edesia_16's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, Infidelity, Cancer, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Vomit
Minor: Vomit
loxeletters's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
For what it was trying to achieve - being a romance book - it was very good. I was mostly interested in the writing aspects, but I did still enjoy the actual romance. I liked the character development and felt their problems, even the ones related to miscommunication, were believable and interesting. I only noticed some minor things that were a bit too cheesy or spelt-out too one the nose for me, but overall, a very solid book. I even cried a few times (to be fair, I cry easily).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Moderate: Infidelity, Cancer, Alcohol, Cursing, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
ktv's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
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
4.5
I loved Julia Whelan as the narrator for this. She rly bought to life all of the characters. Her voice is also nice.
I liked the slow burn aspect and how the book centered around January and Gus’s problems. I thought it would be more grumpy x sunshine but I ended up liking it the way it was. I liked the second chance thing too.
-0.5 stars because the spicy scenes were significantly different than the ones in take a hint, Dani brown and it threw me off. Definitely a me problem, not an Emily Henry problem! The order u read books in matters, and I shoulda taken that into account before diving into this.
I liked the slow burn aspect and how the book centered around January and Gus’s problems. I thought it would be more grumpy x sunshine but I ended up liking it the way it was. I liked the second chance thing too.
-0.5 stars because the spicy scenes were significantly different than the ones in take a hint, Dani brown and it threw me off. Definitely a me problem, not an Emily Henry problem! The order u read books in matters, and I shoulda taken that into account before diving into this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Sexual content, Cancer, and Infidelity
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child death, Alcohol, and Cursing
Minor: Addiction and Alcoholism
eri_off_the_shelf's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Cancer, Death of parent, Sexual content, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, and Infidelity
Minor: Vomit
marioosa517's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Cursing, Alcohol, Grief, Sexual content, Infidelity, Child abuse, and Cancer
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Drug use
joni_smits's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Grief, Chronic illness, and Death of parent
Moderate: Vomit, Child abuse, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing and Fire/Fire injury
kimmy0__0's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Infidelity, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Cancer, Sexual content, Cursing, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Vomit
themagpiereads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Another banger by Emily Henry. Admittedly, I didn't love it as much as People We Meet on Vacation, but this was a delight with Henry's hallmark banter and lively characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Infidelity, Alcohol, and Cursing
Moderate: Infidelity, Cancer, Sexual content, and Death
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
caitlin_hire's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Cursing
quillcg's review against another edition
hopeful
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
3.5
Why I Read It:
I’m not someone who typically likes the romance genre, but I had heard such great things about Emily Henry’s books that I wanted to see if Beach Read would be an exception. I borrowed my copy from the local library.
Blurb:
January Andrews is a romance author who is struggling to write her next book because her faith in love and happy endings has been shaken by a series of traumatic events in her life. After she moves into her recently deceased father’s beach house on Lake Michigan, she discovers that her next-door neighbor is a former college classmate, Gus, who is a famous author of dark and gritty fiction. They strike up a plan to swap genres for the summer, complete with mandatory “research field trips” to teach the other the tricks of their trade.
Review:
Since Beach Read is a romance novel with a romance author protagonist, the book is strongly self-aware as it explores the genre’s strengths and weaknesses in a meta fashion. Beach Read self-consciously challenges the stereotype that so-called “beach reads” cannot tackle heavy themes or portray realistic, healthy relationships, while still maintaining the breezy reading pace, steaminess, and optimism readers expect from the genre. The book, for the most part, is readable and well-written. Every two pages or so, however, I would stumble across a line that I found difficult to understand. Henry’s concise, casual style sometimes generates sentences so pared down or conversational that they read awkwardly on the page.
The book introduces two main characters who, at first glance, appear to be little more than typical romance-genre archetypes. Thankfully, January and Gus are well-written, fleshed-out characters who complement each other’s flaws. They deal with personal problems that for many readers will appear familiar. January’s character growth was particularly interesting to read about.
Despite Beach Read’s readability and generally high quality, at times it slips back into the trappings of a typical romance plot. The miscommunication trope, although it does not play a huge role in the story, still pops up for no good reason. Even more infuriatingly, the protagonist even ADMITS that she’s acting like a character in a poorly written romance novel, yet she continues to act that way instead of communicating in a straightforward manner. Additionally, I found the sex scenes to be unoriginal and boring.
One of my pet peeves when it comes to the romance genre is that the side characters tend to act as supports for the main romance and rarely feel like real people. Beach Read’s side characters are better written than some, but they still feel underdeveloped. Shadi (January’s best friend) remains rather flat and ultimately only exists to support January. Emily Henry’s use of characters who are cult survivors feels problematic for the same reason, as their trauma and stories serve as a plot device to help further Gus and January’s character development.
Even though it was a not personal favorite of mine, I can absolutely understand why many people love Beach Read. Henry blends tropes that people know and love with deeper discussions about the harsher realities of life, all the while making her main characters believable and lovable.
The Run-Down:
You will probably like Beach Read if:
· You want to read a romance book that does not ignore the harsher realities of life.
· You want to read a non-toxic romance with lovable, yet flawed, main characters.
· You enjoy “meta” fiction books about books and writing.
You might not like Beach Read if:
· You are expecting a hardcore enemies-to-lovers romance.
· You are hoping to read a book with a beachy atmosphere—hardly any of the book takes place on the beach. The characters are usually indoors, and when they venture outside it is usually nighttime or stormy.
· You are looking for a fluffy, escapist romance book.
· You dislike the romance genre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Alcohol
Moderate: Death of parent, Cancer, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Vomit
Minor: Domestic abuse, Sexism, Cursing, Child abuse, and Fire/Fire injury