The Bookshop Battle

In the charming seaside town of Portneath, the bookshop Capelthorne’s Books has stood for nearly a century, its shelves settling beneath the creaking woodwork and sea-salt air. Jules Capelthorne once left this quaint world behind to pursue a career in a London publishing house—but when her great-aunt Florence grows too frail to continue, Jules returns home to mark the shop’s 100th anniversary and to breathe new life into its dusty aisles.
But what she finds is grimmer than expected: the lease is about to lapse, the shop is trillions of tasks short of the sum needed to secure its future, and a sleek new competitor has opened directly across the street—run by Roman Montbeau, heir to the powerful local Montbeau family, and Jules’s childhood tormentor. Roman, just back from New York, sees Capelthorne’s as a relic of romance and underinvestment; Jules sees it as heritage, memories, hope.
Forced into negotiating over contracts, inventories and community goodwill, these two adversaries soon find that book-lovers and local legends matter more than market shares. Jules must tap into creativity, reinvention and the heart of the town; Roman must confront the human cost of his ambition. As chapters turn, the battle becomes less about square footage and more about the stories books hold, and the people who carry them forward.
For readers who cherish both a love story and a love letter to independent bookshops, this novel offers humour, warmth and a vivid setting where the smell of old paper and the risk of modern investment collide. With 480 pages of spirited prose, this is an invitation to stand for the little bookshop in your life—and maybe fall in love along the way.