CW: Parent Death, Pregnancy Complications.

I received a reviewer copy of Book Lovers by Emily Henry from the publisher from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: Nora is never the girl who gets the guy. You know those Hallmark movies where the man finds love in the small town USA with a sweet local girl and dumps their girlfriend? Yeah, Nora is the girlfriend. There are two things Nora is dedicated to her career as a book agent and her beloved younger sister Libby. So when her sister in a clear mental stress asks her to take a vacation, she immediately goes. But her small town trip is filled with run-ins with her handsome rival Charlie, a book editor.

What I Loved: I loved this book so much. I wasn't sure I could love a book as much as People We Meet On Vacation, but then I read Book Lovers and wow wow wow, this one is right up there. This book is an interesting study on grief and love. I loved the story between Nora and Libby, about how Nora was scared of her sister getting hurt and learning more about this fear. I loved the storyline of Charlie and his family and their bookstore. I also loved the romance so much. This is a love story for the ages, it was sexy and romantic. Their was chemistry but also beautiful words that somehow didn't read as cheesy.

What I didn’t like so much: Honestly, not much. There's a lot going on but I overall didn't mind.

Who Should Read It: People who love a beautiful romance intermingled with several family dramas. People who love Emily Henry's works. People who love rom-coms

Summary: Have you ever wondered what happened to the scorned girlfriend? Read more.

This copy was kindly provided to me by the publisher and net galley for review. All opinions are my own. I absolutely loved this book. I think for some people might be disappointed is a feel like they really push these books towards the romcom kind of feel with the covers and everything but they’re definitely a little bit more slice of life, romance with a little bit of a heavier theme. Think this one was such a cool exploration of like when we see in movies the guy leaves the city girlfriend for the small town girl what actually happens to the city girl he left behind. I think it’s such a cool idea and concept and kind of a great way to show that you don’t need to change for a relationship. Emily Henry is definitely starting to go up there for me for auto read author. I’m gonna dive into people we meet on vacation because the only one by her I haven’t read yet. Definitely pick it up. Love that it was set in North Carolina, I live there as well, the way she described humidity is spot on.

I will be recommending this to my followers who are obsessed with romance. Suck a fun summer read!!!!!

This was my first book by Emily Henry and I absolutely loved it! I loved the quick witted banter, small town feels and the spicy romance. Such a feel good, summer read.

I liked Book Lovers, but I didn’t love it. This book straddles the line between romance and women’s fiction in a way that feels familiar, but in a way that doesn’t necessarily improve it.

Nora is your typical ball-busting, too busy for love, literary agent who historically has been dumped for a more wholesome “girl next door” type. Forced to work with an enigmatic, handsome, and very blunt editor for her client’s manuscript, she finds herself wondering if she, too, should make herself into a small town version of herself to find love.

Charlie, the editor in question, has a chip on his shoulder the size of Mount Everest, and is perpetually torn between his own aspirations and his feelings of obligation back home to take care of the family business that he never wanted part of.

Obviously, these two are thrown together in a small-town setting, away from NYC and the publishing world and the juxtaposition of the fish-out-of-water and the prodigal son returned narratives propel much of the plot, with a healthy assist from Nora’s younger sister who has secrets of her own.

The book hits all the right notes and makes all the right choices for the plot and the characters, but something about it feels less passionate or emotionally invested. It’s a fine book, but not the best I’ve read of this type.

3.5 stars, rounded down to 3.

I loved this book. I'm opening my review with that sentence. A sentence that I say a lot. But, it means more here. I LOVED this book. Nora is definitely a kindred spirit of mine and I loved Charlie too. I feel like there's so much to unpack in this book and it's definitely my favorite Emily Henry book. The references to NYC, the books, the banter. There's nothing not to love about this one. But, most importantly, I loved Nora. Her story of seeing herself as a villainous character in her client's latest manuscript was such an interesting "story within a story" moment and I can't stand how much I loved that concept.

I also love that all of Emily Henry's books reference the book world in some way. There's a glorious nostalgia about reading about something that I have so much passion for. I also love that it's not all the idealized version of the book world. Nora describes the long hours and sometimes incredibly frustrating (but also rewarding) work that she does and I loved that we got to see the glitz and glamour as well as the hard work.

I'll definitely be rereading this book many more times.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I wanted to read this book and have it change my opinion of E Henry’s writing… while I enjoyed these characters more, I still don’t totally love this story. I can see the appeal of EH writing, but it’s not for me sadly

I read this book in one sitting and enjoyed it thoroughly. Romance, witty banter, family drama, this book has it all. Highly recommended!

Author Emily Henry is no stranger to the publishing world, but the release of her seventh and most anticipated novel has been one of her greatest surprises. Book Lovers follows Nora, a work-a-holic literary agent who takes a vacation with her sister to the idyllic, fictional town of Sunshine Falls, North Carolina, but she can’t seem to escape her literary nemesis, Charlie.

I recently spoke with Emily Henry about her inspiration as well as her goal of weaving romance with more literary fiction. This episode of Marginalia features our conversation.

