I can not even find the words to tell you how happy, honoured I feel to have received an invitation to read and review Beach Read so early before it's publication.
I already know that this book will be on my "best of 2020" list.

It is a perfect, relaxing beach read even though it can be devoured in any time, in every possible corner of the world, not only on beach. (😜😎)(I mean, I read it during winter and still enjoyed it the most!)

The story is written in first person, following January (the name of our main character) who after loss of her father and revelation of his secret has hard time believing in happily ever afters, and suffers from the writing block, when she should finish her next romance novel.
Placing herself in the new house in a small town, she comes across her rival from Uni days, who is well respected, published author of literary fiction now.

They start spending more and more time together and January starts to develop feelings for him.

I enjoyed every page of this book.
Do you know that feeling when you read a good story and don't want it to end, so you start to read it at slower pace only to have more time with it?
That's what my experience was with Beach Read. I didn't want it to end.

My favourite part of the story was the chemistry between Gus and January, and her own self aware of her feelings for him, and the complication of their situation.
I loved watching their relationship growth.

Beside that, I loved reading about their writing process and journeys.

Since I read an ARC, I am not sure if my copy was messed up or if it had two different ends to the story, and that is why I can't give it full 5 stars. I guess I'll have to wait for the finished copies to see what the case is.
If it is the case of two different endings, then I think the one with only January and Gus is the better one.

Overall, Beach Read was an amazing story and I would recommend it to romance, general fiction and women's fiction lovers who are looking for a new, light hearted and relaxing read.

Beach Read is the romance I've been waiting for for years. It's witty, heartwarming, emotional without going the melodramatic way.... Really, a perfect book in my eyes. The two main characters, January and Gus, are super likable AND relatable. Also, their chemistry is out of this world. I will definitely One-Click anything else that Emily Henry writes!

Augustus and January (both named for months, although neither of them ever mentions this commonality) were college writing classmates and rivals, but haven't seen each other since. Until January moves into her late father's beach house on Lake Michigan to recover from a breakup and write her next book, and guess who lives next door? She can't believe her bad luck. He's condescending about her women's fiction novels, and she's annoyed by his literary pretensions. When the two make a bet that they can better write the other's genre, the fingers start to fly over the laptops. And the notes start back and forth through their windows.

This was bittersweet and funny and redemptive, definitely more relationship fiction than romance. Gus and January both have a lot of baggage from their families and past relationships, and they have to decide whether they can trust each other. I was rooting for both of them.

Two books in a row? Is this the end of my book slump? I will hope so. I'm about to start my third one so hopefully all goes well and I am back.

Beach Read... what can I say about this book without crumbling into a mess? Because for sure, this book made me a mess, with its beautiful writing and perfect descriptions, with its amazing romance and with the powerful journey these two characters took throughout the whole book. There are secrets, hope, forgiveness, memories, to sort but at the end of this journey you find the light in the darkness. January and Gus made me complete and are my favorite thing for this month.

I never thought I would love this so much. When I first saw this book, I never really put so much attention to it, I really thought it was literary fiction! That it had no romance. But when I started to see romance readers and trusted bloggers said it was amazing and that they loved the romance inside these pages, I was like wait just a minute, I kinda want to read this. I was blessed with a copy from Berkley and so here I am, long after reading the last chapter, the last page, the last word. And Emily Henry wrote my favorite 2020 book.

It's perfect for romance readers, and writers, because the main character, January, is a romance writer herself. She is having some writer's block, needs to write a new book in three months and doesn't know what to do. She's also dealing with the death of her dad, this new house she's living in and her next door neighbor who just so happens to be her college rival, Gus. Gus is a writer as well though! He writes literary fiction and his book couldn't be more different than what January writes. He has a lot of secrets and January has a lot of things to figure out. They really shouldn't fall in love, but slowly they do.

I talk about the small moments. The moments that matter to me. And this book has them; a lot of them. Hand holding, touching their hip/waist with your fingertip without even noticing you're doing it, those moments make a romance a good romance for me. January and Gus start this friendship with them and it's with the help of those moments and the deep talks and the being there for that person that leads them to find something in each other that they have never had before. In between bets (because they have a bet of writing each other's genre! and if they sell their new book they can gloat about it forever), this romance takes form and has a story inside that will enchant you very quickly.

Note: One thing that I'm really eh about... Gus is decribed with olive skin. Look at that cover. He's clearly white.

