NEVERMORE BOOKSTORE (Townsend Harbor #1) by KERRIGAN BYRNE & CYNTHIA ST. AUBIN

‘Sometimes passion was a whisper, other times a roar. This time? It was a storm.’

Nevermore Bookstore by Kerrigan Byrne and Cynthia St. Aubin was completely different from what we were expecting, once again the curse of the cartoon cover strikes with the dreaded thumb people, however, we ended up really enjoying it. It deals with very heavy topics and mental health which is not indicative by the cover. Once we started reading, we’re not going to lie, we thought this was paranormal and Fox was some type of shapeshifter. It had such an intriguing start that we honestly didn’t have a clue where Fox and Cady’s story was going to go, both together and individually, it was like all the romance tropes challenged each other to a duel for supremacy, and the winning trope was ‘last one’ standing.

“You’re a good man…”
“No, Cady, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. You can try to convince yourself of that all you want. But you’re not going to convince me. Where you came from, what you did – it doesn’t matter to me.”
“It would…If you knew.”

We also went into it thinking it was a rom-com at heart, but overall, it was much more than that, to be fair. Sure, it was funny, even hilarious in parts, however, the humour came from the fabulous book club cast and Myrtle in particular. Whereas Cady and Fox, between them, had stories of heartbreak, violence, and suffering. With all this being said though we absolutely enjoyed it and despite the story being all over the place at times, it actually kept us invested and falling in book love by the end.

“I know you think you’re some kind of big, strong hermit who’s too broken to love, but you don’t get to decide that for me.”

Fox was an intriguing character. Who or what even was he? We didn’t have a clue, but what we did know is that he felt fiercely protective of Cady and he protected her with his life, in whatever shape or form that may be. We couldn’t help but fall in love with this gruff enigmatic character. He was a conundrum we just had to unravel.  He displayed questionable behaviour at times, and he kept us guessing right until the end when we finally got his backstory, which explained a lot! His anxiety and PTSD were really well written with sensitivity, he had a plethora of issues that affected how he viewed himself and the world alike. Who doesn’t love a man who reads and quotes fiction?! With Fox though comes not only heat, love, protection, and passion but a lot of angst, a lot of disappearing acts, worrying, and heartache.

“You quoted f**king Shakespeare, Poe, and Plath to me. And then you come to my house, to my business, and protect me and help me and make yourself an indispensable part of my life until I’m so seduced, I can’t see straight…..”

When Cady’s aunt died, she inherited a bookstore and flat housed in a building that has historical value to the small town which is pretty much politically run by the Townsends. A family with shady skeletons in their closet and a hot sheriff son who fancies Cady like mad. Cady is not interested though as she’s been wooed by the mysterious deep-voiced Fox, a customer she’s never met, yet who loves reading and will read anything Cady sends him. Swoony and hot, this relationship is a simmering pot ready to boil over! Oh, and it has one of the hottest phone-nookie calls we’ve read in a very long time!!

‘She was everything. Just everything. A warrior. A Boss. A lover. A survivor. A woman who clutched her compassionate humanity with both hands and refused to let the world turn her bitter.’ ‘I can’t be another thing she has to survive, he thought. I can’t be another burden on her shoulders.’

Cady is a fierce warrior fighting to keep her head over water, what with her chronic illness and struggling book shop. Not only that, strange and scary things are happening that are clearly signs someone wants her run out of business. Ever the optimist, Cady fights on with the help of the mysterious stranger and the man who has stolen her heart on the other end of the phone. Our favourite moment in this story was the banter in the book club. It had us laughing out loud and reminded us of chatting books with fellow readers. And on that note, no truer words were said: “We don’t yuck someone else’s yum…”