THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER FROM THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION!“Original, sparkling bright, and layered with feeling.”—Sally Thorne, author of The Hating GameA romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters.… upend everything they believe about happily ever afters.
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.
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A truly lovely story of two writers who’ve got a bit of writer’s block, for different reasons. They help each other get unstuck by making a bet to write in the other’s genre: so she has to write a serious literary work, and he’s going to write a rom-com. And they are neighbors with beach houses right next to each other, and the supporting cast is just terrific.
“It’s about how you cope with things, who you are. You’ve always been this fierce fucking light, and even when you’re at your worst , when you feel angry and broken, you still know how to be a person. How to tell people you-you love them” -Gus
I loved Beach Read so much. This was my first read by Emily Henry and I cannot wait to read some more of her books.
I loved January and Gus so much. The Chemistry between them was everything. The perfect book that will make you laugh, pull at your heart strings, and make you cry.
I really enjoyed this book! It was a unique story that was both funny and at times sad. As a writer, the characters were very relatable to me.
The premise of Emily Henry’s “Beach Read” immediately grabbed me–I mean, who doesn’t want to read about a romance writer and a literary fiction writer swapping genres to overcome writer’s block? “Beach Read” is a novel that grabs you with its fun, lighthearted premise, but then keeps you reading with the surprising and well-written layers of emotion as you accompany Gus and January’s evolving relationship alongside their devolving, complex backstories. I couldn’t put it down–such a great read!
Exactly what I needed in the midst of a pandemic and election: a heartfelt and funny romance with a strong storyline behind it! I loved the banter and character development. I’ll definitely be reading more Emily Henry in the future.
A book any writer can relate to and romance reader will love. Fun and light with a little something more. I enjoyed it.
I absolutely loved this book! I related to so much of it living in a small town on Lake Michigan myself. I loved the characters, the setting, and the story. I especially loved how Emily Henry didn’t gloss over anything. She built her characters solidly, gave you all the details, and included the steamy bits.
Loved it. Caveat–it’s very steamy/sexy so if that’s not your thing in a book, skip this one. It’s not typically my thing either but I loved these two characters and their heartache so much. I loved January’s commentary on writing “upbeat women’s fiction” vs men who write fiction and therefore are shelved as “literary fiction.” I thought the character development was great, the tension was taut, and I laughed out loud a lot.
It is absolutely ridiculous how much I loved this angsty, heartbreaking, hilarious book, which is filled with such flawed and wonderful characters. I’m going to go cry in peace now.
I was so disappointed with this book. I saw a lot of rave reviews about it so I downloaded it to my Kindle. Beach Read is basically a glorified Harlequin Romance. Would not recommend to anyone.
This book is the perfect antidote for 2020.
Sometimes you just need something light and funny where you know everything is going to end happily ever after. Generally I find rom-coms to be more miss than hit but this one, about two writers competing to be published first in one another’s genre, was sweet and engaging and had plenty of chemistry between the two leads to keep me flipping the pages. It really is the perfect beach read.
Beach Read is my first read by Emily Henry, and it was not what I was expecting, but it did keep me entertained.
This story is about two people who meet in college in a writing class; one was infatuated while the other thought they were nemeses.
Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. Years later, they find themselves living next door to each other, both suffering from writer’s block due to personal issues in their own lives. To help each other with writer’s block, they make a bet, a wager of sorts, since they’re both broke and need to keep promises made to their agents. However, all bets are off!
Great characters. Fun and witty dialog. Tons of snark. A dark underbelly at times. And a perfect HEA. What more could you ask for?
Looking at the cover and the title, I thought this was going to be another fun, lighthearted beach read. I was very wrong but in the BEST WAY! I don’t think words will ever accurately explain how much I loved this book. It was exactly what I didn’t want to read, exactly when I didn’t want to read it, because there were too many parallels between real life and January’s and Gus’s lives. It ripped me apart and lovingly pieced me back together.
January and Gus are fantastic. I couldn’t get enough of either of them. Sure, January was frustrating at times because she could’ve had the answers she wanted if she got out of her own way for two seconds. And Gus was so hot and cold that it was hard to adjust from one moment to the next. But that’s part of the charm here. They’re very real, flawed characters. I’m friends with a January. I’ve dated a Gus. (I can be something of a Gus myself.) I felt like I got to know them in a more fundamental way and I appreciated it.
The story moved at the perfect pace. I loved the writing aspect of it all; that was particularly pleasing. The whole thing worked in a way where I couldn’t see the bones. I wasn’t sitting there knowing what came next because of the traditional trajectory and what had come before. I was able to step back, step IN, and just enjoy it. And that’s the best thing to experience, in my book.
I’ll be recommending this to absolutely everyone I know!
So completely surprised by Beach Read a novel by Emily Henry. If I could give it more than 5-stars, i would.
This book has absolutely everything you want in a Women’s Fiction, Romance, Chick-Lit novel – and SO MUCH MORE!!!
I can’t wait till all of my friends dive into Beach Read. I’m so glad I did!
January and Augustus are two authors suffering from writers block. One a rom com author and the other an acclaimed author of literary fiction.
To get out of their creative ruts they make a deal to write a book in each others genre. January will write literary fiction and Augustus will write a rom com. They will take each other on field trips to investigate writing their novels. The one whose book is published first is the winner.
Though this isn’t your typical beach read, I enjoyed the story and the enemy to lover trope. Both are flawed with major family issues which brings them together. Who is the winner? You will have to read Beach Read to find out.
Beach Read has more depth than its title and bursts with emotion as two authors deal with secrets, life questions, the creative process, and a chance at their own steamy romance.
I can’t remember the last time I’ve been drawn into a new world so completely. I’m not going to lie––I’ve been in a reading slump. This book touched me deeply. Sure, there’s romance and January and Gus’s story is at the center of this story, but the layered drama and the beautiful prose grabbed me. I highly recommend this book!
What a wonderful love story! I enjoyed all of it and definitely recommend it. One of my favorite reads of this year. This is my first book by this author and it certainly will not be my last.