A+ romance! Everything about the book was such an unexpected treat. In addition to smoking hot chemistry between January and Gus, their witty banter was what made this book work so well for me. Seeing both characters' perspectives on the writing process was very cool too. I also appreciated the author's note at the end of the story that gave insight into how Beach Read came into existence. This is a very easy book to recommend. I loved seeing the evolution of the relationship between January and Gus, Thank you for the review copy.

Beach Read by Emily Henry is a witty rom-com perfect for summer! This is the first book I have read by Emily Henry and I really enjoyed it. January Andrews, a romance author, and Augustus Everett, acclaimed author of literary fiction, have been rivals since college and are now neighbors, at least for the next three months. Both are suffering from writer's block and strike a deal to swap genres - January will write the next Great American Novel and Gus will write a story with a happily ever after ending. What starts as a friendly competition leads to much more...

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advance digital review copy in exchange for a review.

I picked up Beach Read looking for something light and flirty to help me escape from this stressful pandemic time. While I did enjoy the romance and humour, I was surprised by the emotional depth and warmth this book would bring. Emily Henry did a wonderful job of taking romance tropes that feel familiar, and breathing new life into them by making them feel more realistic than in any romance novel I have read in recent memory. January's journey to understand her father's years long infidelity and how it reframed her childhood felt relatable and very real. Her painful journey was carefully examined and not rushed. Sometimes in romance novels the pain or struggle of the heroine can be brushed over to make room for the lighter love scenes and happy ending - and the result is they lack depth. Not so with Beach Read.
Henry also does something different with Gus. While he starts out as the moody, misunderstood artist (that we know has a secret soft heart!), she reveals the pain he has lived through in such a tender way. She encourages the reader to genuinely care about his struggles, and cheer when he is able to overcome them. However he doesn't overcome all at once, or in a way that suddenly makes him into the typical romantic leading man. He grows in a natural flawed way, that gave me genuine hope that people in my life could work through their pain in a similar way, and open themselves up to love again.

Would absolutely recommend.

I was expecting cute, funny, light, playful. Instead Beach Read is romantic, touching, and witty. I really enjoyed it despite it going in an unexpected direction. I definitely recommend this book for romance lovers.

I absolutely see why this book is receiving so much praise.

Let me start off by saying that romance is 150,000% outside of my comfort zone. I do not read rom-coms often, but the premise and praise for this one really grabbed by attention.

In Beach Read we follow January Andrews, a romance writer who no longer believes in love and Augustus Everett, a jaded literary fiction writer who enjoys killing off his cast by the end. The two end up living next door to each other and strike up a deal. Each will write a book in the other one's genre. The first one to finish their book will owe the other a lifetime of praise and recommendation. Absolutely nothing could go wrong, right?

I went into this thinking it was going to be a light/fluffy romance and while it definitely delivered on that, it was SO much more. Both January and Gus are dealing with a lot throughout the novel that give this book so much substance and heart.

The writing was just excellent. January's voice narrating the story was just beautifully done, it sounded straight out of a movie. There are so many quotes I have highlighted on my Kindle. This story was full of some of the best characters I have read in a while. Such lovely people that you can physically feel the warmth (ahem, Pete and Maggie. I want to hang out with them! I promise not to bring up rocks!).

I really enjoyed this one. I am not sure exactly why it isn't a five star read for me other than I just didn't feel as deep of a connection to the characters as I would have wanted. I was very invested in Both Gus and January's lives and I was rooting for them the entire time, but I still felt like an outsider watching a movie anthd not in the plot with them. This could change as I think about the story more though.

All in all, highly recommend. If you already love romance and rom-coms, there is no way you won't enjoy this one. If you don't and are more comfortable with murder in your books, still give this one a shot. It may liven up your dead dead soul.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

In stores everywhere on May 19th.

Review also submitted to Books-a-Million and will be published on Amazon once it is published.

January Andrews is a woman's fiction/romance writer and her college nemesis, Gus, is the exact opposite. He never has a story that ends happily. January is on a deadline for writing a new book, but she's having difficulty writing a love story when she finds out about her father's infidelity to her mother after his recent death. January feels as if everything she has known has been a lie, and finds herself in a writing slump. She also recently had to move to her father's second house because she is flat out broke. This is where Gus, who she has not seen since college, comes back into the picture since he is her new next door neighbor. The two decide to switch writing styles with each other; Gus has to write a love story, while January has to write, well, not a love story.

