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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
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Alcohol
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
This had all the classic elements I have come to expect from an Emily Henry novel, but of the three I have read (Happy Place and Funny Story are the other two) it is my least favourite. It was fun and enjoyable, but I was far more interested in the sub-plot of the character's writing competition than their romance and Gus is my least favourite of the love interests so far. I also was really looking forward to the conversation with January and her agent when it came time for her to present a novel that was absolutely not the genre/story she promised, and hearing how the publisher would react or who else they might try to sell the book to. But this happened off-page during a 9 month time skip which was disappointing. Solid read but not my favourite.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent
Minor: Car accident
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think the only reason I give it a 3, it's cause there's some good commentary of the book industry and double standards for women writers. But for a romance book it does take quite a dark turn into heavy topics, that are not always addressed in a respectful way...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Suicide, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Alcohol
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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:
Complicated
It’s been a while since I’ve really been swept away by a book and while initially that didn’t happen here, I found the further I got through the story the more I struggled to put it down. This included the classic “I’ll read for one more hour” at 11pm and the next thing I knew it was 1am.
I love a good romance story but I find I typically struggle in a rut of frustration over the main plot of the book being that the two main characters consistently miscommunicate. What was interesting here is that this book rarely leant into the miscommunication trope, there was a distinct and interesting plot with each individual character where we get to witness two adults struggle through and find each other as comfort and a driving force to move through their own struggles. When miscommunication did occur between the two characters, it didn’t feel like filler to drag the plot along, it was grounded in a sense that it felt very realistic whereby you have those moments of doubts if its all in you’re head when it’s not, you confront the other person, work through the issue and move forward with a solution that you see applied in later conversations between the main characters. It gives the reader that sense of satisfaction and that the characters are truly developing and learning from their experiences were the reader is rewarded later on in the story. All of this was so refreshing to me with my personal gripe of the miscommunication trope and finally reading a book that does it properly. This steady and developing narrative made it easy to become wrapped up in the story the further through the book you read. Overall, the characters had a sense of depth and history where everything added up, there were no random one-off details to mimic depth of character as every detail big and small made sense in the context of the characters and the chemistry between the two love interests was palpable. I found that it was a well written story that does what all good romance story’s should do, leave you happy at the ending but always wanting a little bit more of the happy ever after.
One small gripe I did have with the book can also be pinned down to my taking the title of the book a little too literally. I anticipated a holiday romance or at least a setting by the sea. While I suppose a beach on a lake does in fact still count as a beach, the beach didn’t feel like the setting for the book. It felt like a small-holiday-town romance. As they say though, ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ and don’t expect the title of the book to explicitly indicate what that book is about. It was in fact a great beach read for a gal wanting not necessarily and easy-read but and easily enjoyable one while on holiday on the beach.
I love a good romance story but I find I typically struggle in a rut of frustration over the main plot of the book being that the two main characters consistently miscommunicate. What was interesting here is that this book rarely leant into the miscommunication trope, there was a distinct and interesting plot with each individual character where we get to witness two adults struggle through and find each other as comfort and a driving force to move through their own struggles. When miscommunication did occur between the two characters, it didn’t feel like filler to drag the plot along, it was grounded in a sense that it felt very realistic whereby you have those moments of doubts if its all in you’re head when it’s not, you confront the other person, work through the issue and move forward with a solution that you see applied in later conversations between the main characters. It gives the reader that sense of satisfaction and that the characters are truly developing and learning from their experiences were the reader is rewarded later on in the story. All of this was so refreshing to me with my personal gripe of the miscommunication trope and finally reading a book that does it properly. This steady and developing narrative made it easy to become wrapped up in the story the further through the book you read. Overall, the characters had a sense of depth and history where everything added up, there were no random one-off details to mimic depth of character as every detail big and small made sense in the context of the characters and the chemistry between the two love interests was palpable. I found that it was a well written story that does what all good romance story’s should do, leave you happy at the ending but always wanting a little bit more of the happy ever after.
One small gripe I did have with the book can also be pinned down to my taking the title of the book a little too literally. I anticipated a holiday romance or at least a setting by the sea. While I suppose a beach on a lake does in fact still count as a beach, the beach didn’t feel like the setting for the book. It felt like a small-holiday-town romance. As they say though, ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ and don’t expect the title of the book to explicitly indicate what that book is about. It was in fact a great beach read for a gal wanting not necessarily and easy-read but and easily enjoyable one while on holiday on the beach.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Cancer, Death
emotional
inspiring
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:
Complicated
My first Emily Henry read. Definitely not what I expected, took me a bit of time to get into but I think that’s why I enjoyed it. It ended up being deeper than I initially thought.
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent
emotional
lighthearted
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent
Moderate: Infidelity
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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:
Complicated
This was my first Emily Henry book and I can officially say I’m hooked. I absolutely loved both the FMC and MMC in this book. This only thing holding back that 1/2 star is I personally dislike the miscommunication aspect of a novel. So every single time January walked away and Gus stayed quiet just allowing each other to assume the worst I thought, “This whole thing could’ve been avoided if they would’ve just talked to each other.” Still a great read with a HEA and the perfect amount of steamy goodness, funny moments, wittiness, and emotion. 🫶
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is the poster child for the phrase don’t judge a book by its cover. This book is weighty and fairly depressing. I do hope January and Gus find peace and healing for all they’ve been through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment