Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for access to this e-ARC. This complimentary copy was provided to me in exchange for my honest review. This book will be coming out May 3.

Ms Emily Henry does it a-freakin-gain! At this point, we all shouldn't be surprised by her brilliant talent. In Book Lovers, she tackles the love story between Nora, a literary agent, and Charlie, an editor. I absolutely love watching love stories happen in the world of literature (hello sex on the front desk at a bookstore!!!) and Charlie is one of my all-time favorite book boyfriend names. It is also set in one of my favorite places, North Carolina.

Now, all of the abovementioned things are brilliant and have stuck with me since my reading this book back in December but I'd like to also mention the absolutely brilliant way that Emily was able to portray Nora's growth. We see her begin this book as severely Type A (as any literary agent should be) and we see as the way that life unfolds around her make her a whole lot more accessible and open to what life gives her.

5 stars all the way around and I can't wait to see so many of you fall in love with Charlie and Nora's love!

4.5 STARS

Literary agent Nora Stephens knows books inside and out including every romance trope. Nora sees herself as the hard bitten, career-oriented girlfriend who always get left behind when the hero finds his true love…who is not Nora. Workaholic does not even begin to describe Nora though besides work, her beloved younger sister, Libby, whom she had a hand in raising matters most. Nora babies and mentally hand holds her deeply sensitive authors pushing them to do their best while she negotiates fabulous book deals.

When Libby insists big sister Nora accompany her to a small North Carolina town, Sunshine Falls, for a whole month, Nora agrees as long as she can keep working remotely. Nora and Libby lost their single mother at an early age so Nora has always felt a deep responsibility for her sister’s happiness. Libby has a checklist of all the “fun” things they must do while there. Imagine Nora’s surprise when she finds out that a surly, broody editor, Charlie Laska, happens to be there also and is from the town which was a featured setting in her primo client’s bestseller.

Charlie has his own complicated family issues to deal with while sparks fly with Nora as they keep running into each other. When Nora and Charlie end up working together with the author on next book, she is less than thrilled. Charlie made no secret of his feelings for the author’s book about his hometown. While immersing herself in the quirky populace of Sunshine Falls at Libby’s behest, Nora begins to let go of her control freak, iron grip on her emotions and life. She and Charlie have a lot in common not surprisingly since they work in the same business as well as some emotional baggage that has held on too long.

Shakespeare’s pronouncement that “the course of true love never did run smooth” fits aptly into this story. Ms. Henry’s witty banter is always a good time and though this story seems more Women’s Fiction than rom-com, readers who want that HEA will be satisfied in the end. This book lends itself to be meta-fictive with the different literary tropes being examined as well as the challenges authors and editors face bringing a book to life. Be prepared to ride the emotional roller coaster with the characters.

A book tailor-made for Book Lovers of all stripes! I could not put down this smart, funny romance that places in all of the tropes you come to expect as a reader of the genre. Nora and Charlie forever.

This book is perfection.
Words can not describe how much I love Emily Henry. This book has everything from small-town personalities, enemies to lovers, New York City, a brooding editor with beautiful eyes, Big Foot Erotica, all the tropes, and witty banter. The email and text banter had me blushing like a teenage boy going through changes. Emily Henry is a genius, and this is the summer romance book EVERYONE NEEDS to read.

This is not the first book staring editors that I have read this month (it may actually be the 3rd), but it manages to hold its own and be very sweet and romantic in its own right.

I love a small town, city girl romance and this truly delivers. I really loved the animosity to sexual tension between Nora and Charlie and love how they both grew into their own throughout the book. I loved the relationship between Nora and her sister and how that also grew and changed throughout the book.

Overall I found this a fun book that I read quickly and fell into fast.

4.5 ⭐️ Book Lovers is a book about book lovers, written by a book lover for book lovers.

I was blown away by Beach Reads and People We Meet on Vacation, so the bar was set incredibly high for this novel. And let me tell you, Emily Henry nailed it!!!!! This is the perfect romantic comedy! A must-read!


So what did I love about Book Lovers???


The writing is phenomenal. Emily Henry once again delivers a superior novel. It's clever, witty, and heartfelt, with extremely loveable and relatable characters. While there are some serious themes and topics, the story remains lighthearted and fun. Emily Henry is an absolute genius. And honestly, at this point, I would pay to read her grocery list because she's THAT good.


