When I really fall for a book, I fall hard. This book was no exception. I felt all the feels and loved every moment. The characters were beautiful and lovable. Each had deep struggles, pain and growth. The only thing I didn't like, even really hate, is the name of the book. It seems to trivialize the story to a fluff piece at first glance, even though I see how it's fitting in a way. This story encompasses the love of people's stories, their heartbreak and the moments of happiness that break through all of the shit life can throw, even when it's really awful.

Thank you to Net Galley for a copy of BEACH READ.

What could be more perfect than a beach read called BEACH READ? And just in time for beach season. The best part is it's a delightful rom-com that readers will have readers quickly flipping through pages. It focuses on an author with writer's block and her best-selling frenemy.

"I did what any reasonable adult woman would do when confronted with her college rival turned next door neighbor. I dove behind the nearest bookshelf."

BEACH READ is cute, sweet and will make you smile.

This was a very fun summer read, with enough unique characters that I managed to make what could be a cliched storyline, parent hiding a secret, seem different. I loved the banter between the two characters and really enjoyed the book overall.

Opposite attract. I have heard this phrase often over the years and this book delves into that phrase with the main characters January and Augustus. As they are indeed as truly opposite in their way of thinking as they come. But the loss of January’s father and finding out upon his death that he had another life that she knew nothing about turns January’s life upside down. Enter Augustus (Gus) her old college nemesis and we are treated to their rivalry at first and then something way more as the book continues. Definitely a lighter romantic read at the heart of it. But worth the read.

I loved this book so much! The characters were easy to love and I was really interested in both of their backstories. The romance was well-paced and the tension was so well done! I also really loved that they were both working through their personal issues in believable and relatable ways. Beach Read is definitely one I will recommend!

This book had a beautiful love story in it, but veered more into the chick lit category than in romance. January did as much healing in herself and coming to terms with her life as she did falling in love. The characters were well written and interesting, local was key. Overall, loved this book.

Beach Read was a thoroughly enjoyable easy-read romance novel with some substance, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a fun, sexy love story to take their minds off the real world.

Particular highlights for me were the pining and tension (I love a good romance that starts with pining and tension and doesn't rush to the action), the witty banter between the two main characters, and the cute, cozy setting of a lakeside Michigan town (don't let the title and cover fool you, this actually doesn't have anything to do with a beach except for about three pages worth of narrative).

But all that aside, the most notable thing about this novel was the way the romance's trajectory smartly follows the main character's personal journey. As January deals with revelations about her dad and things she didn't know about his life, she also deals with revelations about Gus and things she didn't know about him. At various points there is discussion about the merits of ending a book by closing a cycle of inevitability versus giving them a happy ending, and as the novel unfolds you start to wonder if January's story is going to be a cycle or if she's going to get her happy ending. It's clever, and I really enjoyed it.

Also--the romance was HOT. I found myself getting physically flustered more than once, and I've read a LOT of sexy scenes.

The book was a nice length and well-paced. I picked it up for a lighthearted break from the fantasy epics I've been reading, and it delivered exactly what it promised in a way that never once dragged or overstayed its welcome.

Giving it 5 stars because I feel it accomplished exactly what it set out to achieve, and did so with personality and joy.

4.25/5 stars
“Happy for now. I could live with that. I could learn to live with that”.

The cover of this book is a lie. I went in expecting a cute, happy, Summer rom-com and it was not at all what I expected, but I’d be lying if I said I was disappointed. For the style of the book Emily Henry did a perfect job of pulling it off and I'm so happy that I read it.

January was a great character for me. Her mannerisms and ways and the things she said all seem so realistic and by the end of the book I felt like I knew her personally. She’s such a happy character that it kind of rubs off on you. Even though she’s been through so much and has had so many terrible things happen to her she still sees the good in everything and I honestly need to take notes.
“My father was gone. And I would always miss him. And that had to be okay.” (this scene was so SO good).
The way she talked to Gus and helped him get through his pain and she tried her best to understand him and give him the benefit of the doubt; I loved that. I loved watching her grow and begin to understand and accept the mistakes of her father. I loved that she went out of her comfort zone in writing and found a book that became something so important to her. I loved that she learnt how to manage her grief and allow herself to be sad. Watching her and Gus interact and slowly fall for each other while at the same time learning what it means to love someone despite their mistakes,,,it was wonderful.

