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dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
i will start by saying gus is fine. i would fall as well. but talk about struggling with standards.
i picked this up in waverly train station in edinburgh because i hadn't read anything my entire trip, ice was on the ground and i was hoping if i read something with beach in the title that summer would come quicker. it did not. and lily was right about the lack of beach scenes. disappointing for a literal BEACH READ.
the first 2/3 of this book was fun and i like both gus and january as characters. you can appreciate their conflicts as realistic and immense daddy issues and whilst the plot wasn't really there, i had fun just watching them connect and flit around michigan as unemployed creatives.
however, i fear we have found another case of third act syndrome. i don't think it was a bad ending by any means but it did feel at times half baked and honestly, a bit rando?? i can even pinpoint the exact point at which my eyebrows flew off my head. call me conservative but i don't think it was entirely necessary for these two to bump uglies 3 TIMES next to an arsoned out, baby-death, cult site. that was certainly one of emily henry's most creative choices i've seen to date.
as for the actual plot, it just didn't feel like things weren't as wrapped us as they could've been, which could be argued for given the nature of the book. but i do think we got robbed a little bit of any thorough conversation between january and her mum. i understand her mum's thing means that she refuses to acknowledge her grief or talk about it but i think the moment she calls her mum telling her that she needs her could have been that moment. i think it was obvious that the confrontation with sonya was inevitable but i was waiting for 300 pages for that conversation with her mum that just never came.
also gus's ex randomly showing up?? sometimes i forget he was even married and i think january did as well. and there was absolutely no need for him to just take off for a full day like that. i know he tried to call her but not even a text?? are you mad???
like i said, i did like both of them and in my head, joe jonas was a good gus but it felt very much scraping bare minimum. even that felt like a stretch at times.
i'm also deducting points for the full body cringe i got when i read "i don't mind snow as long as there's january". intolerable.
also, im glad i got the correct ending without the proposal and just have a nice little book dedication that felt more authentic to gus and january. after all, it has only been 9 months and getting engaged after that long is absolute insanity, but i think that speaks more to american values of romance than the book's so i'll let it slide.
at it's core, beach read is really just about two sexually depraved loners with extreme daddy issues who have never gotten over anything or each others ever in their lives and nobody else could love them like the other. probably better on re-read if you suspend expectations of it being an actual beach read.
i picked this up in waverly train station in edinburgh because i hadn't read anything my entire trip, ice was on the ground and i was hoping if i read something with beach in the title that summer would come quicker. it did not. and lily was right about the lack of beach scenes. disappointing for a literal BEACH READ.
the first 2/3 of this book was fun and i like both gus and january as characters. you can appreciate their conflicts as realistic and immense daddy issues and whilst the plot wasn't really there, i had fun just watching them connect and flit around michigan as unemployed creatives.
however, i fear we have found another case of third act syndrome. i don't think it was a bad ending by any means but it did feel at times half baked and honestly, a bit rando?? i can even pinpoint the exact point at which my eyebrows flew off my head. call me conservative but i don't think it was entirely necessary for these two to bump uglies 3 TIMES next to an arsoned out, baby-death, cult site. that was certainly one of emily henry's most creative choices i've seen to date.
as for the actual plot, it just didn't feel like things weren't as wrapped us as they could've been, which could be argued for given the nature of the book. but i do think we got robbed a little bit of any thorough conversation between january and her mum. i understand her mum's thing means that she refuses to acknowledge her grief or talk about it but i think the moment she calls her mum telling her that she needs her could have been that moment. i think it was obvious that the confrontation with sonya was inevitable but i was waiting for 300 pages for that conversation with her mum that just never came.
also gus's ex randomly showing up?? sometimes i forget he was even married and i think january did as well. and there was absolutely no need for him to just take off for a full day like that. i know he tried to call her but not even a text?? are you mad???
like i said, i did like both of them and in my head, joe jonas was a good gus but it felt very much scraping bare minimum. even that felt like a stretch at times.
i'm also deducting points for the full body cringe i got when i read "i don't mind snow as long as there's january". intolerable.
also, im glad i got the correct ending without the proposal and just have a nice little book dedication that felt more authentic to gus and january. after all, it has only been 9 months and getting engaged after that long is absolute insanity, but i think that speaks more to american values of romance than the book's so i'll let it slide.
at it's core, beach read is really just about two sexually depraved loners with extreme daddy issues who have never gotten over anything or each others ever in their lives and nobody else could love them like the other. probably better on re-read if you suspend expectations of it being an actual beach read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol
Minor: Body horror, Child death, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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
This was good but the story wasn't as engaging for me which resulted in me walking away from the book for several months before finishing it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury
Talks about cults
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent
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
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent
funny
lighthearted
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
A romance. Set in a fictional beachside town in western Michigan. I got homesick reading about it. Yeah, the two author characters are fine and, yay, they fall in love.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Drug use, Death of parent, Alcohol
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
funny
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Death of parent, Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content