Nora's character and the premise are almost 'meta.' Okay, not sure meta is the proper word, but basically, Nora is a literary agent and very aware that in her romantic life, she would be considered the 'villain'. She's the driven, cold-hearted, evil girlfriend who stands in the way of her boyfriend, who is off spending time in a small town running a Christmas tree farm, from being with the charming baker/seamstress/innkeeper. Like, for real, Nora has been dumped a couple of times in variations of this situation.

Nora feels like her dating life is the epitome trope. So what does Nora's sister do? Plans a trip for them to visit a small town and live out the fantasy of a small-town romance novel. It sounds cheesy, but it's hilarious to see Nora's view as the fully aware 'evil girlfriend' and how resistant she is to live out the cliche small-town romance in real life.


Nora's journey to self-acceptance is a treat. Nora has many ideas about the roles she plays in a lot of different people's lives: the cold-hearted career-centered ex-girlfriend, the protective mothering sister, a ruthless literary agent known as 'the shark'. But is that really who she is? I found her struggle with accepting/dismissing these roles to be extremely relatable. We all have ideas of who we are based on our friends, family, and society, but what truly matters is how we see ourselves. This quote specifically stood out:

"Just because not everyone gets you doesn't mean you're wrong."

This book reminded me that people may perceive me however they want, and there may be some truths behind it, but as long as I know who I truly am (and I love and accept it), that's all that really matters. And it was a beautiful thing to see Charlie give Nora the encouragement and support to do that for herself. ❤️


Shoutout to Charlie for being the perfect MC. I love this man! He starts off seemingly standoffish and arrogant, but you soon realize he's been judged and misunderstood by many, including Nora. And once she gets to know him, she discovers a witty, loyal, kind, supportive, loving man who loves checklists just as much as she does. I also adore that Charlie can read Nora like a book. In Charlie's eyes, Nora is perfect, and all he wants is for her to see what he sees. On a personal level, this really melts my heart because I struggle with self-doubt and my husband is just as relentlessly supportive as Charlie. Everyone needs someone like that in their lives.


The rivals to idiots to lovers, slow-burn romance is intoxicating. I love when two people dislike each other because of some misunderstanding, and then they discover they actually have things in common and enjoy each other's company, only to act uncomfortable because they aren't sure where they stand with one another until there's so much tension and it explodes in the form of a super-steamy kiss against the front door while their soaking wet because they were caught in a rainstorm. Yeah, all that happens in Book Lovers, and I ate that sh*t up!


The banter between Nora and Charlie is absolutely genius. I COULD NOT get enough of them! Not only do they have insane chemistry, but they are both extremely intelligent and witty, so the banter was off the charts! I cannot remember the last time I laughed out loud so many times. No lie, I kept track, and I lol'd 35 times total. Not just laughed or smirked, but laughed out loud. The part about the Bigfoot erotica had me dying! 😂



There was only ONE thing I didn't absolutely love about this story.



While this is a romance, the drama/conflict is split between the romance and Nora’s personal/family issues. The romance part made me feel so much and I adored every second. The sister/family drama wasn't something I connected with or enjoyed as much. Mostly because all these issues fall under the miscommunication trope.

Nora is a fixer and has been taking care of her younger sister, Libby, since the death of their mother. But it’s been 10 years, Libby is married and has 2 kids (plus one on the way), yet Nora can’t shake off her parental role.

Nora and Libby have an amazing relationship and love each other deeply but Nora’s constant 'fix-it' mentality instead of just being a sister is finally creating barriers between the two. The miscommunication occurs because they’ve been keeping secrets, which strains the relationship. And at the end of the day, the issues they have could have been resolved if they said how they were feeling much sooner. Or if they went to therapy.

By the end of the story, Nora does say she’s going to therapy and I’m like “it’s about damn time”, but truly it slightly pains me to read about characters with issues that could be easily resolved in therapy. But this tension is intentional and works with the story and character growth, and my dislike is definitely a personal thing versus it being something that’s actually wrong with the story.



Overall, I adore the story and know so many others will fall in love with it as well! If you want a hilarious, rivals to idiots to lovers, small-town romance with a side of self-acceptance and sisterly love, this is the story for you! 💕



Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review! As always, all opinions are my own.




