Review: The Secret Book Club

Title: The Secret Book Club (previously: The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks)

Author: Shauna Robinson

Publisher: 18th January 2024 by HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter

Pages: 336 pages

Genre: contemporary, books about books, women’s fiction

My Rating: 4.5 cups

Synopsis:

I, Maggie Banks, solemnly swear to uphold the rules of Cobblestone Books.

If only, I, Maggie Banks, believed in following the rules.

When Maggie Banks arrives in Bell River to run her best friend's struggling bookstore, she expects to sell bestsellers to her small-town clientele. But running a bookstore in a town with a famously bookish history isn't easy. Bell River's literary society insists on keeping the bookstore stuck in the past, and Maggie is banned from selling anything written this century. So, when a series of mishaps suddenly tip the bookstore toward ruin, Maggie will have to get creative to keep the shop afloat.

And in Maggie's world, book rules are made to be broken.

To help save the store, Maggie starts an underground book club, running a series of events celebrating the books readers actually love. But keeping the club quiet, selling forbidden books, and dodging the literary society is nearly impossible. Especially when Maggie unearths a town secret that could upend everything. 

Maggie will have to decide what's more important: the books that formed a small town's history, or the stories poised to change it all.

My Thoughts

“I want us to have open minds and come away feeling excited about books we might never have appreciated. How does that sound?”

There are some author books that catch you completely by surprise. The ones you were not expecting to love but upon completion come to realise just how refreshing it was. Shauna Robinson (take note of this author’s name - I think we will be hearing a lot more from her) is reportedly a young introverted woman with a charming writing style mostly concerned with … books! I read and loved her,  Must Love Books (HERE) and eagerly anticipated her latest offering, The Secret Book Club. It was great! The more I read, the more I fell in love with it - especially the lead character, Maggie. 

“I’m not a big people person, I guess you could say.” ... “Why?” “I prefer to be left to my own devices.” “You mean books?” “Books are my primary devices, yes.”

All up this is a quick and fun read. It was just delightful to watch Maggie turn into a reader and pursue what she felt deep down to be her calling in life. If you love small-town dynamics with quirky characters, laughter and a sweet romance then this is the book for you. I loved all the friendships that were formed in the book, especially Maggie's friendship with Vernon - their interactions brought a smile to my face. I loved Maggie and Malcolm’s relationship - a romance that did not dominate the story and the challenges they set each other were terrific. There is just loads more to love about this book - the discussions about the romance genre; culturally relevant and silenced voices in literature; the secret book club meetings and, not feeling bad about no set plan for life. You don’t have to have it all together from the start. 

‘No wistful nostalgia for century-old books. No assumption that one type of book mattered more than another. Only excitement about new stories waiting to be discovered.’

There is just so much to love about The Secret Book Club! If you love books about books, small town dynamics, the plight of small town communities (I especially loved Maggie’s book events where famed authors presented a twist of a classic tale) and a cast of relatable and lovable characters (yes! That’s you Vernon!) then I recommend to all lovers of romantic comedy Shauna’s latest offering. Can’t wait to see what she comes up with next. 

‘I’d just been supposed to work quietly at the bookstore for a few months, enjoy a reprieve from living with my parents, and use the time to figure out my next steps. Instead, I’d founded a secret community, incited a rebellion, and gotten people fired.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Must Love Books

Title: Must Love Books

Author: Shauna Robinson

Publisher: 18th January 2022 by Sourcebooks Landmark

Pages: 336 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: women’s fiction, contemporary, mental health

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

Meet Nora Hughes―the overworked, underpaid, last bookish assistant standing. At least for now. When Nora landed an editorial assistant position at Parsons Press, it was her first step towards The Dream Job. Because, honestly, is there anything dreamier than making books for a living? But after five years of lunch orders, finicky authors, and per my last emails, Nora has come to one grand conclusion: Dream Jobs do not exist.

With her life spiraling and the Parsons staff sinking, Nora gets hit with even worse news. Parsons is cutting her already unlivable salary. Unable to afford her rent and without even the novels she once loved as a comfort, Nora decides to moonlight for a rival publisher to make ends meet...and maybe poach some Parsons authors along the way.

But when Andrew Santos, a bestselling Parsons author no one can afford to lose is thrown into the mix, Nora has to decide where her loyalties lie. Her new Dream Job, ever-optimistic Andrew, or...herself and her future.

My Thoughts

‘And the final line under the desired skills and qualifications section sealed her fate, three little words that curled around Nora’s heart and told her she belonged in publishing: Must love books.’

This was not the book I was expecting but proved to be a really interesting read. It most definitely is not a romcom - yes there is romance, however, it is very much a side plot and thankfully, sensitive to the overall direction of the book. The couple have laughs, however, I far more appreciated their discussions surrounding happiness and mental health - this being the surprise package of this read. 

‘… the only person left standing was Nora, alone. Working on books she didn’t understand or give a damn about, with authors who rearranged the same words on different pages year after year to make another royalty check.’

This book is very much about the lead character, Nora and her quest for a meaningful life with happiness. After several years in the same job, she is finding herself lost and literally staring at the ceiling fan. It’s not just about the meaningless job but also the issue of making ends meet on a poor wage especially given the extra tasks assigned to her. The author herself states that, ‘By unpacking the myth of the “dream job,” this story explores happiness as a fluid, ever-changing thing.’

‘Whenever Nora mentioned anything to do with publishing - manuscripts, books, working with authors - there was a faraway look in Kelly’s eyes, like she was on the verge of swooning.’

One of the reasons I selected to read this book was a chance insight into the life of a publishing company - and it provided this in bucketloads! It gave a detailed (and rather depressing) look at a career in publishing (a bibliophile’s purported dream job) and that it may not be a path for many. The surprises in this book were the themes surrounding mental health: (trigger warning) self harm and suicide thoughts. This was really quite powerful and overall well handled I felt. It also touches on racial issues (Nora mentions her ethnicity on occasions) and this, whilst minor, is still worth mentioning. 

‘She could be the person she’d always imagined being, working on books - novels - that could actually help someone. Not help them leverage synergy to maximize productivity, but help them the way books had helped Nora. Help someone feel connected to something. Help someone feel less alone.’

Given the clear focus on one person’s journey to find meaning and purpose in life, I was both relieved and grateful for the ending which remained true to what I felt to be the author’s goal. My only issues are that, firstly, it was a trifle repetitive and slow on occasions. Secondly, Nora’s resolve to call a meeting to discuss her possible futures appeared somewhat out of character given her personal struggles throughout the book. 

‘Nora ducked into a bookstore across the street to be among books and forget, for a minute, how they were made.’

So if an insight into life in a publishing house as a ‘dream job’ appeals to you, look no further. There are excellent Discussion questions at the conclusion along with an Author interview. Not the book I had thought to be reading, I did however, walk away much richer for my understanding of publishing career paths and, more importantly, when your dream job turns out not to be your dream job - what do you do? Nora’s journey of reevaluating and making tough decisions to alter her life path was something I very much appreciated. 

‘learn(ed) how to find a new dream. And another, and another, until he found something that worked out for him.”

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.