Emily Henry has become one of my favorite authors in the recent years, and despite getting access to this title back in 2020, I have only gotten around to reading this book in 2022.
What I like about this book is the banter, and the romance. It contains heavy topics, but it's not that heavy that it cannot be considered a comfort book. Overall, it's definitely a book I have thoroughly enjoyed, and I would definitely read more of Emily Henry's books in the future as they come out.

This really wasn't for me. I couldn't connect with either January or Gus in their one step forward two steps back romance.

There were moments were I thought I had misjudged the book and I carried on reading. I particularly liked the supporting characters of Shadi, Pete and Maggie.

I'm not sure why it is called Beach Read? It's certainly not a book I would want to read on the beach and nor does it really feature a beach. Some very dark moments in amongst what for the most of the book was a little light.

I made it to the end, which I think could have come a lot sooner.

I didn't really enjoy this unfortunately, it just felt trite and I didn't like the characters or the plot surprisingly since I'm pretty easily satisfied with a love story. I did finish the book pretty easily and quickly so I suppose it technically was a good beach read.

The perfect summer read. An easy, fun and romantic read. I love everything from Emily Henry and will be recommending this to my friends.

From the book cover and description I thought it would be a lighthearted story and not a darker subversion of the genre.

I didn’t connect with January or Gus and found it hard to connect with the story.

Overall it wasn't the read for me.


Thank you to Penguin Books UK, Emily and NetGalley.

This was a good solid....beach read! (believe it or not)
Heartwarming and sweet with great characters, this was a really lovely read.

Yes you can see the "twist" coming a mile away and yes it was predictable but some days that just what you crave and need!

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Emily Henry is definitely an author whose books I don't even need to read the blurb as they are an automatic buy as you know they will be good. I was lucky enough to receive an arc for this book (although have still purchased the book for my bookshelf!).

I absolutely adored the characters, especially Gus, and loved the romantic dreamy setting throughout that she always has in her books, but also how she is able to make the characters so memorable with their own personal battles they each have to face.

"You have to keep falling in love with every new version of each other, and it's the best feeling in the whole world"

I devoured this book in one sitting and my emotions were all over the place - tears, laughter, heartbreak for the characters (and for myself as the reader!) Probably one of the best books ive read in a long while.

I was initially excited with the premise of "Beach Read", two authors with divergent writing styles embarking on an enemies-to-lovers journey. But sadly, I had a mixed experience. It wasn’t a completely bad read, but I had high expectations that fall flat, and I got a somewhat tedious narrative instead of exciting read.
Emily Henry brings a distinctive touch to romance, weaving a narrative that feels more like a journey of personal growth and healing than a conventional love story. The depth of characterization, delving into characters' internal struggles beyond romance, adds a layer of complexity to the narrative. I was more engaged in the plot surrounding the authors swapping book genres than the central romantic aspect. While the romance wasn't as captivating as anticipated, the book is still a decent read.

A great read. A proper holiday read. Well written, easy reading, perfect for reading my the pool.
Thank you to both publishers and NetGalley for gifting me the book

Beach Read by Emily Henry is the laugh-out-loud love story you'll want to escape with this summer. January is a hopeless romantic who narrates her life as if it was a movie while Augustus is a serious literary type who believes in love being a fairy-tale. They don't get on, but then find out that they have more in common than expected, namely a need for money and a need for writing bestsellers by the end of summer. In a bet to achieve this goal, they switch genres, telling each other's stories and changing their world forever.

The wit, charm, and unexpected moments make Beach Read the perfect beach escape this summer. I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a great read and some laugh-out-loud moments. A truly feel-good love story with a twist - one that will leave you dreaming of a happy ending!

Amazing book, lighthearted and an easy read for anyone getting out of reading slump.

Thanks Netgalley and publisher

🌅 BOOK REVIEW 🌅

Synopsis: 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.

