Review by genny - Beach Read

genny 's review for:

Beach Read by Emily Henry

2.75

emotional lighthearted reflective 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

Eep. The first couple of chapters had me really excited. I thought it was so meta; instead of playing into familiar tropes, we get a couple (both writers) who discuss these tropes and make fun of them while acknowledging why they work. Just when I think we're going to dive headfirst into a cliche

(for example, Gus and January communicating via handwritten notes that they show through their windows)

, Henry subverts it by acknowledging it

(January writing "This is like that Taylor Swift song")

. January's defense of the romance genre was bitingly funny at times. Gus manages to be ~brooding and mysterious~ without being an asshole. I enjoyed how he bantered with her but was sincere when he needed to be.

That said, the melodrama heightened pretty quickly and I found myself wincing more and more as I neared the end. I really don't like miscommunication (or lack of communication) as a plot device, and so I wanted to shake January by the shoulders multiple times to get her to stop her ruminating. Things went from cheesy in a self-aware way to just plain cheesy; it's like the story set itself up to prove that the romance genre had more to offer beyond stereotypes, and then it...didn't do that.

Content Warnings