What a lovely story within a story. This isn’t your average love story, it’s better, it’s real.
Both main characters were full of depth and had as many flaws as they did adorable quirky bits and the “extras” were like everyone’s version of an extended family.
This book is a charmer, and an ideal “Beach Read”

A cute, charming romance that is perfect for the summer. I enjoyed the characters and found the whole thing really easy to pick up and read. The interplay between characters and small-town setting was just what the doctor ordered, too. Fun!

Sadly this wasn't for me. Really, really wanted to love it but I found it too fast for me and I felt like I had to keep re-reading bits to know what was happening. The style of writing just wasn't for me. I did enjoy the characters and the storyline but just not the fast and wordy pace of it.

Thank you Penguin Books and Netgalley.

When January Andrews' father dies and she discovers that he had a secret lover, everything she believes to be true is destroyed. A romantic fiction author, she can no longer find the will to write about happy ever after. She moves to her father's lake house, and discovers that her neighbour is her old college nemesis, Gus. Cynical and patronizing, they have a strange pull for one another, but also a deep animosity.

Gus is a writer, but his fiction is darker. They challenge one another to write books that are the opposite of their usual genre. He wants to show her that love is not always the answer. She wants to show him that writing about love is not as easy as he thinks it is.

As they spend more time together, and challenge one another, they can no longer fight their overwhelming attraction. They are both damaged and scared of opening their hearts. But despite everything, they come to learn that maybe love is the answer for them both. Together they discover that there is no joy to be found living in the past, or worrying about the future, all they have is now.

A romantic but very real love story that gives us hope when it seems that all is lost.

I don’t think the cover nor the title really defined the expectations (my expectations) for this novel. It isn’t a “light” read like some romantic novels are, but this one tries to be a general novel where the romance and storyline is slower and more grown-up. It isn’t a happy story either, and it tends to focus on the same points over and over again. The female character comes across as very obsessed. I did enjoy it more after the first couple of chapters, but there are areas to improve. I think it could be a better book, and the expectations need to be managed too. For me, this isn’t a book I would enjoy reading on 5e beach.

3,5 Stars

The title, the cover and the description all made me believe that this is fairly light chick-lit. But it isn't really, there is a lot of sadness, anger, helplessness, hurt, the feeling of betrayal, being not self-confident enough. Which all leads January to have a writers block - and a deadline to deliver her next funny rom-com book at the end of the summer.

I didn't mind the more serious tone and all the troubles accompanying our two protagonists. It just got a bit repetitive after a while, especially when January thinks about her Dad and his second life. It became tedious.
I also expected their 'bet' to be a bit different - that each of them would write a book for the other person. This wasn't the case, they only try to incorporate the others prefered genre into the book they are currently working on.
But apart from that the book was really ok, and I liked reading how January and Augustus become re-acquainted with each other.

I did like this book, I did think it could have been better. I really enjoyed the first half but I got a little bored about 70% through it. There were things done well and things that could have been better. The title sets up a completely different mood for the story. It makes it seem summery and happy, the book is not all that happy. It's not a fluffy romance, there are some hard hitting topics and scenes.

I enjoyed the two characters and their banter, I liked the fact that they had a history it made their relationship and banter much better. The bet was interesting and I loved the competition it added and I feel it really brought them together. I do wish this took up more of the story, they did seem to lose focus on this. Both characters had interesting back stories and for me this was the best bit. They both had traumatic histories that had an impact on their views and personalities. I think them becoming close really helped them out of bad places and learn to have fun again.

One of my main issues with the book that made me feel a bit disconnected with the story was January. I had been imagining her as more plus size and learning she wasn't was disappointing.

Overall an enjoyable read, it had a lot going for it but just missed the mark a bit for me. I did like that it talked about more serious issues like grief, cheating and abuse.

The beach of Beach Read is less Caribbean and more Michigan lakeside. I googled it, and it looks beautiful! January is a successful author of romantic fiction who has gone to a beach house to get her head down and finish her novel. She finds she knows her neighbour Gus, a fellow author and they end up making a bet to swap genres. Beach Read is quite meta in that the protagonists are both authors who discuss and share their process with one another. I would have liked more examples of their attempts to swap genres and expected the ‘com’ element to arise from this but it is Emily Henry’s supporting characters who are presented affectionately and with humour. The ‘rom’ is well portrayed and I found myself rooting for a successful outcome, and January’s ‘happily ever after’.

A lovely and quirky contemporary romance, this is a great summer read. I enjoyed many elements of this book, from the lakeside location to the way the characters were written. The premise was great - two authors struggling to write their next novels decide to try writing in each other’s genres as part of a bet with each other. As they do they learn more about themselves and each other.

The only thing I really didn’t like was that on several occasions the characters drove after drinking alcohol which I thought was an unnecessary element which did not sit well with me.

I found the cover and the blurb slightly misleading - not sure I would describe this as a rom com - but didn't enjoy it any the less for that. Absorbing and quirky - a great idea well executed.

I had very high hopes for this book but I was severely underwhelmed from the very start. Not my cup of tea I'm afraid.

.5 rounded up

I struggle to find contemporary romance novels which tick all my criteria for the genre: they can't be too cheesy, the writing has to be good, no ridiculous plot points, the characters need to act like real people and I don't want to suspend my sense of disbelief too far. Not too much to ask, right? You'd think not, but I frequently abandon books from this genre because they feel too cringey and cliched and make me want to chuck them across the room.

