Book Review: "Beach Read" by Emily Henry
“Beach Read” by Emily Henry
Synopsis: Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.
They're polar opposites.
In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block.
Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She'll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he'll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.—Penguin RandomHouse
Rating (out of 5): 4.25
Review: Do I…like romance novels? Because it seems like I might. After years of proclaiming how I found them dull, vapid, cheesy, and unfeminist, I guess I was just reading the wrong ones! I also think there has been a recent crop of really well-written, modern, actually funny romance novels that has been swaying my opinion.
This book is the perfect read for our current times, if it doesn’t make you too upset to picture being at the beach. I am in fact very much not a beach person and still enjoyed the setting. It’s the perfect cupcake of a book for reading when it’s hard to do much but scroll, cry, and open a bottle of wine earlier and earlier every day.
January is a deeply likeable and funny heroine, and when we meet her she’s wildly reeling from her father’s death, and has just moved into his secret beach house, where he also kept a lover. Fresh off her own breakup, she’s questioning if love is in the cards for her, and feeling heartbroken at the idea that her image of her parents’ marriage is a lie.
Her next-door neighbor, Gus, turns out to be her college writing nemesis, a pretty-boy auteur who is as deep and brooding as we might imagine. It’s no surprise that before long they are falling for each other—though we know the course of true love never does run smooth!
This is a smart, charming read with both a brain and a huge heart.
TL;DR: Exactly what you need to help with your COVID reading slump. Delightful, light (enough), and often very funny.
If you liked this, try:
“Get a Life, Chloe Brown” by Talia Hibbert (Elizabeth’s review here)
“Meg and Jo” by Virginia Kantra
“Red, White, and Royal Blue” by Casey McQuiston (My review here)
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