Thank you @berkleyromance for a copy of Book Lovers. This was a romance with so much depth about family relationships and following your dreams.

I loved the relationship between Nora and Libby and their adventures in Sunshine Falls. The relationship between Nora and Charlie - my heart...it's everything. They are both trying to be professional and resist their desire to each other. Their tension was amazing and I could not wait for them to get together.

The pacing of the book was perfect with it matching the edit of the book they are working on.

Charlie's family was great and I loved the town of Sunshine Falls.

Seriously, Emily Henry is never allowed to stop writing. I'll form a mutiny.

Beach Read was amazing, People We Meet On Vacation, great, but Book Lovers has topped them both! This is such a strong, relatable read for anyone who loves books as much as Nora, our heroine. She may not be the one who gets the happy ending (her words), but she is happy in her job as a literary agent, the best big sister to Libby, and an amazing aunt. While on vacation with Libby, getting some much needed relaxation in Sunshine Falls, the location of one of her author's bestsellers, she continues to meet Charlie Lastra, a brooding editor who is infuriating and very hot.

I'm always really impressed with Henry's writing. The way the plot feels so unique to each character, but then she hits us with the great universality of reading, of being a book lover, and we get to see our own personalities reflected in her characters. I cry when I read, but this ending had me an absolute wreck! Once again, Henry doesn't disappoint, and I'm so excited to see what she's going to give us next.

This book sucked me in and brought tears to my eyes in the best way. Henry does not disappoint with Book Lovers - well written, humorous, full of a lovable cast of characters. Could not put it down!

Thank you so much to Berkley for an advance copy of Book Lovers. This is Emily Henry's best book IMO.

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pub Date: May 3, 2022

This book. I don't even really know where to start. This book spoke to me on so many levels, and I was completely enthralled with it from the first chapter.

First, these characters. The connection between Nora and her sister was written to perfection. As I read this book, I just felt like Emily Henry understands the responsibilities and feelings that come with being an older sibling. Through her writing, she spoke to me and told me that she understands me. I share many of Nora's insecurities and feelings, and I've never really felt seen in the pages of a book quite the way Emily Henry made me feel in Book Lovers. My emotional connection to Nora was unlike any other book I've read. And Charlie...oh, Charlie, my new book boyfriend. He may be a book editor in this story, but his words have woven a tapestry on my heart. The witty banter, the attitude, the chemistry between Charlie and Nora was so well-written, I don't even have words to adequately describe it. The romance between them, told through dry barbs and smart comments, had me laughing, crying, and swooning. I felt all the feels for them throughout the book.

Second, the emotion in this book. This is not a light hearted rom-com (despite there being MANY LOL moments in the book). This story tackles the long-term effects of grief, bullying, and feeling out of place, and at times, that discussion is heavy. Nora's struggle with her grief was particularly moving, and I shed many a tear reading this book. I felt like these issues were handled with care while also providing a realistic portrayal of grief.

There are not enough words and not enough stars in the world for this book. Book Lovers is not only my new favorite book of 2022, but also one of the best books I have ever read. Thank you so much to Emily Henry for putting this story out into the world.

Must read! Preordered as soon as I finished reading. This book is magic and gives all the feels. Everything you would expect from Emily Henry and more. Hilarious sharp banter, enemies to lovers troupe, big city meets small town with a twist, and exploration of family relationships, and one of my absolute favorite parts... the easter eggs linked to previous Henry novel, Beach Read, all had me unable to put this one down.
Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Stoked that I've already preordered this one! Emily Henry hits it out of the park here! Nora isn't your typical romantic heroine. In fact, she's the one they leave when they find the one. She's no homespun Hallmark movie woman, she's tough. So tough she just can't let me in. She lives by organization and rules. She's a lot deeper than a trope and her relationship with her sister is worthy of further examination. The "lovers" aspect is never basic here. Well written!