On the other hand: Gus. I admit that I was really skeptical about his character. For most of the book I was at least 64% sure that he was a serial killer and this was going to be another You situation and it was just giving me stress. But he wasn’t. Even though he might be. I honestly still don’t know what to think. The man obviously knows way too much about cults and killing people and I understand where his fascination comes from but I do think he is still a very grey character. There were scenes where he was soft and charming and those were the moments when he was with the people he loves. Which is perfect for someone like him, I think. He’s definitely got the whole brooding, world weary, mysterious thing going on and it was the perfect Yang to January’s sparkly Ying. His borderline serial killerness aside I really enjoyed watching his growth through the story. As a reader you can see the way he opens up and begins to trust January: by the end it’s like his perception of the world is changed.

“It’s June in January because i’m in love.”
This quote. In the book. Was perfect. There was just so much meaning to it that when it was used by January’s dad in his letters I wanted to cryy. I did cry. It was so perfect.
The whole concept of the letters was not a new one, but the way they were written was heartbreaking. “Who am I today, January?” everytime he said that my heart just broke a tiny bit for her. The way the author allowed the book to build up to this moment slowly, allowing us to feel January’s anger and heartbreak in the beginning and then give us these letters: it was perfect because we could understand her pain so well that my heart was hurting for her.

My favorite part of this whole book was the way both characters grew and changed and became more whole. They both learnt so much from their writing and the trips and it was such a gratifying experience to watch them grow. I’d definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for an in-depth romance!

Thank you to Berkeley for the ARC
(All quotations are from the ARC)

This was a romcom with heart. The relationship has a good build, with a friendship forming first. I LOVED the writing aspect of the story, and how each character challenges each other to write a book outside their comfort zone. The only part I didn't enjoy as much was the ending, which I think could have been more succinct and without some unnecessary drama.

Started off very strong. I liked the premise, thought January was an interesting multi-dimensional character, and absolutely loved the dialogue and witty banter. Unfortunately, the middle/end sort of lost me. It ended up veering towards an annoying trope, that of the dark, mysterious man who is so damaged no one can understand him EXCEPT this one woman who is so accepting and understanding and can change him and she's perfect (he literally calls her perfect multiple times which, in itself, annoys me because no one is perfect and there's another trope I hate which is woman on the pedestal built up in some imperfect, troubled man's head because in reality, a woman on a pedestal has nowhere to go but down) and then HEA.

First half 4 stars, second half 2. Ymmv on the (to me) annoying tropes.

“The only promise you ever had in life was the one moment you were living.”

As I’m sure everyone else has said, this is not your typical beach read. I actually don’t know if I’d call it a beach read at all. But I sure wouldn’t mind reading this on a beach somewhere. There’s romance, there’s character development, there’s tough topics. This book really has it all.

I knew I loved reading books about books but I didn’t know how much I would love reading about writing books. It was fun to watch their process (especially the romantic montages) while they taught each other their own methods.

January and Gus both come with their fair share of trauma. They go into their deal with money and publication on their minds but as they work together and they start to unravel who they really are as they grow and heal together.

I did find this book slow at times but it’s hard to say if that was the fault of the book itself or just me right now. Either way, I think this is a book everyone should pick up this summer.

Review : Beach Read by Emily Henry⁣
Pub Date : 5/18/20⁣
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Thank you @berkleyromance for gifting me an arc of this wonderful novel. #partner⁣
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If you love ⁣
💕 emotional romcoms⁣
💕 enemies to friends to lovers ⁣
💕 witty banter ⁣
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Then I think you’d really enjoy Beach Read. ⁣
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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. ⁣
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They're polar opposites. ⁣
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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. ⁣
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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.⁣
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Beach Read was probably one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read in a while. I saw many mixed reviews, but still wanted to find out for myself what the hype is about! ⁣
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It made me laugh a lot, and it made my heart flutter, but what I loved most was the deeper conversations between Augustus “Gus” & January. Two very broken people, have become each other’s everything. What I really loved about the dynamic was that they became best friends first, and it felt very authentic. They fought, they broke down walls, and they trusted each other. While dealing with two very complicated pasts, they helped each other grow. Their entire relationship wasn’t perfect, and I loved it! ⁣
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5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
Steam : 🔥🔥🔥⁣
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The premise sounds like the perfect summer romance novel, but that’s not actually true. The book is an interesting and odd read. Is it romance? Yes, it is. But it’s a sad and unexpected story. I think that the romance part of the story is just a nice frame in which you insert a beautiful painting. The story itself is way bigger than just a love story.

