Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Beach Read

Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Beach Read by Emily Henry

155 reviews

eri_off_the_shelf's review against another edition

Content Warnings

mariposa517's review against another edition

5.0

emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing 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

Content Warnings

joni_smits's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

kimmy0__0's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

themagpiereads's review against another edition

4.5

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective 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

Another banger by Emily Henry. Admittedly, I didn't love it as much as People We Meet on Vacation, but this was a delight with Henry's hallmark banter and lively characters.

Content Warnings

caitlin_hire's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny hopeful

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Content Warnings

thecriticalreader's review against another edition

3.5

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

Why I Read It:

I’m not someone who typically likes the romance genre, but I had heard such great things about Emily Henry’s books that I wanted to see if Beach Read would be an exception. I borrowed my copy from the local library.

Blurb:

January Andrews is a romance author who is struggling to write her next book because her faith in love and happy endings has been shaken by a series of traumatic events in her life. After she moves into her recently deceased father’s beach house on Lake Michigan, she discovers that her next-door neighbor is a former college classmate, Gus, who is a famous author of dark and gritty fiction. They strike up a plan to swap genres for the summer, complete with mandatory “research field trips” to teach the other the tricks of their trade.

Review:

Since Beach Read is a romance novel with a romance author protagonist, the book is strongly self-aware as it explores the genre’s strengths and weaknesses in a meta fashion. Beach Read self-consciously challenges the stereotype that so-called “beach reads” cannot tackle heavy themes or portray realistic, healthy relationships, while still maintaining the breezy reading pace, steaminess, and optimism readers expect from the genre. The book, for the most part, is readable and well-written. Every two pages or so, however, I would stumble across a line that I found difficult to understand. Henry’s concise, casual style sometimes generates sentences so pared down or conversational that they read awkwardly on the page.

The book introduces two main characters who, at first glance, appear to be little more than typical romance-genre archetypes. Thankfully, January and Gus are well-written, fleshed-out characters who complement each other’s flaws. They deal with personal problems that for many readers will appear familiar. January’s character growth was particularly interesting to read about.

Despite Beach Read’s readability and generally high quality, at times it slips back into the trappings of a typical romance plot. The miscommunication trope, although it does not play a huge role in the story, still pops up for no good reason. Even more infuriatingly, the protagonist even ADMITS that she’s acting like a character in a poorly written romance novel, yet she continues to act that way instead of communicating in a straightforward manner. Additionally, I found the sex scenes to be unoriginal and boring.

One of my pet peeves when it comes to the romance genre is that the side characters tend to act as supports for the main romance and rarely feel like real people. Beach Read’s side characters are better written than some, but they still feel underdeveloped. Shadi (January’s best friend) remains rather flat and ultimately only exists to support January. Emily Henry’s use of characters who are cult survivors feels problematic for the same reason, as their trauma and stories serve as a plot device to help further Gus and January’s character development.

Even though it was a not personal favorite of mine, I can absolutely understand why many people love Beach Read. Henry blends tropes that people know and love with deeper discussions about the harsher realities of life, all the while making her main characters believable and lovable.

The Run-Down:

You will probably like Beach Read if:

· You want to read a romance book that does not ignore the harsher realities of life.

· You want to read a non-toxic romance with lovable, yet flawed, main characters.

· You enjoy “meta” fiction books about books and writing.

You might not like Beach Read if:

· You are expecting a hardcore enemies-to-lovers romance.

· You are hoping to read a book with a beachy atmosphere—hardly any of the book takes place on the beach. The characters are usually indoors, and when they venture outside it is usually nighttime or stormy.

· You are looking for a fluffy, escapist romance book.

· You dislike the romance genre.

Content Warnings

rybass08's review against another edition

Very Detailed, open door, inappropriate contents
Very good and once I got to that part it was just such a let down…..

Content Warnings

kelly_e's review against another edition

3.25

funny hopeful lighthearted 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

Title: Beach Read
Author: Emily Henry
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.25
Pub Date: May 19, 2020

T H R E E • W O R D S

Fun • Deep • Over-hyped

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Augustus, an acclaimed author of literary fiction and January, a bestselling romance novelist are polar opposites. Each struggling with writer's block and dealing with personal demons, they find themselves living next door to one another for the summer. One evening they strike up a deal: Gus will write something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Emily Henry's Beach Read has been absolutely everywhere, and so I fell victim to the hype and finally dove in. An original and deep plot with a side of romance is typically how I like my romance books, yet for me January and Gus lacked chemistry and I was expecting so, so, so much more from this novel.

There's no denying Emily Henry does banter unlike anyone else. It adds a lightness to often heavy content. With this book, there is excellent individual character growth, but I wasn't invested in the romance at all. In fact, I was way more invested in the plot and them writing their books. I felt as thought it started out strong, but faded by the midway point and never really regained traction. A few of the things I really appreciated were the exploration of grief, the east coast setting, and the letters.

For me, Beach Read was simply an average read, one I'll soon forget, which has me thinking Emily Henry's adult romances may just not be my cup of tea. I appreciate the depth of the plots, but the romance and lack of communication just don't cut it. With that said, I'll probably continue to read her books with hopes of finding one I really love.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of the grump/sunshine and/or enemies to lovers trope(s)
• readers who like depth in their rom-coms
• Emily Henry fans

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Bad things don't dig down through your life until the pit's so deep that nothing good will ever be big enough to make you happy again. No matter how much shit, there will always be wildflowers."

"Because I know no matter how long I get to love you, it will be worth whatever comes after."

"It was okay to let a little ugliness into your story. That it would never rob you of all the beauty."

Content Warnings

kaitlynnnng's review against another edition

4.5

emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is the first Emily Henry book I’ve ever read, and I’m kind of mad at myself for not reading it sooner. I borrowed a copy from the library, because I wasn’t sure if I’d like it that much, but I’m happy to say that I just ordered my own copy…and a copy of her other books, too.

I’ve only recently started reading non-fantasy romances, and I started feeling like maybe the genre wasn’t for me, but Beach Read changed my mind. While it maybe isn’t the most groundbreaking story out there, there wasn’t anything I didn’t like about it.

Content Warnings

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