Favorite Quotes:


He's scowling. Or pouting. His mouth is pouting. His forehead is scowling. Powling.

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Mom's theory was that youthful skin would make a woman more money, good underwear would make her more confident, and good books would make her happy.

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Anything broken can be fixed. Any problem can be solved.

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"There's just tall women, and the men too insecure to date them."

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Life in New York was like being in a giant bookstore; all these trillions of paths and possibilities drawing dreamers into the city's beating heart, saying, I make no promises but I offer many doors.

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Yes, New York is exhausting. Yes, there are millions of people all swimming upstream, but you're also in it together. . . I want to carve out a piece of the city and its magic. . . But carving turns you into a knife. Cold, hard, sharp, at least on the outside.

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"If you're the 'wrong kind of woman,' then I'm the wrong kind of man."

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"If I had to pick one person to be in my corner, it'd be you. Every time. You take care of shit."

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"Your nightmare brain is my absolute favorite, Stephens."

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The ones that speak to me are the ones whose final pages admit there is no going back. That every good thing must end. That every bad thing does too, that everything does.

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 beautiful too. That there is always hope, no matter what.

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For the first time in my life, I know what the hell Cathy was talking about when she said I am Heathcliff. Not just because Charlie and I are so similar, but because he's right: we belong. In a way I don't understand, he's mine, and I'm his. It doesn't matter what the last page says. That's the truth Here, now.

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Because nothing - not the beautiful and not the terrible - lasts.

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I LOVED this book! It was the kind of book that had me thinking about it when I wasn't reading it and actually laughing out loud (my mom can attest to this). I loved it even more than People We Meet on Vacation — it's a book that speaks to book lovers like me. Perfect, charming story about two guarded people who disarm each other, the love between sisters, and the magic of small towns.

I have read her previous books and was so excited to review this one. I wanted to state that this was a beautiful and sweet love story of two book lovers. Yet, at first I had a bit of a hard time getting into this book. I think the author made Nora more of a cold/sharky individual in the beginning on purpose. Though it took me awhile to warm up to Nora and Libby, soon enough I could not put the book down. The main story was about book agent Nora going on a months trip to a little town in North Carolina with her younger sister for a vacation. Libby believed that Nora had a hard time finding love because she worked a lot. Nora believed she needed to fix her relationship with her sister. I think the biggest takeaway for me was I didn't like Libby until the very end. She was too secretive, pushy, annoying , and dishonest. That being said Nora should have known better than to follow the silly checklist drafted by her sister. Then of course, there was Charles (potential enemy/love interest) who as a book editor may have come across as rude. But he was a great guy that may have added to the theme will they or won't they get together. He was a swoony and amazing character. This story had so many emotional and poignant scenes about loss, of letting go, and missed love. Definitely keep tissues handy. Nora was a relatable character even though she didn’t believe she deserved her own happiness. And I couldn’t help but cheer for her own happily ever after. Now the location of New York was an added bonus. I can see why Nora loved it so much. Overall, this was a sweet and poignant romance. I definitely recommend this gem of a book. FYI: death of a parent can be a potential trigger for others.
I received this ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you!

This is the best book I've read all year. I continue to have high expectations for Emily Henry's books and she continues to blow me away. Book Lovers is a love letter to book lovers themselves with titles and tropes sprinkled in throughout the novel. Not in a way that it feels overbearing, but in a way that you can tell Henry loves them too. I adored Nora and Charlie and wanted the very best for them.

I also cried a ton at the end of this book which was unexpected.

All the stars!!

Nora is a city girl through and through. She is basically married to her work and loves her life based on a variety of checklists. The only person that can really get her to do things outside her comfort zone is her sister, Libby. When pregnant Libby asks her to take a month long trip to Sunshine Falls, where her favorite book is set, Nora can’t say no. The sitters take off on an adventure with a checklist of things to do do in the very remote, small town they will call home for a month. What Nora doesn’t expect to find is love. She isn’t looking and doesn’t even really want it, but when Charlie enters the picture Nora may have reconsider her perfectly planned out life.

I am not generally a romance reader. However, if I’m going to read romance then I want it to include a bookstore and all the good feels. This one does…I enjoyed everything about it and it will make a great summer read for so many people!

