I read some reviews of this book before I read it, so I knew what I was getting into. This is not a light romcom. Though it did make me laugh many times. It definitely had humor I very much enjoyed. There is definitely a romance in this book, but we only get January's viewpoint and it is very much about her dealing with her father's death and his secrets, the break up with her fiance, and trying to write a book over the summer while she deals with writer's block all while falling for her neighbor. Maybe right on the line between romance and literature? Either way I really really enjoyed this book. In fact it's almost 3:30am. I had planned on not staying up late, but I started this book in the evening and just never stopped.

I really enjoyed this book. It took a term that tends to mean 'fluffy/not heavy' and turned it on its head. The challenges the main characters went through felt real and believable

Beach Read was exactly what I needed during this difficult time of self quarantine. It is sweet and romantic and a little bit sad. It had me reading way past my bedtime.

I loved January. She is bright and happy and smart and has just gotten some of the shine worn off of her as she comes to the beach house to write her next novel. A novel that she is very far behind on. That’s where she meets August, who is a little grumpy, a realist and maybe a little bit soft in the center. Apart, they are polar opposites but together…

January really had me. I like her humor and her outlook on life. She’s taken a hard hit, but I really enjoyed her POV and especially liked her inner monologue. Enter Augustus who she doesn’t know what to do with. He is the cynical writer and the quiet romantic all in one. I liked how their friendship blossomed into something more. It was natural and very easy to see how they could like the differences in each other.

The secondary plots are interesting and I was very intrigued about January’s father’s story. There’s a lot of cute flirting countered with some really heavy and sad moments and I liked how that book weighed itself so evenly. I seriously stayed up way too late reading it.

The only thing I wish I had more of was the best friend. January’s best friend does eventually come to visit, but I wish I had more outsiders from January and Augustus’s past, making them more complete when seen with others. (There are secondary characters but they’re mostly on August’s side and from the town)

Overall, this book was such a delightful surprise. I will be buying copies for all of my friends!

Nice sweet romance with good relationship build up. I found it to be a very enjoyable read for a nice light romance.

A romance writer literary fiction writer both have writer's block and decide to make a deal to swap genres for the summer. It's the set up for a great romance story... but in many ways this story is about more than the romance. It's about grief, childhood trauma, infidelity... and what do "happily ever afters" really look like in a broken world. I really appreciated the depth of emotion in both characters and their love story.

Beach Read was a sexy and serious look at turning all kinds of preconceptions in their heads: book genres; past romances; our flawed families; and love. I enjoyed this lively, funny, modern beach read.

**Disclaimer: I was given a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.**

Title Beach Read

Author Emily Henry

Description from Amazon

A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters.

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.

Release Date May 19, 2020

Initial Thoughts

I’m on a real contemporary kick these days. I’ve been alternating between fantasy and contemporary but I feel like after every contemporary book, I just want to read another. This is my third one this week. Also, my secret dream is to become a writer so a book about writers felt so right.

Some Things I Liked

Enemies to lovers. My favorite trope. I just loved it here. The tension between Gus and January was fantastic and they just had the best banter.
Speaking of banter, I really enjoyed the dialogue and references used by both main characters. I’d expect nothing less from authors as characters, but I really enjoyed it.
“Happy for now.” I actually really liked this sentiment. Happily ever afters are great – they’re basically why I like to read. But, happy for now, is something that I think people take for granted too often. I loved that this book focused on the present and the characters didn’t let worries for the future bog them down.
“The wo-orst”. Not sure if this was Emily Henry’s intention, but in my head, I heard that line as Jean-Ralphio from Parks and Rec and I laughed out loud.
27 Dresses vibes. I am not a big fan of Katherine Heigel, but I did like that movie. As soon as I read cynical Gus meets the queen of Happily Ever Afters, January, I knew that was where this book was going and I was all about that.

Series Value

This book feels like a true standalone. As much as I’d like to hear more about January and Gus, I feel like their story reached a nice conclusion. I’m very pleased with it and we really didn’t meet any other characters that would be worthy of a spin-off in my opinion.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed this book. Both main characters grew and learned so much on their way to finding happiness and I loved their story. This book had everything I wanted in a good rom-com.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommendations for Further Reading

Well Met by Jen DeLuca – if you like enemies to lovers and down-to-earth quirky characters, try this series by Jen DeLuca. The second book is coming out in September.
You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle – again, if you like the enemies to lovers vibes as well as characters moving to a new space to find themselves, try this April release.
The Move by Whitney Dineen – if you liked the “starting over in a new town” vibes that Well Met had, try this book by Whitney Dineen. There are three books so far in this series, but this book (the second), would be the closest to Well Met.

Absolutely adored this title! Will be recommending it to everyone looking for a romance this coming summer!

College frenemies Gus and January have grown up to become successful authors. Gus writes serious literary fiction, January writes sweet romances. For a variety of personal reasons, both have hit career roadblocks. Coincidentally, they find themselves living next door to one another in an idyllic town on the coast of Lake Michigan, where they strike a bargain. By summer's end, January will have written a serious work of literary fiction, and Gus will write a romance. Of course, they fall in love, and it's a great romance. I could not put this book down. Great characters, brisk storyline, terrific romance! This is the perfect "summer book" to recommend to readers.

I stayed up until 3:13 finishing this book. I loved the fact that the main characters knew each other years before and were renewing that attraction. The stories that the authors came up with in the deal were fun and seemed appropriate to their characters.

A slow burn enemies to lovers romance between two troubled souls who come together and find respite.

