Book Review: ‘The Battle of the Bookshops’ by Poppy Alexander

Book Title: The Battle of the Bookshops: A Novel
Author: Poppy Alexander
Publisher: Avon
Number of Pages: 352
ISBN: 978-0063491458
Date Published: Aug. 25, 2025
Price: INR 280

Book Review

“The Battle of the Bookshops” by Poppy Alexander is a charming literary-themed novel set in the seaside town of Portneath, where Jules Capelthorne, a young woman, rescues her great-aunt’s bookshop from extinction by the shiny new competition run by the handsome son of her family’s rivals. The bookshop, which has been in operation for nearly a hundred years, is near bankruptcy and unlikely to make it to its centenary celebration. The owner of the property is the insufferable Roman Montbeau, who has not improved since he tormented Jules as a child.

Jules, a young woman, abandons her publishing career to save her family’s bookshop, facing competition from her family’s rivals. The novel’s strength lies in its supporting characters, including Aunt Florence and Charlie, who bring wit and wisdom. The central conflict introduces historical mystery, allowing Alexander to explore themes of female empowerment across generations. The pacing maintains momentum, but the final act suffers from overreliance on coincidence and melodrama, with the dramatic fire destroying Roman’s bookshop feeling contrived and the lease dispute resolution lacking organic development.

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Alexander writes in a warm, charming tone with intellectual ambitions that are ideal for the modern romance genre. Portneath, from the high street to the small space above Capelthorne’s Books, is depicted with authentic affection in her descriptive passages. Compared to other genre fiction, “The Battle of the Bookshops” has more relevance because of its thematic complexity, which encompasses legacy and transition as well as the link between modern-day Jules and her ancestor Bridget Capelthorne.

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