Thankfully this wasn't the case with Beach Read. This had a bit of everything without feeling like it was covering too many bases, and felt smart at the same time. Things get a bit meta but that just adds to the fun. Unsurprisingly this would make the perfect summer beach read if you manage to go to a beach this summer, and you could definitely do a lot worse than this if you're looking for a contemporary romance to take with you. Recommended!

I absolutely loved this book! This has easily become one of my favourite romance reads, Gus and January were such a greater couple. Their tension was phenomenal, the communication was great, the angst was so well-done. This read is gorgeous and is heart wrenching in the most wonderful way ever.

I was very intrigued in the beginning until after the visit at the cinema. It just became very cliche and boring from then on. Overall I liked the couple, but they were acting so unrealisticly towards the end. It became very tedious to read from then for me.
I really enjoyed the first half though and hoped, the story would progress in a different direction.

After her father’s death and the revelation that apart from her mother, there was another woman he obviously loved, January falls into a deep hole. Hopelessly romantic as she is, she does not understand the world anymore and has to realise that her parents’ perfect marriage was far from the ideal she had always pictured it. Her mental state also keeps her from doing her job: writing romantic novels. How can you write about love when you lost all believe in it? Totally broke and to overcome her writer’s block, she moves to her father’s beach house which she plans to clear out and sell and where she hopes over summer to finish her next novel. When she arrives, another surprise is waiting for her: her neighbour Augustus Everett was at college with her and her greatest enemy. He always looked down on her Happily Ever After novels while he himself was more of the serious literary writing type. Soon, they realise that they have much more in common than they had thought and somehow they come to have a bet: swap genres and see who is the first to sell a book.

Emily Henry’s novel not only has the perfect title but it also keeps the promise that comes with it: it is a beach read just as you’d imagine: A bit of romance here, also some struggle but none too depressing there, all wonderfully narrated so that you just rush through it while enjoying the sun. It is a light-hearted escape to forget about the world and your own problems for a couple of hours and to only indulge in reading.

Even though I am not that much into com-coms, I enjoyed the book thoroughly. At times, I had to laugh out loud as the author really manages to find a carefree and relaxed tone; when in other novels you again and again read about barking dogs, in “Beach Read” you get this here: “Somewhere, a Labrador was farting. “

Even though a typical summer read which does not weigh too much on your shoulders, there are some more serious aspects one could ponder on, but clearly, the romantic fight between the protagonists is in the centre and it is clearly meant to be enjoyed.

I spent two hot, sunny days happily lost in this book. A perfect summer read. I can’t wait to see what Emily Henry brings out next.

This books is exactly what it says on the tin... a great Beach Read.

January and Gus are both writers and are also by chance living in neighbouring beach houses for the summer , both also have writers block. This is where the similarities end. The pair have been rivals since college but are both in quite different genres. January is a romance writer while Augustus (Gus) writes literary fiction. Love at first sight this is not... loath at first sight may be nearer the mark. However, after getting to know each other a bit better and a lot of drinks, a deal is agree where each writer swaps to writing the others genre and this so where the book really takes off.
I enjoyed the book and Emily Henry’s writing style. A lighthearted escapist read with some fabulous one liners, great for a staycation.

Thanks to Penguin Books, NetGalley and the author for an ARC of this book.

A sweet, contemporary romance with an added depth to the story. Our protagonists being willing and open to alter their behaviours and challenge themselves was interesting and the expansion of their reader base but staying true to themselves made the read enjoyable.

A beloved dad passes away and secrets start to unravel. Relationship with your mum becomes strained and you move into a house you never knew your dad owned. Your own long term relationship implodes and next door is your nemesis from college days.
Confusion, heartbreak and misunderstanding are par. It goes to show what you think of someone actions and the reasons behind them are not what you think. A roller-coaster of a read but you will definitely enjoy the story.

Beach Read by Emily Henry is a book that perfectly lives up to its title, a fun frothy read that manages to keep the reader engaged in the trials and tribulations of its protagonists, January and Augustus. January is a romance writer whose life has been thrown into turmoil by the death of her father and the discovery that he had been carrying on a long term affair, making a mockery of what she believed to be a perfect love story, that of her parents. When she moves to his hideaway cottage to clear it out and put it on the market, she is determined that there will be no distractions and she will knuckle down and write the book she owes her publisher, one that she has been avoiding for months, but with a submission date fast approaching and a bank account rapidly dwindling her time is running out. The last thing she expected when she moved to the small beach town was to run into a familiar face, but living just next door is Augustus., or Gus as she knew him when they were in college together. As an acclaimed author of literary fiction his style is the polar opposite to hers. but she still feels a little envious of his success, As it turns out , his latest book has hit a rut too and he is struggling with writers block just like January. As the neighbours become friends, helped along by a little local interference they come up with a challenge to help each other through the block., each of them will write a book in the other's style, helping each other along the way with research and field trips and I think you can give a pretty good guess at what happens next.
This is a really fun and engaging romance, not a genre I usually gravitate towards but one I sometimes find myself reaching for, especially in times of crisis. The characters are wonderful and full of life and vitality and their banter was a joy to read, I routinely found myself chuckling at their latest antics , from a reluctant carnival ride to a memorable line dancing experience. Each of them felt well rounded and I found myself rooting for them. not just in terms of their budding relationship, but in their careers and other aspects of their lives. I fairly flew through this book, the pacing was perfect, and giving the characters a history meant that the author could avoid the insta-love trope and instead create a relationship with some depth.
A wonderful funny and feel good book with a little depth and a lot of heart.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.