I would NOT call myself a rom-com reader, but Emily Henry has become an AUTO BUY author. I was so excited to get this e-galley and actually read it in a day -- at times, on my Peloton -- if you know, you know :) I always love books about books, so I knew that I would love a book that features a book editor and a literary agent! The publishing world is a workplace that intrigues me so much, so it was a perfect aspect of the story. Also, the cover is just amazing!

Since I am not a rom-com reader, I've been trying to figure out what it is about Emily Henry's writing that I love so much. Here are some things that I've reflected on

- The dialogue! It's so real and genuinely funny. The quick, snarky banter back and forth had me laughing out loud many times while also including conversations that cover deeper, more emotional topics.

- The realness -- usually I don't enjoy rom-com's because they feel too unrealistic and "hallmarky," but the way that Emily Henry writes is just the right balance of believability/rawness and light/fun. The characters feel like people I know. The conversations they have feel like real conversations. The character's emotions, motives, and experiences are so genuine and relatable.

- It is so easy to read. Typically, I read very detailed, character-driven, emotional books, so reading Emily Henry's books always feel like a fabulous vacation.

I will definitely be rereading this as we get closer to pub day and will be pre-ordering it! Thank you Netgalley, Emily Henry, and Berkley for providing this ebook in exchange for an honest review. BOOK LOVERS will be published May 3, 2022, so be on the lookout and get excited :)

This book hit every note perfectly. I haven't cried over a romance novel in SO LONG, and this had me curled in a ball crying over their relationship so many times that I lost count. That's a good thing, right? I'm going with yes. I love how vulnerable both the main characters were, and the complicating factors felt real, and their reactions to them did as well.

Also, I'm not going to lie. I was thrilled to see a woman who doesn't want kids, and wasn't going to apologize for it. More, please!

When I got an advance copy of this book from the publisher, I booked a babysitter for the next week so I could read this brilliant book cover to cover under my new heated blanket. And of course, Emily Henry did not disappoint. I woke up the next morning thinking about how lucky I feel that I get to live in a world where she's creating these stories.

Book Lovers is a celebration of a lot of things: It's an ode to family and sisterhood, an exploration of what makes a home, and a love letter to New York City. It has so much fun with literary tropes and honors the publishing industry and, maybe best of all, centers a woman who's a notorious shark in her field. She's ruthless, driven, smart and knows what she wants —and ultimately, it's a GOOD thing. More of that please!! Tenacious women should be celebrated! I think this book will make a lot of women feel seen.

This is, of course, also a book about Nora and Charlie: an agent and an editor in NYC who start off on the wrong foot but run into each other enough times over a summer away from the city that suddenly that doesn't matter anymore. They are great together in this book. The chemistry! The banter! The emotional intelligence! Nobody writes a slowburn romance like Emily Henry and even she outdid herself this time.

Book Lovers is a strong 5/5 stars for me, and I would give it more stars than that if I could. Jealous of anyone who still gets to read it for the first time.

I love anything Emily Henry writes, and Book Lovers is no exception! Back and forth banter, physical chemistry, complicated pasts, and a mutual love of books make Nora and Charlie a delightful couple to read. And poking fun at romance tropes along the way is great too. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I think other readers will as well!

4.5*
So…ready to live out your rom-com fantasy life?

Nora didn’t think she was. After all, Nora is a driven, cutthroat literary agent. Her job is cracking the whip, keeping her writers on track to write about these very fantasies. She certainly doesn’t have time to live them. But her dear sister Libby has other plans for her.

Libby takes her to the picturesque, small town of Sunshine Falls NC. (As described in the best-selling book from one of Nora’s favorite clients.) Unfortunately, she may not be able to fully put the city life behind. She’s shocked to find that her most dreaded editor just happens to be right here in Sunshine Falls too.

Are you serious?! Can she not get away from him? Does she truly want to?

