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2.5 Stars

This should have been a winner for me. I love rom coms. I love chick lit. I love cartoon covers. I love when the characters are authors or booknerds. So what happened? Well, January and Gus and their summer at their neighboring beach houses happened. This book kind of got lost in what it was trying to be and ended up being a mish-mash that simply fell short and by the time I let go of my issues with it, sadly it was just a little too late for a full redemption.

Things started off poorly for me due to the fact that for a goodly chunk of this book I couldn’t get the ridiculous internet feud between Jennifer Weiner and Jonathan Franzen. I pretty much avoid reading stuff by either of them because they come off as such twats and they don’t deserve my time (or especially my money). The fact that the leads in this book were pretty much clones of those two as the “great American novelist” for him and the “chick lit romance bestseller” for her did not aid in my enjoyment level whatsoever.

Then there were the dead daddy issues . . . .

Oh my word you broken record. We get it already. It’s not like you’re 12 so get some coping skills and it’s not like you were even close so how the hell could this possibly shatter you so much??? See a doctor, homey.

The romance (a/k/a smexytimes) was aiiiiiiiight so this 2.5 will get rounded up simply for not making me want to invest in a chastity belt or poke my own eyeballs out due to gross intercourse.

But a serious level of irk was generated with the other broken record message of how poooooooor the leading lady was. First, you just got a G.D. beach house bequeathed to you so STFU – you’re not homeless. Second, if you are seriously a bestselling author you should have at least five dollars in the bank. And third, if you don’t???? GET. A. FREAKING. DAY. JOB. There is nothing that aggravates me more than “authors” who cry all over Goodreads and Go Fund Me and Patreon that it is our duty as readers/fans to pay their bills so they can “create” while we go grind it out at various not-dreamy 9 to 5s. Having this chick whine about her money issues made me want to lump her in the badly behaving author category like those people.

Obviously YMMV and you’ll probably love this like everyone else did.

ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This smart and sparkling romance follows two writers—a cynical romance novelist and a literary fiction author—who live in neighboring houses and are both struggling to overcome a serious case of writer’s block. In an effort to find inspiration, the pair soon strike a deal, agreeing to make changes that will force themselves out of their rut. Set in a small lake town in Michigan, this book offers a fresh and engrossing look at second chances and learning to love again.

I think this was such a sleeper book that's light and fun, but also plays around with dichotomy of "important books." If you're an avid reader like me, then you know there's a lot of low brow and high brow opinions on books. For me, I believe that each book is for one type of person and there's no such thing as a book solely for entertainment or discourse; the world isn't as black and white as that. And that's what gets explored throughout this novel while we watch January get through a messy portion of her life and meets Gus, an acquaintance from college who's already sold a serious novel on that literary fiction level.

I loved how they started off a little snobby to each other. January is very protective of the romance genre, the books that she writes while Gus believes books should be for intellectual stimulation and conversation. But then they bet that they couldn't sell a book for the opposite genre, so January decides to write a "serious" book while Gus puts his writing chops up on a romance.

Enemies-to-lovers, of course this book starts to bring these two characters together. It was my favorite part, finding out more about January and her family as well as discovering more about Gus. This book reminded me a lot of Christina Lauren's <i>Love and Other Words</i>, but without the too terrible tragic ending.

The only issue I had with this story was that it was a bit long. I'm a huge fan of slow burns, but for some reason this story wouldn't end. It kept going and while it was fine, I was expecting the ending much sooner. Emily Henry really dives into that world of writing a book and while it was intriguing to see Gus and January interview people and do the research, it felt unnecessary especially towards the end when the story became more about Gus and January. It's not a terrible thing and you'll still definitely get through the book. It was just something I noticed while I was reading.

It was a perfect read for a bookworm; a love story between two writers. This was my first read of Emily Henry and I loved her writing. I loved their dare of writing out of their comfort zones and their notes from across the kitchen. I also liked how the protagonist understood her father better when she herself was sort of in that situation. The decisions our parents make are theirs and we as children sometimes become selfish because we only think about how it makes us feel instead of their feelings.

This book did not disappoint! A wonderful love story and message of empathy and courage. It did get a lot darker than I expected it to, but I found that the darker parts made the lighter parts shine brighter. I've already recommended this to a number of people as a perfect summer read.

Evocative and funny, Beach Read is the story I didn’t know I needed!

Emily Henry is well-known for her Young Adult Fiction, but this Adult Contemporary Romance/Women’s Fiction proves she can captivate an audience regardless of age!

Full of quirky personalities, awkward encounters, and witty dialogue, I felt totally invested in the cast of characters and immersed in the small, Michigan town where the story takes place. There is a lot of depth and emotion that I didn’t entirely expect but connected me even further to the story.

