Beach Read Paperback – May 19, 2020

"I’ve never met someone who is so perfectly my favorite person."Five stars, no question. Beach Read is everything I’ve come to expect (and crave) from Emily Henry—funny, heartfelt, emotionally layered, and utterly addictive. She knows exactly how to take you from giggling to gut-punched in a single chapter, and this book delivers that emotional whiplash in the best way.I connected deeply with January—her grief, her writer’s block, her inner cynic grappling with lost idealism. And Gus? I fell for him right alongside her. Their banter is sharp, their chemistry electric, and their emotional growth so genuine it hurts in the best way. The slow burn was masterfully done, and the intimacy (emotional and otherwise) felt raw and real.If you’ve ever been in love, questioned everything, or needed someone to pull you back from the edge with nothing but a quiet presence and a sarcastic quip—this book is for you.

The cover was a bit askew but not that bad to want to return it. Amazon book pircahse are quick and easy for when my local bookshop doesn't have what I want.

I’m obsessed with anything Emily Henry writes, and I decided now was as good a time as any to do a full EmHen reread, so I’m starting with Beach Read and going from there. I loved this book. It was funny, angsty, full of banter and snark, tugged on my heartstrings, and had the sweetest romance imaginable. I love books about writers, and this one was so much fun because January is a romance/women’s fiction author and Augustus writes serious literary fiction. They met in a college writing class, where he was pretentious and she resented him for looking down on romance books. They end up being neighbors years later, and challenge each other to write a book in the other’s genre, and it leads to them spending all their time together and falling in love. Their relationship alternated between witty comebacks, simmering tension, and emotional connection, and I adored every second of it. Beach Read is soulful, honest, and emotional, and I couldn’t get enough of it.📔Beach Read✏️ Emily Henry📆 May 19, 2020⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️READ IF YOU LIKE:📚opposites attract📚two writers📚rivals to lovers📚she hates him📚banter📚family drama and secrets

This is my third Emily Henry book. My favorite is Book Lovers. Happy Place I also really enjoyed. But this one...I have very mixed feelings about.What I likedI loved the setting of a summer cottage. I love that both Gus and January are both writers. The banter and chemistry between them was top notch. The characters in this book have depth. Their struggles feel authentic. This book is definitely a slow burn. The spice is perfection. Definitely open door, but not overly graphic or explicit. I loved the letters January received from her father.What I Didn't LikeAlmost every time January and Gus went somewhere, they ended up getting drunk. It got very old after awhile. I also felt like January and Gus used both sex and alcohol to avoid dealing with their issues.Gus is very emotional distant. He has a lot of issues with relationships. He doesn't believe in happily ever after. He has a complicated relationship with his ex. I feel like he wasn't willing to take responsibility and truly address his issues. Instead, he isolates, avoids, and wallows in self pity. The way he treated January after the first spicy scene was not okay. I lost respect for Gus more and more as the book went on. January deserved better. But she allowed Gus to continue to hurt and essentially use her. She didn't stand up to him. She didn't hold him accountable. She didn't give him an ultimatum. Their relationship started out very solid and strong. But as the book went on, it got more hollow and toxic. Their relationship felt more like a summer fling than a relationship that was built to last. They had some major issues that were never really discussed, much less resolved.I definitely want to read more Emily Henry, but this one was a miss for me.

I LOVE this book and when I saw this edition I pre ordered it IMMEDIATELY. Oh my goodness! My prayers were finally answered by the literary gods! I have been craving a great relationship, something heart-wrenching that makes me feel everything at once: pleasure, happiness, angst, forgiveness, enjoyment, and hurt. Yes, I absolutely adore this book! I'd like to shout it! I was hoping for a more chic-lit, gentle, and romantic story, but instead I got a fantastic piece of fiction—a remarkable romance that juggled a lot of different themes at once, including betrayal, sadness, friendship, regrets, dysfunctional families and their secrets, friends to lovers, enemies to friends, and author rivalry!

I like the concept of not trying to overthink things in life. I needed to read a book that wasn't too heavy, as I have enough going on in my life right now. This book fits the bill. It left me happy for now. I have enjoyed every Emily Henry book I've read. This wasn't my fave of hers, but it was better than expected.Open door romance. Nothing raunchy.

I tend to buy books and not read them untilI finish all the other books I bought and did not yet begin or finish. Or I buy new books, become absorbed in them and put off those previously purchased. In short, I bought this one three years ago. The story was worth the wait. Loved it more and more with every page. And the ending…so worth it. Thank you for this gift Emily Henry. You kept me wondering how it would end until the very end!

I really enjoyed this book from page one. Once w learn more and more about January’s dad and Gus’s dad the book transformed into much more than I had imagined. The ending felt a little too happily tied up, but I also see how that does work since the protagonist is a romance writer who loves happily ever afters.