Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Beach Read

Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Beach Read by Emily Henry

901 reviews

poppy_dandybee's review against another edition

3.5

emotional funny relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

It's a good book. It is a cute story. The main character, January, she's a bit dramatic and self-centered. She's an only-child, so I guess she is a really well-written only-child. I just didn't really like her all that much.
I enjoyed the book overall. I think it does read like a "first book." I read Book Lovers and it's got a similar feel to it, but it reads better IMO.
I was invested in the story, I wanted to know what happened to January and Gus. I enjoyed the tid-bits about the books they were writing as well.
Okay ending- or maybe I just don't like happy endings... *winky face*

Content Warnings

amandalorianxo's review against another edition

2.0

reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I DNF this book a while ago and then found it agains to complete in full. Honestly not my favorite. I’m unsure what about Gus we are supposed to find attractive but his crooked smile, constant jaw twitching, eye movements and wrinkled shirts don’t appeal to me. Also, why are the marketing people applying tropes that don’t exist to this book? They aren’t enemies nor rivals in the slightest. It’s all one sided. Plus the constant

flashback to one random college night of dancing infuriated me. We get it - y’all danced. That’s not profound. Also- how are fictional men not doing foreplay & just magically being able to have pleasing sec? Why did January not insist on this?

The banter at times was funny but January also had a lot going on & I was concerned with the amount of times she kept wincing at her bank account but still had money ? Idk my feelings are all over the place but this isn’t a rom com. Literary fiction but there’s better.

Content Warnings

bookswithbethx's review against another edition

4.5

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

lisas_leseecke's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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

leah08855's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

brekker_by_brekker's review against another edition

4.25

emotional funny fast-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: Yes

Content Warnings

yazzy_annalise's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

I was really surprised with how much I ended up liking this book! I love reading romance books, but I always feel like they don't live up to what I wanted from each story I read. This book was not like that! I definitely needed the escape into January's world and life, and at times it felt a little too relevant, but I was hooked.

Like always, my one (initial) gripe was that the negative to positive feelings for the male lead happened way too fast, but it worked really well with the story the Emily Henry was trying to tell. Don't get me wrong, I always wish romance books were longer and had a slower development (not a slow burn) because I want deeper development, but I did not miss it as much in this book. I was even thrown for a surprise at the very end of the book--

I did not see the proposal coming!

Although, I felt the way Sonya was resolved was kind of very sudden. It makes sense in the grand scheme of things, she is just a random person and it is not about her, but she was really built up as this person in January's life that she has to face and facing her was not this dramatic thing that happened. It was just a conversation and January was still standing...as I write this I get the point of Sonya now. People just come and go, there is nothing really dramatic or fateful about it.

I do love a good romance that starts with a rivalry/bet, it's just the best way to build some tension and lay the foundation for antics later in the book. I wish we got more of those weekend getaways/aspects of the bet in general. I know that the story wasn't really built around this concept, but it's my favorite trope so I was a little disappointed. This is where the story felt rushed because I was using the Friday/Saturday agreement to measure how long their romance took of the summer and it was kind of hard to gauge.

Ultimately, I am satisfied and would recommend the book because of the escapism and the great way Emily Henry handled all of January's problems. I never felt like they detracted from the plot or the characters or made it tedious to get through the book.

Content Warnings

annica_fourie's review against another edition

3.75

emotional reflective tense 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

The whole sub-plot with her dad just pissed me off. That did not need to be written.
Other than that the story was fine, but I feel like some parts were unnecessary and others felt like they were added at the last minute and not fully fleshed out.
I still would recommend this to people looking for a general fiction book with a romance sub-plot.

Content Warnings