An Unlikely Story

I sooo wish their selection was bigger because I’m so smitten with this quaint little bookshop. It’s the perfect place to spend an afternoon. They have a little café in the corner wish a wide selection of drinks and food so that you pretty much never have to leave, and plenty of comfortable seating. There’s an upstairs that looks like it will be expanded into eventually. More books is really all they need to make it absolutely perfect. Even so, it’s the best little bookshop I’ve ever been to. None of that big corporate feel, and all the charm of being in Mom’s living room. Can’t wait to come back!

I love this place!!! Mom and pop feel with the barnes and noble convenience. Anything they don’t have you can order and you get an email when it comes in. The employees are great and share a passion for reading so you can trust their suggestions. They have a great café with wine and sangria!!! Books, booze & bagels, what else can you ask for!!!

The café is a perfect meeting place to relax with friends over a great cup of coffee and a sweet. The coffee cake was as good as homemade and the muffins were fresh and fabulous!

What a fun, sweet bookstore for little and big humans alike!
It is a small space, with a big personality and a great selection. Lots of areas to sit and browse, and cute little nooks for kids to cozy-​up with a book. The café is a nice touch with a limited (but appropriate) menu of bakery items and sandwiches, tea and coffee. The café area makes for an adult space to read the paper and watch the world go by. I love the big porch entrance with outdoor seating too.
There aren’t enough bookstores, in my opinion, and certainly not enough bookstores of «An Unlikely Story» caliber. This is a great addition to the Plainville area, and I hope it’s around for years to come.

So happy to have a local cool bookstore in the area. The most well read helpful staff around. It may be small but they can order and recommend great reads. Not just for kids adults will love this local spot as well. Prices are the same as any other book store.

I used to come through this area of Route 1A years ago, and used to be so dumpy, old, and nothingness, yet now, Jeff Kinney has revitalized the entire area of Plainville center, and project after project it continues to look better and better. This bookstore, café, and gift shop (3 categories how I describe the store), is very new, modern, and cool. Not TONS of space, and doesn’t have as many books as Barnes&Noble or Park Street Books, yet does have some great books, useful gifts (perfect for the upcoming holiday…), and a adorable little café. Definitely somewhere I would come back, just sort of in the middle of nowhere, but whatever.
Overall, 4 star bookstore. Not the same as Park Street (also, no used books), but is adorable and revitalized the entire area of Plainville Center.
Located at the intersection of Routes 1A & 106 in Plainville MA. 10 minutes from the Wrentham Outlets, 20 minutes from the Emerald Square Mall, and 20 minutes from Patriot Place.

Cute store, much better than the ugly building that used to be there. A little too pricey with too many hardcovers and not enough paperbacks. I was really disappointed in the little kids’ section, it’s tiny with a very limited selection. My 7yo loved the place and we bought a Wimpy Kid book and key chain, but I was glad that I didn’t bring the 4yo, she would would’ve been very upset that there were hardly any books for her.

Just go. Enjoy the renovated space — have some coffee, or even a glass of wine, people-​watch, peruse some books and find something new. Fantastic space, great atmosphere. So glad to see a bookstore that is not a chain rejuvenate a locale. Thank you!!!

This is one of those adorable, charming, it’s too-​cute-​to-​be-​real kind of places that seem not to exist anymore. In a word, WONDERFUL. The ambience is clean and spacious, fun. I loved seeing so many kids excited about reading and plenty of adults there w/​o children. Is it as well-​stocked as a Barnes and Noble? No, but the quality and attention to detail makes up for that. Are the prices higher than you’d expect at a Barnes and Noble? Definitely, but again, unless you’re buying books on the regular, this place is still completely worth the trip.
My girlfriend and I drove there all the way from Boston just to take a look at this place. We had a lovely lunch (mostly prepackaged salads and sandwiches, espresso menu, pastries, and yogurt) that we topped off with a to-​die-​for slice of coffee cake. Also, I ordered an iced coffee and they had almond milk! That’s only becoming more common (I can’t do dairy or soy milk) in hipster-​y types of cafes, so that was really welcome.
Everything is so strategically placed that I ended up buying a coffee table book called «God Got a Dog» or something like that that I never ordinarily would’ve noticed because it made me laugh out loud and tear up in the middle of this busy store. I bought a couple of hardcover books for my infant nephew’s birthday. While we were here, there was a man doing book-​signings! How fun! It seemed like he wrote a book about drawing for kids. Just too cute.
You can just tell that someone really cares about this store, that someone really pays attention to detail, that the staff really want their customers to enjoy themselves and to remember how much a good book can really change things. If I had money to blow and lived a bit closer, I would probably be coming here all the time!

