Jackie Ashenden has been a long-time favourite author of mine, especially for some of her earlier more erotic romances. Book People is a small-town contemporary romance about two rival booksellers, but there are some interesting family secrets that add some mystery and atmosphere to the story, making it a very enjoyable and entertaining read.

Kate Jones has inherited a property in Wychtree, a picture-perfect English Village. As a former book editor, she’s always wanted to own a bookshop so she’s opened one herself, named Portable Magic. She stocks all kinds of popular fiction and rotates her window display regularly to feature a fiction genre. Across the street is another bookshop, Blackwood Books, run by Sebastian Blackwood, which been passed down through his family and which stocks non-fiction and literary novels, more high-brow affairs than what Kate stocks.

Sebastian is not pleased, to say the least, that there is another bookshop in their small town. After all, even when residents wanted some popular fiction he didn’t stock, they’d always order it through him. But now they are going to Kate’s store instead, costing him sales. And it’s been a financially stressful time lately, not helped by having a rival bookshop to contend with. Plus Kate is just so annoyingly beautiful and friendly and charming – nothing at all like Sebastian’s reserved character.

But the two bookshop owners can’t keep out of each other’s circles for too long, especially when Kate hears that Sebastian is organizing a literary festival that she wants to be a part of. And when Sebastian’s headliner drops out, he has no choice but to accept Kate’s help with arranging another guest author, regardless of how he feels about her personally. And how he feels is… complicated.

As Kate and Sebastian plan the festival, they also get to know each other and Kate discovers Sebastian isn’t as cold as he seems. In fact, things between them get quite heated. And when they discover some historical letters that contain hints of a forbidden romance, they work at solving the mystery of the love affair together, discovering a window into a shared past. Can these two rivals find a way to help both their bookstores and get their own happy ending?

I was charmed by Book People from the outset! Enemies to lovers and opposites attract tropes blend well together and that’s what we have here for Kate and Sebastian. I loved the idea of two bookstores that cater to different customers collaborating together to ensure the survival of both, and the sexy romance between Kate and Sebastian unfolds at a brisk pace once they admit their attraction to each other.

I also really liked the historical mystery they work on together. Each chapter begins with a quote from one of the letters of the couple involved in the forbidden romance, and learning about them helps Kate and Sebastian come to terms with some of the more tragic events that have shaped their own lives. The overall result is a page-turning, enjoyable story I’m happy to recommend to bibliophiles and contemporary romance readers who like a little mystery with their romance.