I liked this one a lot, Nora and Charlie's snappy banter was amazing (if perhaps too Written for it to ever happen in real life) and I liked that there was just as much focus on Nora's relationship with her sister as there was on her growing relationship with Charlie. I did think the reveals about what was Up With Libby and about the night their mom died were both drawn out for too long but overall I really enjoyed this book!

Book Lovers is as charming and well-written as I expect any Emily Henry book to be, yet it didn’t make me smile the way Beach Read or People We Meet on Vacation did.  A little too winking and knowing in its metafictional take on small-town romance tropes, it attempts to pay tribute to the genre and tweak it all at once.  That means it doesn’t flow quite as easily as either of the author’s previous books, or come off as well.  But it’s still a B-level read, with some fun characters and good ideas.

Nora Stephens is a literary agent with a top-notch New York firm. She doesn’t expect that her workaholic ways are going to be interrupted by her sister, Libby, for whom she would do anything.  On Libby’s request that they take a sister’s holiday Nora comes to Sunshine Falls (yes, really), North Carolina.  They’ll spend all of August there, and surely Nora’s prince charming will come along.

He does, but not in the package she expects.  Charlie Lastra is a grumpy, introverted editor who’s no one’s idea of a stereotypical hero.  Especially Nora’s, because they know each other from their jobs and they’ve never been charmed by each other.  But will the pages to come bring them misery or joy?

Book Lovers is as meta as all get-out, but its tone alternates between self-knowing trope acknowledgement and groping to tug on its audience’s heartstrings.  Does it want me to gently snicker at those Hallmark tropes or take the reference to them as a loving tribute?  I don’t think the book itself really knows, either.

Nora has a big problem, and it’s that she can’t unclench.  She’s almost hysterically smothering in regard to Libby, so when her sister announces her intent to move there is much ballyhoo.  Charlie is, however a delightful hero, and the romance here works beautifully.  And yet I had some big issues with the lack of communication between Nora and Charlie.  Was there any reason for them to quit talking, except that Henry was trying to draw their eventual HEA out?

Henry parodies the tropes of small-town romance without being cruel.  The last ten pages of Book Lovers proves to be truly beautiful; I just wish the middle stretch had been the same.

Buy it at: Amazon, Audible or your local independent retailer
Visit our Amazon Storefront

A sweet and witty rom-com about books and those who love them? I was hooked from the start. Career-driven realist Nora goes on a small-town vacation with her idealistic sister Libby and finds that her professional nemesis, brooding Charlie Lastra is already there. The enemies-to-lovers trope was well executed, as was the organic development of Nora and Libby’s relationship.

I adore Emily Henry's romances. I have given them all 5 stars and honestly am just obsessed with them. I loved the hate to love aspect in this book as well as the usual trope of girl goes to small town and fall in love and how she spins it.
5/5 of course.

Nora Stephens is a top literary agent in New York. Her job means everything to her. She loves it, she’s good at it, and it helps her provide for her sister. Ever since their mom died when they were younger, Nora has been fiercely protective of her sister Libby, so when she feels that something is not quite right between them she reluctantly agrees to go on vacation with Libby to small town in North Carolina. Libby has made a list of small town Rom Com activities to do on their vacation and as much as she hates it, Nora will do anything to make her sister happy, even if she has to pet a horse, go on a date with a local, and save a local business.
Libby loathes how attached Nora is to her job, but she can’t abandon her must valued client, bestseller Dusty Meadows, just as Dusty needs her. Even if that means collaborating with New York’s most unpleasant editor, Charlie Lastra.
Book Lovers was an utterly enjoyable experience. If you love Schitt’s Creek and Nora Ephron movies then you’ll love this! Emily Henry never disappoints.

I have always and will always love a book that is about books, the publishing world, and bookstores, and Book Lovers fit all of this. I loved this book so much, I never wanted it to end! It made me laugh, it made me teary-eyed, and it offered such hope. I read it in one day because I was not putting it down until I had absorbed every last word. I loved the relationships between Nora and her sister, Libby, and between Nora and Charlie. It was cute, funny, and made me fall in love with love again (don't tell my hubby! 😂). I cannot wait to see what Emily Henry writes next!

