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A review by princessrobotiv
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
3.0
3.5, lowered to the 3 side after consideration.
There's a lot to like about Book Lovers. This was my first Emily Henry, and one that I've often seen lauded as her best work (or somewhere up there).
I wasn't at all sure that I'd vibe with Henry's writing style, and I feel a bit mixed having finished. Henry's prose is quick, snappy, and it could be pretty at times, though the main draw is the banter and the dialogue in general, in my opinion. There were moments where we leaned too heavily into the melodrama, though. It happened frequently where Nora's feelings about Libby came into play, and while the whole dysfunctional Nora/Libby relationship DID get addressed in text, I still felt annoyed by the framing and tone until that happened.
I saw a Booktuber say that the text was aware of itself in a way that drew you out of the story, and I agree. The commentary of Nora being the "girl who gets left for the smalltown female lead" was a great, amusing hook, but again, we leaned into those tropes a bit too heavily and for way too long. I found myself really, really struggling through the middle section of the book for this and other reasons, and almost considered not finishing it.
Luckily, it picked up in the end. I was really glad the Libby situation was addressed, and I was especially pleased with the romantic arc. I love seeing two similar people who want similar things from life (or don't want similar things, like children) fall in love. The opposites attract dynamic has dominated romance for long enough!
Oh, and the spicy scenes...maybe I read too much straight-up erotica, but I was honestly taken aback by the vaguely "fade to black" nature of the sex scenes here. It's been a long time since I read any romance that danced around the terminology and action like this. It wasn't a deal breaker or anything, I'm just surprised.
Will I read more Emily Henry? Probably, but I'm not sure when or which ones.
There's a lot to like about Book Lovers. This was my first Emily Henry, and one that I've often seen lauded as her best work (or somewhere up there).
I wasn't at all sure that I'd vibe with Henry's writing style, and I feel a bit mixed having finished. Henry's prose is quick, snappy, and it could be pretty at times, though the main draw is the banter and the dialogue in general, in my opinion. There were moments where we leaned too heavily into the melodrama, though. It happened frequently where Nora's feelings about Libby came into play, and while the whole dysfunctional Nora/Libby relationship DID get addressed in text, I still felt annoyed by the framing and tone until that happened.
I saw a Booktuber say that the text was aware of itself in a way that drew you out of the story, and I agree. The commentary of Nora being the "girl who gets left for the smalltown female lead" was a great, amusing hook, but again, we leaned into those tropes a bit too heavily and for way too long. I found myself really, really struggling through the middle section of the book for this and other reasons, and almost considered not finishing it.
Luckily, it picked up in the end. I was really glad the Libby situation was addressed, and I was especially pleased with the romantic arc. I love seeing two similar people who want similar things from life (or don't want similar things, like children) fall in love. The opposites attract dynamic has dominated romance for long enough!
Oh, and the spicy scenes...maybe I read too much straight-up erotica, but I was honestly taken aback by the vaguely "fade to black" nature of the sex scenes here. It's been a long time since I read any romance that danced around the terminology and action like this. It wasn't a deal breaker or anything, I'm just surprised.
Will I read more Emily Henry? Probably, but I'm not sure when or which ones.