Title: The Bookshop Below
Author: Georgia Summers
Published: November 18, 2025
Format: audiobook ARC
My Rating: 3.5 stars/5
Synopsis: If you want a story that will change your life, Chiron’s bookshop is where you go. For those lucky enough to grace its doors, it’s a glimpse into a world of powerful bargains and deadly ink magic.
For Cassandra Fairfax, it’s a reminder of everything she lost, when Chiron kicked her out and all but shuttered the shop. Since then, she’s used her skills in less ethical ways, trading stolen books and magical readings to wealthy playboys and unscrupulous collectors.
Then Chiron dies under mysterious circumstances. And if Cassandra knows anything, it’s this: the bookshop must always have an owner.
But she’s not the only one interested. There’s Lowell Sharpe, a dark-eyed, regrettably handsome bookseller she can’t seem to stop bumping into; rival owners who threaten Cassandra from the shadows; and, of course, Chiron’s murderer, who is still on the loose.
As Cassandra tries to uncover the secrets her mentor left behind, a sinister force threatens to unravel the world of the magical bookshops entirely…
My thoughts from the Vault
Disclaimer: I received an audiobook ARC of this book. I chose to review it and this in no way impacts my opinion of it.
I was (obviously) drawn to this book because of that absolutely GORGEOUS cover. I’m always a little wary of requesting audiobooks through Netgalley because I am very selective with my narrators. If a book is going to keep my attention (especially when I’m listening while doing other things), I need the narrator to be amazing. And boy, did Gabrielle Nellis-Pain ever deliver. Her voice made it feel as though the magic was coming to life in my ears. The narration flowed through my brain like a calm forest stream flows over smooth rocks.
At the beginning of this book, I was hooked. Absolutely obsessed, couldn’t get enough. It felt mysterious, it felt magical, it felt fantastical. Somewhere in the middle I found it began to lose that fantastical feeling but the novel was still enjoyable.
When the novel starts out, the reader doesn’t understand how the magic system or world works. I enjoyed this little mystery at the beginning because it was fun; until I was halfway through the novel and I still felt like I had no idea how the magic system or world really worked. As Cassandra was already invested in this world, it seems the author forgot to teach the readers a little of the worlds history.
I really enjoyed Cassandra and Lowell. Both of their booksellers were wonderful as well. I found Summers did a really great job at making me either love or hate the characters in the way she wanted.
I think the audiobook is what made me enjoy this novel and I fear I would not have given it 3.5 stars if I had read the physical copy of the book. Huge props to Gabrielle Nellis-Pain.
Alice's Book Vault 