I love anything that Emily Henry writes and this book did not disappoint. Books and romance are my cup of tea. I can't wait till Ms. Henry writes another fantastic story.

Emily Henry does it again with Book Lovers! A cute and fun contemporary romance that is perfect for all book worms.

This is my second Emily Henry book, and I have decided that she's become an automatic read for me. I don't typically read contemporary romance, but Henry manages to perfectly blend humor, witty banter, a compelling but low-stakes plot, and of course some spiciness. I particularly enjoyed how this novel poked fun at common tropes found in romance novels and Hallmark movies by taking the perspective of the ice-blond city woman who is always left for the small town girl next door who just wants to save her family's bakery/Christmas tree farm/bookstore. This is a great book for anyone looking for a lighter read to enjoy at the beach.

Writers agent Nora Stephens is consistently dumped by men who end up leaving her for love in a small town. So when her sister Libby drags her from New York to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for a girls trip, she is less than thrilled. To top that, her arch nemesis Charlie Lastra shows up in the same town. Cue a few weeks of Nora figuring out that initial impressions can sometimes be way off.

I simply love the way Emily Henry weaves complicated emotions together in her books. They are a great blend of beach read and substance, blending complicated family emotions and dynamics with comedic love.

If you have ever watched a Hallmark movie and wondered what happens to the uptight corporate girlfriend who is left by the male love interest for the bubbly small-town protagonist, then I come bearing good news: Emily Henry has answered your question.

Henry’s third adult romance novel, “Book Lovers,” follows the life of Nora Stephens, a cutthroat literary agent who has platinum blonde hair almost as icy as her heart. After a series of unfortunate breakups, wherein Stephens finds herself on the unfavorable side of the romance tropes she knows all too well, she has all but decided to swear off looking for love. And she most definitely is not looking for it in brooding Charlie Lastra, a successful editor and her professional nemesis.

However, it is just Nora’s luck that a month vacationing with her sister in the small fictional town of Sunshine Falls, North Carolina leaves her bumping into Charlie left and right. In line with the ever popular enemies-to-lovers plotline, Nora and Charlie’s continual and annoying run-ins escalate to something more.

The narrative brilliance of “Book Lovers” lies not only in Henry’s mastery of pacing, but in the novel’s keen sense of self-awareness. In a book centered around subverting tropes, Henry repeatedly succeeds at breathing new life into otherwise banal plot elements. The setting of “Book Lovers” is indulgently cliché; Sunshine Falls embodies the quintessential small-town experience including gossip, family drama and cheesily named local businesses such as the favorite town bar, “Poppa Squat.”

To top it all off, Nora’s sister even creates a small-town checklist for her and Nora to complete that seems handcrafted to land Nora in Charlie’s company. Henry leans into this and pushes clichés in order to further the plot by contrasting the characters with the overused setting. The descriptions of the city-dwelling pair braving the countryside then add necessary levity to the seemingly hackneyed setting.

Nora describes herself as the “foil to the Good Woman.” In her quest to disrupt literary norms, Henry elegantly characterizes Nora as a cynical anti-heroine to deconstruct sexist stereotypes rampant in contemporary society. Henry tackles how powerful women are often seen as bitchy, cold and otherwise unpleasant while their male counterparts receive no such criticism. Nora’s ex-boyfriends serve as a commentary on men who fear women that are their equals. Her past relationships provide a stark contrast to her connection with Charlie, who treats her like an equal.

Henry has developed a fiercely loyal following for her character-driven novels and “Book Lovers” is no exception. Charlie and Nora, Henry’s most well-rounded main characters to date, effortlessly deliver the snarky, humorous banter that her readers have grown to love. Henry’s refreshingly modern dialogue is shown in the pair’s expertly exchanged barbs via their work emails. Their back-and-forth dynamic is enhanced by the fact that Charlie and Nora are cut from the same sarcastic, workaholic cloth and therefore equally matched. Their embodiment of two sides of the same coin also allows Henry to seamlessly blur the line between love and hate as their antagonism evolves into flirtation. These characters understand each other to the very core, allowing them to embrace both their own and each other’s fallibility.
The end result is a flawed, incredibly human element in their relationship: an element that many other romance novels lack and that is sure to resonate with readers.

However, “Book Lovers” shines the brightest in its very ability to poignantly speak to universal experiences of being a reader. Authors love to write books about books — after all, they know the audience they are pandering to. The novel’s title IS the target audience. There is an earnest understanding of what it means to love books from all sides of the industry. Henry provides an insider perspective on the publishing industry from Nora and Charlie’s respective agent and editor positions. Henry even throws in a few good-natured jabs at the volatile temperaments of the authors publishing teams work with—all of this is done, of course, with the intent of showing how much passion and care is put into the development of every book that lands on shelves.

