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A review by strawb3rrysugar
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
4.0
Although I've heard of Emily Henry all over the internet (BookTok, BookTube, etc etc), I borrowed this from the library because I had an upsetting day and needed something lighthearted to take my mind off my worries.
I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. I don't typically like books only described by loosely-strung tropes and insert-template-here characters. However, beneath a story described as an enemies-to-lovers romance about a cold-hearted literary agent is an earnest, humorous, and emotional story about how grief and fear shapes a person, and learning to accept change and challenges as they come.
The characters of the book were the highlight for me. They felt fleshed out, real, and I could resonate with their desires and understand their actions. I actually liked Charlie! Usually, "dark and brooding" translates into most books as "abusive, boring jerk with no personality," but Charlie is a genuinely solid character with wishes and conflicts of his own, and god I appreciated that. I'm also very biased towards emotional storylines about sisterhood, and Nora and Libby's arc throughout the book made me laugh and pulled a few heartstrings.
My only cons are as follows:
1) I do not understand the trope of signing someone up for a dating app and setting them up on a date without their prior knowledge. It will always be an ick of mine, as it just kind of seems irresponsible and rude. (I guess it's the modern equivalent of a blind date? Maybe.)
2), there's a subplot of Nora having to read one of her client's books that's basically based off her, and she describes it like her client has written Infinite Jest. I found those passages to be very uninteresting and bland, but they were thankfully brief.
And 2.5) because it wasn't that big of an issue, but seriously Nora? Getting hot and heavy with a coworker in an office? That felt like such a "right in my salad?" moment, but that's very much a nitpick.
Do I think Emily Henry is reinventing the wheel of romantic literature? Not really. Is it cheesy and kind of corny sometimes? Very much so. But it's well written, with characters I could root for, and it's not afraid to just be a romance novel. It goes by quickly for almost 400 pages. If you're a big fan of romance novels, this would be a nice addition.
I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. I don't typically like books only described by loosely-strung tropes and insert-template-here characters. However, beneath a story described as an enemies-to-lovers romance about a cold-hearted literary agent is an earnest, humorous, and emotional story about how grief and fear shapes a person, and learning to accept change and challenges as they come.
The characters of the book were the highlight for me. They felt fleshed out, real, and I could resonate with their desires and understand their actions. I actually liked Charlie! Usually, "dark and brooding" translates into most books as "abusive, boring jerk with no personality," but Charlie is a genuinely solid character with wishes and conflicts of his own, and god I appreciated that. I'm also very biased towards emotional storylines about sisterhood, and Nora and Libby's arc throughout the book made me laugh and pulled a few heartstrings.
My only cons are as follows:
1) I do not understand the trope of signing someone up for a dating app and setting them up on a date without their prior knowledge. It will always be an ick of mine, as it just kind of seems irresponsible and rude. (I guess it's the modern equivalent of a blind date? Maybe.)
2), there's a subplot of Nora having to read one of her client's books that's basically based off her, and she describes it like her client has written Infinite Jest. I found those passages to be very uninteresting and bland, but they were thankfully brief.
And 2.5) because it wasn't that big of an issue, but seriously Nora? Getting hot and heavy with a coworker in an office? That felt like such a "right in my salad?" moment, but that's very much a nitpick.
Do I think Emily Henry is reinventing the wheel of romantic literature? Not really. Is it cheesy and kind of corny sometimes? Very much so. But it's well written, with characters I could root for, and it's not afraid to just be a romance novel. It goes by quickly for almost 400 pages. If you're a big fan of romance novels, this would be a nice addition.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Medical content and Vomit
There's a brief scene where Nora throws up during a run after a night of drinking.
Nora's sister Libby passes out and has to be rushed to the hospital. Not graphic in any way, but obviously stressful.
There's two steamy-ish make-out scenes between Nora and Charlie, one of them while they're skinny-dipping. They have a proper sex scene near the end of the book. It's descriptive, but not necessarily graphic.