Full disclosure, I read this book a few months ago, also on a flight, but I totally forgot to write a review because I was a) super blown away by how good it was and b) really tired since I’d just been on a flight. So now, here are my delayed thoughts.

I love Emily Henry’s novels about bookish or writerly people falling in love, but “Book Lovers” really takes the cake. Nora Stephens, literary agent extraordinaire, spends the summer in a small town with her sister but keeps on bumping into Charlie Lastra, an editor who she’s had many conflicts with. And then — you know — they fall in love.

But “Book Lovers” is about more than the titular lovers or even the books. Nora has a lot of personal issues to work through because of her quite traumatic upbringing. Honestly, this is probably my favorite part about Emily Henry’s adult romances: inevitably, as the main characters fall in love, they also have their own personal issues to deal with, and it adds another layer of depth to the story.

Nora has been absorbed in her agenting career, always fending for herself, always trying to make ends meet. And she never lets herself wish for more, to dream about doing more of what she loves instead of just what she knows she’s good at. But Charlie helps her realize her true passion.

(It’s still related to books. Just in case you were worried.)

In conclusion: stunning, perfect, love it, I want Emily Henry to write the trajectory of my life.

“Book Lovers” comes out on May 3, 2022. I received an early copy from the publisher, Berkley, in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this romance. The banter between Nora and Charlie just kept me smiling along. I appreciated the focus on the sisters’ relationship. The way the story developed was perfection. I also give kudos for make Nora a real city person and not giving up by moving or compromising in.

I have read and loved all of Emily Henry's romances, but this one is my favorite!

This book has Henry's trademark wit, memorable characters, and romantic tension. But it also does a great job of exploring what it means to be the Woman who Doesn't Get the Guy in romantic comedies, as well as how some of the romantic tropes impact women. It was written with the love of someone who loves that genre but also wants to poke fun at it a little bit without it feeling mean or forced. Charlie and Nora's romance is wonderful, but I also absolutely adored Nora's relationship with her sister, who she is incredibly protective over. This is a book that will make you want to hug it to your chest after you finish reading.

I ADORED this book. Emily Henry was my introduction to the contemporary romance genre and she’s done it again here. Nora is a city slicker literary agent who keeps getting dumped for small town women with struggling bakeries or Christmas tree farms. Charlie is a brooding editor who passes (and hates) on the new book from Nora’s star client. Their relationship is antagonistic but delightfully bantery. Later they both find themselves in the small town where the aforementioned book is set, Nora having followed her sister on a bonding adventure. The two keep crossing paths and their chemistry is undeniable.

I loved everything about this book. The slow burn, razor sharp wit, enemies to lovers, romance was executed perfectly. Like other Emily Henry novels, this one is hyper aware of tropes and trends in romance and plays with them, turning some in their head. The commentary on being the “right kind of woman,” and being small and easy enough to love was interwoven so expertly with the plot; it didn’t feel heavy handed in the slightest. All of the characters felt real and relatable, and the family storylines were equal parts heartbreaking and warming. I finished this book in a day because I couldn’t stop myself but I wish I could just keep reading it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the free ARC in exchange for the honest review.

Book Lovers is Emily Henry’s best work yet. Emily was already an auto-buy author but after three books of this incredible writing, she’s probably one of my favorite authors of all time now. Her writing is what I’ve fallen in love with time and time again; it’s so nuanced and I don’t know how to capture it that could ever do it justice. She scratches that part on your brain you didn’t know you needed scratched and she captures being human in such a raw and realistic way. Like my friend Diya said, “This book feels like coming home and accepting yourself.”

I deeply connected with the main character, Nora Stephens — a woman grappling for control in a world where control simply doesn’t exist. Emily wrote about love, romantic or otherwise, in all three of her books and this one, more than any of her other books, has been about self-love. This book is absolutely a love letter to New York but it’s also one to the women out there who want it all.

