Reviews with content warning for Grief - Beach Read

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Beach Read by Emily Henry

817 reviews

krabby99's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

it’s an interesting read, not a typical rom book which was fun! in some spots of the book i literally had to pause and audibly gasp!!! def gonna have to read again. not too shabby, not my fav of her books but not bad for sure

Content Warnings

itsalmostlina's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

jessicarose02's review against another edition

4.0

challenging 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

Dedication: For those who believe love can be messy, healing, and utterly unexpected. This one’s for you.

…And my heart found a new favorite…

There are books that make you smile, and then there are books like Beach Read, the kind that reminds you that love stories can be both fun and deeply emotional.

This was my first Emily Henry novel, and I’m so glad I picked it up. January and Gus are such vibrant, layered characters, two writers with very different outlooks on life, thrown together in a charming lakeside setting that feels almost like another character in the story. Their banter is sharp, their chemistry undeniable, and watching them slowly unravel each other’s layers was pure joy.

Emily Henry’s writing has this effortless way of blending humor with heartache. She makes you laugh in one chapter and then delivers a line that quietly knocks the breath out of you in the next. Beach Read isn’t just about romance it’s about grief, healing, creativity, and rediscovering yourself when life doesn’t go as planned.

What I loved most was how real it all felt. January and Gus aren’t perfect, and their love story isn’t some neat fairytale. It’s messy, complicated, and all the more beautiful for it. By the end, I wasn’t just rooting for their romance, I was rooting for both of them as people.

I can already tell Emily Henry is going to be one of my go to authors. Her voice is warm, witty, and wonderfully immersive. Beach Read made me smile, ache, and swoon often all at once.

If you’re looking for a romance that’s equal parts heart and humor, with characters you’ll want to spend all day with, this book is for you.

Content Warnings

liizabee's review against another edition

4.5

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad 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: Yes

Really really enjoyed this book! This is my first time reading Emily Henry & I understand the hype now.

Beach Read felt like a Sarah Dessen book but all grown up.

I like that it wasn't just a fluffy romance. She dived into heavier topics like death, grief, childhood trauma and abandonment issues. The cult storyline/subplot(?) was really interesting and I liked how it tied into

Gus's

story.

I'm happy we got actual details about the book January was writing instead of a vague sentence or two. It felt like I got to read 3 books (

Beach Read, Janie's book, and the cult interviews (Gus's book)

) in one and I absolutely loved it. I guess the changes in tone and setting was great for my ADHD brain. But it also didn't feel like too much was happening at once.

I enjoyed the slow-ish burn between January and

Gus

. Although this is a romance book, I genuinely wasn't sure if they'd end up together in the end.

At some point, I would have been happy to see her (literally) sailing off into the sunset all by herself.

I would have liked to see more sexually intimate scenes or at least make the existing ones a bit more explicit, but that's just me (a girly who grew up reading smutty fanfics 👀🤭).

I have daddy issues so some of this book wrecked me. Looking at you, chapter

!! I was bawling my eyes out, tears and snot rushing down my face and onto my ereader. But imma be real, that just made me love the book even more lol.

Though I read this book in summer, I didn't have the privilege of reading it on the beach, but I think it would be a perfect beach read. ☀️🏖📖💛 Can't wait for the movie!

Content Warnings

jdrz__'s review against another edition

3.75

adventurous emotional 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: Yes

Content Warnings

sarabereading's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional funny 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: Yes

This book became all I thought about for weeks.

Content Warnings

amethystbutterfly's review against another edition

5.0

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing fast-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

Content Warnings

erinfine's review against another edition

3.75

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

risa_readss's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful 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

“If you think the story has a sad ending, it’s because it’s not over yet”

This bookkkkkk is the best romance I’ve read in a long time. January lost her dad and is staying in his old “beach house” trying to relearn who her dad was her whole life, loves romance, and wants so badly to believe in good in the world. Gus lives next door and is the opposite in every way. Even the types of books they write couldn’t be more different. But when they are forced to meet at a local book club meeting and challenge each other to write like the other, their worlds are flipped upside down in every way. This book was so good and I absolutely adored it.

her dad’s letters wrecked me in the best way!!

Content Warnings

fresh_tepid_snoozed's review against another edition

4.0

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

Content Warnings

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