I loved this book for so many reasons! It was light-heated, relatable, witty, and endearing all at the same time. I loved the spunk of her writing style and the way she developed the characters. As I was reading I felt like January was my best friend and I found myself rooting for both Gus and January.

The plot was interesting and the romance was just enough without being mushy. I also liked the little bit of family drama thrown in there as well. Lastly, this book had so many relatable quotes that were either flat out hilarious or simply beautiful.

Absolutely zero complaints about this book. A five star read for sure.

4.5 stars. I'm so mad at myself for not taking better notes because I really wanted this review to be deeper than just *JAZZ HANDS* and IT WAS SO GOOD!! But that's what you're getting!

When January moves into her dad's lakeside Michigan beach house to write the book she has been trying to ignore actually writing, she also inherits all the problems that came with it. After her dad passed away she found out a dark secret about him... and that secret involves this house. And what else comes with this house? Her college creative writing rival, Augustus, who lives next door. He writes literary fiction with sad plotlines and death; she writes romcoms. When they both realize they're stuck with writing block they make a dare to swap genres: whoever gets their book sold first wins. They go on dates disguised as research and slowly learn to trust each other. This is a perfect blend of enemies-to-lovers and hard-hitting subplots about forgiveness and redemption.

A few small things about this book that I loved:
-their windows face each other and so they share notes like out of the You Belong with Me music video
-Augustus is afraid of vomiting (JUST LIKE ME!!)
-the setting of the lake is so fun
-the side characters are a delight and add so much to the story
-Red, Blue, and White Russians book club

It's not quite a 5 star because it was a bit overhyped for me and therefore I felt a tiny bit letdown at parts. This is a painful slow burn but it's a book you do not want to stop reading! Definitely recommend!

<i>Thank you to the publisher for an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.</i>

Quick thoughts: I ADORED THIS BOOK! Easily one of my top romance reads of the year ❣️

This is an enemies to lovers rom com with a twist! This is unlike any rom com I’ve read before. It dealt with deeper subject matter, but was still fun. All around this is the PERFECT book to read during these difficult times. I read this over the course of two days, and I laughed, cried, and swooned over the characters.

All of the characters were witty and relatable. I loved every aspect of this story!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ January Andrews and Augustus Everett could not be more different: she writes feel good romantic comedies, he kills off everyone and anyone. But when the two writers find themselves in a slump, they strike a deal and decide to write books similar to how the other person writes. I will be honest this book was a lot deeper than I was anticipating, but the writing was incredible and it absolutely hit me right in the feels as both of these characters grapple with grief, hardship, broken heart, and discovering new identity. She is the same age as me and all of her thoughts I definitely had at some point in my life...also can we talk about how DREAMY Gus Everett is?! ⠀⠀ .
.
🍷to sum it up: 1000% recommend to a friend, feel good novel, sexual tension 🔥, parental hardship, witty writing

Thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC copy of this book available to me.

I wanted to like this book more. I enjoyed the descriptions of the two authors attempting to deal with writer's block, and then deciding to essentially swap genres and write something outside their comfort zones. I wish we had seen more about Gus' writing and his process. I enjoyed January's best friend. I expect that this book will be quite popular, it just didn't quite have that "zing" for me.

I read Emily Henry's 'A Million Junes' when it came out and was blown away by her writing style and the uniqueness of the story. So, when I saw she had a contemporary rom-com-type book coming out it piqued my interest. How would this author, whom I had built up to almost ethereal status in my mind, handle a rom-com?

I then set out to find the answer. The answer, of course, is that she wrote to bleakly dark characters, brought them together during some of their darkest moments, and managed to make it all somehow work. 

I loved January from the very first chapter. She's a total mess and yet not quite ready to give up on herself, or love, yet. Augustus was a harder sell for me, and yet and you learn more about him, you can't help but come to love the guy. And these two together are the best. 

I grinned like an idiot through many parts of this book while cheering on these two writers as they fought their way back from the brink of despair and toward each other.

OH MY GOODNESS!!! I love love loved this book!

Beach Read was my first Emily Henry book and I was blown away by it. It definitely offered a much deeper story than the title and cover suggested.

I absolutely fell in love with this story. I laughed, I cried, and I swooned and I just couldn’t get enough of January and Gus together. The chemistry between these two, the heartbreaking back stories and the complex storyline had me hooked from start to finish. I loved following along their journey and seeing how the characters evolved, grew and healed.

