Book Review:The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks by Shauna Robinson

My Rating: 3.5 ⭐

As the story begins, we meet our protagonist, twenty-eight-year-old Maggie Banks as she reaches the small town of Bell River at the invitation of her best friend Rochelle, who is about to go on maternity leave and needs someone to take over her duties at Cobblestone Books, the bookshop partially owned by Rochelle’s family. Maggie, who has been unable to settle down in a career of her liking after graduating college and has been out of work and living with her parents in California, welcomes the change and the opportunity albeit a temporary one. Though not much of a reader herself, she is sure that with Rochelle’s guidance she should have no problems in managing a small town bookshop.

Unbeknownst to Maggie, River Bell is a town with a literary legacy and is thus also a tourist destination for those who are drawn to the literary legend of the late Edward Bell (after whom the town has been named), whose family partly owns most of the commercial establishments in the area and thus has a say in how local businesses are run. Cobblestone Books is no exception, selling books that were read and loved by Edward Bell in his lifetime (he passed in 1968), mostly classics. Anyone who enters the shop with a more contemporary reading list is promptly directed t the nearest Barnes and Noble store. Needless to say, Maggie finds herself at odds with the head of the Bell Society, Ralph Bell and his employee Malcolm who also aren’t quite impressed with Maggie. As tensions grow, Ralph decides to remove the Edward Bell books from the store, plunging sales and diminishing footfall into a downward spiral, prompting Maggie to resort to a more creative solution to save her friend’s family bookshop even if it means breaking the rules and starting an underground book club, inviting contemporary authors, hosting book readings with a twist and secretly selling books that would ordinarily never be allowed within the premises of Cobblestone Books. All this while hiding it from Ralph and keeping it a secret from Rochelle so as not to add to her financial woes and making sure Malcolm, who wasn’t quite as stuck up as she had initially assumed, doesn’t find out. She finds allies in the friendly people in the local community and even her grouchy neighbor Vernon doesn’t stand in the way. But how long can she keep it a secret? Can she save the bookshop and introduce change in the way things have normally been done? What does this mean for Maggie? Has she finally found her calling?

Stories such as these are rarely unpredictable, so it's all in the journey and this was a fun one with actually a few surprises along the way. I am partial to stories revolving around books, bookstores and libraries and this one did not disappoint! I enjoyed following Maggie as she gradually falls in love with reading, even trying a few of the Classics (not that there is anything wrong in not enjoying them). At a point, I thought that the author was categorizing readers into airtight silos – those who enjoy the Classic and those who enjoy contemporary fiction in different genres. But as the story progresses, and we see Maggie and Malcolm open up to new reading experiences and breaking away from preconceived notions about certain books and genres, the author shows how people can enjoy books that don’t necessarily fall within one’s comfort zone and even if they choose not to, readers should not be judged for reading whatever appeals to them. As a lifelong reader who loves trying different kinds of books, enjoying some and others not so much, this resonated with me. Quirky characters, small-town dynamics, loads of humor and a sweet romance make for an engaging read. Overall, The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks by Shauna Robinson is an entertaining, light-hearted read that I enjoyed.

Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks is due to be released on November 1, 2022.