Emily Henry is fabulous and always knocks it out of the park. Beach Read is still my top book by Emily but I enjoyed this one too. The setting and premise were fun, I love a good enemy to lovers. Perhaps it was a bit too much of a slow-burn for my taste but I still enjoyed my time with the book.

This was my absolute favorite, a book I know I'll be rereading because of how good it made me feel. A steamy romance focusing on family is one thing I never knew I needed. All the characters were so well thought of and funny and heartwarming. The banter made me laugh, the writing made me cry; it fills up so many checks on my list (iykyk). Emily Henry has done it again!

This is my favorite out of all of Henry’s books. I love the quaint small town that reminded me of Gilmore Girls and Schitts Creek. I can’t wait to see what else she writes.

Anyone who hates this book, I will fight you to the death 😅 This book is perfection. Here's why:

- The banter between the characters is absolute perfection. And I mean this literally. I have never read better banter in my life. The dialogue in this book is to die for. I was smiling the whole time! I wanted to tell everyone about it! I still can't believe it now.
- I loved Nora's relationship with her sister, and the conflict between them. I loved slowly uncovering what was happening and how their past affected the present.
- The characters' flaws are so deep and so real. We see the past and how every single one of their issues make sense. We connect to them so deeply.
- This is a book that I knew I wanted to reread before even reading half of it. I knew I loved it so much, that as soon as it comes out, I'll read the paperback. It's that good.
- The conflict is beautiful. Everything makes sense. There's zero miscommunication!!!!! They actually TALK TO EACH OTHER. I'm so proud!
- I urge everyone to read this. I liked Beach Read and loved People we Meet on Vacation, but this, THIS, this is the BEST ROMANCE BOOK I've read in a long time. I smiled through all of it. My face hurt. Just read it.



Quotes:
"You're in books. Of course you don't have a life. None of us do. There's always something too good to read."

Emily Henry romances are just magic. We knew that already and somehow I’m still always surprised when I finish a new one. Her characters are quirky and equally interesting on their own but perfect together. So fun & often laugh-out-loud funny. I found this one a bit cheesier than her last so that was my only complaint. The magic of PWMOV definitely made my expectations very high — fully recognizing it’s my own fault here because that book means so much to me. But book lovers is PERFECT for book lovers. Definitely recommend! Thank you to the publisher for my review copy!

Order of favorites now:
1. PWMOV
2. Book Lovers
3. Beach Read

5 stars for a wonderful romantic story where once again the “Opposing magnets are the ones that draw together.” and make for the most interesting stories when written well. And this one certainly delivered.

Emily Henry doesn't need my help to sell a book, but she's doing something really special in contemporary romance. Her books always maintain a pitch-perfect balance between steamy romantic tension and thoughtfully considered personal growth and conflict.

don't usually read romance books - typically I hate them. This book was so fun to read - I loved the two main characters. I loved their back stories, and all of their messy insecurities. The banter between them and the sharp wit and sarcasm had me literally laughing out loud. The relationship between Nora and Libby - two sisters who have had to rely on each other after their mother died kept me invested. Short summary - Nora is a book agent, super sharp and smart, list maker, face regimen doer, and loving aunt - the one catch? Nora is very unlucky in love. Her sister, Libby, is sweet, strawberry blonde, married with two children and one on the way and determined to help her sister find love. Nora represents one of Libby's favorite authors who wrote a book set in Sunshine Falls, North Carolina - a town outside of Asheville. Libby devises a sister's trip with a 12 point checklist including items like "wear a flannel shirt" "go skinny dipping in a natural body of water" and "have a date with 2 locals". Think Hallmark movie fodder - with a lot of funny twists and turns. Despite her best laid plans, Nora finds romantic sparks with a book editor with whom she has had a memorable lunch in the past. He is also in Sunshine Falls - helping his mom in her little bookstore while he works remotely. Will Nora get her happy ending? I devoured this book in about a day. So fun - bravo, Emily Henry for taking me out of my reading comfort zone.

If anyone was already a fan of Emily Henry, they would definitely like Book Lovers as her books seem to have the same pace. This is a perfect beach read or for someone who wanted a book to read that gave them a mellow and relaxing mood. The plot did drag out for most of the book and the character development was very thorough but for someone who likes their fast paced books and thrillers, it's hard to sit through this one. I almost DNF.

Nora Stephens is a shark; she’s an agent who knows how to get her authors to write books that will sell. Charlie Lastra is the editor who will not work on the book Nora’s proposing. Their first meeting makes them enemies, yet a small-town adventure may change that. Nora’s vacation to Sunshine Falls, NC with her sister is full of intentional small-town romance tropes including saving a small business and romantic dates with the locals, Emily Henry also includes some unintentional tropes for Nora by introducing the enemies to lovers plot when Charlie happens to be from that exact small town. Emily Henry has created a very meta novel that is aware of every move it makes. Like Beach Read, Book Lovers takes all of the romance novel tropes and packs them into this book with witty banter, a quirky pun-filled setting, and a realistic look at relationships. Emily Henry has continued to prove herself as a must read author.

This book was INCREDIBLE. I was already a fan of Emily Henry but I think this is her best yet. Funny and smart, this book transports you instantly inside the world of the characters. I read it all in one sitting.