January is a writer, she is well-known in the romance community and loves to write happy endings. But right now she can’t find happiness in her own life and so she can’t write it down on the pages. Everything felt apart around her and the only thing left is a lake house that her father kept secret from her and her mom. She moves there for the summer and soon find out that her new neighbour is none other than her nemesis: Augustus Everett. The two seems not to get along at first, but soon they discover they have something in common: they both suffer from writers-block. One thing led to another and they end up making a bet: Augustus will write a story with a happy ending, while January will write something sad. This brings them to experience a series of dates, where January shows him how to be book-romantic and Augustus shows her how cruel the world really is.

This story takes an unexpected turn. It gets very intense very fast and you need to prepare yourself for it.

I loved how it talked about writing, as an aspiring writer myself I saw how realistic everything was.

I liked the relationship between January and Gus. If this book was just a romance, I would have complained about how I wished there was more hate to love or just a deeper connection between the two. But that’s not the focus of the story so I’m okay with how things went.

The main reasons why I gave this book four out to five stars are two. The first being the fact that I don’t think title and cover are right for the story. I love this new style of covers for romance books, but I would have preferred something more old style. The second reason is that I wished there where Gus’ POV. We see everything just through Januarys’s eyes, but sometimes I wanted to know what Gus was thinking, I wanted to feel what he was feeling and to know his deepest desires.

But don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed the story, I laughed, I got emotional and I really loved some parts. So I recommend it to you. This is the first book that I read by this author, but it won’t be the last.

I was a bit hesitant entering this novel due to all of the hype surrounding it. I am happy to say that I was very pleased with it overall. Both characters were enjoyable, though I do feel like we didn't get quite enough from Gus. The enemies to lovers trope was well represented here, and their seclusion just added to the atmosphere of the novel.
Will be picking up more Emily Henry soon, and I hope that she continues to write more romances.

Emily Henry has two ways to describe the premise of BEACH READ: one for writers, and one for readers. For readers, it is a book about a romance writer and a literary fiction writer that enter into a bet to exchange genres for a summer. For writers, it is a “book about writer’s block”. And while Henry means a literal writer’s block, the kind of active struggle to find a story and the motivation to write it, I think readers find, in the end, that BEACH READ is about many different kinds of stumbling blocks: the kind that the world throws at you, hard and randomly. The kind that follows your life like a fly that you just can’t seem to get rid of. The kind that you create for yourself, some version of self sabotage.

January and Gus are people we know and people we’ve been. The girl that loves a happy ending as a means of escape from a life that is less than that; the boy that has been dealt a harder hand that most in life, and finds it follows him well into adulthood; the daughter that adores a parent to the point they can’t mesh together the hero and the fully-formed person; the son that puts duty above self-preservation; and the couple that finds themselves in love despite all attempts to escape it.

BEACH READ is full of the absolute best of romance tropes, through and through: a glorified Second Chance, slow burn enemies-to-lovers, a bet, a bond that seems harmless until it isn’t, a past that finds itself present once again, the happily-ever-after. But it’s the happy-ever-after that wraps things in a unique sort of bow. It is not the sparkling perpetuity that we are often used to: it is a shimmer in the sunlight, gone as quickly as it appeared, but it was there, and it was worth it.

<i> "People were complicated. They weren't math problems; they were collections of feelings and decisions and dumb luck. The world was complicated too, not a beautifully hazy French film, but a disastrous, horrible mess, speckled with brilliance and love and meaning." </i>
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I fell in love with Emily Henry's writing a few years ago when I read A Million Junes. I am happy to report that after reading Beach Read, I am still here for Henry's writing, and will continue to read her books! I like her unique and witty style and her character banter, and her ability to transport the reader to the scene!
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This story is about two authors, January and Gus, who end up living next to each other on the beach in Michigan. Both are working on their respective new books that need to be finished by the end of the summer. Beach Read is a love story, but definitely not a rom-com. There are bits of heavy thrown in the mix and a lot of real-life speculation and waxing poetic. The parts I largely enjoyed were the love parts, though. I could have done without the long-winded explanations of the books that January and Gus were writing, and more of the sweet parts that Henry wrote so well. There is an element of enemies-to-lovers as well as second-chance romance and I liked how both played out.
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Overall, for a fun love story that hits a serious note, I definitely recommend this read! Thank you to Berkley Pub and NetGalley for this arc!

