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A review by madelinemaesmith
Beach Read by Emily Henry
5.0
5⭐️ <-------- Hi, yeah I'm an idiot. This is a 5⭐️ read. I think about this book at least once a week, which means it's a winner. Changing my rating, apologies to the queen EH.
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4⭐️/5
Beach Read is NOT a beach read (we’ll get to that later), but it’s still the perfect slow-burn with captivating characters that make your heart swell (and make you grin like an idiot, my marker for an excellent romance).
I love a good meta-writers-writing-about-writing-who-write-about-writing, and if that’s ALSO your jam (or you were able to get through that sentence) than you might want to check this one out.
Emily Henry is smart. Her writing is sharp, self-aware, and extremely witty, which is why part of me wonders if the “cutesy” animated cover was intentional? Perhaps a nod to her MC who *also* writes about women and isn’t taken as seriously because of it (some excellent observations peppered throughout).
If this book were written from Gus’ perspective, I imagine we’d laud it for being a brilliant work of literary fiction that’s both humorous and features a man in-touch with his emotions. But women writing about women? Market it for the beach and call it a day.
I LOVED Gus and January. Loved. But the tone and subject matter mixed with the witty banter felt off in the first half of the book, and overall there were some frustrating miscommunication-moments. But the second half drew me in, which made up for the mismatch I felt early on, and why it’s still an enthusiastic 4⭐️.
Read if: you have a heart.
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4⭐️/5
Beach Read is NOT a beach read (we’ll get to that later), but it’s still the perfect slow-burn with captivating characters that make your heart swell (and make you grin like an idiot, my marker for an excellent romance).
I love a good meta-writers-writing-about-writing-who-write-about-writing, and if that’s ALSO your jam (or you were able to get through that sentence) than you might want to check this one out.
Emily Henry is smart. Her writing is sharp, self-aware, and extremely witty, which is why part of me wonders if the “cutesy” animated cover was intentional? Perhaps a nod to her MC who *also* writes about women and isn’t taken as seriously because of it (some excellent observations peppered throughout).
If this book were written from Gus’ perspective, I imagine we’d laud it for being a brilliant work of literary fiction that’s both humorous and features a man in-touch with his emotions. But women writing about women? Market it for the beach and call it a day.
I LOVED Gus and January. Loved. But the tone and subject matter mixed with the witty banter felt off in the first half of the book, and overall there were some frustrating miscommunication-moments. But the second half drew me in, which made up for the mismatch I felt early on, and why it’s still an enthusiastic 4⭐️.
Read if: you have a heart.