hanz's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual content
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, and Cancer
Minor: Suicide
meremeth's review against another edition
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Cancer
Minor: Child abuse
amberjackonski's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Sexual content
Moderate: Infidelity
poisonivy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
man i battled to get through this, but it was def an it’s not you it’s me situation - objectively this is probably a good book, i just couldn’t get into it 🥲
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, and Child abuse
ajourneythroughpages's review against another edition
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent
ashfrxns's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Grief, Vomit, Sexual content, Infidelity, and Alcohol
deedireads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
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!
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
Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Infidelity
barbarella85's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Death of parent
thegazillionthreader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
My thoughts (mainly for myself to look back on)
I have been debating between 3.5 or 4 stars…. Because I absolutely loved the writer’s aspect of the characters in the book + the few quotes I really liked, I think I will say 4.
Update: 3.5 won the debate I think, (which is not on a bad rating on my personal rating scale)
This book was a bit different than what I expected. Not in a bad way, it was just more serious and deep than I thought it was going to be, and not the “super fun only focused on the steamy romance” that I thought, although it did have some funny and swoon scenes. The blurb had me imagining and speculating how things would be (especially when it mentioned cults, and I became apprehensive from it actually) but it all ended up being pretty different from what I anticipated, cults and all.
At times I kept losing focus though and had to keep rereading things, which affected things a tad. Some of this due to outside factors, the writing style could be it but idk why because it was pretty clear, some due to the timeline of things especially in the beginning… but it really does boil down to me being way too easily confused 😅 so that’s on me.
I didn’t always feel the chemistry between the characters… other times I did.
Spoilers Below
Spoilers Below
Gus, even up until the end, I couldn’t fully trust him, it wavered. Not because he was a bad guy, no no no. He really was a good guy. But he was written so well I think and then seeing things from January’s POV I was feeling bad for her several times. When he disappeared. Then after that phone call. Then even when he went and talked to his ex and just didn’t really say anything for a whole day. I guess it’s the lack of communication and silence and all that… but, it did concern me for January and their relationship 😅
But I get it, I get that’s his character and why he is that way and that he’s a lot more than that and all that. And in the end they seemed good.
Like I said, I liked some of the quotes and the whole message of “happy for nows”. It’s real and I like it.
Also I must add how my jaw DROPPED when Gus’ romance book was revealed. That was not what I expected. Omg. 😭 Sir, that is not a happy ending or a romance book. (I know, I know. It’s a happy ending to him, but still 😂)
Also like I said, absolutely loved that they were writers, and several times it made me want to go write.
All in all, not quite what I expected and sadly didn’t love it as much as I hoped, but it was still good and I would still recommend to those who are thinking of giving it a go.
I have been debating between 3.5 or 4 stars…. Because I absolutely loved the writer’s aspect of the characters in the book + the few quotes I really liked, I think I will say 4.
Update: 3.5 won the debate I think, (which is not on a bad rating on my personal rating scale)
This book was a bit different than what I expected. Not in a bad way, it was just more serious and deep than I thought it was going to be, and not the “super fun only focused on the steamy romance” that I thought, although it did have some funny and swoon scenes. The blurb had me imagining and speculating how things would be (especially when it mentioned cults, and I became apprehensive from it actually) but it all ended up being pretty different from what I anticipated, cults and all.
At times I kept losing focus though and had to keep rereading things, which affected things a tad. Some of this due to outside factors, the writing style could be it but idk why because it was pretty clear, some due to the timeline of things especially in the beginning… but it really does boil down to me being way too easily confused 😅 so that’s on me.
I didn’t always feel the chemistry between the characters… other times I did.
Spoilers Below
Spoilers Below
Gus, even up until the end, I couldn’t fully trust him, it wavered. Not because he was a bad guy, no no no. He really was a good guy. But he was written so well I think and then seeing things from January’s POV I was feeling bad for her several times. When he disappeared. Then after that phone call. Then even when he went and talked to his ex and just didn’t really say anything for a whole day. I guess it’s the lack of communication and silence and all that… but, it did concern me for January and their relationship 😅
But I get it, I get that’s his character and why he is that way and that he’s a lot more than that and all that. And in the end they seemed good.
Like I said, I liked some of the quotes and the whole message of “happy for nows”. It’s real and I like it.
Also I must add how my jaw DROPPED when Gus’ romance book was revealed. That was not what I expected. Omg. 😭 Sir, that is not a happy ending or a romance book. (I know, I know. It’s a happy ending to him, but still 😂)
Also like I said, absolutely loved that they were writers, and several times it made me want to go write.
All in all, not quite what I expected and sadly didn’t love it as much as I hoped, but it was still good and I would still recommend to those who are thinking of giving it a go.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Cancer
Minor: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Child abuse
blossominthebooks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
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? It's complicated
4.0
The book starts off kinda slow building up backstory and explaining characters but once that's done it's pretty fast paced. The steamy scenes were great, the banter was PERFECTION, and those heartfelt moments will have you kicking your feet, and giggling, or outright sobbing. This book was great. The main characters has AMAZING chemistry and all the side characters felt three dimensional.
I just wished there was more focus between the MC and her mother's relationship after their main conflict.
I just wished there was more focus between the MC and her mother's relationship after their main conflict.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent