i was extremely nervous going into BOOK LOVERS because @emilyhenrywrites books come with a LOTTTT of hype 👀 but this one tugged at my heart and didn’t disappoint 💙

thank you @berkleyromance for the #gifted early copy 📚 this highly anticipated 2022 release hits shelves tomorrow!!

🌟 rating: 4 stars
📖 genre: romance
#️⃣ pages: 384
🥳 pub day: 5/3
✍🏼 same author of BEACH READ and PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION
read if you like: books, friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, character driven plots

i enjoyed BEACH READ, didn’t jive with PWMOV, and BOOK LOVERS made me happy! for a romance, i liked how it didn’t have one main/typical trope… it’s somewhat friends to lovers, somewhat enemies to lovers, and some HEA in there that we all hope and root for. there were a bunch of strong side plots/characters in this one which i think is why it worked so much better for me than PWMOV. i also loved the elements of both MC’s being book lovers (all characters were, actually) and as a girl with two sisters, the family plot also really struck a chord with me. i thought the ending was creative and the “twists” she so heavily teases paid off with shock value. all in all, this will be another hit from Henry!

BOOK LOVERS follows Nora, a workaholic who really only cares about her clients, job and her sister. so when their relationship start drifting and her sister suggests a month away together to a small town, she agrees. but once she’s there, she keeps running into a fellow editor from NYC that doesn’t have the best relationship with. when they team up for a project, Nora’s professional life takes just as big of a turn as her personal one 👀

the longer i sat with it, the more i enjoyed it. i read it at the perfect time (i was sad and sick as a dog) and was very eager to see where it ended. it wasn’t perfect though, and it missed the mark on a few areas—it was a bit long for me, the middle really dragged out, the love story/chemistry felt a biiiiit forced and there was minimal steam.

i’m sure 90% of you already have this in pre-order so have no fear—you will love it! 💙

"One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn't see coming..." This fun, sexy romance novel is full of your favorite Hallmark movie/contemporary romance tropes. Well worth a read!

ARC cedida por PRH International em troca de uma opinião honesta

Apesar de muito elogiada por seus romances, eu ainda não havia conferido as histórias de Emily Henry até receber a ARC de Book Lovers. E com a finalização desse livro pode ter certeza que vou conferir os outros e temos mais uma autora queridinha.

Nora Stephens é uma agente literária muito boa no que faz. Livros sempre fizeram parte da sua vida desde a infância e com isso ela sabe que não faz muito o estilo das heroínas de romance. Quando sua irmã a convencer a passar um mês em uma pequena cidade na Carolina do Norte, ela não imaginava cruzar com Charlie Lastra, um editor com quem ela não teve uma boa primeira impressão.

O mais legal desse livro, além claro do romance, é o modo como Emily brinca e utiliza de tropes de livros para desenvolver o seu. Tanto Nora quanto Charlie vivem rodeados de livros, então suas interações quase sempre tem uma referência literária. Outro ponto bacana foi ver os "bastidores" da produção de um livro; no caso Nora e Charlie co-editam a nova história de uma das autoras que Nora representa e achei bem legal mostrar esse outro lado.

Apesar de ter uma ideia bem contrária, Nora é uma heroína de romance e que super me identifiquei com ela. Ela é determinada e super profissional, além de não esconder que ama morar em Nova York e que não trocaria essa cidade barulhenta por nada desse mundo. Temos também o fato que dela colocar seu trabalho em primeiro lugar e por muitas vezes Libby, sua irmã e pessoa favorita no mundo, não compreende, achando que Nora não "vive". Vemos que a agente é apaixonada no que faz e essa é sua vida. E é aqui que entra Charlie Lastra.

Charlie e Nora são farinha do mesmo saco e ele faz questão de demonstrar isso todo o tempo, mas de forma positiva. Desde o princípio de seu envolvimento, ele é direto no que deseja para os dois e deixa bem claro que Nora ser boa no que faz é um dos principais motivos de sua atração. Charlie se mostra um pouco fechado, mas logo a agente descobre o grande coração que ele tem assim como uma lealdade inquestionável.

O desenvolvimento do casal não poderia ter ocorrido de forma melhor, senão através de um livro. Eles são divertidos juntos, passada as primeiras impressões eles acabam se sentindo confortáveis um com o outro justamente pelo fato deles se entenderem tão bem. Os flertes, as provocações, o humor e as brincadeiras entre os dois é fazer vomitar arco-íris de tão fofos e tão perfeitos eles são um para o outro.

Em paralelo ao romance, também temos um foco na relação de Nora e sua irmã Libby. As duas foram criadas apenas pela mãe e cada uma lidou de uma forma com a morte dela, mas sem necessariamente superar o luto. Apesar de ter sentido que o foco na relação com a irmã sobressaiu mais que o romance, esse foco também fez parte da jornada de desenvolvimento de Nora durante a história. As duas irmãs se amam e sempre estarão ali uma pela outra, mas precisam resolver entre si e com elas mesmas alguns pontos que a morte da mãe afetou.

A escrita da Emily é bem gostosinha e Nora é uma ótima narradora. Confesso que queria alguns capítulos na visão de Charlie, mas não se pode ter tudo não é mesmo?

This might be my favorite Emily Henry book yet! It has all of her signatures, witty banner, working through trauma, and complex side characters. But it's Book Lovers call outs to other books that really shined for me. A super satisfying read. Great for anyone who likes there RomComs with a bit of depth.

This book was ... ok. It tries to be meta, and it kind of works, but it is also a bit over the top.

Nora is a literary agent in New York. She is married to her work and her Peloton. She's "affectionately" called the shark because of how she goes about her work. She has an uncomfortable lunch with an editor, Charlie. It seems obvious from the beginning that Nora and Charlie will end up in some kind of relationship, and despite the meta-ness of the book, it still follows a rom-com format.

Nora and Charlie fall in what seems to be an insta-love scenario, which is not my favorite trope. Nora is on a vacation with her sister, Libby. Libby is married with kids but Nora insists on mothering her (as their mother passed away when the girls were younger).

I wanted a bit more from this storyline. Libby is pregnant and secretive, but we don't get much more from her. I wanted the sister storyline fleshed out (especially because the sisters are on a vacation together for 90 percent of this book).

Overall, this book is similar to Emily Henry's other books. If you enjoyed those, you'll enjoy this one as well.

I really loved this. There's something about the way Emily Henry writes that just works for me. I think the number one thing is that I love the banter between the main characters. The snark made me love reading this. It's more than just a romance though, it's about family, sisters, learning to help others and help yourself, and realizing that home is much more than a place. It made me laugh, smile, and cry while reading, so it was a hit for me.

Book Lovers was such a delight to read and was super trope-y in the best of ways. I think it is such an interesting twist on the typical small town romance. So often in these kind of romances, who have the high powered city person going to the small town and inevitably falling in the love with someone there, despite having a significant other back home. Nora and Charlie were great characters to follow and they had really good banter and chemistry.

Rating: 4.5

I was so nervous to read this book because I did not vibe with People We Meet on Vacation. I believe in giving second chances and knew how popular and beloved this author was so I decided to listen to this one. I’m so happy I did because I really enjoyed it. My review is really short because even though I enjoyed this one I don’t have much to say about it.

I love when you can feel a bond grow between two characters. A bond that goes deeper than attraction and curiosity. That’s exactly the bond I felt between Nora and Charlie. I loved how they were when they were together and how Nora would think about him when they were apart. I also really loved the bond Nora had with her sister. I was semi close to my older sister growing up but actually haven’t spoken to her in over nine years. So it was nice to see how Nora and her sister interacted with one another and how protective Nora was over her sister.

Honestly, this was a great book in my opinion and I definitely would recommend it. If you're a fan of enemies to lovers or small town romances then check this one out. The writing was well done, the pacing started out a little slow but definitely picked up the more you read.

Thank you so much @berkleyromance for the #gifted copy on #netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Emily Henry knows exactly what she is doing when it comes to writing romance. I said it once before but has FULLY converted me to the genre.

Book Lovers is not only a love story but a love story for books and the world around of them. The characters have a little bit of everyone in them. Its not just Nora that is facing literary parallels.

I'll be buying a physical copy not only for myself but the library as well!

