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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4.5 stars
This story got a lot of attention this summer. I often put of reading books that have a lot of hype because I will inevitably go in with my expectations set too high. When I started reading, I thought maybe I didn’t wait long enough. (Usually it’s more than a year.) Not because I wasn’t liking the story, but I wasn’t sure about the pacing. But I was wrong, this story is wonderful.
There are so many beautiful moments between January and Augustus (and don’t you just love their names?). Yet it wasn’t all roses and songbirds. Both parties went into this friendship with caution…lots and lots of caution. This is actually a reconnection, these two have a past. And I love how that part is written. That awkward realization that you know someone, but not being sure if they remember you. Acting like you don’t know them because you don’t want to look like a fool if they dismiss you. Really, the author got that all so spot on.
Once these two open up about their past and start a tentative friendship, things take off. Their notes and encouragement to one another, the inside jokes and support, all of it is beautiful. Even while their feelings are growing and deepening, you know there is still so much damage deep in their souls and wonder if they can truly find peace within themselves in order to make any sort of long term relationship work.
I love that both characters are authors. They both have different processes and drastically different genres, but they’re willing to learn from each other. Being a romance writer, January certainly knows the traps and downfalls of new relationships. Doesn’t stop her from falling into those traps. This story truly shows that people love in different ways. It doesn’t mean one way is better than another, but maybe you’re reading cue incorrectly if you don’t fully understand a person yet.
I’m glad I didn’t put off reading this book any longer than I did. It gave me all the feels; from hollowing out my stomach in dread, butterflies of joy, and all of it in the middle.
This has been on my to-read list forever and I’m so happy I finally read! An absolutely charming, romantic story with characters I relate to and writing that digs deep yet still retains a sense of humor and wonderment. I simply loved this book!
I loved this book so much. It was heartfelt and funny, but also so incredibly emotional at times. It made me pause and think about my own experiences and examine how truly complicated and complex family and relationships can be. The writing was amazing and Emily Henry perfectly combined the salty and the sweet, throwing in just the right amount of humor to balance it all out. The banter and playful back and forth between January and Gus were some of my very favorite moments and the addition of pop culture references were hilarious. (“Thanks be to Jack Reacher.”)
January and Gus were so relatable with all their cracks and rough edges. They struggled at times and didn’t say or do all the “right” things, but it made me love them more. I wouldn’t necessarily classify Beach Read as a romance, even though there are elements of many tropes in the story like second chance, wager/bet, enemies & friends to lovers, forced proximity, etc. There are definitely strong romantic themes in the book though, and the chemistry and build up between these two is some of the best I’ve read. It’s a slow burn for sure, but boy was my patience rewarded. Gus and January were hot and sexy, but also so tender and raw. I also really appreciated the message that it’s ok to not have all the answers and sometimes just being and is enough.
I both read and listened to Beach Read and definitely recommend the audiobook. Julia Whelan is one of my very favorite narrators and she gave another brilliant performance. She captured all of the joy and heartbreak so well, but also showed off her wonderful comedic timing. I had no problem differentiating between characters and it was such a wonderful listening experience. This review wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t mention Shadi and I think all of us would be so lucky to have such an incredible ride or die BFF. I would love to read her story one day.
I don’t think that I can fully articulate how much my heart and mind needed this book. I just know that it will stay with me for a long time.
Audiobook Review
Overall 5 stars
Performance 5+ stars
Story 5 stars
CW: infidelity, death of a parent, discussion of cults, cancer, abuse
This book was so hot and interesting. I loved learning about the characters.
Oh to have a gorgeous man help me get over writer’s block. What a wonderful fantasy, right? Well, this is really a romance with comedy and elements of women’s fiction, but to me, it was a fantasy. This was not what I expected from the title. I did expect to feel summer more in the theme simply because of the title, but that seems to be trend with summer releases… to name them as if you must read it on vacation, when it really is a love story fit for all season.
This one made me laugh with a healthy dose of rolling my eyes but it was just the light-hearted book that I needed.
I truly loved this book! Emily Henry is a gifted writer whose story reads as smoothly as well crafted poetry. Beautifully written, perfectly descriptive, and full of great characters you can’t wait to devour, Beach Read was a 5 star read for me. This book literally made me laugh out loud, which is a rare occurrence, while reading, for me. The characters are full of witty banter but also emotional depth. There is literally nothing to not love about this unconventional love story. If you’re looking for a light and fun read that you won’t be able to put down, Beach Read is it. Don’t be surprised to realize how meaningful this “light read” is once you’ve put it down and taken a breath. For me, those are the best kind of reads; the ones that hold you captive after the last page is turned.