This isn't exactly what I expected from a beach read, or from a book that's titled that, but I enjoyed it in parts. Much of the storyline is deeper and darker than traditional beach reads. There are witty parts and sweet parts and crafty writerly parts, but I wasn't pulled in to the heavier parts. Overall, the story kept my interest, but I wasn't swept away or drawn in fully.
Thank you, NetGalley, for my complimentary copy.

Romance writer January Winters and literary fiction darling Augustus Everett trade genres in this entertaining adult contemporary romance.

The cutesy cover pulled me into requesting this book on NetGalley. While the cover gives off hardcore rom-com vibes, it has a bit more drama than I anticipated. It’s not bad, but the cover and synopsis are a little misleading.

Much of the novel is January coming to terms with the grief at her father’s passing. A damning secret of his comes out after his death, completely wrecking January. I’m lucky to have never lost a parent, but the emotions she experiences seemed genuine. More time spent with her interacting with her mother would have been rewarding. Augusta is also working through some emotional issues, which made the book feel evenly balanced between the two main protagonist.

January and Augusta have a super delicious slow burn romance. It’s built methodically piece by piece to make for a satisfying relationship. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the catalyst pushing forward their DTR (determine the relationship) moment. It felt unnecessary and cheesy, despite its foreshadowing.

tl;dr A dramady with compelling characters, a delicious slow-burn romance, and a cutesy cover make this a must-read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
My real rating is 3.75 stars for this one.
Beach Read is about a writer named Januaruy, who simultaneously inherits her father's cabin once he passes and learning that he had an affair with another woman half her life. When she moves in, she discovers Augustus Everett, someone she hated in college and is also a writer, lives right next door. They butt heads in the beginning and then make a bet with each other. Write a book in the other person's genre and see who sells their book. Shouldn't be too hard, right?
There was a lot that I enjoyed about this book and part of it was that it seemed heavier than a normal romcom book. There was family drama, discussions of cults, and even more. Augustus was a total grump that I quite enjoyed, especially as he began to thaw out. January's interactions with him during their research dates was always a treat and I loved the notes they wrote each other to help motivate and distract each other. Reading about writer's block was something I could relate to and I wanted to read January's novel that she shaped throughout the book. Watching her and Augustus grow closer together while she simultaneously dealt with her father's affair was a unique story that kept me engaged throughout. The letters was a fantastic touch that really rounded out her father as a person, despite him being gone.
There are weak spots within the book and it does get slow in parts. My nitpick was some of the wording she chose for the love scene was more amusing than sexy but she overall wrote well. I enjoyed her interactions with her best friend but wish there was more with them. Same thing with other characters in the book. It felt more isolating with the story focusing mostly on the MCs but I get why it was written that way. It was a decent book but not actually a book to take with you to the beach. Had to day it. Haha.

What a book to get me back into my reading groove! After being in a funk for about a month, I finally picked up my galley and thank goodness I did, because I could not put it down! I finished this in a day and safe to say, I am obsessed.. The banter was quick, witty, and steamy, and had me laughing out loud in public spaces. I characters' journeys were realistic and believable and I was rooting for both of them to figure out their sh*t and just get together already! I didn't read this on the beach but the title fits -- it's the perfect beach read and has me wishing for summer to come asap!

I loved BEACH READ by Emily Henry. For me, it’s one of those novels that straddles the line between women’s fiction and romance. I struggle to find these types of books and feel so lucky when I come across one because they’re my favorite. And this one I just loved so much.

The story centers on January Andrews, a romance novelist who hasn’t been able to write since she discovered, at her father’s funeral, a pretty shocking secret he was keeping from her. I don’t want to give anything away, so to be purposefully vague, I’ll just say she ends up in a beach town in Michigan living next door to Augustus Everett, acclaimed novelist of literary fiction. Oh, and he also happens to be her rival from her university days. One thing leads to another, and they end up challenging each other to write in the other’s genre. Gus will write a romance and January will pen the next Great American Novel.

There’s loads of character development, the banter is quick and addicting and will make you laugh out loud. There are also tender moments that’ll have you crying (at least… I cried, but I cry at everything). This book is surprising, engaging, and truly unputdownable. It’s one you don’t want to miss.

BEACH READ by Emily Henry goes on sale May 19th.

Enemies to lovers? Cute cover? Fun title? This book has it all! I was completely taken in by the plot, and I have to say, I enjoyed it! Be warned that this book may seem to be a light, fluffy read, but it's heavier than you think! There are points where I became extremely emotional. January and Gus are well-written characters that have great chemistry. Well done!

Deep and complex romance with an enemies to lovers twist.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is such a deep, complex story. I love the connection these two have and the easy way they were able to converse once they started breaking down the barriers. A little bit of snark, humor, and sarcasm, but delightfully quick witted and so intense as well.

The story reminds me that you never really know what people have deep down inside. On the surface we may be one type of person, but inside, if we ever let anyone in that deep, we can be somebody else altogether.

Allowing yourself to be seen as you really are and the vulnerability of letting someone else in to see who you are is perfectly showcased in this novel. The slow to grow romance was just exactly what this book needed and Henry nailed it perfectly.

Impressive work with spots of lightness, darkness, insecurity, lighthearted wit, and depth in everything the heart can throw at us. A delightful and passionate novel that is the perfect choice for your summer beach read!

I loved the tongue in cheek nature and self awareness of the book (deleting the branch read doc lolol). I didn't fint the cover or description to be very accurate for the story, but very glad I picked it up.

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
The characters are what makes this book so special! They are funny and complex and both dealing with their own demons. Their interactions are sometimes hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking. Are happy endings real? This book makes me believe in happy right now.