Emily Henry is an incredibly talented romance writer. As someone who is not typically a fan of the genre, I picked up Beach Read on a whim and have been excited to read everything she has written since. Her characters are loveable and feel incredibly real, her dialogue is snappy, and the situations she puts them in are often embarrassing and adorable. Knocked another one out of the park!

I absolutely loved this book. Emily Henry does it again with "Book Lovers", in which the cutthroat literary agent Nora visits Sunshine Falls, North Carolina on a sister's trip with her younger sister. Nora can't seem to escape Charlie Lastra, a grumpy (and sexy) book editor from New York who Nora can never seem to get along with. Nora is determined to become the heroine of her own story and with Charlie's help, might be able to strip away with the cover that Nora has created for herself. Emily Henry brings the snark and sass that I love about her writing. It's impossible not to fall in love with her characters and the world that she creates. I am always ready to read whatever Ms. Henry puts down on paper.

To start, this book is DEFINITELY for Book lovers everywhere, just like the title itself. What stood out for me was that the focus of the main characters for their family responsibilities. They prioritized their own values, especially for Nora, who defies all the narratives set out for her. This led into the perfect romance between Nora and Charlie to develop with their banter and support of each other. While their romance was what I could have hoped for and more, I did feel that their romance was slightly rushed towards the end.

All in all, this book was a comfort to read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Spoilers ahead!

Definitely my favourite Emily Henry book so far. Their banter was amazing and I adored her writing style.

I also loved the nod to Beach Read when they mentioned January's books.

One thing that bugged me was the cliché romance novel ending with a proposal in the epilogue (or should I say implied proposal). I felt like the resolution came very rushed and very quickly near the end of the book. I also felt like Nora's reaction to her sister moving was very juvenile. She's 30 for goodness sake! People move.

Overall though, I love love loved Charlie and Nora's relationship, their banter and their love.

I have been a fan of Emily Henry's writing since reading Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation in 2021, and I have to say Book Lovers is a new favourite! I love the banter and sarcasm between her characters. The dialogue is always fun, witty, and clever.

Nora is, in a lot of ways, very different from typical contemporary romance heroines. She is not the breath of fresh air in a small boring town, she's not a rich klutz who secretly has a heart of gold - Nora is a career driven and cut throat literary agent, and I loved that about her character.

This was an easy 5-star read for me (and I only find about 1 of those in every 50 books)!

Massive thank you to NetGalley for sharing the ARC with me!

A near perfect book, I loved everything about Book Lovers - the bookish parts, Sunshine Falls, Nora and Charlie's inevitability, and the sibling relationship between Nora and Libby. Emily Henry's humor and penchant for tugging at the heartstrings is on full display here and I can't wait for publication so I can add Book Lovers to my favorites shelf.

Emily Henry does it again.

She is by far my favorite romance author because of the heavier subjects she covers that are so human.

I loved the tension between Nora and Charlie and they had so many good lines to each other!! And all of the book aspects included made it so comforting.

Even though I myself am not super organized and as much of a go getter as Nora, I still related to her a ton in the way she always tries to hold everything together and always puts her needs last.

Charlie was a great counter to Nora and their banter was perfect. I also liked learning more about him gradually as the book went on.

The only part I didn’t love was the sister, she just got annoying sometimes but I grew to like her at the end when she let her maturity show. Also guessed some of the plot at the end but it’s a romance so it doesn’t bother me as much that it was a little predictable.

Can’t wait to buy a physical copy when it comes out and also can’t wait for whatever Henry writes next!

THANK YOU to Berkley Publishing Group and #NetGalley for giving me an advance copy of my favourite authors newest book in exchange for an honest review!!

Five stars!

CW: PTSD, grief, death of a parent,

Emily Henry has done it again - I absolutely loved everything about this book. I'm smitten. I can't wait to reread this already - is 3 weeks later too soon???

This story follows Nora Stephens, a passionate literary agent who gives everything to her career, as she encounters cutthroat editor Charlie Lastra, who she quickly develops disdain for when they disagree over the "readability" of her clients upcoming book. When Nora leaves the hustle and bustle of New York to vacation in the small town of Sunshine Falls at the request of her beloved sister Libby, she doesn't expect to run into anyone from the New York literary world - but as it turns out, Sunshine Falls is Charlie's hometown. Nora can't seem to stop running into Charlie, again, and again, and again....

This book is top tier romance. I loved how Henry poked fun at the typical Hallmark formula for romance (that we all know and love) but balanced it with serious themes and content, and of course with some impeccable banter between the characters. While the romance in this book was beautiful and wonderfully developed (who wouldn't fall for Charlie?), I really appreciated how well crafted Nora's motivations and personality was. I felt like I totally understood where she was coming from at every turn in the story (even if I was screaming at her choices!) I also loved the setting of sense of community in Sunshine Falls (think Gilmore Girls' Stars Hallow vibes). At its core - this book centred around unconditional love and support between siblings. I could not put this book down and I HIGHLY recommend it!!