I absolutely loved the dynamic between Gus and January. They have history and a rivalry which makes for a lot of great banter. They are both a little broken with pasts and family drama that haunt them, but they begin to piece themselves (and each other) back together as their relationship progresses, and I couldn’t get enough of them.

Overall, I absolutely recommend Beach Read! Just be warned that it’s not all sunshine and rainbows like the cover and title might lead you to assume. Regardless, this is a beautifully written story that I don’t plan to stop shouting about anytime soon.

*Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book. This did not affect my opinion or the content of my review.

Loved this book. A great enemies to lovers relationship with so many literary references. I loved their journey together and how flawed both characters are but work together to become even stronger. So steamy and sweet, a great read.

Have you ever read a book and loved it BEFORE you signed up for the blog tour? I really lucked out with this one!
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It’s pub week for 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 by Emily Henry & I’m so excited to be part of this blog tour! Thank you @berkleypub for the #gifted copy in exchange for my honest review...this book is available right NOW!⁣
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January is a romance writer who no longer believes in love when she inherits her father’s secret “love shack” by the beach, after his sudden death. She questions how much she actually knew about her father, and if she can ever forgive him for what he did to her mother. What she doesn’t know, is her new neighbor is an old college rival from her creative writing classes. Augustus is a high-brow literary writer and is stuck in a rut.⁣
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They engage in a summer-long challenge to write each other’s genres to get out of their writer’s block, going on field trips to explore what makes their genres and stories worth telling. The first person to sell their book must be promoted by the other writer. And of course, secrets are revealed along the way that just may help January and Augustus move on from their own past.⁣
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I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. As someone who has had my writing workshopped *many times* I will admit…. 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗛𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗥𝗜𝗩𝗔𝗟. That’s what made this so fun for me! I also love a great family story, and January’s family mystery could have been a novel all on its own.⁣
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There are so many other stories told in here, as we learn what January and Augustus have already written, what they are trying to write, and what they end up writing in their genre-challenge. It was definitely a novel written for writers, and I ate it up.⁣
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This is a perfect beach read (literally). Don’t worry if your beach is your front porch, your backyard, or even your couch…Emily Henry will transport you, no matter where you are ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a fun, easy read for summer, but don't wait until next summer to grab it! It's worth reading right now, regardless of the season!

January is an author who has lost her father and run out of ideas for books. She inherits a beach house from her father that she didn't know existed, and finds out that her father had a bit of a side-hustle happening for a long time. Reeling from the revelation that her father might not have been the man she thought he was, she heads to the beach house to write and clean out the house to sell. When she gets there, she runs into Augustus Everett, an author she has known since college. They make an agreement to try to write a book in the other person's genre, which leads to a variety of fun situations between the two of them.

This story had romance, character growth, super fun supporting characters, and an overall story that made me not want to put the book down! The only parts that didn't sit right were the intimate scenes. I read enough books with this, so it's not that I'm shy about it, it just didn't sit quite right for me. This, however, did not detract from the great story!

Overall, I would highly recommend this one for readers that enjoy a romance story with strong characters!

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

Initially, I thought I had mixed feelings about this book, because there are things I like about, but as I've sat on my feelings, I've realized how much I didn't like it. Ultimately, though I like the romance aspects of this, I am offended by the parts that feels to me like they're trying to reinvent the romance novel in a literary fiction way and that appear to actively dislike genre romances.

I have a complex relationship with "literary fiction" as a genre of fiction. Essentially, that relationship is that I deeply loathe it, despite the fact that I don't believe in shaming people for what they like to read. Unfortunately, I have been shamed so much by the sorts of people who read just literary fiction that it's hard for me to get past that. My loathing of literary fiction, which is deemed as being of more merit because it's depressing and full of ennui, is really what messes with my ability to enjoy this book.

There's a really fun rom-com premise to this book, though I'll warn you right now that, despite the cover and title and premise, this absolutely is NOT a rom-com. College enemies from writing class, now both published writers, end up living next door to one another. They immediately come to verbal blows, as she takes down the snotty lit-fic guy and defends romance and happy endings. As a result, they end up challenging one another to write the other's genre with bragging rights to whoever first sells their book.

Sidebar: it's so weird to me how January calls herself a romance writer initially (the blurb does too), but later she clarifies to him that she actually writes "women's fiction." There's a difference between books that sell as romance and those that are women's fiction; the line can be fine, but it's there. It has to do with whether a romantic relationship is actually the central relationship and plot in the book. This felt off for me, and I don't get why she couldn't just BE a romance writer who writes pirate romances? It sort of felt like she was saying she was better than authors who write pirate or werewolf romances, which isn't really helping the stigma. This is one of the ways I felt iffy about the romance rep in this book.