I love, love the way Emily writes. It reminds me of what we studied in English class growing up but this time, the metaphors, allusions, and all other literary devices are actually intentional and not just white men writing while they’re high. I have a last-page ache in my chest after finishing this — this book that’s likely going to be my best read of the year and one of the books that I’ll always turn to for comfort when I feel like I’m living at half-volume. Heartbreaking in the best way.

This book provides an original perspective–that of the self-proclaimed “Other Woman”. In Hallmark movies and traditional romance novels, there will be the "other woman"--the woman that the hero is dating before he finds his one true love. Nora self-identifies as the career-driven, city woman who’s dated not one, not two, but four different men who left her for their soulmates in romance novel trope-like situations. Nora is a cutthroat literary agent, and in this book, her sister, who’s pregnant for the third time, decides to take her to a small town for a much-needed break. But Nora doesn’t want a break. She loves her job. She loves the city. Everything about this small town goes against everything she is and everything she wants out of her life. As much as Nora wishes she could be something that she isn’t, the truth is, heartbreak aside, she’s happy with her career-driven life.
But then she keeps bumping into an editor from the city that she doesn’t get along with. It turns out that he’s from this small town, and he’s back to help his father who’s sick. They’re both working remotely (much to Nora’s sister’s dismay), and they grow closer as they start to edit a book together. Sure, Nora is viewed as a shark in the industry, but is it possible that someone can love her because of it, not despite it?
The banter between Nora and Charlie is what makes this book oh-so-freaking amazing. There’s so much angst in the storyline–particularly because of Nora’s self-loathing for not being the type of person that everyone else wants her to be, but also because Charlie is stuck in town taking care of his father, and anything that develops between them can’t go any further. She’s a city girl, through and through.
This book is so unique and special in that it somehow has you laughing while simultaneously battling heartache. I feel for Nora’s plight, and the plotline nicely allows for her self-discovery and growth, while not completely going at odds with who she is. The message is quite nice and it’s refreshing to see this trope turned on its head.
I recommend this book to those who want a witty and angsty romance read with themes of self-acceptance and love.
*This review will be posted on April 12, 2022*

Ugh. So good. Book agent Nora has spent her whole life taking care of her little sister, Libby, from the time her mom would go out on acting jobs to when mom died suddenly, and even into adulthood. Her dedication to her job and her sister have led to many of her romantic relationships ending in Hallmark-movie (or romance novel) fashion-- except she's the uptight city slicker who gets abandonded for the small town bakers, B&Bers, and Christmas tree farmers. When Libby, who is very tiredly pregnant with her third child, gets a hankering to make an escape to little Sunshine Falls outside of Asheville-- the setting of one of Nora's author's latest books-- Nora goes along with it-- and Libby's checklist of things to do while in town, which include things such as sleeping under the stars, saving a small business, and dating a local.

Imagine Nora's surprise when Charlie, a hard-ass editor from New York who initially bashed the book set in this small town, appears in the middle of nowhere. Turns out he's from Sunshine Falls. And is going to be there for the foreseeable future, helping his family after his dad's stroke. And he wants to edit Nora's client's newest book-- with Nora's input. Close proximity in a small town with a three week vacation!

I could not put this one down. As, I suspect, will be the case with anything by Emily Henry.

Emily Henry is quickly becoming one of my favorite and go-to authors. There has not been a book she has written that I haven't loved, or devoured in more than a few days. Book Lovers is was no different. City slicker and literary agent Nora is all business and a fierce protector of her younger sister. When Libby asks Nora to spend a month with her in the small, mostly desolate town of Sunshine Falls, she can't say no. She expects nothing but disappointment from a town with barely any wifi, until she runs into the cranky book editor who rejected her book pitch two years earlier. When Nora is forced to work with Charlie editing new book while both living in Sunshine Falls, she fasces her own plot twists along the way. Henry's humor and wit in her books are always enjoyable, as are the characters she creates, but this book was especially fantastic in that sense. It will have you both laughing and crying by the end. I found myself in both Nora and Charlie, who both hate when a good book has to come to an end. Can't wait for her next book!