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bg_oseman_fan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Sexual content, Cancer, Grief, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Physical abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Vomit, Car accident, and Child abuse
cmags18's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcoholism
sourkiwi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Infidelity, Child abuse, Death of parent, Cancer, and Vomit
Minor: Alcoholism
annarbpollock's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual content, and Alcoholism
Minor: Fatphobia
jessiereads98's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Cancer, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, and Sexual content
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
sophiesometimesreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Firstly, these characters felt so real. I felt their feelings and was so connected with them. They were complicated and messy, and their flaws were real. Even when I wasn't reading the book, I was thinking about January and Gus. And not only were the characters great individually, they worked really well together and I could really believe in their relationship.
I also really loved the writing style, it was simple yet poetic at times but never tried too hard to be too poetic or flourished.
The conflict was believable but I appreciated that there were multiple forms of conflict and not one big miscommunication or misunderstanding, and these were resolved relatively quickly and not drawn out.
Overall, an excellent read that I would be happy to reread in the future and I am absolutely excited to read more of Emily Henry's work.
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Alcoholism
ktv's review against another edition
- 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
I liked the slow burn aspect and how the book centered around January and Gus’s problems. I thought it would be more grumpy x sunshine but I ended up liking it the way it was. I liked the second chance thing too.
-0.5 stars because the spicy scenes were significantly different than the ones in take a hint, Dani brown and it threw me off. Definitely a me problem, not an Emily Henry problem! The order u read books in matters, and I shoulda taken that into account before diving into this.
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Sexual content, Cancer, and Infidelity
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child death, Alcohol, and Cursing
Minor: Addiction and Alcoholism
queen_melliott's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Vomit, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Cancer, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use, Alcoholism, and Fire/Fire injury
kendra_taylors_version's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, and Cancer
Moderate: Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, and Vomit
kelly_e's review
- 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
3.25
Author: Emily Henry
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.25
Pub Date: May 19, 2020
T H R E E • W O R D S
Fun • Deep • Over-hyped
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Augustus, an acclaimed author of literary fiction and January, a bestselling romance novelist are polar opposites. Each struggling with writer's block and dealing with personal demons, they find themselves living next door to one another for the summer. One evening they strike up a deal: Gus will write something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Emily Henry's Beach Read has been absolutely everywhere, and so I fell victim to the hype and finally dove in. An original and deep plot with a side of romance is typically how I like my romance books, yet for me January and Gus lacked chemistry and I was expecting so, so, so much more from this novel.
There's no denying Emily Henry does banter unlike anyone else. It adds a lightness to often heavy content. With this book, there is excellent individual character growth, but I wasn't invested in the romance at all. In fact, I was way more invested in the plot and them writing their books. I felt as thought it started out strong, but faded by the midway point and never really regained traction. A few of the things I really appreciated were the exploration of grief, the east coast setting, and the letters.
For me, Beach Read was simply an average read, one I'll soon forget, which has me thinking Emily Henry's adult romances may just not be my cup of tea. I appreciate the depth of the plots, but the romance and lack of communication just don't cut it. With that said, I'll probably continue to read her books with hopes of finding one I really love.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of the grump/sunshine and/or enemies to lovers trope(s)
• readers who like depth in their rom-coms
• Emily Henry fans
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Bad things don't dig down through your life until the pit's so deep that nothing good will ever be big enough to make you happy again. No matter how much shit, there will always be wildflowers."
"Because I know no matter how long I get to love you, it will be worth whatever comes after."
"It was okay to let a little ugliness into your story. That it would never rob you of all the beauty."
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Sexual content
Moderate: Infidelity, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Cancer, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Addiction
Minor: Cursing, Suicide, Car accident, and Vomit