Beach Read by Emily Henry Book Review. This is perfect summer read that will likely stand out as a favorite of the year. A great balance of romance, humor, and depth.
Summary from the publisher…
Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast. They’re polar opposites.In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they’re living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer’s block.
Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She’ll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he’ll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.
Review…
In a book that will be shelved or described as “women’s fiction” (the topic of which is crucial to this books plot) I loved that we have a complex male character here. Although the story is told entirely from January’s point of view, we get to know a lot about Gus. This wasn’t just about January’s hurts, struggles and growth, but also Gus’. I was all for the male vulnerability here! It made the romance (and the entire story) more interesting to me. Which leads me to…
Such good chemistry!! There are some steamy scenes, but if that’s not your thing, it will be easy to just pass over those and they’re not scattered through the whole book. The story isn’t quite hate to love and I appreciated it didn’t go so fully from one extreme to another; it’s a bit more nuanced.
This book deals with a lot of difficult topics, but balances that so well with humor and romance and friendship. I really adored the female friendship in this story and January’s acknowledgment of the importance of this in her life. The lakeside setting is perfect for a sunny summer weekend.
Beach Read challenges what many think and expect of “women’s fiction” and plays around with crossing over genres. I think its’ great for fans of The Flatshare and Evvie Drake Starts Over.
I read this in hardcopy, but the audiobook is narrated by my favorite narrator, Julia Whelan. Either format would be a great choice!
The details…
Publisher: Berkley
Rating: 4.5 Stars
ISBN: 9781984806734
Get the hardcopy at: Bookshop.org or Amazon or Book Depository
Audiobook from: Audible or Libro.fm (use my code lfm122316 to get your first audiobook free from Libro.fm!)
This book was available before publication date from Book of the Month. For a discount on your first book from BOTM, you can use my referral link. Book of the Month promo code.
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Beach Read by Emily Henry Book Review.
