really well for these two. They both needed someone who understood what it was like to be stuck, and their conversations gradually gave them a place to be honest about what wasn’t working in their lives.

HOW TO FIND A ROMANCE IN A BOOKSHOP was a warm, bookish romance about finding your way back to the things that once brought you joy. Petra’s journey, the seaside setting, the community surrounding the bookshop, and her slow-building connection with Ross all came together to create a story that was easy to settle into.

Tropes & Vibes
📚 Friends to lovers
😏 Grumpy x grumpy
🌊 Small-town romance
🐢 Slow burn
📖 Bookshop romance
✍️ Writer hero
❤️ Second chances

Book Info:

Publication: Published: August 18th, 2026 | Avon |

Petra doesn’t like books anymore—not since her career as a literary agent imploded after a social media typo went viral. Now she is stuck for six months, babysitting a little bookshop by the sea—surrounded by books that just remind her of her failure.

Ross McCloud’s award-winning debut novel blew the minds of the world’s literati, but that was five years ago. Now Ross and his keenly awaited second work have vanished. Something has gone wrong—horribly wrong—and Ross doesn’t want to talk about it.

Marooned in Capelthorne’s Bookshop miles from London, Petra can’t stop thinking about all the ways she has let people down. Then she discovers Ross lurking, incognito, in the second-hand books section. Misery loves company it seems, and a kinship tentatively forms.

In the meantime, the magic of the bookshop slowly begins to enchant Petra. Soon, her book recommendations assume legendary status; she is chairing the newly formed Beach Reads Book Club; leading a weekly writing group and hosting a series of popular talks and signings by local authors. She is even starting to read again.

Petra is also finding time to help her new best friend Jess—owner of a local telephone box library—to launch the inaugural Portneath Literary Festival. What better opportunity to put the Festival on the map—says Ross—than for Petra to unveil his second novel to the world there, before re-launching her career representing him at the Frankfurt book fair? What a comeback! But can Petra find the courage to help the man she loves?

Their love of books may be re-ignited, but is that enough to save them both from their own worst enemy—themselves?