I’m not much of a book person but my wife is and she loves the place. very comfortable place, very cute front porch with about 14 chairs and benches out front and comfortable leather seats and tables inside. it looks like a very nice book store and all my friends and wife have complained since borders closed years ago in attleboro. it was very busy in here which is a good sign because I didn’t think it was going to catch on here but I guess by word of mouth it has become a hit. Did I mention the best part … Ya a café with awesome coffee and cakes … Just sayin I’m not a book guy but I am a coffee junkie.

So happy to see a great bookstore. Beautiful décor — only complaint was that some of the books were in corner shelves and it got a bit crowded.
Limited selection — but in my opinion really well curated. I was looking for books that are literary and off the beaten path as well as old favorites.
I thought there was a good selection of trade softback books and lots of books going ontpo my list.
I’ll be back !

Stopped by for the first time today and had a buffalo chicken wrap at the café, which was fresh and delicious. Also had a slice of coffee cake and a latte. All were a cut above the usual café-​in-​a-​store fare.
Yes, the shelves are a little empty at the moment, but this is a brand-​new bookstore. If you don’t see a category of book you’re looking for, or a favorite author, tell a bookseller or a manager! A good independent bookstore can and will adapt to serve the needs of its community. The right ingredients are there; this place just needs some time to grow. (Full disclosure – I’ve worked at another, established bookstore for 9 years.)
The second-​floor events space is beautiful. I would go so far as to say you could have a small-​scale wedding or a bar/​bat mitzvah there, though I have no idea whether they plan on renting it for such events.
The leather armchair in the corner of the café WILL make you fall asleep if you sit in it.

So… I am SO excited that a book/​coffee shop has opened in the local area! The ambiance and book selections are right up my alley! I had lost all faith in humanity when my favorite bookstore Borders turned into a liquor store… but perhaps this renewed my faith a bit… BUT
For us middle class folks on a budget there aren’t enough paperbacks. I RARELY invest in a hardcover unless I believe the book is special. I do not have $ 30.00 to drop on a book I will finish in a day or two when I can borrow it from the library… the paperbacks tempt me to splurge, and I don’t mind paying $ 10 –15 bucks to own them, but the three I was interested in were only available in hardcover (and guess what I feel guilty because I borrowed them from the library). Make it easier for me to support the store please! I want it to stay! Lol
Lastly, I attempted to get some things from the café but they weren’t fully prepared and they had 20% of items listed on the menu. I figured I couldn’t go wrong with a tiny prepared salad… but the sticker said $ 8.00. I would have thought $ 6.95 at most being it isn’t a restaurant and the serving size was small. On the upside, the barista was pleasant.
I will be back, but prices need to be more realistic for everyone. Adults, parents, kids and teens need a good healthy place to go to without going broke trying to buy a coffee and a book.

The people who complained about the book selection must be into some pretty underground stuff, because this place has an AMAZING selection of new and popular titles. As a Kindle convert, I rarely buy physical books anymore. I walked out of this bookstore with 2 new books. That’s how pleased I was with the selection. You gotta love Independent bookstores.
As other users have mentioned, the ambiance is unbeatable. It’s in a new building so everything is fresh and pleasant.
The service was great at the café and the register. I had a latte and it was good too. Next time I’ll definitely take advantage of the wine and beer selection (probably the most impressive part about this establishment!).
Conclusion: This store is like something straight out of downtown Boston or Providence, but nestled in Plainville. A local jem for sure!

