Title: The Banned Bookshop Of Maggie Banks
Author: Shauna Robinson
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
First published: November 1st 2022
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Finished reading: October 10th 2022
Pages: 336

“There must, undoubtedly, be an endless supply of unique and bizarre books to suit every reader’s interests. Anyone, it seemed, could be a reader.”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

REVIEW

I love books with a bookish element, so of course I couldn’t resist adding The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks to my shelves straight away. I really liked the sound of the town with its bookish history, the bookstore not being able to sell newer books and the main character breaking the rules to keep the bookstore afloat. In the end this story turned out to be an entertaining and mainly uplifting contemporary romance; there were a few things that didn’t work as well for me, but as a whole it was still a solid read.

I think it was mainly the many different bookish elements that turned this story into a success for me. Not only do we have the Bell River town setting with its bookish history, but the story also mainly takes place inside a bookstore. Then we have the author the town is named after and Bell River now uses to attract tourists, reading in general, bookish events, a secret book club, selling forbidden books etc etc. Oh yes, you will find a lot of bookish content in The Banned Bookshop Of Maggie Banks, and it was one of the highlights of this story for me.

I initially liked the fact that the main character Maggie wasn’t exactly a reader. It came as a surprise, as most bookish contemporaries tend to have true bookworms as main characters… It was interesting to see her discover books and slowly enjoy reading more and more; that said, her behavior, opinion and actions did start to bother me after a while. I don’t think the plot is actually credible; it’s such a small town and I just don’t think things could be kept secret in the way the plot describes. Maggie also didn’t seem to care about the fate of others all that much; instead doing whatever she wants without thinking about the possible consequences for others.

I wasn’t too sure what to make of the romance either. I didn’t feel the chemistry between Malcolm and Maggie at all, and their ‘connection’ in general felt forced. The switch between so-called workfriends and something more also didn’t feel natural and rushed, and I simply never found myself rooting for them. I much preferred spending more time with some of the other characters, and I would have loved to be able to join one of those secret book club meetings. The ending also felt a bit too convenient and not at all plausible… But that might just have been me being annoyed by Maggie in general by that point.

All in all there were things that I loved and other elements that didn’t work as well for me, but as a whole The Banned Bookshop Of Maggie Banks is still an entertaining read that fans of bookish contemporaries will most likely enjoy.

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