This is such a cute idea, and I wish that a) I was able to really settle into it and not feel ARGH about literary fiction and b) that it had been cute more often. While they do agree to trade off lessons in darkness and meet cutes (such a great concept), it does feel like the book skews much more heavily to the darker aspects. There's much more detail when they do his interviews of ex-cult members than when they go to the Meg Ryan movies, for example.

In fact, he doesn't even end up watching the movies. There's a ship reason, but STILL. And they end up canceling the third rom-com day, but they still do his lit fic research day. There's this imbalance there that, admittedly, I probably wouldn't care about if I didn't have this chip on my shoulder about literary fiction, but it does feel like the book skews in favor of more literary fiction. I'm not convinced it's trying to do that, but it is the impression I got, especially since (view spoiler). Given that this is being marketed as a romance, rather than a literary novel, I feel like this is a weird, unsatisfying choice, though obviously most readers do not agree with me on that.

On the plus side, though, I do think the banter is great when they're in lighter moments. Henry has a talent for it, and there are moments where this couple was super shippy and had great chemistry. I wish there had been more of those moments, though, because the book just felt really dense and heavy. And there's so much tragic back story back and forth needless drama stuff that took away from the romance for me. When I say needless, it feels like they have to fight to communicate every time, and then he ghosts briefly, and it's exhausting. Then ultimately, their problems just melt away at the end, but it didn't feel like we got any real resolution to his ish or her anger at her dad.

Sidebar: I absolutely LOATHED the way the heroine kept calling herself a dumb bunny whenever she felt she was unwisely catching feelings. This felt to me like mocking of romance heroines (thinking of the inner goddess from 50 Shades). It didn't fit the character to me, and every time she did it (which was a lot), it threw me out of the book. And it also just felt so infantilizing and icky.

Speaking of her dad, this is one of those books where her emotional arc is a lot about forgiving him, and I felt like she was sort of forced to do that by the plot, which I hate. He did some fucked up shit, and it's okay to be angry about that, even for a long time. (view spoiler)

Throughout this book, I feel like I had moments of true emotional connection and investment, but then I had moments where I felt deeply disconnected and didn't understand what Gus and January were doing at all. I guess I feel like there's a really fantastic rom-com under here that I would have five-star loved, but it got lost under the depressing literary elements.

IF this book IS a romance novel, I feel like it's trying to prove that romances can be literary fiction. I can see why some people would want to do that and why some readers would want that, but personally it's not what I want. It seems like it's saying that romance novels as they are truly aren't good enough, but they could be different and be literary and be better. But maybe I've just been hurt too many times and I'm overly sensitive.

However, I feel like you could make a real case for this book being either literary fiction or women's fiction (isn't it nice how most contemporary adult novels written by/for a male audience are literary fiction and most by/for women end up called women's fiction? It's GREAT.). There is a central romance to the story, but in some places the book does feel more like it's about the heroine's relationship with her father. And the style is very literary, with occasional over-the-top descriptions. Overall, I really think it feels like a rom-com was shoved together with a depressing literary novel about family secrets (the working title of the heroine's literary fiction novel), so it's hard to pinpoint the actual genre, as it feels like it lurches between the two.

Listen, almost everyone I know has 5-star adored this, and I can absolutely see why. If, like me, you are super defensive of the romance genre against people who put it down, particularly those who love literary fiction, this might be as frustrating for you as it is for me. If, however, you're more chill and enjoy a lot of angst in your romance, you might love it.

I loved everything about this book! The characters were fantastic and it was so much deeper than you would expect looking at the cover. This is one of those books where I want to write a longer review but all I can think is “ohmygodthatwassogood”, sorry! Hopefully other reviews are more detailed and eloquent, but I 100% recommend this to everybody.
I made sure to buy a physical copy when it came out!

What a surprising read! 📖

When I started Beach Read, I expected all the trappings of a usual rom-com novel: sharp enemies-to-lovers banter, a montage of our protagonists reluctantly falling in love, a dinner date or two, and a quick ending tied up neatly with a bow.

I didn't expect it to be so...insightful about loss, our versions of happiness, and what it means to move forward from grief.

I didn't expect it to involve cults and seedy dive bars.

I didn't expect this romance novel to be a secret love letter to writing romance novels.

And most of all, I didn't expect it to be so darn heartwarming...with just the right a sprinkle of cynicism.

January and Gus are each others' perfect foils: one is a romance novel writer navigating the unfamiliar territory of grief, and the other is a brooding literary novelist bent on writing the next Great American Novel. Two different sides of the same coin. Their chemistry and banter are top-notch, but more than that, they understand each other on such a deep level that you can't help but fall in love with them, too.

