This was exactly what I needed after taking two months to read The Well of Ascension. A quick read that also had some really heartfelt moments besides the swoony romance.

Beach Read follows January, a romance writer and literary fiction author, Gus, her college rival. When they coincidentally find out their beach houses are right next to each other, they become more friendly. Both are in writing ruts so they make a bet to switch genres. Gus will learn all about meet-cutes and happily-ever-afters while January is introduced to interviewing cult survivors and writing about the bleak. The winner will be the first person to sell their manuscript.

January used to be a happy go lucky woman that believed in true love, but she’s a bit more cynical when we meet her at the start of the book. I don’t want to give too much away but her situation has made her not in the right headspace for writing romance. She’s such a fun person to read about but she is also dealing with a lot and feels quite lonely. Besides YA I don’t think I’ve really read about someone that feels lonely.

Gus is also an interesting character. He’s had a rough past which makes him a bit rough around the edges and doesn’t trust easily. He starts out by being quite gruff but when you learn about him you can’t help but understand.

You could consider this a ‘hate to love’ but there isn’t much hate, more disdain and misunderstanding. I adored Gus’s and January’s banter. It’s an instant way that I’ll buy into a romance. They do it throughout the book but the conversations definitely get a lot sweeter and head me melting into a puddle.

I’d recommend to people who want to get into romance but don’t want to read solely about a relationship. A lot of this book deals with grief as well as grappling with memories that are tainted by the truth. I don’t want to say too much more as I don’t want to give it all away, but it added some depth to what is still a phenomenal romance, but makes it stand out a bit more in my mind.

I may even have to buy a copy of this.

An unexpected romance between two very different writers. Romantic novelist January Andrews goes to stay at the peaceful beach resort of North Bear Shores, USA, trying to meet the deadline for her latest book. Her next-door neighbour is Gus Everett, an author who definitely doesn't do happy endings. He was also her college crush. Both having writer's block, they decide to swap genres. As they get to know each other better, they begin to fall in love and the reader discovers why each writes in their chosen genre. An amusing and tender story, well-told. Great summer read.

I enjoyed this book. Would have liked to read a bit more about Sonya though.
Unlike some of the other reviews I understood why it was called beach read after nearing the end of the book out became clear.

Good book which was easy to get into and quick to read. Thanks Netgalley.

[Gifted]
This was such a fun rom-com! I love the set-up - a romance writer and a literary fiction writer challenge each other to write in their genres during a summer of writer's block - which allowed for lots of discussion of the publishing world and literary tropes. Augustus and January had a lot of chemistry, and I really enjoyed spending time with them. I'll definitely be reading more by Emily Henry.

I just loved this book. It was a 'can't put down' one for me. I wanted to be there with the main characters, What a great story. Take it on holiday with you if you're lucky enough to be going away

TW: cults, implied physical abuse

The perfect mix of romance and dark literary fiction. The dark elements were well thought out and creepy enough for the book without becoming a dark book.
The characters were well written, with backstory, history and their romantic relationship was surprisingly steamy!

I've not read any of Emily Henry's books before, but I'll be looking her up to read more based on this.

Thanks for NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book, in exchange for an honest review.

Beach Read was a wonderful blend of light and fun aspects you would expect to find in a rom com as well deep and meaningful ones that come when people are dealing with loss, grief and heartache.

This story was everything I didn't even know I was craving and so much more. It had a stong frenemies lovers vibe with a competitive edge. January and Gus we're constantly butting heads and daring each other to step out their comfort zones in their profession lives as well as dealing with their personal ones. Being a story about two writers who have hit a bit of a mind block with their current projects I loved how this seamlessly wove in both their thoughts as writers as well as conveying how readers feel when enjoying a book. This story was about opening yourself up to new possibilities, dealing with hardships and finding ways to forgive as well as understand and opening yourself back up to all the things you once closed off.

Once I started reading this book I found I just could not put it down amd flew through it. I found it so easy to read. I swooned, laughed, cried and swooned some more.