“Some books you don’t read so much as live,” Nora says in an internal monologue.

Henry perfectly captures the aspect of the reading experience that keeps her readers coming back for more — they will want to eat and breathe “Book Lovers.” In an almost meta-literary experience, Henry is able to artfully articulate the feelings experienced by her readers as they progress through the novel. True to her no-nonsense form, Nora refuses to start a book until she reads the last page and determines whether the novel is worth committing her time. While Nora’s ending-first method may be necessary for other stories, rest assured, “Book Lovers” is well-worth the investment starting from page one.

My favorite Emily Henry book yet!! This book is everything one would look for in a fun summer romance novel. Centered around Nora, a successful literary in NYC but not as successful when it comes to love. Nora's sister takes her on a (forced) trip to the location of her favorite book. There she runs into Charlie one of the unlovable editors from back in NYC. But is he as tough as he comes off?

Highly recommend reading this book. Thank you NetGalley, Berkley, and author Emily Henry for this ARC.

I know I am not alone when I say I love Emily Henry’s books!
I was hooked from the first page and the only reason I stopped was because I had to make some snacks for friends that were coming over.
This enemies to lovers set in the book world is beautifully written. Nora and Charlie are the perfect characters for this story. Yes, I got teary eyed, I laughed and I fell in love with the sub plots that were emotional as well in this book!
YOU MUST READ IT!

After reading People We Meet on Vacation last year, I knew I would read anything and everything by Emily Henry so Book Lovers was instantly on my TBR. And I’m happy about that decision.

In my opinion, Book Lovers is a good summer book; it’s funny, entertaining and filled with a great deal of banter between our rivals. Nora is a very relatable character (especially for an oldest child of 5 siblings like me 😅). And honestly there is yet to be an Emily Henry love interest I don’t become obsessed with 😍

My only issue was that romance didn’t come across as the focal point of the novel. It’s really not until the last 3rd where things pick up. I like the secondary cast of characters and the focus on personal development for the leads; I just want a little more of the swoon-y love story moments.

Overall, I’m glad I read it and I will read other Emily Henry books but this one just wasn’t my all time favorite.

My Rating of Emily Henry’s Adult Fiction:
1- People We Meet on Vacation
2- Book Lovers
3- Beach Read

Tropes: Rival to Lovers, small town romance

Nora Stephen's life is books, as a literary agent she gets to read a lot of them. Nora is there for everyone of her clients to the point of not really having a personal life. The only person Nora has time for is her sister Libby whom she raised after their mother tragically passed away. As the birth of Libby's 3rd baby draws near Nora feels disconnected from her sister and cannot figure out why so when Libby recommends a sister's get away for a month to a small town where their favourite book is set she agrees.

While scoping out the town she runs into the last person she would have thought would be in a small town. An editor named Charlie that had turned down the book based on the town they are in.

What follows is a cute back and forth between Nora and Charlie. they have a witty banter that makes the book enjoyable to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced readers copy.

Book Lovers

Nora is a literary agent living in New York City. When her sister Libby asks her to spend three weeks on a vacation in a small town, Nora obliges since she has always taken care of Libby and feels Libby needs her. Add in a Iove interest and Nora’s story becomes complicated. I enjoyed the way the story revolves around books and familiar tropes in romances. Recommended and thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

A romance for book lovers! This sweet story, with complex, interesting and enticing characters, was a joy to read!

I gave it a good college try, I really did…but I think Henry is just not an author for me. Granted, I am not a romcom reader in general but I have seen this book being pitched as more of a contemporary fiction as opposed to romance, but I still found it too hokey and corny for my taste.

It will surprise absolutely no one when I say that I adored this book. It made me simultaneously miss the heck out of New York but also want to call up my sister, get on a plane to Small Town, USA™ and just lose myself for a weekend with nothing but my kindle and an empty stomach. Emily Henry just has such a knack for writing books that feel like they were written specifically *for me* and I truly have yet to be disappointed. While I don’t know that this is my favorite of her novels (I love them all so much that it’s honestly kind of pointless to try to play favorites aside from writing this review lol), I am confident that the ending of this book is not only my favorite of her endings, but possibly one of my favorites book endings of all time? I read the last 50 pages twice and cried just as hard at the ending both times. I couldn't have dreamed up a better conclusion if I tried. Oh, also, Charlie is an absolute dream boat and I love love loved both him and Nora. Emily Henry just has *such* a gift and I am so excited to spend the rest of my life reading her stories. Happy, happy sigh

CW: death of a parent, minor pregnancy complications

I just loved Nora and Charlie so much. Probably from the very beginning I was obsessed with them. I was just a huge sucker for their banter. Just, A+ banter. I love the way Charlie so clearly sees Nora, everyone sees parts of her, but he kind of gets to the bottom of who she is as a whole right away. I loved watching their relationship develop. I will say, I was not a fan of Nora's sister. She kinda gets better in the end, but I spent so much of this book mad at her, that I'm not sure the end made up for it. The solution to Nora and Charlie's problem was a tiny bit obvious once you were aware of how all the pieces fit, but, I was still really happy for them when they figured it out. I love when a book gives me something that I had already predicted, but still makes me happy to see it happen.