This book takes you on a journey from enemies to lovers’ rom-com with everything in between. The characters developed wonderfully and I instantly connected with all of them. Even the grouchy ones! Lol! The banter between the characters was snarky but also fun and witty. And, always put a broad smile on my face!

I sometimes have difficulty with this trope as the constant bickering becomes jarring. But cleverly, Emily Henry made their texts and conversations fun…even when they were fighting.😜

I’m a huge fan of this author and cannot wait for her next!

A rom-com weekend buddy read with Susanne that left us both smiling!😊

Posted to: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...

Thank you to Elisha at Berkley Publishing via Netgalley for an ARC to read and review.

I love Emily Henry's books, but this one is above all my all time favorites. We are trained to never have sympathy for the "career driven, cold hearted, wronged woman" they are the villain in so many romance books. It was so refreshing to see this flipped on its head and show the heart and soul of that character. It was so lovely to see her get the happy ending she deserved. To see that she had feelings that run deep and that she has hidden away true parts of herself for self preservation. This book was a heart warming, heart happy read that I adore and will be recommending near and far.

This is my first Emily Henry book and I was not disappointed! This book hit all my buttons. I laughed out loud and then worried about the characters. I read this book in one sitting because I wanted to see what was happening with these sisters! The romantic lead was so earnest and heartfelt I wanted him for my very own. Thank you, Emily for a very enjoyable cozy, snowy afternoon. I'll definitely recommend!!

This was a very well written book. The banter between Nora and Charlie was quick and clever. The starting place and the ending place for these characters was miles apart and I enjoyed seeing how Ms. Henry navigated it. However, this was a little too open door romance for my taste.
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. The opinions are entirely my own.

BOOK LOVERS ✨ the review ✨

Fair warning, this book does not release until MAY 3, so don't hate me for raving about it so early.

Protagonist Nora Stephens' is a literary agent - she's the woman in romcoms who *doesn't* get the happy ending; the woman who instead, is married to her career.

THE TAKEAWAYS:
✨ I cannot explain how validating, and refreshing it is to read about a woman who is so passionate about her career like I am - a gal who is trying to figure out how love fits into her life, when she is misunderstood as being emotionless and cutthroat.
✨ This is possibly the most meta, self-aware romance novel I have ever read, naturally, since the characters in the novel are book people.
✨ Most of the novel pokes fun at HALLMARK MOVIES so naturally it had me loling and crying simultaneously
✨ The best banter of almost any Emily Henry book - she is the master of voice & nobody can tell me otherwise
✨ Like Beach Read, much of this story centers on grief - and the way grief changes family dynamics
✨ Aside from the love story, the sibling relationship is what truly fulfilled me once I closed the last page

As someone on GoodReads writes, "Books about books just hit different" - and well.... I TOTALLY AGREE.

Thank you endlessly to @berkleyromance for always making my reading dreams come true.

Review posted to blog: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend.com/

Just call me Smitten!

Book Lovers by Emily Henry is exactly what the doctor ordered!

Bookish Characters.
A Character-Driven Plot.
Fun, Witty, Snarky Banter.
Friendship.
Romance.
Chemistry Galore.

The moment literary agent Nora Stephens encounters editor Charlie Lastra sparks FLY.. as well they should! Charlie is every girl’s dream.. or at least I think so. If Charlie Lastra was real, I’d do my best to steal him from Nora Stephens in a heartbeat. (Sorry, not sorry Nora!).

When Nora travels to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina with her sister Libby for a month-long vacation, the last thing she could ever imagine is finding Charlie Lastra there - and yet, there he is. Turns out, Sunshine Falls is Charlie’s hometown! When a crisis occurs with one of Nora’s client’s she ends up needing Charlie’s help, much to her dismay and my utter delight.

Filled with witty, sarcastic exchanges that make you laugh hysterically, as well as romantic encounters that leave much to the imagination! Simply put, Book Lovers is sheer perfection!

This is the third book I’ve read by Emily Henry (the first two being Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation) and each simply gets better and better!

A buddy read with Kaceey that left us both smiling!

