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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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
fast-paced
Quick read, fun and light story.lives up to its name!
lighthearted
medium-paced
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'd heard so much about this book and I didn't find it to be all that it was cracked up to be.
This was my first Emily Henry read and I didn't find the characters particularly likeable nor did I really care for their romance.
This was my first Emily Henry read and I didn't find the characters particularly likeable nor did I really care for their romance.
I did in fact cry at the end of ch. 25.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of the romance in this book? And that’s silly bc it’s a romance book … but I found January’s experience with her family and figuring out how to work through her dad’s passing was really heart tugging.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of the romance in this book? And that’s silly bc it’s a romance book … but I found January’s experience with her family and figuring out how to work through her dad’s passing was really heart tugging.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Review can be read at Katie's Books and Reviews
Beach Read has popped up only many lists as one of the most anticipated romance books of the year and also heralded as a romance for people who don’t like romance. Having now read it, I can see why it’s been filling up my feed for both those reasons!
In this one we follow January who is running away from life for a while, having found out at her father’s funeral, that he cheated on her mother whilst she was suffering through cancer. Being a best-selling romance writer, this revelation shakes her faith in true love and as a result leaves her with a severe case of writer’s block. Spending her time at her father’s secret beach house seems like a good way to hide from life for a while and get over her broken heart. Sorting through his belongings proves a good distraction, but an even better distraction is her new next-door neighbour, fellow best-selling author and university arch nemesis Gus.
“As different as I’d thought we were, it felt a little bit like Gus and I were two aliens who’d stumbled into each other on Earth only to discover we shared a native language.”
Working through his own magic past, Gus and January find solace in each other and a bet, that each of them can write, and sell the others genre first. As the bet goes along, each are pushed out of their comfort zone and help each other break through the chains of their pasts that is holding them back from moving on. Writing in each other’s genres emerges sunny and optimistic January in Gus’s dark and messy mind, and him in January’s life of happy ever afters. They find themselves melding genres, each of them interweaving bits of themselves and the other into the type of work and narrative they create, and the cathartic experience starts to heal them both.
“I’ve always admired that. The way your writing always makes the world seem brighter, and the people in it a little braver.”
Set in a small country town, this summer fling is set against a backdrop of weird characters, wild research excursions and their twin beach houses. The book deals with their animosity, growing understanding of each other and eventual romance. But it also explored their relationships with their families and how that can break and shape them as adults, loss of trust and faith and what it means to forgive and learn from the past.
“In my own story, I didn’t want to be the heroine who let some silly miscommunication derail something obviously good, but in my real life, I felt like I’d rather risk that and keep my dignity than keep laying everything out.”
Beach Read is romantic, but it is not just a romance, and it leaves you with much more to think about than the story of two people falling in love despite their wounds. The author mixes romance with the harder hitting issues, mixes humour with sadness and overall, we get a well-balanced book about two people overcoming the adversity of real life. The writing was beautiful, and I felt myself relating to so much of what the characters said. I was interested the whole way through and whilst I wouldn’t describe this one as a major page turner, I was very happy spending my time with these characters and I enjoyed their growth throughout the novel. I also became quite invested in the stories they wrote and wouldn’t mind picking those ones up either!
“I’ve never met someone who is so perfectly my favourite person. When I think about being with you every day, no part of me feels claustrophobic.”
I’m on par here with most recommendations for this book being a good choice for someone that doesn’t read a huge amount of romance, and who tends towards the ones that feature a lot more in their plots than the romantic aspects.
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Beach Read has popped up only many lists as one of the most anticipated romance books of the year and also heralded as a romance for people who don’t like romance. Having now read it, I can see why it’s been filling up my feed for both those reasons!
In this one we follow January who is running away from life for a while, having found out at her father’s funeral, that he cheated on her mother whilst she was suffering through cancer. Being a best-selling romance writer, this revelation shakes her faith in true love and as a result leaves her with a severe case of writer’s block. Spending her time at her father’s secret beach house seems like a good way to hide from life for a while and get over her broken heart. Sorting through his belongings proves a good distraction, but an even better distraction is her new next-door neighbour, fellow best-selling author and university arch nemesis Gus.
“As different as I’d thought we were, it felt a little bit like Gus and I were two aliens who’d stumbled into each other on Earth only to discover we shared a native language.”
Working through his own magic past, Gus and January find solace in each other and a bet, that each of them can write, and sell the others genre first. As the bet goes along, each are pushed out of their comfort zone and help each other break through the chains of their pasts that is holding them back from moving on. Writing in each other’s genres emerges sunny and optimistic January in Gus’s dark and messy mind, and him in January’s life of happy ever afters. They find themselves melding genres, each of them interweaving bits of themselves and the other into the type of work and narrative they create, and the cathartic experience starts to heal them both.
“I’ve always admired that. The way your writing always makes the world seem brighter, and the people in it a little braver.”
Set in a small country town, this summer fling is set against a backdrop of weird characters, wild research excursions and their twin beach houses. The book deals with their animosity, growing understanding of each other and eventual romance. But it also explored their relationships with their families and how that can break and shape them as adults, loss of trust and faith and what it means to forgive and learn from the past.
“In my own story, I didn’t want to be the heroine who let some silly miscommunication derail something obviously good, but in my real life, I felt like I’d rather risk that and keep my dignity than keep laying everything out.”
Beach Read is romantic, but it is not just a romance, and it leaves you with much more to think about than the story of two people falling in love despite their wounds. The author mixes romance with the harder hitting issues, mixes humour with sadness and overall, we get a well-balanced book about two people overcoming the adversity of real life. The writing was beautiful, and I felt myself relating to so much of what the characters said. I was interested the whole way through and whilst I wouldn’t describe this one as a major page turner, I was very happy spending my time with these characters and I enjoyed their growth throughout the novel. I also became quite invested in the stories they wrote and wouldn’t mind picking those ones up either!
“I’ve never met someone who is so perfectly my favourite person. When I think about being with you every day, no part of me feels claustrophobic.”
I’m on par here with most recommendations for this book being a good choice for someone that doesn’t read a huge amount of romance, and who tends towards the ones that feature a lot more in their plots than the romantic aspects.
Blog | Instagram