Emily Henry once again has delivered a PEAK romance novel, overthrowing her two previous books to make Book Lovers my favorite of hers to date. A poke at go-to romance tropes, this novel perfectly balances making fun of the usual Hallmark plots and changing–more like leveling up–the tropes. We’ve got a steamy enemies-to-lovers workplace romance, a sprinkle of drama and comedy here and there, and lots of lots of book talk. Nora and Charlie were perfect couple goals, but the real love story is with Nora and her extroverted pregnant little sister, Libby. Wholesome, hilarious, wonderful, heart wrenching. Emily can do no wrong.

*ARC provided via NetGalley

Let's just get right to it: I loved this book a whole lot. Emily Henry really know how to deliver on beautiful writing, emotional depth, realistic characters, and bright/witty dialogue. Her books always feel so immersive and this one is no different.

Nora Stephens is the high-maintenance city girlfriend in every guy-goes-to-a-small-town-and-falls-in-love romance book. She loves her Peloton and her impractical shoes and fancy skincare, and she loves her sister Libby and her agenting job even more. So when her sister drags her to a small North Carolina town, Sunshine Falls, that's the setting of one of her client's books, she's not feeling the need for her own small town romance. And the best part? That's not what this book is! Oh, there's definitely love, but it's with sharp-eyed editor, Charlie Lastra, who's visiting home from NYC to help his parents out. Both of them are city-people who don't quite fit into small town life and they can't help but be drawn together again and again.

This book feels like magic. It's packed full of emotional weight as Nora deals with her floundering relationship with her sister, faces the walls she's put up when it comes to dating, and lets herself unwind in Charlie's constant and supportive presence. She's a heroine I haven't read much of and this book felt like a breath of fresh air.

And Charlie, don't get me started on Charlie. I think he might be my favorite of Emily's heroes, and Gus has held that spot pretty firmly for awhile. It's just so clear how totally gone for Nora he is pretty immediately which is a trope I cannot resist. He's smart and sexy and believes the best in her. He loves her sharp edges and her dedication to her work. They're like a perfect matching pair and reading their love story was a joy.

Anyways, if it's not clear, I highly recommend this book! My only critique really is the cover. I don't think that this kind of color-blocked illustrated cover design does the book justice, but I'm also not the biggest fan of illustrated covers in general.

Adventurous, hilarious, and heartfelt. The main characters Nora, her sister Libby, and Charlie pop from the pages with witty remarks and charismatic moments that will draw you in. Definitely a fun, romantic read!

I absolutely loved this book! Book Lovers is a romance between two people working in the publishing industry who meet in an unexpected place. The romance between these two characters was so wonderful to read and I think people, like me, who also loved Emily Henry's previous books, especially Beach Read, will also fall in love with this story.

5 stars
Thanks for the free book PRH International!
I loved Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation so I was overjoyed when I could get my greedy hands on that ARC.
Did it meet my expectations?
Well considering that I have unplugged from all social media for one day as I didn’t want to stop reading, I’d say YES!
Also, you all HAVE TO READ that book!

I am just chagrined that my copy being an ARC I can’t quote the book per publisher’s request save checking it with a finished copy (and I don’t want to wait for the release date to try to push that book on you!).
Because that book is certainly quotable!

I adored everything in the book, beginning with the humor and the banter!

Nora and Charlie or even Nora and Libby’s banter was a true feast of sarcastic remarks and dry humor. I laughed, snickered , giggled or guffawed, you name it!
I wish I could talk with Emily Henry to ask her if she thought about these jabs all by herself or if she volleyed back with her husband or friends or… because it was priceless!

I adored the characters!
The sardonic personality of Charlie Lastra, with his dark clothes, admirable brow, his pout, his cold remarks all hiding someone who cares and wants to do good for his family.
The shark reputation of Nora, with her peloton, high heels, love of New York city, fierce protective instincts for her clients and her sister. In the very first pages, the tone is set as her latest boyfriend is breaking up on the phone, smitten by a comely countryside girl while Nora is being told that she does not even have feelings.
The ice queen. The woman with a list with requirements all her potential dates have to meet.
But of course, under the ice queen veneer hides a woman with many feelings and a trauma that was never totally overcome.

The first time these two will meet will be intense, a battle of wits and will set the tone of the beginning of the book.

Soon enough though, we see that Nora does have feelings, especially a very strong love for her little sister Libby. Nora would do anything to see Libby happy, even taking one month of holiday in a small town.
I have never met a more “city person” than Nora so that truly shows her dedication for her sister.
The sibling love is another thing that I really appreciated in that book as well as all the happy memories of Nora and Libby’s childhood in New York City.
I wanted to visit all the places Nora remembered fondly in that story!