Thank you to Elisha at Berkley Publishing Group for the arc via NetGalley.

Published on Goodreads and Twitter.

This was my first Emily Henry and her books are so popular I was really excited to try one. Maybe, I should have tried a different one. I found it boring and the characters just not that interesting.

In true Emily Henry fashion, Book Lovers is a fresh take on modern romance loaded with relatable characters, meaningful and familiar relationships, and a deep dive into the complexity of women's lives. 10 out of 10!

I couldn't have loved this book more, honestly. Emily Henry captured me from page one in Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation, and Book Lovers lived up to my personal hype and very high expectations. I love Henry's quick witted dialogue and her incredibly realistic, flawed, but loveable characters. Sunshine Falls was vividly described, and as a Carolina native, captured pretty much exactly what it's like to live in any small town in North or South Carolina.

I read Book Lovers in one sitting and never once thought about putting it down. Of Henry's three books, I think I'd rank this at the top. I'd highly recommend this to anyone who's a fan of Henry's other works or a fan of chick lit. I can't wait to keep reading more of Henry's work and look forward to whatever genius idea she comes up with next.

I was excited to read Emily Henry's newest book, and it didn't disappoint. The Hallmark movie storyline of big city business woman moving to a small town and falling in love was turned on its head in the best way. The protagonist is the big city workaholic whose boyfriends always leave her for a small town. When Nora's sister forces her to take a vacation to a rural town in North Carolina, she has a hard time being away from the city and her usual routine. She does fall in love, but there are quite a few unique factors that keep this from falling into a familiar trope.

I felt like the resolution was a little bit anti-climactic, but it was a fun romance and I really enjoyed it!

Emily Henry did it again with this book. It absolutely lived up to the hype and I loved it just as much as her last book, People We Meet On Vacation. Nora is a literary agent from New York City who agrees to go on a monthlong vacation to a small town with her sister. When she arrives, she realizes that her work rival, Charlie, an editor, lives in the town and is helping out at his parents’ bookstore. I found Nora to be extremely relatable and I loved how she stayed true to herself throughout the book. The romance between her and Charlie was my favorite of Emily Henry’s books so far and I loved their ending. Looking forward to reading anything else she writes in the future.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This was a super fun romance. Was I shocked by the ending? Nope. But will I continue to slurp up whatever brooding, smirking characters Emily Henry puts down? Absolutely. Nora and Libby's sister relationship was well flushed out and the peek into the literary world was very fun. I read this on the beach, and it was perfect.

Another smash hit from Emily Henry. Charlie is swoonworthy with his brooding and smirking. 100% recommend.

I’m speechless! I’m head over heels for this book!

This is the best romance story I’ve recently read! The smartest enemies to lovers trope I’ve ever devoured!

This is absolutely best work of the author and probably my winner for 2022 best romance reads that earned my full vote for Goodreads Awards Choice in romance category!

I think Nora ( named after Ms Ephron who gave us the best taste of romcoms) and Charlie were the best MCs the author has created!

I cannot have any words in my vocabulary to describe my feelings for this book! But if I had chance to give 1 billion stars, I would do it without thinking any further!

This time I’m not gonna give anything away because I still had hard time to gather my wits after the emotional intensity effect of my amazing experience. So you gotta read and find out!

I’m gonna stop my blabbering session! Just read it, buy to your all loved ones! This is unique literature feast that you shouldn’t miss out! Pure definition of perfection!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing the arc of best romance of 2020 with me in exchange my deeply honest thoughts.

Emily Henry does it again! A recommended first purchase for most collections, particularly where contemporary romance is popular.

QUICK TAKE: I really enjoyed this, the latest from romance author Emily Henry. This one has a fun set-up, where instead of following the guy who leaves his ice-bitch big city girlfriend for the small town bookstore owner, you follow the ice-bitch big city girlfriend as she has her own romantic entanglement. It's also a really emotional sister story as well, so a couple excellent emotional subplots make this one of the better romance books I've read recently!