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!

Actual rating: 3.5 stars. Rounded up for the excellent Reader's Guide at the end (filled with stellar book recs)

Beach Read starts off with January's perfect life crumbling in front of her, like a stack of cards being blown away. Everything falls apart after her dad's death- her 'perfect, loving' family, her love-life, her sense of being and perhaps most importantly- her ability to write (i.e her happiness and ability to pay the bills). Trying to get a grip on her life, she moves into a beach-house where she and her smexy next-door-neighbour/life-long rival, duel each other to a summer challenge of swapping genres. January has to write a literary fiction novel, whilst Gus dabbles in romance. Whoever publishes first, wins.

Except... romance and self-discovery ensue. If you're looking for a pure rom-com this isn't the book for you. Sure, there's romance and comedy but the book goes a lot deeper. It taps on letting the past go, facing your insecurities, learning to enjoy life's small moments, and relishing friendship. It was a tale more about coming to terms about putting yourself in someone else's shoes, overcoming writer's block and reclaiming your life and who you were before tragedy etc. It was so much more- and for that I loved it.

What stopped me from loving it entirely, was that at times January would run circles around the same point or 'problem' about Gus- rehashing it and not thinking it through logically, which is very realistic given Gus' subdued nature and unwillingness to open up, but when tied with her occasional understanding or momentary discoveries about him a few chapters prior- it got draining to read through. I am glad though that she forced the two of them to have a proper conversation and communicate through their pasts and fears.

Also, the number of times Gus' eyes were bought up got tedious, fast. There would be paragraphs about the way his eyes darkened or glinted or glowered etc and how his scars and imperfections knocked her out etc... We get it Gus is hot - very hot ;) What was weird was when pupils were mentioned too. Such moments, took me out of the mood because it was so random and jarring, sometimes even unintentionally funny.

<i>The car was nearly pitch-black, for God's sake. <b>His eyes shouldn't be allowed, physically or morally, to glint like that.</b> His pupils were disrespectful to the laws of nature. My skin started burning under them.</i>

---

<i>His eyes were so warm and intense on me that I was sure he could read all my thoughts, <b>everything I felt and thought about him, written on my pupils.</i></b>

What?? Um... Okay.🤣

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publishers.

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

This book made me smile while I was reading for most of the book, and then almost cry. Emily Henry does an amazing job at creating beautifully flawed, real and sympathetic characters. I loved Gus and January's banter, their honesty and chemistry.
I loved every page of this book, so if you were thinking of preordering this book, do it!

Much like my Saturday, I spent Easter Sunday in the garden flying through another brilliant book. Beach Read by @emilyhenrywrites is the absolute summer read, fun, fast-paced and full of romance. Overall it's utterly charming, a beautiful love story and the perfect escape, and if we're ever allowed to go to on holiday again then this is a sure fire pool-side read that I hope you love as much as I did. If you enjoyed One Day in December then this is one for you. It would make a great film, the perfect rom-com! The book comes out in July, so look out for it. Thank you @netgalley and @vikingbooksuk for the arc copy, loved it!!

Actual rating: 4.5

It has been a long time since I read a good, feelsy book with amazing chemistry and just the right amount of push and pull between the characters. I also loved the fact that the plot wasn't typical as other books in this genre when they have a breakup and then one of them realises they actually love the other, then they do a big gesture etc etc. Its just a love story between Gus and January and its beautiful.

The cover says it all, a perfect beach read. I like how the main characters have history and I think that adds to the story! The book has everything a story should, give it a try and see what you think.

Well wasn't that just a bundle of delight 💐

Let me make this clear: romance is 100% not my genre. It makes me want to gag.
But this was just charming, light hearted and fun. Just absolutely perfect for a sunny day ☀️

I found the book a little slow to start with but once I’d read a few chapters I was glad I carried on reading it. A story about 2 people who went to school together and have both become writers of very different styles of fiction. By a turn of fate they end up being neighbours. There’s a lot of emotions packed into the book, family secrets, grief, betrayal, writing blocks and eventually a happy ending.

Loved this book. Great characters, easy read, uplifting, funny, romantic and charming. A really nice story that is the perfect escapist read.

A curmudgeonly literary fiction writer who doesn't believe in love and a hopelessly romantic writer of romance end up as beach house neighbours while suffering writers block. January has spent her whole life searching for her happily ever after, while Gus is a cynic when it comes to love. To him, life is all doom and gloom. So when the pair strike up a bet to take on each other's genre to bet the block, things could get very interesting.

This was very cute, and surprisingly really enjoyable. I think to make any romantic novel work well, the characters really need to stand out and draw the reader in. Thankfully in this, case, both January and Gus are well developed and interesting leads. January has recently suffered several major blows in her life, leading her to question everything she thought she knew about love and her life. She feels very adrift, lost, and it was great to see her character development throughout the novel. Gus starts off as your stereotypical moody male lead, the opposite to January's 'fairy princess' persona, but he's deeper than that. We get to explore his back story along with January, and see how damaged he is, and why he's so against love. The chemistry between the two is very sexy. Even just the hand holding and touching, gives off a definite heat in the story. The tension is good, the connection between them strong and I really enjoyed seeing this connection grow stronger as the story progressed.

