Recommended for You by Laura Silverman

Recommended for You

by Laura Silverman

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before meets You’ve Got Mail in this “cozy, swoon-worthy” (Ashley Poston, author of the Once Upon a Con series) rom-com following two teen booksellers whose rivalry is taken to the next level as they compete for the top bookseller bonus.

Shoshanna Greenberg loves working at Once Upon, her favorite local bookstore. And with her moms fighting at home and her beloved car teetering on the brink of death, the store has become a welcome escape.

When her boss announces a holiday bonus to the person who sells the most books, Shoshanna sees an opportunity to at least fix her car, if none of her other problems. The only person standing in her way? New hire Jake Kaplan.

Jake is an affront to everything Shoshanna stands for. He doesn’t even read! But somehow his sales start to rival hers. Jake may be cute (really cute), and he may be an eligible Jewish single (hard to find south of Atlanta), but he’s also the enemy, and Shoshanna is ready to take him down.

But as the competition intensifies, Jake and Shoshanna grow closer and realize they might be more on the same page than either expects…

Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on

4 of 5 stars

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Once Upon, a local indie book store, was Shoshanna's escape. It was a place where she was received with open arms and where her talents and sparkling personality were always appreciated. At least it was until Jake, the NON-READER, started working there. He was determined to usurp Shoshanna as top salesperson, but she was willing to battle to the last book.

When I saw the cover for this book, I knew I had to read it. The cover screamed cute, sweet, adorable, merry, and bright, and I was thrilled to find that all those words can also be used to describe the story.

Shoshanna was the heart of this tale, and there were a bunch of cracks forming in her life. Her mothers were fighting, her car needed expensive repairs, and Jake was immune to her charms. It was rather delightful watching these two spar, but it was even better seeing them find some common ground and unite for the greater good. They were actually really good for each other. Shoshanna was well meaning, but could be impulsive and jump to conclusions. Spending time with Jake helped her slow down a bit and consider things from a different point of view, and as far as I'm concerned, growth is good.

The book is being billed as a rom-com, and it was fun and funny, but the romance was slow to come. However, there was enough flirting and banter to keep me happy, so I didn't mind the wait. I do wish Silverman had focused a bit more on the romance. There were many subplots in this book, and perhaps, one or two could have been eliminated in order to let us have a bit more on-page courtship. Nonetheless, these two were adorable, and there were many fun and fantastic interactions between them.

I absolutely loved the bookstore setting. Silverman did such a wonderful job bringing the store to life and filling it with such a fun mix of characters. It was hard not to get caught up in all the bookish things, but I also felt the love that filled Once Upon. I would say that almost all my favorite scenes took place in the bookstore. The competition, the celebrations, the events, or the simple conversations shared between book lovers were lots of fun to read about and the community aspect is something I always enjoy.

Overall: A lively and enjoyable story filled with lots of bookish love, warmth, and cheer.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 3 August, 2020: Finished reading
  • 3 August, 2020: Reviewed