Beach Read is witty, relatable and deeply moving. I already know that this book will make it onto my “Best of 2020 List”. I just absolutely loved it!

Beach Read is a must-read!

What do a disillusion romance novel and a literary fiction author have in common? Not much at first glance but as the story progresses, it's clear why they are meant for each other.

January Andrews is licking her wounds. At twenty-eight, she had everything she wanted. She believed in romance. She believed in love. Her parent's marriage was an example to her. She had a wonderful boyfriend of many years and she was accomplishing everything she wanted in her professional life too. As a romance writer, she had successfully published several novels.

Then twenty-nine hit her in the worst possible way. She losses everything she has cared for including her writing. She is on a deadline but unable to write a single word. Without anywhere else to go, she decides to go to the lakehouse to start over.

On the first night, she is there, her new neighbor has a party with loud music playing and January wants to be able to sleep. When the music persists, she makes the decision to confront the neighbor. She makes an impression despite meeting in the dark but the next morning, they meet again. This time in full daylight and January realizes that she knows who he is. She has known him since college!! They had a rivalry but also one memory of a time where there could have been something more.

"Because you're the bright light."


August "Gus" Everett didn't have a happy childhood or adolescence. The only thing that gave him any type of satisfaction was his writing. His books are well-known and successful. He, however, is reserved and distant. While January was a happy person who wrote about happy endings, he was all about the dark truth about the ugly world out there. Yet, this new January who's living next to him, it's not the same woman he remembers. When January offers a change in their genres, he accepts the challenge. The rest is history.

I loved this one so much. The banter with intelligent dialogue and the slow-building romance was very creative. Their chemistry was through the roof and the attraction to each other smoking!

"When I watch you sleep," ...
I feel overwhelmed that you exist."


Kudos to Emily Henry for writing Beach Read. Definitely a much deeper story than what the title offers.

Cliffhanger: No

5/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Berkley via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

OHHHHH this book. I loved it. LOVED it.

January Andrews is reeling after the end of a long-term relationship and the sudden death of her father, who, she found out at his funeral, is not the man she thought he was. As a romance writer who no longer believes in love, she escapes to her father’s beach house in Michigan so she can try to shake her writer’s block and give something to her editor. Of course, on top of everything going on in her life, she discovers the person occupying the house next door is her college nemesis Augustus “Gus” Everett, literary fiction author extraordinaire. His broody butt is also stuck with writer’s block, and one night they make a deal to try to help each other write—she’ll try to craft a story that does not end in happily ever after, and he’ll try to channel January’s “fairy princess” style and create something a little lighter than his usual fare. They schedule weekly field trips—Fridays are for investigating the local defunct cult in the woods, and Saturdays are for exploring the types of things that fill rom coms. What could happen?

On more than one occasion during the first half of this book, I literally laughed out loud at some of the one liners in here. There were insults involving Meijer-brand Cheetos and best friends who always scream while making left turns in the car. The second half definitely took a more serious turn, but oh, man. The development of both January and Gus’s characters was nuanced and realistic. They’re both flawed people with difficult things in their earlier lives, but they help each other process some of the residual effects of these events. I have squee-ed to multiple people over the course of reading this book, and I’m definitely going to continue doing so.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. I’m purchasing my own copy right after posting!

This one was such a fun read! January a romance writer and Gus a writer of thrillers decide to switch and write each other genres. This book was right up my alley but it took me a while to actually read it. One good thing about this stay home order is all the reading gets done!

At her father’s funeral, January learns that her father had a second woman, a second house, a second life in a little town on Lake Michigan. And now that house belongs to January. Semi-homeless, recently broken up with her long term boyfriend, and struggling with writer’s block, January moves to her father’s second house. Her new neighbor is Gus, also a published author, also her college rival, also struggling with a bit of writer’s block. Also super hot and still electrifying to January’s solar plexus. So the two make a deal: Gus will try to write a romance and January will try to write his genre, literary fiction. The romance is a delightfully paced medium-burn, the emotional growth as both January and Gus deal with their baggage is spot-on for so many Millennials struggling in a world that is not what they were promised as kids, and the lesbian aunts are a hoot. Five starts for this steamy romance that is also part literary fiction!

On the steamy to chaste scale, it’s a 6.5– the same as a Jasmine Guillory or Christina Lauren.