A neat little bookstore on the edge of the shopping district in Peoria Heights, inside is a cozy,…read morefriendly bookstore. The used books are mixed in with the new books so it can be a bit of an adventure. While they have a limited selection, this is definitely a bookstore you should visit. There is a bar-styled area near the back that has fun books about cocktails and making drinks.

Love this place and stopping in for a good book. Also they have great suggestions for gifts and…read morethey can order anything not on hand for pick up.

Beautifully laid out bookstore hosting a forward thinking selection of charged topics, mostly…read morebiased in a predictable direction, what we expected; the main room clean and inviting for the open mind. Got myself tickled surprised stumbling upon a new comic book styled adaptation of The Hobbit, didn't purchase, now I regret even for a pricer new edition. Very much there had been more celebration of literature's full magic, iconic authors, celebrated series, unique publishers, instead of just a couple main topics. Noticed the solo staff quietly holding down the side room at the back corner checkout, oddly not near the entry. The second oddity was a bewildering array of invisible god replacements: fortune telling, card reading, and general assortment of materials bent on using the star charts and crystal as religion. Always amusing to see attempts made to replace a simple prayer and book based church, that's remained unaltered for four thousand years, the endless chaos of frantic scrabbling at palm lines, tea leaves, and incense doesn't go along with the rest of the progressive socially cared for collection here. However I understand how quickly the mind starts to make up its own sense of self with the easiest options at hand not necessarily the ones that will last or prove worthwhile.

Lit on Fire Books is hands-down my favorite bookstore in Peoria! It's a hidden gem of a place with…read morean amazing collection of books that always seems to have exactly what I need -- or introduces me to something I didn't know I needed. The selection is wonderfully curated, and the store has a welcoming vibe that makes you want to stay for hours. The owner is absolutely fantastic--knowledgeable, friendly, and incredibly accommodating.

I looooooove this shop. It's somewhere time seems to slip away three times faster than other…read morestores. The owner is so welcoming and it's the perfect place to spend your free time!!

Peoria Book Rack is one of the best businesses in Peoria. The customer service is amazing and their…read moregift shop has some of the best items that you cannot buy anywhere else. I love their vast selection of used and new books.

This shop is New York-level. Impressive selection, eclectic and eye-catching decor, wonderful…read morearray of art (including local artists), utterly charming atmosphere. If it were in the Village, I'm sure I'd be going all the time. The folks behind it have impeccable taste, and their hearts are clearly in the right place. I wish them much success.

I have watched the growth of Bobzbay Books through the years and marvel at the innovative and trend…read moresetting promotions they have sponsored over time.

Just moved here to Peoria & was so excited to see they had a nice Barnes and Nobles with the cafe &…read moreall our favorite treats. Two or 3 times a month I make a trip for magazines and at least 1 book, after hitting up this cafe a couple times I quickly realized they over cook most of the items at this cafe, I really wish they would fix this. Dried out cup cakes over cooked hard cookies, these little treats aren't cheap so It would be nice if they were prepared with care and they didn't serve over cooked goodies. So disappointing, one day I spent $25 in this cafe on chocolate cupcakes and some sugar cookies, was disappointed as soon as I heard the kids say these cookies are hard as a rock. Thinking this was a one off, I tried again a week later and same thing. I mentioned it to the cashier on our last visit, I hope they take the time to make some changes & not take the customers money for bakery items that aren't prepared properly and probably shouldn't be sold.

This location was very helpful. They didn't try and lie to my face when I would ask if something…read morewas in stock. They would actually pull it on the computer, tell how many the store has in stock and helped me find what I was looking for instead of lying about it, saying they had no in stock, and asking if they could pre-order me something different for next time Instead. The Fairview Height, IL can't even compete with how great this store location! Great customer service!

This place is so cool! Definitely check it out if you haven't. They have the most unique selection…read morefor great prices!

Review Visit: March 11th, 2015…read more Thankfully they don't sell defective Acme comics.... wait, that sounds familiar. Yep, another Acme Comics post for my blog. This one is fortunately still open and is no way related to the Acme Comics in Normal, IL (which has closed recently). I am bias towards this store as I have been here many times. This store is my first place to scope out used video games. They don't have a large selection of current generation stuff, but they do have a lot of 'retro' games. Think NES, SNES, N64, PS2, Gameboy and the like. Everything is moderately priced, if not sometimes lower/higher than market value. But it's a locally owned business, so I don't mind paying a few more dollars to support a great shop. Since their inventory shifts, there is usually always something new to see when I go in. Lately, I have been getting old GamePro, Nintendo Power, Tips & Tricks magazines for $2 a piece. Talk about a nostalgic trip. They offer a large selection of CDs but they seem to be shying away from those in the more recent years. I believe they also do have vinyl and music dvds as well. I used to purchase a large amount of cds back in the day when they had 4/$10. Still reaping the benefits of that today with a massive music collection. Moving on, this place is a Comic shop first and foremost. While they do sell other things, obviously, I am betting the comic book scene is the bulk of their customers. One of my friends alone has a massive pull list there. I don't know much about comics, but they offer a wall of new arrivals as well as your $0.50 comics. The staff can be a bit inattentive at times, but they never seem bothered when you ask them for help. All in all, a pretty great local shop.

Love this store! I ended up starting the passport book tour here with my bestie!…read more The drinks are absolutely wonderful and staff had us laughing. This is a used bookstore that is very reasonably prices at $3 for paperbacks and $5 for hardbacks with a few other prices in between. They do game nights and have board games spread throughout the store. I really enjoyed having D20 die to figure out a drink because I happen to be very indecisive when there are lots of choices. We ended up a red wedding (17) and a stygian jungle night (18). Both were really good and my friend and I cannot wait to stop at this store again when we are back in town!

Needed a break from a conference and this place was a short and easy drive away. Delicious coffee,…read morefriendly staff, super cool space/atmosphere. The chocolate biscotti I had was so yum. Highly recommend.

I love this Barns and Noble. They always have a very pleasant environment and a wonderful…read moreselection of books. The prices are manageable, and their app gives you rewards! All of the staff I have met there is very nice, and the checkout always goes quick and smooth. I would recommend this Barns and Noble to anyone who's looking for a quiet environment and some great books.

There are no freakin' outlets! Go ahead, search the store like I did walking around the edges, by…read moretables, chairs and poles. You will find one. It is in the oddest place. I'm not going to tell you where because its quite useless and I figure I might as well let you have the joy that comes from self discovery. Magazine selection is superb, Starbucks on site is good but the baristas are not held to the same standard as stand alone stores. Book selection also good. But I no longer go to bookstores for the joy of buying books... that's what my Kindle and Amazon are for. I need a place where I can mooch off of the big corporation by reading magazines and books for free while imbibing an over priced cup of caffeine and typing notes from those mooched books on my laptop. But alas, I can't plug the darn thing in anywhere. I miss Borders :-(

This is THE place for that special gift - or for yourself. Spirituality, good taste, excellent…read morequality - just wonderful! Pura Platti, living at WoodRidge in Galesburg.

From the owner: Brighter Life is a book store, gift shop, card shop specializing in meaningful merchandise with a…read moreChristian message. We also sell general items like Clothing, purses and beautiful jewelry. We also offer custom framing. Brighter Life is a peaceful place to shop.