Good. Interesting characters and idea as it shows how writers work on their stories and the stresses they go through. Nice romantic read.

5 SHINY, WONDERFUL, FILLED WITH TEARS OF JOY STARS!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Beach Read is quite possibly my favourite book I’ve read this year so far, and it has definitely made its way to my top 5 all time favourite books!

"Bad things don't dig down through your life until the pit's so deep that nothing good will ever be big enough to make you happy again. No matter how much shit, there will always be wildflowers."

I went into this book without any specific expectations, I only wanted to read it and let the story envelop and surprise me. And I could not be more pleased!

Beach Read follows January and Gus, both published writers who have found themselves struggling to put their next story onto paper due to mishaps in their personal life. And so they make a bet to finish writing their books by the end of summer and see who can sell it first. If a story about people who write stories doesn’t already scream INCREDIBLE at you, then you should also know that Beach Read will give you two amazingly well developed and lovable characters, heartwarming moments, people and relationship development, and so much more!

Emily Henry writes a love story like I’ve never seen before. I fell in love with January and Gus, but I also felt their pain, and their hurt, and the sympathy they have for each other over the inevitable things life has thrown at them. Emily Henry wrote so many hauntingly beautiful passages in this book - that I could so closely relate to/feel - that I don’t think I will ever forget them for as long as I shall live.

Gus and January both feel so real and like characters someone can easily relate to, maybe not with the specifics of their back stories, but just through how human they feel and how their worries about life and relationships and their weariness about what the world really is and what being alive means; how all of this passes from them to the reader in a way that makes you feel understood.

This is such a well written, joyful, uplifitng, captivating story that also deals with the pains and realities of life and reading it has left me extremely content. A story I didn’t know I needed but am so extremely thankful I had a chance to read and will forever hold with me in that part of my heart that stores all the greatest things.

Here’s to happy endings!

I couldn't make up my mind about this book as I struggled, initially in particular, to get into.. I found it rather convoluted and for me didn't flow particularly well. Quite intense main characters with convoluted pasts which they were struggling to come to terms with. The plot panned out rather predictably even if it took a while to get there.

HOWWW have I never read an Emily Henry book?! Seriously?! How?!
AMAZING.

I just finished this book and I am basically thanking the literary gods for this book - a book about people writing books is always a winner for me, and January was basically my hero, seriously I loved her. I want a movie of this book already.

January Andrews is a romance writer who loves happily ever afters, until her own life crashes and burns around her. One year on shes trying to piece together whats left of her life, write a book for her agent that she doesn't wanna write, and figure out her dads hidden secrets. There she meets Gus, Augustus, who she briefly knew at college and now lives next door to (also an author).

Seriously amazing, no spoilers from me, it needs a read! Beautifully written and so well thought out, and I am now definitely on the hunt for more Emily Henry books.

Really struggled getting into this. I was hoping to be swept away into a nice ready fun read but it felt darker than I expected and January was a character that I struggled to connect with.

Not for me, but I'm sure I'm in the minority.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book. This is my honest opinion.

There is nothing objectively bad about this book. It's an interesting premise - a romance writer and a literary fiction writer deciding to switch genres to write their own books. The execution, unfortunately, is flawed.

'Beach Read' has a lot of strings involved. There's an enemies to friends to lovers dynamic, which is punctuated with the heavy trauma that both of them carry, there's the deadbeat dads that both characters still hold in their minds, there's the topics of the books - one of which is based on the horrific true story of a cult - which don't gel at all with the genre of the book. It's far too much and none of them are paid off well through the writing. After about 100 pages, every chapter just feels like a re-write of the previous one, just with slightly different words. There's so few central characters involved that you can only read about them for so long with their one-dimensional problems before you want to put the book down again.

It feels like Henry wanted to write a 'different' rom-com book: one with depth and intensity about it, so it couldn't just be classed as your classic women's fiction novel. But it's just not very well done. I think that it needed to be stripped back again and re-thought. I'd have been far more interested in two novelists going against each other when they swapped genres and falling in love - the other clutter just needs to be pushed away.

While this is packaged as a romantic comedy, the book has a lot going for it. It has quirky main characters who are the result of their very different childhoods., it has some laugh out loud moments, it has a good supporting cast, it has sadness and loss at it’s core, and it has some very well written sex. What is not to like?
I’d recommend this book and I thank the author, the publishers and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it prior to publication in the UK (Beach Road is an American book.)

I really enjoyed this. But... I have some issues. The title: it didn’t quite fit, the novel was darker in tone than suggested. The challenge: all the talk about writing kept reminding me I was reading one of the genres being discussed. Having said that, I did like the way the writer deliberately veered of from the rules, which I realised was the whole point and that did make for an interesting read. I didn’t really need the sex scene to be spelt out for me but I think some people like that in a love story.

I loved this book!!

When January's father dies she discovers he had a whole secret second life, so when hers starts falling apart and she is struggling with writers block she decides to move into her father's second house for the summer to focus on finishing her book.