This is my first book by Emily Henry, and I really enjoyed it. I loved that they work in the publishing field and their story hit all the tropes of a romance novel or Hallmark movie...except the book felt new and unique.
The writing is witty and the plot moves fast. The characters are well-developed and interesting. It's an all-around great summer read!
I received this book in exchange for my review. My thoughts are my own.

Emily Henry is certainly a talented writer, great at bringing out emotions in her readers for better or for worse. Her last two releases were quite polarizing for people I know. I personally loved Beach Read so I had high hope this would be closer to that than PWMOV.

And it was! There are so many things I loved about this one.

-Excellent banter between both Nora and her sister and Nora and Charlie. If you enjoy Lorelei’s snappy dialogue in Gilmore Girls but want it updated to a more modern voice, this is it!

- Charlie. Sweet, sweet, cinnamon roll Charlie. He doesn’t make the best first impression with Nora (though honestly I was on his side there) but watching them slowly get closer and let their walls down was beautiful!

-The relationship between Nora and her sister Libby. The two hadn’t been honest with each other in quite a while and it was lovely to watch them rediscover each other as adults without all the weight of traditional sibling roles on their shoulders.

-A great small town full of quirky businesses and townspeople There’s even bad local theater and dramatic town hall meetings, also similar to Gilmore Girls. That being said, it also highlighted all the excellent things about NYC without dumping on country living.

-It’s a love letter to literature, from all sides. To authors, readers, the publishing industry. To tropes, to genres, to the writing process and the finished product. The love of literature is screaming from every page.

Some things that didn’t work as well for me but are certainly not book-ruiners or deal breakers:

-It took me a while to warm up to Nora, but she totally won me over by the end. There is something about Emily Henry characters, especially the heroines, that feel like Girls characters to me. Little Hannah Horvaths out there thinking the world revolves around them, but thankfully throughout the course of the book Nora actually started listening to other people and considering their feelings instead of just assuming she knows best.

-I do think this was more of a women’s fiction book instead of a romance, which is true for me for pretty much all Berkeley releases. Nora has to find herself outside of her job, deal with her relationship with her sister, break the stereotype she’s become. Charlie was the prize at the end of the journey more so than the center of the story.

Overall though a very enjoyable women’s fiction with a great romantic subplot, bursting full of love of all kinds.

One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn’t see coming…

Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.

Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.

If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.

Unlike most readers, based on the reviews so far, this book didn't work as well for me as I thought it would. I did like Nora, a self-described "shark" and Charlie, the brooding, mysterious love interest, separately--they are both complex, relatable characters--and the steamy scenes are immersive and described well. Henry also explores the themes of grief, loss, and anxiety in relevant ways.

Unfortunately, I didn't connect with the rest of the characters, the town of Sunshine Falls, or the tropes Henry skewers and then proceeds to scatter into her plot. For example, I could have done without Shepherd or Charlie's ex; including a named character to resolve a tiny plot point is a pet peeve of mine. I also felt like Charlie and Nora's getting together was barred by unnecessary obstructions and communication issues (which also extend to Nora's conflict with her "free-spirited" sister, Libby)--another peeve of mine.

Perhaps I'm being hard on Henry because of the quality of her other books, but this is my least favorite of hers. Overall, though, it's a quick, enjoyable read even with the frustrating aspects I mentioned.

I'd only read one other book by the author, People We Meet on Vacation, and it was fantastic, so I had high hopes for this one as well. Surprisingly, Book Lovers gave me so much more than I expected and I was pleasantly surprised on how it turned out. I assumed it was a cutesy romance between two bookworms based on the title and cover but damn it was so good and I just love everything about this book. It was an absolutely beautiful and heartwarming story of love, family and, of course, books. It's also a hate to love story between two publishing industry professionals, Nora as an agent and Charlie as an editor.

