Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Beach Read

Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Beach Read by Emily Henry

890 reviews

lmm0's review against another edition

5.0

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

A cynical romance author who no longer believes in love & a brooding literary writer stuck in a creative rut find themselves neighbors for the summer—both broke, blocked, and battling their own disillusionments. Augustus Everett, known for crafting dark, tragic fiction, and January Andrews, a bestselling romance writer with a flair for happy endings, couldn't be more different—until a spontaneous challenge flips their worlds. For 3 months, he’ll write something hopeful, and she’ll attempt a weighty literary novel. She drags him on whimsical, rom-com-worthy adventures, while he pulls her into interviews with death cult survivors. The goal? Finish their books and prove that opposites don’t attract. Falling in love? Definitely not part of the deal.
Did a combo of physical, audio & digital - I finished last night and wanted to sleep on my thoughts before reviewing... Woke up still feeling it was a 5-star read (surprise, surprise). Funny Story & Book Lovers are still tied for 1st place in my ranking of Emily Henry books, with this one next, and then Happy Place. Up next - People We Meet on Vacation, then Great Big Beautiful Life! I got a fair share of chuckles in with Beach Read, and I definitely got in my feels when it came to January's complicated relationship with her father (IYKYK). I'm super close with my dad, so I couldn't help but put myself in our FMC's shoes - as awful as that may sound - but I think that's why this book hit harder than Happy Place. Again, Emily Henry is SO GOOD at writing relatable characters, ones you just fall in love with - even if you promise not to.

Content Warnings

josoko's review against another edition

4.25

emotional inspiring lighthearted

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Content Warnings

cosmicwillow's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny lighthearted 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

lovely as usual! i really enjoyed this, and it was great to dive into this world. henry always writes stories that just suck me in and are hard to put down!

my only real gripes with this book is that the title and cover design are definitely misleading; they feel way more ocean and/or destination beach-coded, and frankly, despite it all tying together neatly at the end, there just isn’t enough beach or beach reading time to justify the title. also god i fucking hate the name gus. it just makes me think of gus from cinderella and he is annoying as hell.

overall a fun read tho!

Content Warnings

nhawley's review against another edition

4.5

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-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

Both the characters and the romance felt very realistic. Love the author's writing so much!

Content Warnings

addimoon's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

Great story. Loved the sort of twist on the “grumpy + sunshine” trope, and how we all can have a mix of both.

Content Warnings

themichellegray's review against another edition

4.0

emotional hopeful 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: Yes

This was my first Emily Henry book and I absolutely adored the entire reading experience!

Although this was a slow burn romance, the plot carrying the story forward was intriguing yet heartbreaking. Even when I was crying I had such a fun time reading and can't wait to pick up another one of her books!

Content Warnings

bridget_sheppard's review against another edition

4.5

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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

I really enjoyed this book! It was well written, covered some tough topics, and was very sweet, with Emily Henry’s usual wit and emotion flowing throughout. I recommend!

Content Warnings

withlivjones's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny reflective sad medium-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: No

A well-written book that on the surface seems like your standard grumpy x sunshine rivals to lovers romance, but in fact goes way deeper than that. Yes, there is comedy and some of the best banter I’ve ever read, but this book also dives into issues like infidelity, grief, childhood abuse, and weirdly, cults. The two romantic leads are really well-written and fleshed-out with issues outside of their romance, while still having excellent chemistry with each other. I loved January’s journey throughout the book with her grief and writer’s block.

I do think that the divorce storyline should’ve been handled differently - the reveal that Gus is technically still married should’ve been so much bigger, and I also think both Gus and January should’ve been more hesitant to start anything before the divorce was finalised because of how infidelity has played a huge part in their lives. I’m not saying they shouldn’t have got together in the end, but that revelation should’ve been a significant plot twist when it just felt kind of brushed over. I also thought that the sex scene at the cult site was… questionable.

Content Warnings