The Bookstore Diaries
My Review of The Bookstore Diaries, a bookstore romance book that’s also a new spring romance for 2026! Let’s discuss this sweet sister story with a dual romance plot line!
The Bookstore Diaries by Susan Mallory
A sweet story with a dual romance plot, The Bookstore Diaries focuses on sisters Jax and Ryleigh. Jax runs the Painted Lady Bookstore while Ryleigh overs her job as a schoolteacher.
The relationships in this were realistically complicated. Jax is divorced and trying to co-parent her two kids withher ex. She and her sister are close, but Ryleigh longs to pursue her dream of living in San Diego, sending the controlling Jax spiraling.
Ryleigh’s romance plot revolves around the fact that she’s tired of waiting for her boyfriend Dustin to propose, and her friendship with a single dad that obviously has romance possibilities she’s unaware of.
The Bookstore Diaries had a cozy, leisurely pace.
The synopsis made a lot of the secret journals hidden in the bookstore, but they didn’t have as much of a central role in the plot as I expected. No matter, the sister story was realistic and moving. Ryleigh and Jax were close but it was also great to see that their relationship had growing pains. Each had her own romantic storyline: Ryleigh with a widower and single dad, the prickly Jax with her hunky contractor.
I’m not really a bird person but the highlight of this story for me was Ramon the parrot. Seriously!!
The Bookstore Diaries had
- A fun bookstore setting
- Realistic sister vibes
- One oblivious control freak + chill patient person romance
- One “you were there all along” friends to situationship to lovers romance
- One closed door romantic relationship
- A parrot who completely won my heart
- Publication date: March 5 2026 by Gallery Books. Thanks so much to them for the advance review copy.
The Bookstore Diaries is Perfect For:
- Fans of sweet small town romance books like Virgin River
- Readers who like books with multiple romance plots
- Readers who are looking for closed door romance
My Master Post on New Spring Romance Books for 2026 has spice levels, romance levels, and more for ALL my spring fling picks (including Summer State of Mind) so be sure to check it out!
