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luna_98's review against another edition
emotional
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
5.0
my first emily henry book and it was so good. i really loved the depth of gus and january and how they balanced each other without attempting to “fix” each other. it made me giggle and made me cry and overall just made my heart happy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Death of parent
Moderate: Infidelity and Grief
Minor: Child abuse and Vomit
taelorfiller's review against another edition
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Vomit
_meganrose's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Dare I say my favorite contemporary romance read of 2024? Bonus points for it taking place in a beach town in West Michigan AND including a scene watching the sunset over Lake Michigan (aka my personal favorite pass-time). This felt like a breath of fresh air. Even with some of the cancer stuff hitting a little too close to home, this truly felt like an escape for me. I laughed. I cried (both happy and sad tears). I absolutely loved this. My personal perfect summer read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
jenniferbowman's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, Vomit, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Car accident and Abandonment
one_more_chapter96's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.25
Just like every other EH book, this story left me utterly heartbroken at so many points whilst also being so full of light and sweet and happy moments. January was very relatable and I adored Gus and the mystery and complexity of him and her trying to figure him out. The twists and turns and the complexities of all the relationships in the book were so bittersweet but this story was beautiful. Made me laugh and cry and swoon.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Alcohol
zeynus's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Car accident and Fire/Fire injury
alisonnobrega's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I feel like they didn’t spend enough time hating/disliking each other for it to be considered enemies to lovers. I also found January to be a bit annoying at times with all the jumping to conclusions she was doing. I would’ve liked to see more competition between the two when writing their books. I liked the banter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Vomit
lia01's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, and Infidelity
Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
sahla's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-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
3.0
first off, misleading title, because i was expecting an actual ocean, not lake michigan. maybe to a usamerican it would be a beach, but like, no. also, the cover shows them reading on a beach, which i don't think they ever did??
second, it's a good book. quite chill, perfect for a light read (i guess the title isn't misleading in *all* aspects), and it's great to turn your brain off to. but it was also quite boring, and imo dragged on quite a bit. the characters were also quite generic, grumpy x sunshine, which i guess has its charms, but i found it too trope-y. to be fair, i have no one but my own expectations to blame, emily henry has been on my tbr for so long that my standards were set too high.
the plot was basic and simple, and to be frank, i was much more interested in the writing process of january's book about the circus family. by the end, i was just fast-flipping through the pages to get to the part where she's working on the story. it's something i would definitely love to read! and the book that gus published at the end also let me down a little because i really didn't feel like he did the subject the justice it deserved. but that could just be me, of course.
the characters were also quite bland for me. honestly, if it wasn't for the trope, i don't even see how these two would even work as a couple. i just don't see the chemistry. and no wonder bcs like, they were both soo one-dimensional? especially gus, name one personality trait he has apart from being broody, mysterious, and, in january's words, coldly horny. he just seemed so untidy by her description alone that it gave me an ick. and for some unknown reason, he is absolutely head over heels for january, and we are never told what's the story there. the only fun thing about them was their banter, which also at times felt very forced.
i was quite into the book at first because i really felt sympathetic towards january's predicament, but she lost me halfway through when you start seeing her self-centrism. to her, everything circles back to all the ways her life has been ruined and destroyed by discovering about her father, like babe. yeah, it's sad, but also, get a life! her reaction to it may be realistic in a way, but i just can not get behind a character who whines and cries about the oh so unfair trials and tribulations of life all the time.
shaadi was the most interesting person to me, but because she is the Protagonist's Best Friend (tm) we only see her in that context and not as a fully-fleshed out character, which is quite a shame. her and january's friendship is absolute goals. and also the characters that gus interviews for his books. frankly, they had much more going on than our leads. i loved dave's mom, julie-ann for the barely two pages that we see her for, and her monologue about good people and bad things. some of the quotes were honestly so good!
all in all, not a bad book, it has a lot of good scattered aplenty but not enough to make it the best either. once again, i would love to see Family_Secrets.docx come to life irl as an actual book! the main reason i'm even giving this book a 3-star is because that one's a masterpiece.
second, it's a good book. quite chill, perfect for a light read (i guess the title isn't misleading in *all* aspects), and it's great to turn your brain off to. but it was also quite boring, and imo dragged on quite a bit. the characters were also quite generic, grumpy x sunshine, which i guess has its charms, but i found it too trope-y. to be fair, i have no one but my own expectations to blame, emily henry has been on my tbr for so long that my standards were set too high.
the plot was basic and simple, and to be frank, i was much more interested in the writing process of january's book about the circus family. by the end, i was just fast-flipping through the pages to get to the part where she's working on the story. it's something i would definitely love to read! and the book that gus published at the end also let me down a little because i really didn't feel like he did the subject the justice it deserved. but that could just be me, of course.
the characters were also quite bland for me. honestly, if it wasn't for the trope, i don't even see how these two would even work as a couple. i just don't see the chemistry. and no wonder bcs like, they were both soo one-dimensional? especially gus, name one personality trait he has apart from being broody, mysterious, and, in january's words, coldly horny. he just seemed so untidy by her description alone that it gave me an ick. and for some unknown reason, he is absolutely head over heels for january, and we are never told what's the story there. the only fun thing about them was their banter, which also at times felt very forced.
i was quite into the book at first because i really felt sympathetic towards january's predicament, but she lost me halfway through when you start seeing her self-centrism. to her, everything circles back to all the ways her life has been ruined and destroyed by discovering about her father, like babe. yeah, it's sad, but also, get a life! her reaction to it may be realistic in a way, but i just can not get behind a character who whines and cries about the oh so unfair trials and tribulations of life all the time.
shaadi was the most interesting person to me, but because she is the Protagonist's Best Friend (tm) we only see her in that context and not as a fully-fleshed out character, which is quite a shame. her and january's friendship is absolute goals. and also the characters that gus interviews for his books. frankly, they had much more going on than our leads. i loved dave's mom, julie-ann for the barely two pages that we see her for, and her monologue about good people and bad things. some of the quotes were honestly so good!
all in all, not a bad book, it has a lot of good scattered aplenty but not enough to make it the best either. once again, i would love to see Family_Secrets.docx come to life irl as an actual book! the main reason i'm even giving this book a 3-star is because that one's a masterpiece.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Minor: Vomit
sabinedion's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Physical abuse and Vomit