The ambience is perfect. Not quite as big as a Barnes and Noble, but way more charm. The menu is improving and the staff have all been great. Third time here and definitely coming back. Not surprised that there were occasionally long lines and whatnot in these first few weeks. This is an independent bookstore, not one link in a huge corporate chain. That’s just another reason to return.

I’d love to make this review 5 stars, because An Unlikely Story is such a great addition to the town center! However, the limited menu left me hungry after my lunch of a buffalo chicken wrap from a refrigerated case that was pretty dry with no dressing, only crumbled blue cheese.
That being said, I’m more than happy to support a local, independent bookstore, and I can’t wait to return and try the full menu.

I’m going to have to second a lot of what Harry T. said in his review, although I didn’t eat here, so I can’t comment there. I WANTED to eat, but the limited menu was, like, whatever. Why not square away the whole operation including the food prior to the grand opening?
Store space is lovely but really stinking cramped. Two way traffic between bookcases was especially hard to navigate. Book selection was so-​so, since they have obviously been picked clean since their opening. I was expecting some offbeat or esoteric titles, but there was really nothing special. Employees were either very helpful or sullen (the cashier, for example, looked at our books with mild disdain and wrinkled her nose as if I’d farted at her and she was trying to avoid the smell). Very loud for a bookstore. Parking lot is kind of sucky too, though they get props for the e-​car recharge station.
I feel badly knocking the place since it’s obvious that Kinney really wants this local business to succeed and be a fixture in Plainville. However, they’ve got a ways to go before the place really takes off.

I may be a little rough here, since they recently opened, but I was very disappointed with this establishment. While the décor is wonderful and the ambiance right on target, I just couldn’t get into it. Their menu was limited, but even if they had the full menu available, I’d call it limited. My wife and I went for fika, so she grabbed a coffee and croissant while I ended up with a ginger beer because they didn’t have anything hot that I wanted. Without any other pastry to pick-​up, I nommed on my wife’s croissant.
I looked around at the books, and I wasn’t really impressed with the selection overall. The store really isn’t large enough to carry a wide range, and didn’t have enough stuff on the shelf that seemed overly special.
I can see this going one of two ways — it could go on as tourist place, or it could be an interesting spot for a local scene to develop. As neither a local nor a tourist, I don’t think I’ll be headed back soon.
The Good — It has its own parking lot. Coffee was adequate, though the up charge for almond milk is a bit dodgey. The décor is awesome. The possibility of this becoming the center of a local scene can’t be denied.
The Bad — Limited book selection, very few unique titles.
The Ugly — Limited menus stink, and this one was not exciting at all. The spicy ginger beer I had was a huge disppointment. Spicy ginger beer should taste like ginger — hot and spicy. This was sweet as candy, and since the fellow at the counter had not tried the product he was selling, he had to ask my opinion rather than being able to supply his own to inform my purchase.

How could I resist? A bookstore that sells beer. If they had a bed, I would probably move in. We went opening weekend so the place was jamming, but I could see it in a few months, a busy but open space where you can peruse some books and grab a sandwich.
The store is owned by Wimpy Kid author, Jeff Kinney who is highly committed to preserving the history of his hometown of Plainville. The shelves, décor and furniture were all made from reclaimed pieces from the original storefront, and on the walls, you’ll notice re-​creations of the antique signage, not to mention the Quidditch brooms in the children’s section. My whole family adored the place. We will definitely be going back.

How refreshing to see people venturing into small independent book stores. Quaint little store with lots of great touches! The ceiling is whimsical with flying brooms and flying books. The artwork is rustic and cheerful. The café is a bit pricy but that is to be expected for an independent bookstore. Owned by children’s author, Jeff Kinney. Great customer service! I can’t wait for our next visit. I wonder how many of Mr. Kinney’s author friends would do book signings here.