Take a photo of a barcode or cover
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Super fun romance - well written, with some good love scenes (yep, they get sexy) and endearing characters. As with all romances, you see the ending coming 100 miles away, but it makes you happy anyway.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Sexual content, Death of parent, Alcohol
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-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
the definition of style AND substance. i started the book thinking it was another romcom (WHICH I LOVE) and was blown away at the emotional topics discussed. it was raw and a real and still so funny and romantic. and above all it was relatable. i found myself in each character. i cried and laughed and squealed. !!!there’s smut!!!! the ending was just the tiniest bit rushed and there’s the occasional millennial humour but nothing you can’t look past, gus and january made all of it worth it. with quotes like “hemingway circle jerk fan fiction” and “every time she fell in love… joy seemed to overflow” and “when i watch you sleep i feel overwhelmed you exist” HOW COULD YOU NOT BE HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE W THE CHARACTERS. people say it’s enemies to lovers but if anything it’s more miscommunication and unrequited love diet enemies to lovers
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Death of parent
Minor: Chronic illness, Vomit
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Good book to get out of my reading slump. It was slow to start, but when it picked up I couldn’t put the book down. Great beginner romance, nothing too heavy but definitely spicy. It wasn’t anything revolutionary by any means but I liked it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death of parent
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Chronic illness
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Death of parent
Minor: Physical abuse, Vomit
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content, Vomit
Minor: Alcohol
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Average, didn’t really connect with the characters and some bits made me roll my eyes because they were so cliche and cringey
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicide, Vomit, Suicide attempt
Minor: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Sexual assault
dark
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
Review:
Check out this review and more on Books With Soumi
Beach Read was chosen for the Book of the Month for April 2020 and was listed several times as one of the best romances of the year. Unfortunately, Beach Read did not live up to the hype for me. I tried so hard to love the book like everybody else on the internet. I was even reading it with my best friend, who had also been wanting to read this romance for a few months.
I either do not care for the enemies-to-lovers trope (unlikely since I do love Pride and Prejudice), or the emotional chemistry between the two characters, January and Gus, was not developed enough for me to connect with the characters.
The secondary characters were flat as well, mostly appearing in backstories like January’s family or in text messages like Shadi, January’s best friend. Pete and Maggie, the bookstore owners in the town January moved to, make rare appearances but do not help bring out the character traits of any of the main characters.
I did not give the book one star and instead gave two because the feminist messaging did resonate with me. I liked that January was proud of writing women’s fiction. I especially loved the passage where January explains that even by calling her novels “women’s fiction,” some of the population is turned off, demonstrating the double standard that when people (usually men) write men-centered fiction, the book is just fiction and not “men’s fiction.” However, these remarks are made due to Gus’ misogynistic comments against women’s fiction. I was instantly turned off, and I tried to empathize and connect with Gus as the author intended, but I could not.
Overall, I was disappointed with the book. I will have to make a more conscious effort to read books with an intentionally diverse set of characters, instead of just Shadi, who rarely makes an appearance, or Sonya, the woman that January’s father had an affair with before he died. Sonya is not technically the villain of the story, but it is interesting that out of the seven characters that appear in real-time in the story, the one making the most detrimental and questionable moral and ethical decisions had to be a woman of color.
Time to read: 10 hours over 15 days
Tl;dr: I felt like I still stuck in COVID-19 quarantine with the lack of character interaction and growth in this book.
Who might enjoy this book?: fans of the enemies-to-lovers trope and books about writers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent
Minor: Misogyny
emotional
lighthearted
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Death of parent