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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
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Grief
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Sexism, Terminal illness, Death of parent
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Vomit
Minor: Cursing, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
It was a fun premise and turned out sweet.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Vomit, Death of parent, Abandonment
Minor: Sexism, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury
Interviews with family of a death cult
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment
emotional
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse
Minor: Sexism
emotional
funny
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
Great book, good characters and development. Ending was slightly sudden and could have used a bit more detail. Overall, I liked it but not as much as Henry’s other two books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
Minor: Sexism, Suicide, Vomit
Description of cult, disturbing stories/descriptions of cult-related violence
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
Graphic: Grief, Alcohol
Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Sexual content, Vomit, Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury
emotional
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Ratings:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
🌶.5/5
💧💧💧/5 (tear rating)
_________________________________________________
TWs:
•Cheating (past)
•Death
•Cancer
•Child abuse (past)
_________________________________________________
Tropes:
•Grumpy x sunshine
•Enemies to lovers
•Academic rivals
•It’s always been you
_________________________________________________
This is my 1st Emily Henry book. I did like it & it’s tropes but I’m not into long chapters. This book took me sm time 2 get into ,which kinda got me in a reading slump especially w/ those long chapters, but once I got into it, it instantly became a page turner. There r a few things in this book that rly took me by surprise. The characters r very lovable & the writing is so good!
IMO, chapter 25 is the most chapter that made my heart ache
_________________________________________________
Some of my fav quotes:
⚠️SOME OF THEM MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS⚠️
•”You are so perfectly my favorite person”
•“You called from a party and dumped your girlfriend. Why would you do that?”
“Why do you think, January?”
•”I lied”, he whispered against my ear. “I’ve read your books”
•"Fine, January," he said in a low voice. "I thought it was beautiful. Is that what you want me to admit?"
Again my heart buoyed through my chest. "Yes."
"I thought it was beautiful," he said immediately, sincerely.
•Love could be a life vest when you’re drowning
•”There’s nothing you can do to make someone keep loving you”
•”When I watch you sleep, I feel overwhelmed that you exist.”
•”Because you’re the bright light! Don’t you get it? It’s not about what’s happened. It’s about how you cope with things, who you are. You’ve always been this fierce fucking light, and even when you’re at your worst, when you feel angry and broken, you still know how to be a person. How to tell people you- you love them.”
•”When you love someone, you want to make this world look different for them. To give all the ugly stuff meaning, and amplify the good. That’s what you do. For your readers. For me”
•“I’ve wanted you for so long,"
•"I want you, I want you, in every way. I want to take you on dates and play with a fucking beach ball in a pool with you, but I’m a wreck, January”
•”Even if there aren’t any snowflakes, we’ll have January all year long.”
•“Then let me be happy with you, Gus”
•"And she knows-she knows how stupid I am when it comes to you, how crazy I was for you in college,"
•"What if we dont get a happy ending Gus?”
“Then maybes we should enjoy our happy-for-now”
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Sexism, Death of parent