The book started with Nora getting dumped by her boyfriend for the same reason as the previous ones, her being overly focused on her job while she was on her way to meet Charlie to talk about editing a book written by one of her clients. Charlie turned down the offer and they didn't see each other again for another two years. Nora was suddenly convinced by her little sister, Libby, to take a vacation to Sunshine Falls, the setting of one of their favorite books, in order to relax, and she even created a bucket list based on romcom tropes to help Nora find new love. It just so happens that the place is Charlie's hometown. And that’s where all the magic happens. The chemistry between the two is off the charts, and the banter is chef's kiss! I couldn't stop swooning the whole time. Both MCs are highly relatable as well especially Nora and there were a bunch of delightful side characters too. I just love Nora's ever-supportive sister, their bond is amazing. And Charlie’s mom was so adorable. Overall, it was a fun and very touching story and I'm looking forward to read more of Emily Henry's books!

Thank you so so much Penguin Random House for giving me an advance reader’s copy of this book.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Nora is an ice queen except for her sister, Libby. She dominates at work as an agent and in every aspect of her beloved NYC life. So when editor Charlie Lastra tries to make things difficult? No problem. She can handle it. Until Libby drags her to idyllic Sunshine Falls -- well, it's meant to be idyllic -- and what was meant to be a vacation of sisterly bonding becomes something much more. And Charlie Lastra is around every corner. Literally. Will Nora finally crack?

Listen. I think I'd give Emily Henry's grocery list 5 stars. But I'm serious when I say this is just as worth it as "Beach Read" and "People We Meet on Vacation." If the former was about grief and the latter about finding yourself, I'd say "Book Lovers" is about what happens when your ship is sinking but you've been patching up the holes for so long you don't remember life before. It's funny and sexy and charming and raw all at once. Nora is delightful -- she's so straitlaced I wanted to give her my therapist's number. And Charlie! The banter between them was so good I kept laughing in disbelief.

The side characters really worked for me, too. Libby was great and that older sister baggage that Nora has will be really relatable to lots of people. I loved the pieces of Nora's work life and all of the residents in Sunshine Falls. The prose was spotless and the pace was good and I did not want it to end. I loved the space held for Libby and Nora's plot but also Charlie's plot with his family and then of COURSE Charlie and Nora together. Ok! You caught me! I loved all of it! All of it! Emily Henry can do no wrong!

This one is definitely for the older sisters of the world and those of us who are neurotic with anxious attachment styles. :)

5 stars.

I thoroughly enjoyed both of Henry's previous novels, but this one is now my favorite. Main characters both working in the book industry, a sister bonding trip with a fun checklist, small town destination, a used bookstore, enemies to lovers angst and romance, humorous banter, and all sorts of bookish trope references. This story filled me with so much joy, and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. All the stars for this one!!

OH. MY. GOD. I hate . . . that this book had to end. I just loved it so much--I think it's my favorite Emily Henry book yet!

Author agent Nora's life is like a Hallmark movie. Except she's the icy blonde New York career woman who gets dumped by her SO to be with the small town baker. So when her pregnant sister whisks her away to the small-town location of the last best selling book she worked on, how can she say no? Her sister comes up with a list of romance novel items Nora must check-off--including going on a date with a local. But when her nemesis book editor from New York, Charlie, shows up, and the keep running into each other, it becomes more difficult to look at anyone else.

I just LOVE to see a heroine like Nora. I LOVE that it takes the classic trope and spins it on its head. The chemistry between Nora and Charlie was electric and I was rooting for them the whole time. There's so much depth and detail in this book, with a great overarching story. There's nothing I didn't love. I already want to read it again.

Thanks to Berkley for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 10/10

What can I say about this book and Emily Henry? You need both in your life. Emily Henry made it to my Favorite Authors list when she published Beach Read and stayed on it after The People You Meet On Vacation. Book Lovers is my second favorite book from her as of yet. This book has already secured its spot in my Best Books of 2022 list. I cannot wait for more books from her and will gladly stay up way too late reading her books.
Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for providing me access to the ARC.

First of all, many thanks to Net Galley and Berkley Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my objective review. I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to read this book early as I've totally loved Emily Henry's previous stories.

This story is pure Henry magic! You know you're in for a good time when the Prologue goes through a discussion all the different romance tropes and then turns them upside down in such an entertaining way. It has awesome snarky dialogue that made me break into laughter over and over again. I just loved the chemistry between the two main characters. There's also a wonderful dynamic between the two sisters and an intriguing storyline about their relationship.

Similar to her other books, Henry handles tough subjects with grace so that the reader is moved without wanting to curl up into a fetal position.

I loved this book and highly recommend it.

Profanity and some steamy love scenes.