Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Beach Read

Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Beach Read by Emily Henry

92 reviews

tinypotatocrisp's review against another edition

2.0

emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

i was honestly so disappointed by this book :( i really enjoyed book lovers when i read it last year, so i was super excited to read henry's other novels, but this one just didn't do it for me. it took me a while to get invested in the story and characters, finally hit a sweet spot towards the middle of the book where i was interested and thought i might end up liking it, but lost interest again and disliked where it went near the end.

i did not find the characters very likable and i found it especially hard to root for january (also who names someone january? june was right there! ugh). her decisions and attitude seem so immature for someone her age, but i will cut her some slack because of her daddy issues. speaking of which, is anyone else sick of the dead parent trope? i know i am :,) january and gus' family troubles and the cult b-plot definitely made this a much more emotional read when i was totally expecting something light, cute, and summery. i mean, they only read on the beach once!! and it's in the epilogue!! you're killing me, henry.

i think my gripes with the plot/characters would've been easier to ignore if i liked the actual romance, but again, it just didn't work for me. didn't care for their style of flirting (the dialogue was so unrealistic and try-hard), wayyyyy too much miscommunication for two grown adults, and the sex scenes totally caught me off guard in a bad way.

overall, i can totally understand why so many people love this, and if you are one of those people, no shame to you. there were some good parts, i loved the side characters, the main characters were redeemable at times, and i appreciate what the cult b-plot was trying to do as well as what henry was trying to do by tackling some heavier topics in this book. i simply could not suspend my disbelief to go along with the overall plot and the romantic tropes aren't for me. this definitely turned me off a bit to henry's wiritng, but i do not think it will not stop me from checking out her other books. i am definitely still curious about some of them and i think she includes very unique and compelling topics in her stories.

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

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

hollymoon94's review against another edition

3.5

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

katiesmize's review against another edition

2.5

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