The Last Page

Holt (Not in My Book) captivates with this touching workplace rom-com. Avid reader Carmella “Ella” Sanchez has her dream job as manager of New York City’s famous the Last Page bookstore. Its elderly founder, Leo Martin, has even promised to bequeath the store to her in his will. When he dies, however, Leo’s estranged grandson, Henry Martin, shows up to announce that Leo actually left the store to him. Ella is outraged, especially as Henry, a business consultant with a distaste for New York City, doesn’t seem to share her passion for books and plans to run the store remotely from his home in Tennessee. However, when Henry discovers the store’s dire financial situation, he taps Ella to brainstorm how to raise money quickly to save the store from closing. While working together, the animosity between Ella and Henry transforms into attraction as Henry comes to admire Ella’s talent at managing the store’s eclectic “family” of booksellers, and the pair bond as Ella shows Henry all her favorite Big Apple haunts. Holt expertly injects their romance with humor while crafting a love letter to book lovers and New York City. This is a charmer. Agent: Stefanie Rossitto, Tobias Literary. (May)

Correction: An earlier version of this review misidentified the author’s previous title.