It is not an exaggeration to say this is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE book of the year (so far anyway!) I cannot believe this is the first book of Henry's that I have picked up. It is the absolute perfect mix of self exploration, romance, mystery, and of course wit! Seriously the witty banter is everyyyttthhhiinnggg! I love this book and will be thinking about it for a long time! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

If you have never read an Emily Henry book and decide to pick this one up, you are in for a treat. Set in dual locations between, New York City and small-town North Carolina, two city slicker nemesis within the publishing world, find themselves within a romance plotline of their own.
So many things went right for this book; the banter between characters, the underlining themes working to build the primary theme, accuracy in developed relationships and the feelings the character experienced, and (my favorite) a more realistic ending rather then a Happily Ever After fairytale.
Anyone looking for a summer beach read, a beside the pool read, an on the couch read, or some other type of read; put this book on the top of your list! It is lighthearted, funny, and pulls on the heart strings in just the right ways!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC which I received in exchange for an honest review!

Okay I LOVED this book! Emily Henry is very popular on booktok and her other two books sell like crazy at my work and yet, I had yet to read her books until Book Lovers! I can easily say that if her other books are as good as Book Lovers was, I will definitely be reading those books very soon! If you love the grumpy/sunshine but always wanted two grumps in the relationship, this book is for you.

It's often rare for me to find a book that doesn't have me looking to the back of the book to see how many pages are left to read (very similar to the MC of this book!) and instead hoping it never ends. That was Book Lovers for me. The writing style of Emily Henry is so fantastic and I don't really understand what she does to make me feel this way compared to other really great authors. But for some reason everything Emily writes to me is liquid gold and I can't get enough. And the small nod to Beach Read made my heart flutter, I love this universe she's creating with all of her characters and books!

While this book needs to no help with my 5 star review given the rising popularity of this author and all the raving reviews I've already seen for this new title, don't let the hype scare you away from reading this book! It has a great story with the most amazing banter between Charlie and Nora, Emily has yet to write a book that I don't giggle out loud while I'm reading! Sorry Beach Read, but I think Book Lovers just took the crown of my favorite title so far by Emily!

I liked this literary couple, Nora, a literary agent, and Charles, a book editor, who meet at a small out of the way town, the subject of a bestselling book promoted by Nora. There, in spite of their differences and their strange attraction to one another, they collaborate on a new book by Nora's best selling author, which draws them in close proximity.

Nora's life is complicated by her continuing devotion to younger sister Libby, for whom she has made sacrifices that Libby is not aware of. Romance and family ties are inherent to the plot of this rom com and the themes are developed accordingly. The slow burn romance between Charles and Nora had me impatient and flipping the pages, however, and instead of prolonging the romantic suspense, the situation just left me wanting, like Nora, to flip to the end of the book to see if I liked the ending.

All's well that ends well, however, although I do wish the romance between Nora and Charles had been speeded up a bit..

For New York City literary agent Nora Stephens, spending time offline in North Carolina is not a get-away … it’s the one that got away! In real life this successful dealmaker has lost every one of her recent boyfriends to a meet-cute not of her making. There is no way this stylish hot shot with the regimented skin care routine and strictly scheduled calendar will ever make it through the month in oppressively sunny Sunshine Falls. But Nora has promised her younger sister Libby to spend time with her and bucket list before her next bun is out of the baby making oven. And she cannot bear to disappoint her. With wonky wifi she hunkers down in the local book store to get some work done and learns much to her chagrin that her NY nemesis, top notch editor Charlie Lastra is not only in this godforsaken little town at the very same time but his family owns the adorable shop and the B&B where she is staying. Many romcom moments later the two cannot deny the unlikely circumstances that brought them together and unquestionable chemistry they share. Sisterly connection, book obsession, steamy enemies to lovers - this laugh-out-loud summer read is a small town romance that will have you glued to that beach chair long after the sun goes down.

Henry has done it again, and I wasn't sure she could necessarily top <i>People We Meet on Vacation</i> in terms of glorious acheyness about characters who are flawed and genuine and raw and real. This is a book about people who love books — who love digging into all of the best parts of any story on the page and dissecting character and deep-diving into motivation — and about how it's never too late to find true purpose and happiness even if you've resigned yourself to never having that level of contentment in your life. Henry's main duo are also the type to self-sacrifice on behalf of family, something they don't realize they have in common until their love story starts, and it's that shared quality that enables them to realize exactly what they can offer one another in terms of stability and commitment — provided that they're willing to take the leap. At the same time, Henry doesn't force her characters to significantly change themselves for the person they happen to fall for, and I think that's really excellent.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“How do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Say the right thing.”
“No one thinks that.”
“I do.”
His lashes splay across his cheeks as his gaze drops. “Maybe I just say the right thing for you.”

