'Beach Read' got under my skin. I laughed when the characters laughed, cried when they cried. It's written with such insight and it feels just like real life. No emotion was too overbearing, the backstories incredibly plausible.

Emily Henry has such a way with words that you'll be immediately absorbed into the story. Although you're thrown into the deep end, protagonist January's story slowly comes into focus as the story progresses. The romance elements of 'Beach Read' are written tastefully and intensely - it gave me butterflies to read!

In a time where we all need to escape from real life for a bit, 'Beach Read' provides the best opportunity to do so. It's certainly the best romance novel I've read in a long time!

I loved this book so much! It was exactly what I needed right now and I'm actually already rereading it from the beginning, it was just so wonderful. The characters are authentic and relatable, you get to really know them and they just seem so real. The setting, the secondary characters (especially January's best friend, Shadi! Their friendship is one of the best thing in this book, and given that there are so many great things in Beach Read, that's definitely saying something! We don't get to know her "in person" until the last chapters, but she is always present and so well described and characterized through January's words that it was like she was present all along), the various themes touched, from daughter-father relationship, daughter-mother complicity, intimacy and conflicts, illness and how it affects a family, writer block and the creative processes of a writer (how I loved these parts!), everything was perfect. And the romance! The chemistry between January and Gus is scorching, you can almost feel it through the pages, and the fact that they have a backstory from their years in college and their rivalry-attraction only adds to the feelings and the atmosphere. I'm recommending this book to every living soul, for real. This book is a little jewel, adorable, lovely, sizzling and sparkling with all kind of positive feelings and energy, and I will pick it up again every time I need something to comfort me. Many thanks to the publisher, Penguin UK, for this advance reader copy (I actually screamed when I received the mail and I was approved! One of the best moments of these last days), and to Emily Henry, for creating this wonderful world.

Romance books can be quite transparent and full of tropes, which doesn't mean they're bad. I like knowing the main characters will end up together, or that they'll get over their initial hurdle, whatever it is. But many authors seem to take this to mean they don't have to make their characters or plotlines credible because "we all know how it will all end." This means there is good chunk of lazy romance out there that you have to get through to find absolute gems. Well, this book was a gem.

Our protagonist being a romance writer herself is a bit meta, and I enjoyed the little jokes between January and August, the defense of "women's fiction", of writing books with happy endings and the horror of having to listen to Franzen talk about his genius.

My main problem with contemporary romance is so often that secondary characters (usually the BFF) are annoying, and that the heroine's obstacle is stupid. In this case, the friend isn't there being loud and annoying every chapter, so that's not a problem and she manages to be loveable. And January's "problem" or motivator, her dad's cheating, is present enough, but doesn't overpower the plot. Well, maybe a little. However, I was never bothered by it. It seems fresh (I certainly have never read a romance book with it) and January didn't seem to overreact to it.

Augustus was quite a loveable character too. I did get annoyed at him after that first encounter on the porch; if I was kept awake by a neighbour throwing a massive party AND he talked to me with that attitude, it wouldn't have ended up in romance! That made it more interesting when he later seemed nicer and sweeter, and I loved reading about him.

One of the few things I didn't enjoy as much was the whole cult storyline. I see Augustus eventually used it for his novel, but it seemed a very disturbing story that the book didn't need. The trek to New Eden wasn't very enjoyable either, so even though I appreciate the book wasn't all laughs and had very serious undertones, I don't think either poor submissive Dave or the cult being literally on fire helped the mood.

Finally, Augustus' marital status in the end seemed to spiral into cliché pretty badly. I have no problem with him being still legally married or not, but Naomi showing up and then his speech about being able to still have a relationship with her were not the best idea. I don't think January and Gus' romance needed Naomi to show up and I don't think it added anything of value to the story. If anything, Gus saying he can basically choose between the two just makes him look a bit arrogant.

All in all, I think it's hilarious that this year's beach read is literally called "Beach Read." It is fast-paced, it is unputdownable, and it made me feel every emotion in the universe. I am very glad I read it.

I was kindly sent a link to this book, it said in the email that it would brighten my day.

I can confirm that it did indeed brighten my day (well my afternoon at least).

A brilliant mix of love, lust and laughs, those important 3 l's!

This is a book that although quite simple in its delivery, offers, happiness and hope.

Giving a fresh outlook on romance and those happy ever afters.

I didn't know what to except from this book cos I never read this author before but I was hooked from the min I started it. Loved the story line all the way through.

An easy read which almost, but just quite didn't hit the spot, and I can't put my finger on why.
A bit predictable maybe? A bit too wandering in places? I'm not sure. However, I'm glad i read it.

I absolutely loved this book! It’s so heartwarming and puts a smile on your face so many times.
I loved how closed proximity can bring January and Augustus together and make them fall in love with each moment spend together and discovering that preconceptions have to be left behind and embrace life with different eyes. Also their names no?
It is the perfect read for cold winter or long hot summer days.
A must read story.

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 really enjoyed this book. I knew that I would probably enjoy the romance that was obviously going to come into being but I equally enjoyed the way that as the book unfolded we found out more and more about the backgrounds of January and Augustus which helped us to understand why both of them were mentally and emotionally. The setting was gorgeous and such a perfect place to fall in love with the story being told. There was raunch too, much raunchiness!

As well as our main protagonists the other characters were lovely too and I think that's important in a romance. They were fully formed characters and not just background add-ons to act as props to the story. All in all, this was a really enjoyable read and had the requisite ending to any good romance book, which for me is taking a moment to imagine the characters' journey into the future and hoping that they stay just as happy as they are.

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.