Epic Emily Henry banter strikes again — Book Lovers is hugely entertaining, with heart and humor bookending the story beautifully. There's so much to love in this book, but what works particularly well is how the sharp edges of the main characters, Nora and Charlie, compliment each other like a match stick and a match striker, with sizzling chemistry and laugh-out-loud dialogue that thoroughly sucked me into the story.

This was my first Emily Henry book, and I was blown away by how well-developed her characters were, as well as how intricate the dynamics between the characters were. Nora and Charlie and Libby all had surprises up their sleeves throughout the entire book, and each revelation always made perfect sense as soon as it was revealed, and moved the story along to make the plot even more compelling to the very end of the book. I absolutely loved this book!

Emily Henry does it again! Book Lovers is charming, romantic, and hilarious - when I wasn’t swooning over Charlie and Nora’s chemistry, I was laughing out loud over their snarky banter. I also appreciated that Henry brought a little more steam to this book - the desire between these two was palpable and she let that play out on page more than she has in her other romances. This was everything I could have hoped it could be and more!

Emily Henry has another winner here. Emily Henry does such an excellent job of writing what I think of in my head as "literary romance novels." They have the sweetness and happy endings of romance novels, but the character development and intricate plotting of something someone would write in an MFA program. Mhairi Macfarlane is in the same vein.

Book Lovers mixes a delightful enemies to lovers setup with a young woman's shifting relationship with her sister, as well as a young man's conflicted feelings of obligation to his family. It's superbly done and I highly recommend it .

This was everything I expected from an Emily Henry novel: funny, romantic, witty, earnest, and interesting. Henry has used her usual deftness with dialogue to make the banter absolutely sing in this book. Nora Stephens, the heroine, is very self-aware-- she realizes she would be cast as the "evil city girlfriend" in a Hallmark movie-- and yet completely clueless, which makes her all too human and easy to root for.

I love that Henry has poked fun at the same romantic comedy tropes that she sometimes uses in her writing, and the sly way it comes filtered through Nora's personality. There was nothing shocking or unexpected in this book, but that's exactly why it is enjoyable. It feels like a safe, soft spot to cozy up in, and yet Henry always provides so much depth and emotion to her characters that nothing is trite. The complex family relationships presented in the story also add some much needed context for how there characters ended up who they are. A wonderful, romantic journey of a book that should leave your heart happy. If you've enjoyed Henry's other work, you'll love this.

Another winner from Emily Henry! This one has to be the most relatable and poignant one yet, in a fun and hilarious and un-put-downable kind of way.

We all know and love our dear tropes, but what is even better is when we look those tropes directly in the face and break the fourth wall (if you will). Tropes are good, but writing about tropes will still fulfilling the trope is even better.

I absolutely fell in love with the main characters- our protagonist is funny and driven and our man... he's surly and funny and just so realistic. And my absolute FAVORITE part? There is NO MISCOMMUNICATION! It is logical! They fight and then they talk through things. They dream and then they address reality. Author close and far heard us when we said we hated miscommunication and they are delivering! Emily Henry is quickly becoming one of my new favorite authors.

This was a wonderful story. I appreciated the different story lines (love, sisters, family). As a person that likes to fix things, I connected so much with Nora. I felt the author took great care in developing her characters. I loved how descriptive she was when talking about New York. I loved the references to books and the bookstore. Overall this was a fantastic book that I will highly recommend! Thank you to NetGalley for the early read.

This is a sweet book, part romance, part satire, that is a perfect beach read. The author does a great job of satirizing the romance genre.

I enjoyed reading about the bond between the sisters.

I enjoyed the book, though it’s a bit too much like a romance for me.
Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

I enjoyed this book so, so much. It was my first Emily Henry novel, but it certainly won't be my last. I loved the way she kept pointing out romance novel tropes, all the while using romance novel tropes. What a fun read.

See, this is why I like Emily Henry. When she's good, she's very good. Let's just forget about that sophomore effort, shall we?

No but for real, Charlie and Nora are ADORABLE, I loved the slow rollout of the Libby plotline, and the way the "triangle" played out was PERFECTION for this low-conflict reader. I really enjoyed this, and have no hesitation recommending it to romance lovers.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I loved this book, it was exactly what I needed. Emily Henry always writes love letters to books. I will be recommending this book to my reader friends and patrons.

Emily Henry always knocks it out of the park, and Book Lovers is a fantastic example of this. A lovingly written story about family and overcoming grief, not to mention dreamy settings and complex characters. This will be a must read of 2022! #indigoemployee