Not a bad read, not the greatest. As with so many of this genre, the ending is clearly telegraphed in about the first 50 pages, but it's an easy, escapist read (just what I need at the moment) and the characters were interesting and engaging enough to keep me going.

This book is *all* over Instagram at the moment, and for good reason: it really is an ideal 'beach read.' Beach Read follows two rival authors (January, who writes romance, and Gus, who writes dark literary fiction) who both have writer's block and need to finish their novels by the end of the summer. So they place a bet on who will finish their manuscript first – with the caveat that they have to swap genres.

Beach Read hits all the right notes you need in a rom-com. It's romantic (the main character is a romance author, after all). It's actually laugh-out-loud funny. And although we know we're probably going to get a happy ending, there are plenty of twists and turns along the way – including sub-plots covering more serious topics – to keep you reading and guessing and rooting for January and Gus.

Beach Read by Emily Henry is just that. It was enjoyable and light and predictable. The characters were interesting but not really complex.. However it was a pleasant way to pass some time while self-isolating. Part of me felt that there were two books going on here (appropriately enough considering the plot) and that is perhaps what caused the feeling that everything was too easy and straightforward; there just wasn't enough space to unpack all the strands fully.

The premise was good, two different authors getting inspiration from each other and writing new and interesting books. Even the back story for them was OK, meeting at college, messy family lives, etc. But the book gets very self indulgent and over analyses the same situations over and over again. So what if her father had an affair, you will end up saying. In the big scheme of things it is small fry compared to the childhood Gus had. Could have been better....

I have given this read 3 stars on the rating however if I could award half stars I would have given 3.5 stars.

I really enjoyed the different relationships portrayed within this book and I was intrigued by the raw emotions explored. You can really feel the unrest and distress from the two main characters and their pasts.

Whilst I enjoyed the idea of the characters swapping genres there were unfortunately some areas of the story which for me just didn’t seem to fit and were abit unnecessary (the cult etc) and I wanted to scurry past them and carry on with the rest of the book which I was enjoying.

There were some laughs mostly near the beginning and there was also a chapter nearer the end that actually had me tearing up which I wasn’t expecting and I felt this was a great section of the book.

From the book cover shown here and the book title I was expecting a completely different story to the one told however I did overall enjoy it.

This was such a great story! I loved how unexpectedly normal the characters were, how he wasn’t classically romcom gorgeous, and how she really explored her feelings and thoughts in the wake of her imploding world. Such a neat, unique story! Loved it.

All of my favourite things, books, writing, seaside setting, family intrigue and the slow burn romance. Fantastically done, highly recommend. Thanks NetGalley!

What happens when two authors of different genre dare each other to write a book in the others genre? Each offer training to the other in writing the different stories, and there is a prize for the winner. Mix in with that a local bookshop, terrible coffee, bookclubs and a budding romance. I’d like to see this happen in real life, I think it would be fun! A great read.

I haven't read Emily Henry before, so thank you to Netgalley for the AVC in return for an honest review. I picked this book from the list as it looked like a really simple quick read. How wrong I was - this is a really funny, romantic (and sometimes a bit risque!) story of a couple finding each other at the right time in their lives and their journey towards realising each other's feelings. I couldn't wait to see what happened and really enjoyed it.

An enjoying read that kept my attention throughout! I enjoyed the developing relationship between the 2 main characters as developed throughout the book! Would be intrigued to read more by this author.

A cracking easy read and enjoyable book. Not a book that has to saved for the sunlounger. Its funny and well written and there its definitely more than a chick lit story.

This book didn't meet my expectations and I'm bummed about it. It's not a bad book in any way, but from what I read in the premise I was expecting to find a new favourite and instead I only found an okay read. It's such an annoying feeling when this happens.

Anyway, let's talk about the actual book.
I was drawn to the fact that the main characters are both authors and that they decide to swap genres and see who can finish and sell their book faster. It was a cute and fun idea, but unfortunately we didn't really get to see a lot of it. The plot of the book January was writing was mentioned a handful of times, whereas Gus' was totally forgotten because we weren't given his POV in the story. Something more would have been nice.

January and Gus' relationship is quite complicated to sum up, in my opinion. On the one hand, I liked their conversations and how they could both make fun of each other and also be there for the other in times of need. On the other hand though, I think their relationship felt a bit forced in some moments. The author was trying to sell it to us, but this didn't feel to me like a slow-burn romance. It felt more like an on-and-off romance, in the sense that sometimes it was there and sometimes there really was nothing to drive it forward.
I appreciated how the author included both main characters' inner turmoils, but at times it truly was like I was reading parts of a whole other book. I had these fluffy and cute parts and then these other heavy and serious ones and to my eyes they were just not blended well together, the story just didn't flow naturally in some parts.

Overall I truly expected more from this story.

