Reviews

Beach Read by Emily Henry

evania's review against another edition

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5.0

no words.

norcali's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

brandentoro's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

prairiecult's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes

5.0

tencutepuppies's review against another edition

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4.0

(4.75) I love, love, love romance books with substance like this one. While of course I’m a sucker for the romance aspect on its own, it’s the things like grief, familial bonds and starting again despite loss that really deepen the connection between the characters. The idea of your parent dying before you can reckon with the fact that they’re not at all who you thought is so heartbreaking because most often you’ll never know their intentions.

I do not like cheesy couple moments, and this book was thankfully not that at all. Instead it was sort of angsty at times (the right amount) with these great emotional scenes, and had really great banter that felt both witty and sort of, like, unique to these characters. Another thing I think this book did well was how November and Gus interacted; I could really feel their bond growing and their connection was so electric. I’ve read a couple books where it feels like there’s supposed to be tension and emotional payoff in situations like theirs and it just doesn’t work. But it’s pulled off beautifully in this story in a way that makes you really feel the heart in it. If that makes sense.

The art of writing and being an author was captured so well: the struggle it takes, but ultimately the love for your own creation when it’s done. It made me want to write when I should have been writing instead of reading this book.

P.S. It made me tear up like a bitch at the end. And I am infamously not a crier.

takealoadoff's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

  • Let me preface this by saying I don't read romance novels very often - and this book was unfortunately not encouraging me to go deeper. 
  • The amount of frustrating understandings had me furious! I lost count of the number of times I've rolled my eyes while reading the book. Eight? Ten? How many times did I read some narcissistic self-defeating narrative yelling "UGH you're so annoying!"

paigey03's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

nyxesss's review against another edition

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2.0

Characters 4
writing 5.5
plot 4.5
entertainment 3
4.3★

murasakiana's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

zaza_bdp's review against another edition

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4.0

J'aime les plumes comme celle d'Emily Henry, et ça a vraiment été un plaisir pour moi de découvrir cette autrice avec ce roman que je voulais lire depuis longtemps.

À travers les personnages de Gus et January, on parle de deuil, de pardon, d'amour, de création littéraire ... Bref autant de sujets qu'on imagine abordés dans des romans "sérieux" comme ceux qu'écrit Gus, mais pas les romans légers, dits "féminins" de January. J'ai beaucoup aimé suivre leur processus de création, et j'aurais aimé que le sujet soit encore plus développé par l'autrice. Forcément, en tant que lectrice de romance, le discours de January a résonné en moi, et j'ai aimé ce petit tacle féministe du début, ô combien réaliste !

Les personnages sont attachants, ils évoluent dans des lieux qu'on a envie de découvrir à notre tour, ainsi qu'aller boire un (mauvais) café dans la librairie de Pete. J'ai vraiment aimé beaucoup la façon dont Gus et January étaient traités par l'autrice, ainsi que par la façon dont la romance est écrite. C'est simple, c'est vrai, et c'est tout ce que j'aime. Finalement, pas besoin de grands tralalas, de virilité exacerbée à l'extrême, là, on est vraiment dans l'authenticité, c'est une relation "normale", et j'aime vraiment trouver ça dans une romance.


Une très belle découverte donc, je me réjouis de savoir que je pourrai retrouver la plume d'Emily Henry à travers d'autres ouvrages !