As the synopsis states, Nora will find, surprise, surprise, her nemesis Charlie Lastra in Sunshine Falls.
I won’t tell more about the plot.

I also adored that Nora talked and saw life as tropes of books! It was refreshing and very astute! A pure delight. Also Nora being an author’s agent must have been cathartic for Emily Henry! A change of perspective, coupled with Charlie being an editor.
Everything in this story was about books one way or another. Their jobs, the bookshops, the work in libraries, the books… for a booknerd like me it was heaven!

I could rave for hours about the book truly as I also adored the character growth, the romance, the past trauma explaining Nora and Libby’s behavior, the…

Honestly, this is one of my favorite reads so far this year.

I have loved every book I’ve read by this author but, Book Lovers is incredible. This is a top notch rom com. It is also a beautiful ode to sisterhood and walking through complicated grief. The main relationships are between Nora and Libby, and Nora and Charlie, but the supporting characters (including the locations as “characters”) were colorful, thoughtful additions and provided so much to depth to the story.

If you love romance, read this.
If you love family stories, read this.
If you love bookish books, read this.
If you love small town settings, read this.
If you love NYC settings, read this.
If you love stories that make you laugh, cry, swoon, and blush, read this.

Absolutely, loved this back and forth literary duo! The romance and attraction just about jumped out from the page. This is my favorite Emily Henry book thus far & I can’t wait for more!

I adored this book. A city-girl outside her element, family drama, love, humor and a world full of books, what more could I ask for? A fun read that still tugged at my heartstrings.

As a literary agent, Nora Stephens is perfectly aware that she's an archetypal rom-com villain. She's the tough, platinum blonde, career-minded New Yorker who gets left behind when the guy falls for a down-to-earth cherry farmer in a charming small town. When her sister Libby convinces Nora to join her for a month living their own small town fantasy, she didn't expect to see her New York rival Charlie, an editor with his own ax to grind with quaint small towns, and she definitely didn't expect to fall for him.

Do you ever read a book that's so good it makes you mad? This book made me FURIOUS and, of course, ridiculously happy. I was completely in love with Nora and Charlie from page one, and angry that I'd fallen for two big city grumps so quickly. I was also pissed at the ending that made me cry for THREE full chapters, despite the fact I'd known for half the book exactly what was coming. How does Emily Henry do it??? This book is perfect in every way. Read it. Bring tissues.

I loved this book so much, what a masterpiece! This is easily one of the best romance stories of the year

I read this book on a flight and couldn't put it down! As a librarian, I loved how books played a central role in the plot.

Classic tropes here subverted just enough to be fun - the city girl fish-out-of-water in small town didn't feel demeaning to the small town even while acknowledging the misfit. I appreciated that Nora didn't lose her personality or strength while still growing over the course of the story, and that Charlie was not her rescuer or any more of a catalyst that her relationship with her sister. The enemies-to-lovers trope can walk the line between snark and meanness, and it was managed quite well throughout the novel.

Emily Henry is officially and author that I will auto-buy now. Though I don't think this is the strongest of the three works she has put out so far, it is a still an excellent novel.
I love the trope of big city girl going to a small town, meeting prince charming, etc.... But this book is so much more than that. The most impactful relationship was the bond that Libby and Nora shared as sisters. This book had amazing family dynamics and I liked that it showed the lengths that some people will go for their family.
I also love the humor with which Emily Henry rights. I found myself giggling out loud, and maybe even a little snorting. I know I got more than one funny look while reading and I LOVE that about it.
Can't wait to see what she comes out with next!

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Romance for providing me with an e-ARC to review. All opinions are honest and my own.

I have to say this is my FAVORITE Emily Henry book to date!!!

My ranking of Emily Henry books:
1. Book Lovers
2. Beach Read
3.
4.
5. People We Meet on Vacation


I’m well aware she only has three adult romance books out, but my listing gives a better sense of how I thought of them. I also think if you didn’t like her previous books, this one is both similar and different enough that this particular story, may be a better fit. It’s the most “similar” to Beach Read if that gives you a gauge, however it’s still very much it’s own story and not a copy cat by any means.

This book is a love letter to people, women in particular, who feel like they aren't the girl who gets the "Happily Ever After' in romances in fairytales. This is for those who may be rough around the edges, but hearts of gold and want to share their love with those they treasure in their lives, and yet somehow they still feel disconnected. Like their best isn't good enough, that they aren't enough, aren't worthy. Whew, Nora's character, and Charlie too, really spoke to my soul on a personal level that I wasn't expecting. A career-driven woman who is constantly villainized, but constantly FEELS EVERYTHING.