This book follows January, a 30 year old romance author who's just lost her dad. At his funeral she finds out that he was having an affair and has left his secret lake house to her. While at the lake house January meets Gus, her nemesis and former arch rival from writing school...and he just happens to be her next door neighbour

I loved everything about this book. I loved the heavier topics, the focus on romance as a genre in a meta way and, most importantly, I loved Gus the tortured author love interest. I think I have a type when it comes to these things, and mysterious, brooding artist types are that type

I loved that the protagonist and love interest in this book actually used their words and communicated. That's one of my least favourite things in books, especially romance: miscommunication. But if that ever started to happen in this book, if there were crossed wires, the characters then talked like grown ups and angels sang in my brain

I'd highly recommend this is you're a fan of adult romance, or you're looking for some escapism into the genre

TW: parental death, parental illness (cancer), mention of cults and related abuses, mention of child abuse

A perfect laugh out loud read for the summer. It's a feel good read that you struggle to put down once you start it.

Was excited to read this book based on the description and the recommendations from other authors and reviewers. It tells the story of January, a hopeless romantic who has writers block and escapes to a lake house she inherits from her Dad to escape from it all. Here she meets her neighbour Gus who believes that love is just a fairy tale - and oh who also happens to be her college crush!

I must admit that I found the story quite predictable as you do figure out pretty early on what is going to happen and it does feel a little bit dragged out to get to that point and then rushed once it’s actually happened.

That being said the genuine connection between the characters is written very well and you can relate to them both. Ironically my favourite part of the whole book doesn’t revolve around the central plot but instead around the letters from January’s Dad, this was a beautiful touch to the book and, having lost my dad at a very similar age, it definitely struck a chord.

Overall it is an easy read and will definitely be perfect for reading in the sunshine on a beach - just like the title says!

Instagram: @theressomethingaboutbooks23

This book was fantastically written and unbelievably enchanting. It deals with so many difficult subjects and realistic, complicated characters while still remaining a sweet and heartwarming read. I love that this was a book about writing, as well as a cute romance. Absolutely adorable and I will 100% be picking up a copy of this book when it comes out.

Beach Read was a perfect antidote to the everyday stress of living in quarantine, which we all are at the moment. It was fluffy and fun but also dug that little bit deeper to explore grief, love and loss. The romance aspect of the book worked perfectly, the sex scenes were very well-written and the explorations into love and longer lasting relationships added an extra layer of will they-won't they.

I was hooked from the very beginning, as January arrived at her late father's beach house and started to explore the wild mix of emotions that had been dogging her since his death including the bombshell of discovering Sonya, a woman he'd been cheating on her mother with, at his funeral, . Henry manages to keep the book easily readable while digging into January's emotional state and the circumstances that created it. I thought the depictions of young January were extremely relatable and were at such odds with the protagonist as she now is.

The story follows January and (sexy evil) Gus as they try to beat writer's block by taking on the other's genre. As a writer there were parts of January's process that made me stop to take notes and I think any book lover will adore reading how an autobiographical story can become fiction, how research can be spun into narrative - a little peek into the experience of writing a novel! Both characters are well drawn and complex and the evolution of their relationship is realistically and satisfying paced. The format of each of them trying to ‘teach’ the other their genre in the way of research missions was cute, particularly as it allowed them to go on a variety of interesting ‘dates’.

I would have liked to see a little more of the other characters, particularly Shadi and Pete, and there were moments where I felt that I couldn't quite follow January and Gus' decisions and motivations. Particularly near to the end I felt that we began rushing a little bit and I felt that there were a few interesting experiences that never quite got fully unpacked. That said, I thought this was a wonderful read and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

I received a free copy of the novel from Netgalley in return for an honest review. My only issue was that the formatting at the end of the Netgalley Kindle document was incorrect so it was extremely difficult to properly read the ending of the novel. I think I read it in the right order in the end though!

This was a quirky, hot and thoroughly enjoyable read. Lots of undercurrents and nothing as it seems, with a fascinating thread running through. My kind of conclusion.

Beach Read was a cute story, but it could have been so much more… January was very relatable and instantly lovable, and pre-hook up Gus is positively swoony. The dynamics and banter of their relationship were just brilliant, sexy and funny, and I devoured the first half of the book. But then they get together and everything is drama and miscommunication and after they make up it’s so cheesy I honestly felt I was reading a different book.

One thing I loved was the conversations between January and Gus about the “women fiction” genre and how stupid it is to separate it from “fiction” just because the author/protagonist is a woman. I wholeheartedly agree with a lot of what the author says here, although I also think that wrapping these stories in pastel colours with stylishly drawn cartoons in the cover doesn’t exactly help end with this pointless division.

Another problem I had, and this was a formatting/editing problem with my file, is that my book had two endings, and I have no idea which one is the real one… So when I finally reached the epilogue, my file alternated normal font lines with bold lines, and at first I read them one after another and it was obviously very confusing, but then I realised what was going on and went back and read the “normal” and the “bold” endings separately and I really hope the real ending is the more nuanced one, because the other one was way, way too much (a 2-star rating at best).

Despite all my problems with the ending, the first half of the book is brilliant, the story as a whole is ok and the characters are quite interesting, so I still recommend this book to all romance fans out there.

January's father has died, leaving behind the revelation that while apparently happily married to her mother, he was involved in a long-term relationship with another woman and shared a house with her. He leaves the house to January and she, needing to complete a novel and short of money, moves to the house. On her first evening, she meets her grumpy neighbour...
It transpires that he is a fellow author and someone she knew from college. Both thought the other despised them...
A sweet story, with a few twists and turns before, as expected, it ends happily ever after