Review: *happy screams* Oh my gosh this book, it was almost everything! Friends to lovers, grumpy/ sunshine, open door romance that had so much depth with interwoven plot - I couldn’t put it down! There’s a lot of family drama in this one and a loved one with cancer, so avoid that if you need to, but overall I really loved the story. I felt I could relate to the characters and was really feeling emotional with them. I’ve deducted from the rating for lack of diversity, and the female MC was a little cringe at times, jumping to conclusions and playing the victim when she literally hasn’t even thought anything through - and this had me eye rolling! But other than that, absolutely delightful and I’m genuinely looking forward to more from Emily Henry!

4.5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

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It didn’t take me long to pick up another Emily Henry! Her books have the right holiday vibe that I’m seeking at the moment and then I realised I had an unread Net Galley copy of Beach Read sitting on my Kindle, so, here we are, another one read.

I enjoyed this one immensely, the dialogue was snappy and fun, the characters likeably flawed, and once again, it’s a book about books – you can’t get much better than that. I particularly enjoyed the whole ‘inside the mind of a writer’ aspect to this one and how both characters were struggling with writer’s block and then decided to work together as a means of overcoming it. That it was a love story alongside this was a nicely played out bonus, but of course, it was far from cliche, and I enjoyed it a lot.

Another one I recommend. I probably liked Book Lovers a nudge more, but this one was right up there as a good read.

Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.

Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

January is a romance writer. Her father dies and leaves her his lake house on Lake Michigan. She has always believed in romance but now she is hiding away from her agent as she is unable to write her next book.

At the lake she meets neighbour Gus who is also a writer, they used to go to college together. As Gus is also struggling to write his next book they agree to swap genres and write each other’s books. Gus thinks a romance will be easier to write than his darker books.

I loved every moment of this book, the banter between Gus and January had me laughing along with them and smiling to myself as I continued reading. Their humour and wit was so well written.

This isn't my first Emily Henry book and it won't be my last, as what she manages to always capture in her books is not on the chicklit romcom elements we enjoy but also her characters are also on their own journeys which gives them yet another endearing and relatable authenticity when reading her books. A perfect combination of some fun, loving moments, the evolution of a relationship with some poignant moments thrown in to also tug at our heartstrings. It felt like a hug in bookform. #emilyhenry #beachread #netgalley #tea_sipping_bookworm #goodreads #litsy #thestorygraph #chicklit #bookqueen #bookstagram

The two main characters, January and Gus, were both going through some shit that felt real and nuanced. There was a depth to them that was tangible. And the setting - while seemingly plucked straight out of a Nicholas Sparks book - never felt contrived or cliche. I really enjoyed that the romance was written with a tongue-in-cheek hilarity that on one hand called itself out, and on the other, served to undercut any sense of the cliche.

I was really impressed with Emily Henry's writing and style. I enjoyed her ability to flirt with the fourth wall and turn certain things on their head in a manner that made you laugh at it, but also seriously consider it at the same time.

A fluffy little book that does what it says on the tin. There’s nothing mind blowing and it’s not a stand out but if you want a relaxed read then you’ll enjoy this book.

After hearing all the hype behind this book, I was looking forward to getting stuck into a romance novel that would actually grab my attention. Whilst there were bits that I liked, overall I just found it a bit lacklustre and not as exciting as I hoped. It was a book that I wasn’t jumping to pick up, but found it easy enough to read.

This was my first Emily Henry novel, and I have since gone on to read Book Lovers. I absolutely love her writing- it's the perfect balance of romance, humour and sharp observations about the world we live in, as well as being genuinely moving in places.

I loved the will they/won't they storyline and Gus and January are brilliant characters who I found myself really caring about. I couldn't put it down.

I highly recommend this for anyone who's looking for a great feel-good read!

The beach- yes. The swapping of storylines- yes. The January and august romance- not so much. There was something I wanted- more summer steamy romance, that this book never gave but I’m here for everything it did hand over in the cult storyline. And I think I’m becoming an Emily Henry fan!

I loved the relationship of these two characters and how they each balanced the other out.
Emily Henry's writing style is just amazing, she really brings the characters to life
Thank you to Netgalley & Penguin Publishing for providing this ARC for review.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.