Love on the Shelf by Sheila Roberts

Something to know about me.  If a book involves a book store or library . . . I’m gonna read it!

{Thank you @uplitreads + @readmirabooks for the gifted copy of Love on the Shelf by Sheila Roberts.  Out 5/26.  I just love this cover!!}

Expectations are important when reading a book.  This one is tagged as a Romance, but I think it reads much more like a Women’s or Contemporary Fiction.  Is there a romance and enemies-to-lovers vibe?  Yes.  However it feels back-burner; these characters don’t even really start engaging until nearly 80% into the book.

Elevator Pitch: The battle lines are drawn between, Alice, a romance-loving bookseller and, Parker, a sports radio host.  Alice loves romance books and the joy they bring.  Parker thinks they make women have unrealistic expectations with their HEAs and the way the men behave in the books.

Alice Willoughby and her mom run HEA Books, a cozy shop devoted to love stories and the people who crave them. Alice is great at matching customers with their perfect happily-ever-after…she just can’t seem to find her own.

Parker Black, a sports radio host, has been burned by relationships in the past.  So after an online rant that boost ratings, he starts reading romance book passages and mocking them on the air.

Next comes spirited debates and bookstore protests, but when unexpected sparks fly between the two of them, Alice begins to wonder if her favorite trope—enemies to lovers—might actually be playing out in real life. Parker may claim romance is a lie…but maybe he starting to change his mind. 

This was a cute idea, but the author is almost too good at writing an unlikeable male character.  It makes it hard for the reader to eventually find him redeemable.  I also thought the story devoted a little too much time to the secondary characters.