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r_oy_s's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Somehow I had a hunch in the beginning that this book was meant to be savored, not rushed through to get to the end. And boy I wasn't wrong.
January Andrews, a popular romance writer moves into a lake house for the summer to spend her days by the water clearing her writer's block so that she can write her next bestseller and meanwhile comes face to face with some family secrets that upended her life. Coincidentally, she comes across Augustus Everett, a famous literary fiction writer as her neighbour who also happened to be her college nemesis. Lo and behold, Gus is also going through a tough writing process. So, together they strike a deal to get out of this rut by switching out their preferred writing genre with each other and help one another to understand the process of writing their newly assigned genre fiction. The only condition is that : they must not fall in love with each other. Righttt.
This was my first time reading an Emily Henry book therefore I wasn't sure what to expect. What drew me in was the promise of good old trope enemies-to-lovers romance. But, it was more than that. There was ample of witty, flirty and humourous banter between Gus and January that sure had me laughing but in between there were also family dramas, insecurities, betrayal, heartbreak, lust, angst, unconditional parental love, battle with terminal illness, abusive relationship, perseverance, friendship that withstand every ups and downs of life, grief of losing a loved one, joy, new found hope, second chance at love, trust, happiness and life - an amalgamation of contrasting experiences of human life skillfully captured by the author between the pages. I could relate with January on a personal level regarding her never ending grief of paternal loss. That's why when she started reading those letters from her father my heart felt like it was breaking into tiny little pieces. It was somewhat a cathartic experience nevertheless.
While January might be sometimes a little awkward, blunt who wears her heart on her sleeves, oftentimes her spurts of contemplation and maturity took me by surprise. Whereas Gus was the broody, mysterious one who prefers to keep his emotions in check and his considerateness proved that he's more than meets the eye. Although their perception of life, values, beliefs might not be the same but somehow they click together perfectly. Both of their journeys of self-discovery intertwined with the process from their disliking for one another to companionship and ultimately towards intimacy was beautifully woven. Even though the entire book is written from January's POV the few inclusion of Gus's POV made it worthwhile. The crackling tension between these two was so palpable that I was about to lose my goddamn mind. Every word coming out of Gus' mouth had me sighing, giggling, blushing and swooning! He's the true gem.
The title mi ht seem to be a deceiving one because it's not your typical fun, light beach read rather it consists of more substance and emotional depth than it suggests. It's another evidence of the author's incisive humour which was present throughout the book and her attempt to make a clever jab at the common perception of women's literary fiction. Even though the ending was wholesome, I was hoping to get more of January and Gus as a couple living together but I guess the author was mindful to pay attention to their need for happy-for-now. Regardless, the rollercoaster ride of emotions, infused with a healthy dose of sarcasm and love written with perfect pace made the journey of Gus and January and unforgettable read and they will always have a piece of my heart.
January Andrews, a popular romance writer moves into a lake house for the summer to spend her days by the water clearing her writer's block so that she can write her next bestseller and meanwhile comes face to face with some family secrets that upended her life. Coincidentally, she comes across Augustus Everett, a famous literary fiction writer as her neighbour who also happened to be her college nemesis. Lo and behold, Gus is also going through a tough writing process. So, together they strike a deal to get out of this rut by switching out their preferred writing genre with each other and help one another to understand the process of writing their newly assigned genre fiction. The only condition is that : they must not fall in love with each other. Righttt.
This was my first time reading an Emily Henry book therefore I wasn't sure what to expect. What drew me in was the promise of good old trope enemies-to-lovers romance. But, it was more than that. There was ample of witty, flirty and humourous banter between Gus and January that sure had me laughing but in between there were also family dramas, insecurities, betrayal, heartbreak, lust, angst, unconditional parental love, battle with terminal illness, abusive relationship, perseverance, friendship that withstand every ups and downs of life, grief of losing a loved one, joy, new found hope, second chance at love, trust, happiness and life - an amalgamation of contrasting experiences of human life skillfully captured by the author between the pages. I could relate with January on a personal level regarding her never ending grief of paternal loss. That's why when she started reading those letters from her father my heart felt like it was breaking into tiny little pieces. It was somewhat a cathartic experience nevertheless.
While January might be sometimes a little awkward, blunt who wears her heart on her sleeves, oftentimes her spurts of contemplation and maturity took me by surprise. Whereas Gus was the broody, mysterious one who prefers to keep his emotions in check and his considerateness proved that he's more than meets the eye. Although their perception of life, values, beliefs might not be the same but somehow they click together perfectly. Both of their journeys of self-discovery intertwined with the process from their disliking for one another to companionship and ultimately towards intimacy was beautifully woven. Even though the entire book is written from January's POV the few inclusion of Gus's POV made it worthwhile. The crackling tension between these two was so palpable that I was about to lose my goddamn mind. Every word coming out of Gus' mouth had me sighing, giggling, blushing and swooning! He's the true gem.
