leyendoentremontanias's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Death
Moderate: Grief, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Vomit
kelly_e'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
3.25
Author: Emily Henry
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.25
Pub Date: May 19, 2020
T H R E E • W O R D S
Fun • Deep • Over-hyped
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Augustus, an acclaimed author of literary fiction and January, a bestselling romance novelist are polar opposites. Each struggling with writer's block and dealing with personal demons, they find themselves living next door to one another for the summer. One evening they strike up a deal: Gus will write something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Emily Henry's Beach Read has been absolutely everywhere, and so I fell victim to the hype and finally dove in. An original and deep plot with a side of romance is typically how I like my romance books, yet for me January and Gus lacked chemistry and I was expecting so, so, so much more from this novel.
There's no denying Emily Henry does banter unlike anyone else. It adds a lightness to often heavy content. With this book, there is excellent individual character growth, but I wasn't invested in the romance at all. In fact, I was way more invested in the plot and them writing their books. I felt as thought it started out strong, but faded by the midway point and never really regained traction. A few of the things I really appreciated were the exploration of grief, the east coast setting, and the letters.
For me, Beach Read was simply an average read, one I'll soon forget, which has me thinking Emily Henry's adult romances may just not be my cup of tea. I appreciate the depth of the plots, but the romance and lack of communication just don't cut it. With that said, I'll probably continue to read her books with hopes of finding one I really love.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of the grump/sunshine and/or enemies to lovers trope(s)
• readers who like depth in their rom-coms
• Emily Henry fans
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Bad things don't dig down through your life until the pit's so deep that nothing good will ever be big enough to make you happy again. No matter how much shit, there will always be wildflowers."
"Because I know no matter how long I get to love you, it will be worth whatever comes after."
"It was okay to let a little ugliness into your story. That it would never rob you of all the beauty."
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Sexual content
Moderate: Infidelity, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Cancer, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Addiction
Minor: Cursing, Suicide, Car accident, and Vomit
hannibanani29's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent, Infidelity, Grief, and Alcohol
Moderate: Vomit, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Cursing, and Cancer
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse
bootsmom3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, Confinement, Alcohol, and Death of parent
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Cancer, and Physical abuse
Minor: Mental illness
fleur____'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Grief, Infidelity, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Cancer, and Medical content
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, and Vomit
juliaaaaaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
besides that, i loved it and cried many times.
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Vomit, Cancer, and Sexual content
rachelreadsrelentlessly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I loved Gus so much and I am a sucker for the "I've had a crush on you all along" trope.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
lara_bk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Death of parent, Infidelity, and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol and Cancer
Minor: Emotional abuse
filipa_maia's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is not a typical romance in a sense that are some really dark and heavy topics represented: domestic abuse, a cult, death... the kind of themes that are not associated when you ear the genre romance.
I really enjoyed this book. I like how dark and mysterious Gus is and how fragile and hurt January feels. And I like the way both of them decide to give each other a chance (although, sometimes, January frustrated me a lot). The best part about this book is that it shows that two people with completely opposite visions of the world can find common ground.
I really liked this book and will look for more books by Emily Henry.
Graphic: Cancer, Abandonment, Grief, Chronic illness, Infidelity, and Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Vomit, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Car accident, Alcohol, and Cursing
naysia_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Death of parent