Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Beach Read

All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.

TL;DR REVIEW:

Beach Read was exactly what I wanted: fun, fast, steamy, heart-wrenching, with true-to-life characters and conflicts. (Basically everything we’ve come to expect from Emily Henry!)

For you if: You like books about books and the rivals to lovers trope.

FULL REVIEW:

I don’t read a ton of romance, but I’m obviously on board when it comes to Emily Henry. I’d read both Book Lovers and Happy Place already, and I was saving Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation for a day when I was really in the mood for romance. Well, that day came, I asked my romance-loving friends which one to do first, and Beach Read it was. It will come as no surprise that I found this book to be a total delight, fast and fun, but with depth — exactly what I wanted!

I swallowed this book whole in a single day (without having the audio to pull me through the physical copy, like I usually do) — so maybe this is more of a plane read than a beach read, because you’re not going to want to do anything but read it. I loved January, I loved Gus, I loved their banter and their dynamic. I loved the focus on fiction and writing and bookstores. I loved all the tertiary characters. So, so much to love.

There are many things that make Emily Henry one of the best in her genre, but what does it for me is the way she gives the central conflicts of her novels so much nuance and depth. We feel so deeply for her main characters and can’t fault either of them for the wedge that inevitably ends up between them, because it’s just like, LIFE. True, honest life that honors the reality of what’s best for each person…and then eventually finds a way for them to be together anyway.

I can’t wait for the next time I’m in the mood for this genre and get to pick up PWMOV!

Content Warnings

caitlinjadams's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow wow wow this book is meaty and a delight and made me cry and smile and think and I wish I could read it for the first time again.

Content Warnings

annick's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

This spoke to me. I read a lot of fantasy and unrealistic fiction. This was refreshing. Grounded in real life emotions and experiences and humour. The final few chapters didn’t deliver as much as I’d hoped but I will be reading this again. Highlighting and annotating the humour and spice and most importantly the emotional and philosophical reflections.

Content Warnings

isaarusilor's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

maello's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I would say overall this book was good! I really enjoyed it, and definitely cried at some parts. I definitely didn't like the 'typical' parts where the girl assumes the feelings of the guy. I get why she did that, etc, but it's just hard to read. I feel like I've read it a million times. I would recommend this book to people that like 'grumpy-sunshine' tropes or 'rivals-to-lovers' (sort of, it's more like misunderstood rivals-to-lovers or one-sided). It had good writing, there are a few good quotes that I really loved that the writer includes during parts where the MC is being introspective. I would say that this story is more of a good one rather than an okay one, was a good read, but was predictable. And I kind of didn't like the ending either.

My rating system:
5 ⭐ = Great story, loved it, would definitely recommend to everyone
4 ⭐ = Good story, enjoyed it, worth the read, would recommend it to people that like this genre
3 ⭐ = Okay story, some predictable parts, it was fine
2 ⭐ = Lame story, boring, kept losing interest
1 ⭐ = Terrible story, couldn't finish

Content Warnings

More...