Absolutely loved this - read this from start to finish with a giant cheesy grin on my face. A book to make readers happy! Addictive reading and pure escapism. What's not to love?

Everyone knows the moment that a book says no one will fall in love the exact opposite is going to happen.  It's like a rule. But the getting there, each journey is different.  And I have to say I love their journey.  I can't say that this is a coming of age book, (our characters are a little too old for that) but it is definitely a journey of self discovery for both our main characters
However for a book called Beach Read, there was, for me, a surprisingly small amount of beach.  They do however visit the burned out site of the death cult which a little horrific for a romance novel but somehow it also added to the romance of the story.  Two people alone in a tent far away from anyone else? Romantic
I wish that we could have seen more of both novels that our characters were writing.  I think we only saw Gus' right at the very end.  But January's … I wanted to see more of that great American novel that she was penning.
Overall I loved the book.  The meet cute was a loud, sobbing mess; the falling in love montage was a perfect mix of Ferris wheels, throwing up and interviewing cult members and when they finally confess their feelings … well, I'll leave that for you to discover.

This book was such an unexpected treat. I went in expecting a funny, lighthearted romance and that's not quite what it was. It deals with sadness and tragedy, but somehow it still found myself smiling throughout. It was heartwarming. Some may think the title is a bit misleading, but I loved the incongruence of the title. Beach Read questions the expectations that come with reading certain types of novels, whether they are labeled "for women", or "beach reads" and then dismissed. January (and maybe the actual author) sets out to write a beach read, and ends up on a different type of journey. Gus takes a parallel journey, but in reverse. Can he write a book with a happy ending, and how does he define that?  The juxtaposition of January's personal and professional journey with Gus’s writing and worldview results in a book that embraces the range of themes from dark to romantic, tragic to lighthearted, the good and the bad, all intertwined. The characters were relatable, the story in itself was full of compassion. A perfectly timed read for this moment where we need something to relate to our common pain and struggle, while we also desperately need something to make us goofily smile. This book achieves both.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is not your average Summer chick lit read! I'd heard some really great things about this title so I just had to request it and give it a go myself. And it did not disappoint!

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin UK for providing me an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
I struggled to get into this book and found it a bit hard going. 
"Beach Read" is about two writers that writers block and find each other on a beach side town in Michigan
The story itself, was fine and I particularly liked January and her relationship with her family and how they dealt with the changes that came after the death of her father. It seemed honest and truthful.  However saying that something was missing. I do like Romance genres but this was a bit slow.

I was given a free copy of the book in return for a fair review.
I didn’t know much about Beach Read but had seen some favourable early reviews. I wasn’t sure what to expect to begin with, but ended up really enjoying the story and likeable characters. The exploration of romantic tropes throughout the plot made it a refreshing take on the classic romantic novel, with a structure that left me completely satisfied.

What an adorable book !! Don’t expect your usual romance with loads of comedy and certainly don’t get deceived by the cover and the title . This book seems to be light read but it is so much more than that and I love when book surprises me like that . This gives the book so much opportunity to shine and Beach Read just does that . No wonder it is so popular among the readers . Gus and January are the characters that stay with the readers for a long period of time and such is the beauty of the characters .

The book begins as Gus and January as a broken writers and who are on break from life as well but then they meet and they start at a wrong footing but then things escalate and voila readers see them turning into writing buddies and challenging themselves as writers . There interactions is just icing on the cake . January mentions , ‘AS DIFFERENT AS I’D THOUGHT WE WERE, IT FELT A LITTLE BIT LIKE GUS AND I WERE TWO ALIENS WHO’D STUMBLED INTO EACH OTHER ON EARTH ONLY TO DISCOVER WE SHARED A NATIVE LANGUAGE.’ They understand each other at subconscious level . Gus has officially made his way to my book boyfriend’s list. He is grumpy yet so sweet and makes me fall in love with him just like he makes January fall for him . One particular line he says that tugs at my heart , “WHEN I WATCH YOU SLEEP,” HE SAID SHAKILY, “I FEEL OVERWHELMED THAT YOU EXIST.” 