BEACH READ was a good one! I thought it was cute and romantic with interesting characters. I really loved the male protagonists *spoiler alert* aunt who lowkey set up Augustus, a literary fiction writer and mortal college enemy to January Andrews a romance writer.

January is coming to terms with the truth about her family and happily ever afters, and Augustus has never fully recovered from his family. Both are tasked with writing a book for their publisher, but making no progress. They were college rivals, and January does not like Augustus much at all, but they make a bet challenging to write the others genre. Happily ever after January has to write a literary fiction novel and sell it to the publishers and Augustus has to write a romance. They plan field trips for each genre to teach the other and these outings bring them closer together but also force them to face some harsh realities.

I thought their field trips were really sweet and I loved their chemistry. Enemies to lovers is always a fantastic trope! This novel was funny, sad, and romantic all in one. It’s hard watching characters come to terms with loss, grief, and a painful truth but as they discovered you can’t spend your life worrying about having a happy ending, you need to be happy for now.

The characters were very interesting, but they were also so angsty omg. There was a lot of “I just had a rough childhood don’t ask me to open up” and “true love doesn’t exist because my dad made one mistake” and “ugh my dad gave me this awful beach house on a beautiful lake but this sucks” so while for me it didn’t take away from the book too much I can see for others how it might. I gave this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Stars.

My six word review:
Facing the truth hand in hand

Man. This book is special. The characters are special. I'm blown away.
When I saw the high ratings for THE BEACH READ I was cautious as I always am with early review but they are all true! This author has enormous talent. There were beautiful lines like. .... and. ... and other times I was laughing and giggling. Other times I'd swoon over Gus or my heart broke for him and January. This story has everything you want in a book.

Gus is the glass half empty kind of guy and his insecurities make him feel so real. His whole life, his childhood, his college and adult years people failed him.
January is the opposite. She is the romantic type who witnessed her parents' marriage and thought it was perfect until she learns that her sweet, bookish dad cheated on her mom. With him having passed away, she's unable to ask the question she has a right to know about. Angry and sad, she flees to the country to find solace and peace.

Both January and Gus are writers and for the first time I realized how painful writer's block must be. When your creative outlet is hampered by emotional baggage. While they try to find back into the groove they start to spend time together. after their rocky start they find they have more in common than they first thought.
As different as I’d thought we were, it felt a little bit like Gus and I were two aliens who’d stumbled into each other on Earth only to discover we shared a native language.

I loved their beginnings, there were a lot of laugh-out-loud funny scenes I adored. And as Gus and January's emotional bond grew I was so firmly in their corner that I felt every heartbreak they went through. I loved them so hard - these two gave me all the feels.

The notes they wrote to each other and their clever banter were an endless source of laughter and swoons.
JANUARY, JANUARY, WHEREFORE ART THOU, JANUARY?
The message was ironic. The butterflies in my chest were not. I pushed the box onto the table and grabbed my notebook, scribbling in it. I held the note up.
New phone who dis

This story deserves every praise it's getting. I had so much fun reading it. I am super excited to have found a new author whose writing is everything I look for in stories. This was absolutely heartwarming and beautiful.
“I do, you know,” he said. It was almost a whisper, a tender, rugged thing like Gus himself. “Care about you.”

TW: death of a parent, cancer, cults

I thought I was going to enjoy this book but did not expect how head over heels I would fall in love with it. This features so many tropes I love wrapped into one: rivals to lovers who knew each other in college so it has the flavor of second chance romance. Not only was the romance and banter top notch, the book also managed to cover grief, loneliness, and female best friendship masterfully. While being peak romance, the story also managed to feel grounded and no obstacle felt thrown in just for the sake of drama. I cried at least 3 times not necessarily because it was sad, but because I truly felt so seen by so many lines. I plan to get a physical copy of this book, because I will absolutely be rereading it in the future.

I can’t get over how much I loved Beach Read! This book is about January, a women’s fiction writer who has recently lost her father. She finds out at the funeral that he had been having an affair and had a second home in the Michigan beach community he grew up in and he’s left the house to her. Down on her luck, January moves into the house for the summer with the hopes of being able to write the book she’s promised her publisher as well as pack the house up and sell it. When she arrives to the town she bumps into her college nemesis, Gus, who happens to live next door. He writes dark literary fiction and seems to look down on January for her always happy endings. They challenge each other to write a book in the other’s style. Gus must write a happy ending and January must write something sad. What happens next is such a fun and heartfelt read. I couldn’t put it down!