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challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Listen, I went in thinking this was a cute romance. I’m rarely in the mood for a cute romance, but I picked up this book because of all the hype this author gets….
SPOILERS!!!!
I can understand the cute appeal of a literary author and a romance author switching places and seeing the challenges and unique experiences each genre has. However, they had sex in a tent near a crime scene from a cult…. Why? Couldn’t tell you.
There is also infidelity the main female character is dealing with after learning her father cheated on her mother during her second round of chemo…like Emily Henry did a good job trying to handle the nuance of the topic. Like how this new information tainted January’s memories of her father and made her grief harder, but I guess it may just be me, but I kinda didn’t like that the parents just decided to keep it under wraps and not talk about it.
Like January was not a child, she was an adult woman when this happened. There’s not the excuse they stayed together because they had a daughter. The author also didn’t really cover from the mom’s perspective how her and her husband maybe made their marriage work again after he admired to cheating. So while the grief was nuanced the exploration even briefly from the mother’s perspective wasn’t really brought up other than her saying she missed him too.
Soooo, yeah this book left kinda a poor taste in my mouth. I wanted a cute romance (even if it handled some hard or more nuanced emotion) but I just felt so of a Meh connection to the main characters. Their banter was good but I just struggled to really feel close to them.
Also the amount of alcohol these two drank everyday pared with how much food they ate, they should have gotten alcohol poisoning. It was crazy
SPOILERS!!!!
I can understand the cute appeal of a literary author and a romance author switching places and seeing the challenges and unique experiences each genre has. However, they had sex in a tent near a crime scene from a cult…. Why? Couldn’t tell you.
There is also infidelity the main female character is dealing with after learning her father cheated on her mother during her second round of chemo…like Emily Henry did a good job trying to handle the nuance of the topic. Like how this new information tainted January’s memories of her father and made her grief harder, but I guess it may just be me, but I kinda didn’t like that the parents just decided to keep it under wraps and not talk about it.
Like January was not a child, she was an adult woman when this happened. There’s not the excuse they stayed together because they had a daughter. The author also didn’t really cover from the mom’s perspective how her and her husband maybe made their marriage work again after he admired to cheating. So while the grief was nuanced the exploration even briefly from the mother’s perspective wasn’t really brought up other than her saying she missed him too.
Soooo, yeah this book left kinda a poor taste in my mouth. I wanted a cute romance (even if it handled some hard or more nuanced emotion) but I just felt so of a Meh connection to the main characters. Their banter was good but I just struggled to really feel close to them.
Also the amount of alcohol these two drank everyday pared with how much food they ate, they should have gotten alcohol poisoning. It was crazy
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Murder, Abandonment
Minor: Cancer
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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
Very cute book. Found myself with a giant book crush on the main love interest. I have a personal distaste for romance books that have taylor swift tropes and mentions in them, as I'm not a fan of her myself, but this one was cute.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Abandonment
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
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:
Yes
Really really enjoyed this book! This is my first time reading Emily Henry & I understand the hype now.
Beach Read felt like a Sarah Dessen book but all grown up.
I like that it wasn't just a fluffy romance. She dived into heavier topics like death, grief, childhood trauma and abandonment issues. The cult storyline/subplot(?) was really interesting and I liked how it tied intoGus's story.
I'm happy we got actual details about the book January was writing instead of a vague sentence or two. It felt like I got to read 3 books (Beach Read, Janie's book, and the cult interviews (Gus's book) ) in one and I absolutely loved it. I guess the changes in tone and setting was great for my ADHD brain. But it also didn't feel like too much was happening at once.
I enjoyed the slow-ish burn between January andGus . Although this is a romance book, I genuinely wasn't sure if they'd end up together in the end. At some point, I would have been happy to see her (literally) sailing off into the sunset all by herself.
I would have liked to see more sexually intimate scenes or at least make the existing ones a bit more explicit, but that's just me (a girly who grew up reading smutty fanfics 👀🤭).
I have daddy issues so some of this book wrecked me. Looking at you, chapter25 !! I was bawling my eyes out, tears and snot rushing down my face and onto my ereader. But imma be real, that just made me love the book even more lol.
Though I read this book in summer, I didn't have the privilege of reading it on the beach, but I think it would be a perfect beach read. ☀️🏖📖💛 Can't wait for the movie!
Beach Read felt like a Sarah Dessen book but all grown up.
I like that it wasn't just a fluffy romance. She dived into heavier topics like death, grief, childhood trauma and abandonment issues. The cult storyline/subplot(?) was really interesting and I liked how it tied into
I'm happy we got actual details about the book January was writing instead of a vague sentence or two. It felt like I got to read 3 books (
I enjoyed the slow-ish burn between January and
I would have liked to see more sexually intimate scenes or at least make the existing ones a bit more explicit, but that's just me (a girly who grew up reading smutty fanfics 👀🤭).
I have daddy issues so some of this book wrecked me. Looking at you, chapter
Though I read this book in summer, I didn't have the privilege of reading it on the beach, but I think it would be a perfect beach read. ☀️🏖📖💛 Can't wait for the movie!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Vomit, Car accident
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is the poster child for the phrase don’t judge a book by its cover. This book is weighty and fairly depressing. I do hope January and Gus find peace and healing for all they’ve been through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment
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
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Abandonment
Minor: Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Still don’t understand why Gus and January were so obsessed with each other other than being hot, and their lack of communication just made me mad during the middle 3rd of the book. Overall good though, just not a very likeable protag
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Alcohol
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Abandonment