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emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
This might have to be my favorite Emily Henry book like I genuinely feel like someone punched me in the chest.
January is essentially undergoing a huge change, and while learning about herself, she’s unraveling the mystery that is Gus and the way they so effortlessly just fall into each other makes me want to cry.
And this quote? Forever etched into the depths of my mind:
“Falling’s the part that takes your breath away. It’s the part when you can’t believe the person standing in front of you both exists and happened to wander into your path. It’s supposed to make you feel lucky to be alive, exactly when and where you are.”
January is essentially undergoing a huge change, and while learning about herself, she’s unraveling the mystery that is Gus and the way they so effortlessly just fall into each other makes me want to cry.
And this quote? Forever etched into the depths of my mind:
“Falling’s the part that takes your breath away. It’s the part when you can’t believe the person standing in front of you both exists and happened to wander into your path. It’s supposed to make you feel lucky to be alive, exactly when and where you are.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Sexual content, Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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:
No
I loved this! The characters were engaging and felt real, and were dealing with hard stuff and didn't just get swept up in something. It felt real and fun and wonderful.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
emotional
lighthearted
fast-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
Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual content
emotional
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:
Complicated
"That’s the key to marriage. You have to keep falling in love with every new version of each other, and it’s the best feeling in the whole world."
It's a meh book. I'm not sure why it's a hype but in my opinion, it's overhyped. I'm writing this review after maybe a week after I finished reading the book but to be honest, nothing important came up. Sure Gus is the dark and mysterious boy that she calls her writer rival and January is this emotionally damaged girl that went from writing romance-happy ever after book from can't stop thinking her dad was a cheater. To be honest, it's a bit of miscommunication between the two love interest. They could have talked it out a bit more here and there so there wouldn't be any crying or misjudging or overthinking but nah, talking is meh apparently. I don't know what else to say aside from this book being an okay book but not something I'd recommend to someone or reach out in my bookshelf to reread.
Side note: It made me research a bit about cults (lol). Also, lesson learned: don't trust bookstagram as much...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Infidelity, Death of parent
Minor: Toxic friendship
adventurous
dark
funny
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Gus and January are so cute
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Some cursing as well
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-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: Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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:
Complicated
I don’t typically go for romance novels because they have a bad rep for being fluffy and no-substance, but this book was a true delight. I loved the characters and was surprised by how much I enjoyed the enemies-to-lovers trope. Reader be warned: it is open door in its sex scenes, which are well written and feel quite realistic.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
challenging
emotional
funny
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:
Yes
4 stars
I haven't read a romcom in a while, but this was a great reel-in! I mostly read Colleen Hoover and other TikTok books as romcoms (does this count?), but gosh, Emily Henry needs some love too! I'm so happy I discovered her!
"Beach Read" by Emily Henry recounts the story of two writers, January and Gus. January has moved in to North Bear Shores for the summer and found out that her new neighbour is the successful writer Augustus "Sexy, Evil Gus" Everett. Because this is a romcom and anything can happen, they were also rivals in university. In an attempt to cure writer's block, they challenge each other to swap their genres and see who can publish a book first with that genre. The winner gets a book and some promo from the losing author.
I enjoyed the novel. The plot was fairly original for a romcom and I loved the way Emily pictured the environment and the surrounding areas. It really gave the entire novel a pleasant summer aesthetic. And the characters- oh, the characters! I'd give my whole heart to Shadi and Pete. They were all so lovable and every interaction was a different story to unravel.
Even though the entire novel, well, is a romcom, it wasn't the main focus of the book. You had other elements to unpack, such as competitiveness, camaraderie between January and Shadi, writer's stress, and Gus's backstory, just to name a few. You don't have many romcoms nowadays that do that. And that's what I liked so much about "Beach Read".
On the other hand, I didn't enjoy the pacing. I felt that it was too fast and too rushed, like Emily just wanted to finish the story and get it over with. I expected much more detail in certain parts of the novel, like the writing aspect. Like, January was finished with one third of the book 100 pages before the end, and now you're finished? That's it done in like a span of, what, two weeks? But seriously, how is that realistic?
Enough ranting. I think "Beach Read" is a great read for everyone, not specifically the romcom-addicted. It's spicy with an enemies to lovers aspect to it, but you also witness other parts of the story, such as the characters struggling with their mental health. Props to you, Emily Henry! Will definitely be reading more novels by her in the future :)
I haven't read a romcom in a while, but this was a great reel-in! I mostly read Colleen Hoover and other TikTok books as romcoms (does this count?), but gosh, Emily Henry needs some love too! I'm so happy I discovered her!
"Beach Read" by Emily Henry recounts the story of two writers, January and Gus. January has moved in to North Bear Shores for the summer and found out that her new neighbour is the successful writer Augustus "Sexy, Evil Gus" Everett. Because this is a romcom and anything can happen, they were also rivals in university. In an attempt to cure writer's block, they challenge each other to swap their genres and see who can publish a book first with that genre. The winner gets a book and some promo from the losing author.
I enjoyed the novel. The plot was fairly original for a romcom and I loved the way Emily pictured the environment and the surrounding areas. It really gave the entire novel a pleasant summer aesthetic. And the characters- oh, the characters! I'd give my whole heart to Shadi and Pete. They were all so lovable and every interaction was a different story to unravel.
Even though the entire novel, well, is a romcom, it wasn't the main focus of the book. You had other elements to unpack, such as competitiveness, camaraderie between January and Shadi, writer's stress, and Gus's backstory, just to name a few. You don't have many romcoms nowadays that do that. And that's what I liked so much about "Beach Read".
On the other hand, I didn't enjoy the pacing. I felt that it was too fast and too rushed, like Emily just wanted to finish the story and get it over with. I expected much more detail in certain parts of the novel, like the writing aspect. Like, January was finished with one third of the book 100 pages before the end, and now you're finished? That's it done in like a span of, what, two weeks? But seriously, how is that realistic?
Enough ranting. I think "Beach Read" is a great read for everyone, not specifically the romcom-addicted. It's spicy with an enemies to lovers aspect to it, but you also witness other parts of the story, such as the characters struggling with their mental health. Props to you, Emily Henry! Will definitely be reading more novels by her in the future :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content