Beach Read ended up having a lot more depth than the sunny cover and premise lets on. It still has all the good stuff you'd want in a romance novel, but more. Highly recommended!

Just when I thought it’d take me days, maybe even weeks before I’d get so consumed with a book and it’s story—along comes Beach Read in all its glory and punches me with the feels.

Beach Read was my first Emily Henry book I’ve read and I was blown away. Don’t let the cover fool you, this isn’t some light and fun story. It’s a raw, but beautiful romance that has a lot of depth and emotion and I loved it so much.

January and Gus are two broken individuals. They are both published authors in neighboring beach homes. January writes romance and writes about happiness and her characters finding their happily ever after. But her recent life events have left her questioning everything she once believed in, and it’s making it difficult for her to write the romance she’s good at. Gus writes fiction and he searches for the dark and uncomfortable things and pours his words into literary fiction. January and Gus decide to switch genres as a bet to see who can write and sell a book first. And in order to do this, they end up spending a lot of time together and go on adventures to help each other out.

I loved the friendship January and Gus developed. I loved how they could be open and honest with each other and they challenged each other in the best ways. I really loved the slow burn romance between these two, watching them falling slowly in love was one of my favorite things. I loved their witty banter and I can’t tell you how many times they had me laughing.

Beach Read had me smiling then laughing then crying then swooning and laughing and crying some more. It’s not your perfect romance, but that’s what makes it so much better. It’s a romance that’s raw and real and filled with imperfections. It’s about two broken people finding happiness with each other. I’m so in love with January and Gus and their beautiful romance. They managed to chip a chunk of my heart and call their own. This book is 100% being added to my best of 2020 shelf. A definite MUST READ!

3.5 stars for Beach Read. The cover and title lead you to believe that this is a light summer read but the book was a bit dark at times. January and Gus were college rivals and are both published authors who (coincidently) find themselves living next door to each other one summer. The plot is mostly predictable but both January & Gus are managing some pretty heavy emotional baggage. At the start of the book, they have a jokey banter between them which is is annoying and feels forced. Also the story has a side storyline that has the two writers researching a burned out religious cult commune that just feels like a wrong turn that adds nothing to the story. The ending was as expected but the characters became much more endearing and I found myself cheering them on.

January writes best selling romance and never has experienced a romance of her own. She inherits the beach house and decides to spend some time out there as she needs to focus on writing the her next big book! Augusts is an acclaimed literary writer - they went to school with one another and have not seen or spoken to one another since until now.

This is a light and playful story of a two writers who spend the summer together.

A fun, slightly quirky romantic comedy with an amusing premise and good writing. Appealing though not exceptional.

This book was very well written so I had to give it 4 stars. But, the story line just wasn't for me. I do enjoy this authors work and was really looking forward to this one because there are so many good reviews for this one, it just wasn't for me.

Emily Henry’s adult debut is quite possibly perfect. I read it in one sitting. I am tempted to pick it back up and read it again now, minutes after finishing it, just for fun. Then I’m going to reread it to explore the hard feelings it brought up in me about life and art. And then I want to use it as a craft textbook to figure out how it is so completely magic.

This is my first book by Emily Henry, and I'm so excited to read more of her work! I loved January and Gus so much and I never wanted to put this book down. I went into the story thinking it was just a cute rom-com (which I of cource love), but it ended up being so much more than that. There were times where it was lighthearted and happy, but there were also times where it was hearbreaking and you felt like crying (or in my case, actually did cry).

January and Gus are so insanely different from one another, but honestly that's what made them fit together so perfectly! January adores happily ever afters, while Gus kills off all of his characters. They're currently both suffering from major writer's block and living next to each other in neighboring beach houses for the next three months, which is just about the only connection they have. Until one evening when they strike a deal that is intended to get them out of their writing ruts: January has to write the next Great American Novel, while Gus has to write something that actually has a happy ending. January takes Gus on adventures worthy of the most popular romcoms, while Gus has January interviewing former members of a death cult. I honestly can't think of a better recipe for the most perfect love story.

The chemistry between Gus and January was everything and I loved all of their banter. They're both dealing with their own grief and heartbreak, but they help each other get through it. Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite romance tropes and January and Gus' relationship is now one of my favorites within this trope. This was such an emotional, but beautiful story and I'm really looking forward to reading Emily Henry's next romance!

Thank you so much to Berkley and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Beach Read was a lot of fun to read, and was the perfect beach read! I flew through this book and absolutely loved getting to know the characters. I loved their "research" dates and enjoyed the love interests banter. I would definitely read another book by this author.