The title mi ht seem to be a deceiving one because it's not your typical fun, light beach read rather it consists of more substance and emotional depth than it suggests. It's another evidence of the author's incisive humour which was present throughout the book and her attempt to make a clever jab at the common perception of women's literary fiction. Even though the ending was wholesome, I was hoping to get more of January and Gus as a couple living together but I guess the author was mindful to pay attention to their need for happy-for-now. Regardless, the rollercoaster ride of emotions, infused with a healthy dose of sarcasm and love written with perfect pace made the journey of Gus and January and unforgettable read and they will always have a piece of my heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Moderate: Infidelity and Sexual content
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
amirasarchive's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
i can see why this is such a favourite for so many people! the writing was so good and i love being inside januaryโs head. seeing her grow and heal throughout the book was beautiful. i wish we got more of gus and his life. it felt a bit unfinished in that aspect. i wish we got to see more of his healing process, similarly to january
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Infidelity, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse
vibingandy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Death of parent
there is a lot of time spent talking to cult survivors as well as learning about cults and even visiting the sites of a lot of deaths as a result of the religious cult that was being focused on.houlaheup's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Cancer and Infidelity
Minor: Vomit and Alcohol
spellbindingtomes's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
๐๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ข๐ญ๐ธ๐ข๐บ๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ.
๐๐ข๐ง๐ข ๐๐ฒ๐ง๐จ๐ฉ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ:
Two writers with opposing styles - a cynical romance novelist and a brooding literary author - challenge each other to switch genres for the summer while living as neighbors. They agree to inspire each other's writing through themed outings, all while promising not to fall in love. Their creative experiment may end up changing more than just their writing.
โข
โข
โข
Unfortunately, Beach Read didn't quite hit the mark for me. I struggled to connect with the plot and characters, and the audiobook had me drifting off more than I'd like to admit ๐ซ
I also thought the tone of the book was all over the place. I went into this thinking I'd be reading a breezy summer romance (which we do get at times!), but it deals with pretty heavy topics.
I can't help but feel that maybe I just picked this up at the wrong timeโso soon after reading and LOVING Book Lovers. It's one of those rare cases where I'm considering giving Beach Read another shot down the road.
For now, it's a solid 3-stars for me. But don't let my review stop you from checking it out! I'm definitely in the minority here. So many people have Beach Read as their favorite EmHen book. And after diving into three of her books, I've realized that her diverse writing style means there's likely an EmHen novel out there for every type of romance reader, even if not every book resonates with everyone.
So give Beach Read a shot because you might end up loving it ๐งก
Read if you like:
โ๐ผ rivals to lovers
๐ next door neighbor
โ๐ผ small town romance
๐ writers romance
โ๐ผ family secrets
๐๐ข๐ง๐ข ๐๐ฒ๐ง๐จ๐ฉ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ:
Two writers with opposing styles - a cynical romance novelist and a brooding literary author - challenge each other to switch genres for the summer while living as neighbors. They agree to inspire each other's writing through themed outings, all while promising not to fall in love. Their creative experiment may end up changing more than just their writing.
โข
โข
โข
Unfortunately, Beach Read didn't quite hit the mark for me. I struggled to connect with the plot and characters, and the audiobook had me drifting off more than I'd like to admit ๐ซ
I also thought the tone of the book was all over the place. I went into this thinking I'd be reading a breezy summer romance (which we do get at times!), but it deals with pretty heavy topics.
I can't help but feel that maybe I just picked this up at the wrong timeโso soon after reading and LOVING Book Lovers. It's one of those rare cases where I'm considering giving Beach Read another shot down the road.
For now, it's a solid 3-stars for me. But don't let my review stop you from checking it out! I'm definitely in the minority here. So many people have Beach Read as their favorite EmHen book. And after diving into three of her books, I've realized that her diverse writing style means there's likely an EmHen novel out there for every type of romance reader, even if not every book resonates with everyone.
So give Beach Read a shot because you might end up loving it ๐งก
Read if you like:
โ๐ผ rivals to lovers
๐ next door neighbor
โ๐ผ small town romance
๐ writers romance
โ๐ผ family secrets
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Grief, and Death of parent
yellowbinge's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, and Infidelity
leannanecdote's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Suicide
bwblue's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Cancer
ryleighh's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
The sexual tension between Janie and Gus was so good. The story progressed naturally, nothing felt forced. Loved each character so dearly, I was so invested! Definitely one of the best romances ive read, i couldnt bring myself to put it down lol. Now i want to read Gus and January's books, shame they're only fictional๐ญ
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Infidelity, Grief, and Death of parent
jkribbit's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Fire/Fire injury