I get a lot of compliments on this fireplace, and I really do like it. The bookshelves are more for decorative items -- they are not really big enough to hold most books, but they do look nice. The biggest surprise for me is the amount of heat this puts out. When I get home from work on chilly days, I turn this on right away and it really heats the room up nicely. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is that it is difficult to put together, even with a partner. Before a brace is added, it's easy for the structure to collapse, damaging it structure. Mine was damaged, but it's not too noticeable. Overall, though, I'm happy with my purchase and would buy it again. (I would just use three people when assembling it for stability.