Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Beach Read

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Beach Read by Emily Henry

726 reviews

amandatory13's review against another edition

4.0

hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: N/A

Strong character development: Yes

Why is it called beach read if they are almost never on the beach

Content Warnings

grumpyreading's review against another edition

4.0

emotional 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: Complicated

🏝️ Beach Read by Emily Henry 🏝️

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Augustus Everett, a literary fiction author, and January Andrews, a romance writer, are polar opposites. Both struggling with writer's block, they end up in neighboring beach houses for the summer. They strike a deal: Augustus will write something happy, while January will tackle the Great American Novel. She’ll show him romantic spots; he’ll take her to interview cult members. No one will fall in love. Really.

Emily Henry does it again! I read this book a few years ago and didn’t like it, and now that I’ve been reading all of her other books I decided to try again and really enjoyed it. I loved January and Gus, and felt a lot of what they were dealing with felt very real and helped them develop as characters. Their backstories were not one-dimensional, and I feel like they made sense together. Like her other books, this one talked about some intense topics and the characters were definitely going through things, but it still felt lighthearted and sweet. I’d love to have read this on a beach!

Read this if you like:

enemies to lovers
bookish characters
dating lessons ish

Vibes: ⛱️✍️📚☕️🕶️🎥🤠🛥️✉️

Song that matches the vibe: To Love by Suki Waterhouse

Full review including content warnings on my StoryGraph.

Content Warnings

efletcher2014's review against another edition

4.5

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

lavrka's review against another edition

3.5

relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Content Warnings

francineh98's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny reflective 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: Yes

Beach Read surprised me—not with sun-soaked scenes or lighthearted escapism, but with its emotional depth and vulnerability. I'm someone who gravitates toward stories with neatly tied, happy endings, and yet I found myself moved by Emily Henry’s more realistic approach. She reminds us that not all endings are perfect, but a “happy-for-now” can be just as meaningful. It's a beautiful reminder that healing, growth, and love often come in imperfect but powerful forms.

Content Warnings

buhains's review against another edition

3.0

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Content Warnings

beezandbea's review against another edition

2.5

hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

annaboonana's review against another edition

3.0

emotional 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

I’m not a romance girlie, but this book was cute. I liked the story and that it wasn’t just about falling in love like so many other romance books can be like, both characters were very layered and broken, but didn’t blame each other for their issues which I liked. Emily Henry definitely knows how to break the mold in romance novels.

I did have some issues with the writing…I feel like I hit 50% of the book and felt like it could have ended there (minus the closure of her relationship with her father) Their relationship moved way too fast. I really wanted to hear more about the rivalry/enemy relationship they seemed to have in the first few chapters, but none of that was there. There was very little build up to their romantic relationship. I didn’t feel any tease that I wanted.

Secondly, the ending??? wtf? He literally told her he didn’t want to get married again and then all of a sudden asks her to marry her??? no….thats such lazy writing.

I think if you’re not a fan of romance this book has more of a story that I think most will like, and obviously if you’re into romance then have at it!

Content Warnings