I also loved this twist on a classic romance trope of an "uptight city girl" moving or vacationing to a small town in falling in love, because yes, but also it happens completely differently than every Hallmark movie. I think Charlie is a dynamic and great love interest, he is also ill-perceived and scrutinized I'm glad to people could learn to love and grow and be open together. This is a much better pairing then say, placing Nora with a man who can fix her or evokes her change. Nora develops because she becomes aware, because she values her bond with her sister, her Clients at work, and her own well-being. She is both in-control and out-of-control at her own hand and her autonomy in this situation is crucial.

I’m going to say this as someone who really has adored some Emily Henry novels. I’m not a fan of her endings, for any of her adult romances. They either feel rushed, disingenuous to the character, or like a cop out and I felt the same here. Knowingly, I am a rather harsh critic on endings in all media I consume. I still LOVED this book and would reread it in a heartbeat, but once again I wasn’t a fan of how it ended. To clarify, when I say I don’t like her endings, I specifically mean how she wraps everything up in the last chapter.

This was a fun and entertaining read. I found Nora to be extremely relatable and Charlie was an interesting love interest. I was a little surprised since I expected the romance to be slow-burn, but it turned out to be rather fast-paced. Nonetheless, it still worked pretty well so I'm not disappointed.
Being a huge fan of the enemies to lovers trope, I wish it had been included since the premises were there. If the enemies part had been stressed more I probably would have rated this 5 stars instead of 4.
Overall I'm pretty satisfied with this book, there are no slow points and I was glued to the pages from start to finish. I would definitely recommend it to a friend that loves rom-coms.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry is definitely a highlight of 2022 for me. It was a brilliant read and I loved reading every page of it.

Book Lovers follows Nora Stephens, a book agent, who would do just about anything in the world for her younger sister, Libby. That includes going on a vacation to Sunshine Falls, the town based on a bestselling book one of by Nora’s authors. When she first arrives, she sees Charlie Lastra, a brooding book editor from her life in the city. They keep getting thrown together (small towns, you know) and develop a very truth-upfront relationship.

There were so many things about this book that worked for me.
• Nora’s character is fantastic. She’s hardworking, emotionally closed off to those who aren’t close to her and she’s confident in what she does. It’s refreshing to see a character who is shown has knowing what they’re doing and not questioning their every move and/or decision. She’s not perfect but she’s not the clumsy or typical romance heroine.
• The dynamic between the two characters was different from the norm. Charlie’s upfront about his feelings and thoughts. There is no chance of miscommunication and that is just…so refreshing. They both put their cards on the table and dealt with it. We didn’t have a hundred pages of the characters trying to figure out if they are into each other or if it’s just them.
• I loved how meta this book is. A romance novel where the characters talk about romance novels and the usual character and story tropes. A book about book lovers talking about how books usually play out. SO MUCH FUN. Seriously, I loved it.

I cannot wait for people to read this book and hear their takes on it. I will definitely be handing this book out to everyone and anyone.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC of it.

This may be my favorite Emily Henry book yet. I loved these characters. I couldn’t stop reading. The romance was great. The dialogue was FANTASTIC. It needs a movie deal, I swear. And the studio needs to let Emily Henry adapt it to screenplay.

Emily Henry’s romance stories feel like a brush of wind against your face during a heat spell, a moment of relief amid the chaos of life. Book Lovers was no exception. This story was an easy ride with plenty of emotional pull to keep you caring about the characters and how their story would turn out.

I really enjoyed the focus on the relationship between the main character and her sister. Their relationship felt incredibly real and it was interesting to see that play out while the two of them were also trying to live out a Hallmark-esc fantasy.

The fault in this story for me was one that I tend to have with a lot of romance books, which is that the divide between the love interests felt too forced and was more about creating tension for the sake of tension. In my opinion, there was enough outside pressure between complicated family relationships and the confusion of what the main character wants to do in her career. The added plot of “we can’t be together because we just can’t even though we are clearly a great match” felt unneeded and unexplored compared to the other elements.

This is sure to get plenty of well-deserved love upon publication from avid and casual romance readers alike.

This book was really nice and wholesome - exactly what I was expecting! It was my first Emily Henry book and it did not disappoint and now I really want to read her other books as well.

This is my first Emily Henry book, and what a delight it was! I really enjoyed the characters and the light and fun plot. I’m not one for romance (not often anyhow), but this was quirky and cute. I’ll definitely be checking out more of her books in the future.