She soon realises that her new grumpy neighbour is actually Gus, the guy she knew and fancied in college and one drunken night later she has made a deal, they each need to write a book in the other's genre. To do this they need to do research. Gus takes January to see the darker side of life, whilst January takes Gus to learn all about romance on the condition that she doesn't fall in love with him.

I really enjoyed Gus' and January's story and found it easy to care about them both and want their happy ever after. This is a great, easy read, perfect for anytime you want to escape for a bit!

Beach Read by Emily Henry a refreshing five-star read. This is one of those stories that will keep you hooked, its witty and funny, and the dialogue is so good you can see the sparks coming off the page. This was not what I was expecting, it turned out to be so much more, this will be the perfect each read, but it will also be a perfect read at other times as well. Gus and January seem like the couldn’t be more opposite of each other, under the surface but as you read you learn the truth. Don’t miss this great story, and I for one will be checking for more from this author as I loved every word.

January writes romance Gus writes the opposite.. They were at school together but she thought he hated her and he thought the same about her. They meet up years later and bet each other they can't write a book about the others genre.. Quite enjoyed the book until the last chapter when I couldn't read it for all the repeated words and jumbled up letters so couldn't get to finish. I know it;'s probably a proof but it would have been better if I could have finished

DNF @ 54%.

I don’t even know where to start. I’m no expert when it comes to marketing but even I know that cover shouts light, easy-going rom-com rather than angst-filled romance which could also pass as the life and times of an author. Not for me.

Perfect book for the summer by the pool. It was fantastic to read. I couldn’t put it down. It was well written. Nice and easy to read. Idyllic location that made you just wish you were right there.

very good book I enjoyed to see the ups and downs of January and Gus whether they would both get their happy ever after end or not.

This is a beach read. Easy, enjoyable and fun. Good characters who engendered empathy. What is not to like. I read it in two chunks

Oh, I LOVED this book.

January Andrews and Augustus Everett - from their names to the way the story was told, there's so much about this book that made it feel like I was following two YA characters into their thirties, and I mean that in the best possible way. There is a rawness and honesty to YA that we sometimes lose in adult fiction, and it's here in spades.

I loved that the author started with a lovely, hooky concept, and then kind of threw any thoughts of plot away and let the characters run with it. None of it felt cliched at all, which could have so easily happened especially in the bits where they live out typical romcom experiences. The dialogue is fantastic, the character development a complete delight.

I read this over the course of one night and one morning just wrapped up in my duvet, completely invested in Gus and January's story. They're both such wonderful, messy, human, lovable characters, and they fizz with genuine warmth. I couldn't tell you which character I loved more, but love that I got to live them both for a while.

Emily, you are fabulous.

A nice easy read perfect for chick lit lovers and a perfect companion for the beech. A fairly predictable story but a nice simple read.

Two people who are totally different. January, such a romantic, trying desperatley to finish her next book, publisher waiting in the wings.
Gus, a very serious writer, not into fairytale romance at all.
Both are suffering from 'writers block'. Neither know how to start again.....until they make a bet. They are going to swap writing genres, Gus to write romance and January to write a hard book.
It's a witty and clever book and I enjoyed reading the many ideas that the two came up with.
Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy.

Chalk And Cheese Or Cheese And Chutney....?
January and Augustus. Chalk and cheese? Or cheese and chutney? It turns out that these two seemingly opposites have way more common ground than either think. A delightful, romantic, amusing and well written tale which will have you smiling and egging the protagonists on to the end. A wholly satisfying read.

Thanks Netgalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

My first 5 star read of the year and I couldn't be happier! :)

January had a perfect life. Perfect family. Perfect job. Perfect boyfriend. Then one day, everything falls apart when her father dies and she finds out he had an affair. When she has no other choice, she decides to go to the beach house her father left her. She thinks it's the perfect opportunity to finish the book she was supposed to have finished months ago. Then, she finds out her neighbor, Gus, is an old colleague from university who's also a writer, but instead of the HEA books January writes, he writes literary fiction. So they decide to make a bet in which she has to write a dark book and he must write a romance.

I loved this book so damn much that I don't even know where to begin, but I'll try. Well, this was my first book by this author (and I already want to read all of them, even though they are from a different genre) and I loved her writing. It's so gripping! The book flew by and when I finished, I just wanted to go back to the beginning.

The dialogues were so funny. I laughed out loud in several occasions, so I'm glad I read this one at home, otherwise I'd be extremely embarrassed. The way January and Gus's relationship develops is so natural, cute and angsty. They had so much chemistry and yet they had the perfect friendship. I just had heart eyes emoji the whole damn time.

Also the relationship with her family and best friend, Shadi, are amazing (She's hilarious, I would definitely read a book with her as a MC). All the process of grieving and trying to understand her father's attitudes and her relationship with him was just so moving and raw. I almost felt the same as her, because of how genuine the writing felt. Gus is also an incredible character and I loved the way he evolved throughout the novel.

This book made me laugh, cry, laugh-cry and it brought me so many emotions that I cannot recommend it enough. If you love romance, drama, laughter and HEA, you should definitely read this one.