I certainly don’t like delving into much details of the book and hence my reviews are short because I believe that we just need a push for a book , rest of the magic the book is capable of doing . But I would definitely recommend you picking up , Beach Read . This is not only one of my favorite books of this year but it is also gonna be my all-time favorite romance books! I’m so happy my great written romantic fiction craving is over!

A very sweet story about January who is clearing out her late father holiday property and bumps into a old friend from college.  January is a writer and has struggled to write and even deal with her feelings about her father.  There were a few light moments and it had a very satisfying ending. I would seek out more books by the same author.

Thank you to NetGalley & publisher for the copy in exchange for a honest review.

A romance to fall in love with
Beach Read has so many of the elements I’d expect of a light summer read, but there’s a glimpse of darkness within that actually makes this so much more engaging than you might expect it to be.
Our main character, January, has always felt like someone who believes in love and its power to transform us. She writes romance and has always looked for her happy ending. But when we see her things aren’t going quite to plan. She is struggling to write, she is grieving her father and yet trying to reconcile herself to the discovery that her father had a secret second life.
Upon arriving at his second hideaway home, January is nervous about what she’ll find. Nothing could prepare her for the discovery that her new neighbour is an old college acquaintance, Gus.
Like January Gus is a writer. But we quickly see that, like January, things in his life aren’t quite going to plan.
What follows is quite obvious - they slowly form a new bond, breaking down the barriers each had in place and eventually starting a relationship each has secretly harboured dreams of since they first met.
The interaction between these two was great fun. Seeing two such different outlooks and the little bet to each write a book in the style of the other gave it an interesting twist. Not everything runs smoothly, but it always feels like we’ll end up where we hope.
A huge thank you to NetGalley for granting me access to this prior to publication. I loved it!

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. I loved this book. Once elin hilderbrand recommended it, I knew I would enjoy it. Anything revolving around a beach is my favorite kind of story! Some parts were confusing with all the back story and trying to keep it all straight, but I really enjoyed this book

Sorry, not my kind of book. 
Too much self-flagellation and overexplaining that I found irritating. 
Gus'  over-description of physical characteristics pretty much every time he was in a scene was over-the-top - there's no need to mention his crooked smile, dark eyes, and ruffled hair every single time. We remember, we get it.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin UK for providing me an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the discussion of the romance genre that is part of this book, but I didn't really care for the romance itself.

"Beach Read" is a romance about two writers of different genres that are suffering from a block and (re)find each other in a beach side town in Michigan. But it's more than that: it's also a validation of the romance genre, and that was wonderful.

What I mean by validation is that it's discussed as a genre wth value in itself, and not a lesser genre compared to others, such as literary fiction. In fact, it's not a lesser genre, it's just different. And if it makes people happy, if it gives them joy, what's the matter if they would prefer to read a romance over a heavier book? To me, there is none, and seeing that discussed in this book was amazing. Besides being meta, since this is a romance book, which is funny to me, it opens up a great discussion about things that are seen as "for women" being put down, and "why are they for women? men can't enjoy romances as well?", which is important and validating for a romance reader and the romance genre in general.

As for the story itself, it was cute but I was not invested in the romance. I was invested in January, I liked her, her relationship with her family and how dealt with that and all the changes that came with the death of her father. It seemed realistic, and relatable in some way, and I definitely felt for her.

On the other hand, Augustus wasn't all that, in my opinion, and neither was their relationship with each other. I don't really know what was missing for me (maybe less drama?), but it's clearly a personal preference, because so many people loved this book and loved the romance.

In the end, although I didn't really care for the romance itself, I think "Beach Read" is perfect for romance readers, and recommend it.

I enjoyed a lot about Beach Read – the two authors, the small town setting, the hate-to-love romance – but for me, too much was packed into the story, and there was too much back story to the characters that took me away from January and Gus as a couple. It just wasn't for me, personally. I was looking for a cute romantic comedy in the vein of The Flatshare, so perhaps I need to stick to British rom-coms!