I couldn’t put this book down! With likeable and realistic characters, tight pacing, and painful backstories to overcome, this story will draw you in. It’s also funny, very romantic, and definitely on the steamier side. Definitely recommend!
A romance novelist with a writer’s block pledges to write ‘serious’ fiction while her love interest, the grumpy sexy neighbor promises he’ll pen an HEA. This is a great book about writers and the art of writing and about living and the complicated art to doing that.
I’m having a hard time rating this one…
First off, the title and cover art are very misleading. This is not a fluffy, light enemies-to-lovers romcom. It’s a contemporary romance (there’s an HEA), but the characters are broken, flawed people who randomly reconnect and struggle to understand the other while dealing with their own issues of self-worth and needing to forgive those who’ve hurt them. Oh, and they go to the beach maybe twice the entire story!?
Despite the heavier subject matter, the writing is very strong. Maybe if I’d come into this read with different expectations, I would’ve been more receptive to the angsty, darker tone of this story. In many ways, it reads like women’s fiction—this is definitely the heroine’s story—and normally, that wouldn’t be a dealbreaker for me. I did enjoy the first half more than the back half, but overall, it just didn’t deliver on the promise of the premise for me.
RATING: B- (3½ stars)
(Note: I received a review copy of this title courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley.)
5/5 This book gets all the stars! It was so good! LOVED IT! I went into this book thinking it was going to be a quick light read but oh my I was surprised it was so much more and wayyy deeper than just a light read!
January gets news at her father’s funeral that he was cheating on her mom and has a second house which she inherits. She moves to the house to get it ready to sell when NO WAY her college nemesis lives next door to her and is now her obnoxious music blaring at 3 in the morning neighbor!
So let the fun begin!
I laughed. I ugly cried. I shook my head. I banged my head into my pillow repeatedly while saying “NO NO NO WHYYYY?”
So I loved Gus and January! Their banter oh my word it was perfect! Not too mean and just enough sarcasm, especially their author banter was hilarious! Gus and January help each other believe in love and accpetance again and it’s beautiful! Maybe they don’t need “Happily Ever After” but maybe just “Happy for Now” I was falling for Gus right along with January
I really wish that Gus was real because I want to read The Cup Is Already Broken! All the cult research really was fascinating!
The pacing of this book is perfect! Not too fast not too slow!
So much happens in this book that all I have to say is if you haven’t read it, you definitely need to!
Perfection. Everything I want in a romantic read.
I loved this. One of the best reads I’ve read this year. Loved the characters and their journeys. The narrative was really well done.
Loved it! Hilarious!
I’m going to be in the minority here. I didn’t really like this book, three stars because it was well written but I didn’t find either January or Gus particularly like able, I found nothing to even chuckle about in the book. I got the deeper meaning – that life is about happy for now rather than happily ever after- but the story seemed to drag for me. I really didn’t even feel the love when Gus proposed. This was not a miss for me but a foul tip. Liked Love Lettering or Evvie Drake Starts Over much much better.
Beach Read is so warm and witty and full of heart! I read it early on during quarantine, and it was the first thing that actually distracted me from the world outside. The romance is charming, the banter is A+, and there’s some real emotional weight to it all.
This book was okay, I guess. It just left me wanting more. I’m not sure what exactly. It just felt like it was lacking something. Really generic. Nothing happening that would capture my attention and hold it. This is a DNF for me.
Read is one sitting – great escape
With both a vibe and nod to the Weiner/Franzen debate, Beach Read quickly ups its’ game as two neighboring writers try to switch genres for the summer. January Anderson is nursing a bit of a broken and puzzled heart. Family secrets that came out after her father’s death still have her reeling and living in a beach house in Michigan she didn’t know anything about.. Lots of great characters, including Gus’s aunts. We know a geologist and the part about not mentioning rocks had me smiling.
I loved, loved, loved this book. A great story and so well written.
A charming and thoughtful and well-written rom com that pits an author of feel-good women’s fiction who’s having a personal crisis against a bleak literary author who might just be open to a happy ending for himself. The debates are a lot of fun, perhaps especially so for writers of women’s fiction (raises hand). I didn’t love the ending, which felt a bit forced, but I’d still recommend this as a sparkling and incisive read. Trigger warning if fairly frequent drunkenness bugs you. (Does ANYONE write sober rom coms?)