WOW!!! 5 Fabulous Stars! And just like that, we hit the Emily Henry jackpot once again! We’ve adored every book we’ve read by this author, and with Book Lovers, she’s left us positively giddy, we love every fabulous minute!

In Book Lovers, Emily Henry has perfectly blended the seriousness of grief whilst enveloping it in warmth, peppering it with humour, and wrapping it up in a swoony romance with a small-town atmosphere. Gosh, we loved this book. It gave us those warm and fuzzy ‘book love’ feelings.

‘That’s life. You’re always making decisions, taking paths that lead you away from the rest before you can see where they end. Maybe that’s we, as a species, love stories so much. All those chances for do-overs, opportunities to live the lives we’ll never have.’

Now this is a big call, but… we think Charlie Lastra might be our favourite Emily Henry hero, and that’s saying something, considering how much we loved Gus in Beach Read and Alex in People We Meet on Vacation! Both those heroes were to die for, but Charlie…there’s just something about him – his vulnerability, his protective nature, and his directedness with Nora. It all boiled down to one fabulous hero!

“I’ve got you, Nora,” he promises quietly. “I’ve got you, okay?”

There was so much to Book Lovers – the wonderfully swoony romance, the ode to New York (which had us wanting to jet off there immediately!), the importance of family, the pain of grief, and of course the wonderfully quirky characters, all moulded together with the relationship between Nora and her younger sister Libby being the icing on the book cake. The sister’s relationship was so beautifully crafted, and how can we not mention the witty banter, cheeky one-liners, heart-warming moments, and intense chemistry that is synonymous with an Emily Henry read! We ADORED this book!

‘That is what I’m looking for every time I flip to the back of a book, compulsively checking for proof that in a life where so many things have gone wrong, there can be beauty too. That there is always hope, no matter what.’

Nora Stephens has always cared for and nurtured her younger sister Libby before and since their Mum’s passing some ten years ago. Both sisters have unresolved grief that is explored so poignantly throughout Book Lovers. To appease her sister Libby, Nora agrees to spend a month with her to tick off some ‘bucket list’ items Libby feels the workaholic and unlucky in love Nora desperately needs to experience. Libby doesn’t normally reach out to Nora in this way and considering it will mean a month away from her husband and two daughters, she figures the pregnant Libby needs a break.

Libby is obsessed with a small-town romance series, of which the author is one of agent Nora’s clients. Libby wants Nora to experience small-town living – in a way, to bring a small-town romance to life, but New York loving Nora agrees with some hesitancy – being away from New York and her work is frightening. Not to mention she is handholding her client through the new breakaway book, Frenzy.

But Libby’s needs win out. So, it’s off to Sunshine Falls for the sisters. And so, the journey begins! What Nora didn’t expect was to run into her New York nemesis, Editor Charles Lastra. The chemistry between them has always sizzled, but their sharp barbs and intense last meeting are seared in Nora’s brain.

Why is he here in Sunshine Falls and how can she avoid him? Does she even want to? What is Libby’s real reason for wanting some alone time? The overthinking Nora deduces all manner of scenarios, and we witness all the crazy, sad, and painful monologues Nora delivers.

“I think you’re one of the least disappointing people I’ve ever met.”

This book really hit the spot. Nora was such a unique heroine – very direct, no-nonsense, and the more we came to know how she ticked the more in love with her we fell. Book Lovers is a book for all of us book lovers. Emily Henry really hits the spot with all that we crave in this genre. She gets us, and we LOVE IT!

Here are my thoughts for Book Lovers. You’ve probably seen a ton of reviews over the last week so I’m not going to bore you.

I think I liked it. But only because I listened to 80% of it thanks to @prhaudio. Julia Whelan was the narrator and I would listen to her read my grocery list.

All I can say is that thankfully many people told me this was more of a story about sisters versus a romance. That majorly lowered my expectations and I think it’s why I actually enjoyed it.

Did I like Nora and Charlie way better than the two main characters from PWMOV? 100%. But did I like them more than Augustus and January from Beach Read? I don’t think so.

Me picking up this book was a serious case of FOMO. I’m glad I did but I’m not sure I’ll be running to get whatever book Emily Henry puts out next.

Another winner from Emily Henry. I think this is my favorite to date. This is book is for anyone who loves a smart rom-com and given that it’s the story set in the world of publishing, it’s a great read for book lovers. Absolutely loved it!

I mean, she wrote this for people who work in book publishing. I love it. We love meta. It's hilarious. And it's brilliant.