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Graphic: Grief
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Infidelity, Vomit
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury
I enjoyed the characters and the relationship with family but I found this book very slow and also that not a lot was going on.
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury
Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Death of parent
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse
I adore this book. The world building is phenomenal, the character backstories are well thought out, and the sexual tension is top tier. I love a brooding, messy dark haired guy and rivals to lovers at that? Can’t be beat.
The way the story comes full circle in several ways was really satisfying. I do think January is a character that gives me secondhand embarrassment, but mostly because I would probably do the exact same things she does and it’s a real car-crash-you-can’t-look-away-from. The banter between Gus and January is probably some of my favorite of any books I’ve read, and they are some of the most real and relatable characters the author has written.
I also really liked the darker elements at play, beyond normal family dysfunction and into heart wrenching trauma. It’s not something you get a lot of in this genre and it really balanced the adorable town and numerous precious cliches & motifs throughout.
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Infidelity
Minor: Addiction, Terminal illness, Vomit, Death of parent
I liked the slow burn aspect and how the book centered around January and Gus’s problems. I thought it would be more grumpy x sunshine but I ended up liking it the way it was. I liked the second chance thing too.
-0.5 stars because the spicy scenes were significantly different than the ones in take a hint, Dani brown and it threw me off. Definitely a me problem, not an Emily Henry problem! The order u read books in matters, and I shoulda taken that into account before diving into this.
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Death of parent
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism
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."
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Suicide, Vomit, Car accident