The narration was of course amazing. Julia Whelan can do no wrong in my eyes. She just captures Nora and Charlie's voice so incredibly well.

This book was made for older sisters and sisters in general everywhere. I adored this book and I can’t wait to pick up another book by Emily Henry.

Maybe 4.5 stars, but a delightfully fun book by Emily Henry. I liked Beach Read but I did like this one a bit better. Her banter between characters makes the books fun, and makes you wish you knew them… they just seem like interesting people to be around. Lots of trope conversation, since of course, it is an enemies to lovers trope!

Nora Stephens (doesn’t the name sound like a book agent?) is known for being a shark of an agent, and a somewhat lonely one at that. None of her relationships work, and the guys always find someone more genuine and perfect.

One of her favorite authors has a new book, which is immediately rejected by a harsh editor, who is not impressed with the location of it, Sunshine Falls, NC.

Never knowing her dad, when her mom died, she took responsibility of her younger sister, and now that includes her nieces, as well. Her pregnant sister needs some time away, and selects the location from her recent hit book, as the getaway location. But guess who she finds in the small town, about to be a movie from her book?

Book banter between the editor and agent makes it a super fun read for all Book Lovers!

I love how she describes becoming an agent. Growing up, she lived above a bookstore, which had “shelf-talkers cards for us to fill out…Book Lovers Recommend, they said - that’s what she called us, her little book lovers. So I started to think about books more critically… I got super stingy with my recommendations… and then I started just changing things I read; fixing endings if Libby (her sister) didn’t like how they played out, or if all the main characters were boys, I’d add a girl with strawberry blond hair.” P156

Another “universal truth” Austen could’ve started Price and Prejudice with: When you tell yourself not to think about something, it will be all that you can think about. P182

“Libby was wrong when she told Sally I am just like Mom. Mom worked nonstop to chase something she wanted. For me, it’s running endlessly trying to escape the past.” P253

“There are full series I love whose last chapter I’ve never read. I hate the feeling of something ending.” P271

“This must be how people feel when their water breaks. Like they’ve been carrying a new future around inside themself and suddenly it’s gushing out, ready or not.” P275

If you enjoy books by Melissa Ferguson, Ashley Winstead or Julie Murphy, you will love the newest novel by Emily Henry, the author of Beach Reads and People We Meet on Vacation. A funny and heartwarming story of Nora, a literary agent from New York City who loves her job, her sister and her fast paced, no-nonsense lifestyle.

When Nora decides to accept her sister’s invitation to spend a month in the small town of Sunshine Falls, North Carolina, she hopes to use the time to reconnect with her little sister. She is surprised to find her literary enemy, Charlie at the local bookstore. Charlie, a native of Sunshine Falls has reluctantly returned to help his family. What develops is a classic enemy to lover troupe with depth. Nora self-discovery, the family background and sister’s relationship all add up to an engaging, witty and uplifting read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the opportunity to review this book.

Although this book is full of tropes and the reader can kind of guess the ending right from the beginning, but what what makes this book fun and definitely a must read is the conversations between Nora and Charlie. It is so crisp and to the point that it can be imagined that it is Tracey and Hepburn exchanging quips instead of these imaginary characters. (I'm sure it was not a coincidence that the two sisters and their mother used to share Hepburn movie night.) Instead of the country heroine going to the big city, it was the city girls in the country and the descriptions not only brought a smile, but oftentimes a BIG laugh! This was a one day read and I wasn't ready for it to end.

Thank you for the free ebook Penguin Random House

This is my first book by Emily Henry. I always say that romance books are not for me but sometimes I find something particular that catch my attention, I’m not a big fan of insta love or some sort of love that is born from nowhere. And I must admit that what I liked about this book first was the title, but I have enjoyed it so much.

Both main characters have a lot to deal with in their lives, so that could be considered as a “non-ideal”, Nora is definitely a successful woman that many times will put her personal life aside because of her job, she is strong and sometimes she doesn’t have time for feelings and that can be seen as cold, but she isn’t cold. I love Charlie, he is dealing with his own problems, but I love how he perceives Nora, how he admires her.

The author has given us a believable book I wish there would be more couples like Nora and Charlie.

Book Lovers was another 5 star read by the fabulous Emily Henry!! I think her books just keep getting better and better- which seems impossible. The writing is flawless and the story is so heartwarming. I absolutely loved it and highly recommend it!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.