I will say that at times the text verges on cheesy, with clichéd comments that sometimes made my eyes roll. I also wasn't that fond of the cult subplot. It felt very much like a plot device to just drive the characters towards each other and instigate some conversations. It felt a bit contrived. I think I would have liked to have seen the characters in a wider range of scenarios, much like January's dates, as I felt these were more integral to the plot and explored more of the characters feelings. The same could probably said of January's father and that subplot. I felt it didn't really add much to the story, and for a long time it's pushed to the background meaning I forgot about the letter he leaves her until the end - lessening the effect.

This was a cute read, with some great sexual tension between the characters, but I found a lot of the plot itself a little too contrived for my taste. However, this is great escapism.

ahhhh this was so amazing as soon as I started reading this book I knew I was onto a winner with this one!!! before reading I had a gut feeling I would love it but ooo this just went above my expectations and definitely when it gets released will be the best time to read it!!! summer vibes for sure.

January and Gus for sure are now two of my favourite characters!!! the traits and the overall attributes of both of them I loved so much from when they were both just having that flirty sarcastic banter when they first meet each other all the way to just being so cute together on their little weekend adventures trying to set the scenes for their stories.

the little references and nudges to certain movies or songs were so good to especially when they have that iconic Taylor swift music video moment which as soon as it happened I was like omg this is just exactly like that Taylor Swift song...

with the cuteness of this book we also so get some beautiful emotive moments too throughout with both main character dealing with issues that they have just wanted to keep at bay and away from each... but we do see lovely moments throughout of the characters just confiding in each other wether at one of their homes or on the beach.

such a amazing, sweet, beautiful, adorable romance novel this was.it truly Is now a favourite romance of mine and can we get a sequel :)

Super easy to read but delightfully clever, this really is the perfect beach read, imagining lazy sunsets and beachy evenings. January and Gus have a tiny bit of history, and theirs is a true love story and hope after lost love and broken promises. Walt’s story is a lovely juxtaposition too and really well done.

I loved this! I was expecting light and fluffy and whilst it was in many ways, it also had substance, tricky relationships and loss. The sub plots of family relationships made this more interesting than the average holiday read and likeable characters made you root for them to have a happy ending.

A lovely story of fate bringing two people together after first meeting in college.

I liked that there was a couple of sub-plot stories that were just as captivating as the main storyline.

A great read. Well written to the extent that I could visualise the two main characters as they went about their day to day activities, writing and messaging. This story had sad moments, funny moments and was built from problems that caused the two to become neighbours. I would recommend this as a perfect lockdown read.

Lockdown in the blazing spring sun Beach Read is the closest I’m getting to the beach for a while. This is the perfect holiday book and I can see it being a popular read this summer.

January and Gus are both successful yet struggling writers. Their own lives are getting into the way if their creativity.

January is a very positive person. She’s grown up in a loving and supportive family. She is generous, thoughtful and her self-confidence means she works hard for her success. But losing her father and breaking up with her long term perfect boyfriend have left her with serious writer’s block. As a romance writer she can’t write a happy ending that she doesn’t believe it.

Gus is brooding and thoughtful, writing great American novels and hiding away into the house next door.

Their romantic relationship is inevitable, but there is a lot of fun and of course misunderstandings along the way.

January’s story and the secrets that are revealed set this about an average romance novel. I’m not going to spoil it, but her relationships with her parents is central to the book and I really enjoyed. Her father’s letters are particularly poignant.

Overall this is an enjoyable romance that is perfect for the summer. It’s not afraid to make fun of the romance genre while also utilising lots of the cliches and tropes of the romance genre.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

For the past two weeks, perhaps even longer, I haven't been able to read. The closest I've got is listening to audiobooks but that's mostly because that's one of my surefire ways to actually fall asleep at a decent hour. I really wanted to read, to get out the funk, but I couldn't. (This context becomes relevant later).
I thought a fun, light read might ease me back into reading so I looked through all the books I had, and realised I had Beach Read. I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and I remembered liking the plotline. Two writers swap genres for a bet over the summer - but the book is about a bit more than that. It's about writing, writer's block, why we write and how we write; it's about grief; it's about the stigma surrounding 'women's fiction' and how gender plays a part in defining a novel's genre and audience - and value; it's about how we can never really know someone; it's about love. The enemies- to- lovers trope was done really well in the novel and the characters felt very fleshed out. I started reading the novel yesterday and finished it today; this in the context of my reading block is quite impressive. The book was fun. The plot was fun. It was definitely escapist fiction which I needed. But I do feel like the themes in the book could have been done better; with a lighter hand, or with more focus, or something. I've been reading lots of meta romance/women's fiction, where the book discusses the genre it's a part of and I find that so interesting but I don't think it's done entirely well in this novel. I think it's frustrating because I can see what the book could have been but then wasn't. I'm probably asking too much of the book, thing that this book never said it was going to do, but I still felt like it didn't deliver on nuances. At the end of the day, it was still a very conventional romance novel, with conventional tropes and ending done well. I also gave the book 3 stars because I did find myself rolling my eyes every now and again which is never a good sign for any novel. It's a fun book - but not an amazing book. But I am grateful that it got me out my reading block.