shesawildflower's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I love that Emily calls out the Hallmarky-ness of stories, I love the way she spins the 'person left by the ones who found small town romance' at the beginning, I love the way it comes back full circle for Nora. Most of the characters in those hallmark movies that are 'left behind' tend to come off as cold and unloving but that's not Nora at all, sure she's feisty and career driven but she's far from uncaring. The way she has spent most of her life looking after and taking care of her sister? I felt that to my core, I relate to that on so many levels. Charlie is probably my favorite MMC that Emily has written. He's confident in a non asshole way, he's not intimidated by Nora's career or goals and he is just sweet and loving and his family is so important to him. I also related to his relationship with his dad, how much he cared for him, how much he thought he owed him because of everything he had done for him despite him not being biologically his. Nora and Charlie don't fall into the "I'm not good enough" for the other person stage which I love, the third act breakup is because of happenstance and timing, which made it feel more realistic and relatable. Sometimes, you just have to let time take its course and hope it will reward you for your patience. This book also has so many Easter eggs, which are fun. It's really a lovely story, and I loved every second of it.
I'm a sucker for a good acknowledgments section:
"For anyone who wants it all, may you find something that is more than enough"
"And I hope their story reminds you, there is no one right way to be, no one-size fits all happy ending, an no one else on earth who can be exactly who you are."
I'm a sucker for a good acknowledgments section:
"For anyone who wants it all, may you find something that is more than enough"
"And I hope their story reminds you, there is no one right way to be, no one-size fits all happy ending, an no one else on earth who can be exactly who you are."
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Drug use
amaranthingly's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
5.0
PROS
✨ the January Andrews mentions are giving me life! my girl will be forever famous.
✨ the portrayal of Nora and Libby’s relationship as sisters is something that hits close to home. I loved that their conflict was not depicted as “pros and cons” to having a sister; it was shown that there are ups and downs they have to face together despite the strength of their bond and how they’re each other’s person.
✨ Sally and Clint’s short scene times (get it, screen time?) were still so wholesome. sure, I would’ve loved to see more of them together, but it didn’t feel like I didn’t know who they were and their relevance to Charlie’s life.
✨ I see no red flags in the hero, Charlie Lastra. his humor was the perfect blend of snark and wit. he was organized, orderly, and neat. he had sense of style and understood the love for impractical shoes. he had good communication skills and expressed what he wanted. he was understanding, loyal, and empathetic to a fault. as if if Emily Henry was god, she sent Charlie Lastra to apologize for the creation of other men.
✨ I found Nora Stephens relatable. always composes lists (especially color-coded ones), checks emails and answers calls after work hours, thorough with her makeup and skincare, also has fashion sense and in favor of wearing impractical shoes. but despite being perceived as this cold, relentless, workaholic, fastidious, emotionless bitch, she had a “sunny” side. she loves her nieces, goes great lengths to make her sister happy, is a softie, snorts at really good jokes (particularly Charlie’s), and is surprisingly capable of falling in love.
✨ Nora and Charlie’s banters either had me chuckling or uncontrollably smiling.
✨ the grumpy-grumpy here is SPECTACULAR. well, this is the first book i’ve read of that trope, but Book Lovers did it so well, especially with such an underused archetype.
✨ despite being grumpy-grumpy, Nora and Charlie weren’t remotely close to one-dimensional. there were so much more to their attributes and manners that went deeper than being thunderclouds. it is, after all, a reality that everyone is not just grumpy or not just sunshine, we are all a mix of both.
✨ the third act conflict was so nuanced and fleshed out. their situation was so realistic and it was actually high stakes.
✨ oh, to be in the shoes of someone who’s going to read this for the first time. I would love to be torn apart and put back together all over again.
✨ not to be that person but this book felt like a love letter to me
CONS
💫 did too much of an excellent job of raising my standards with men
CONCLUSION
💡 still at odds with deciding my top emily henry book, but this is 6 stars.
TRIGGER WARNINGS
⚠️
✨ the January Andrews mentions are giving me life! my girl will be forever famous.
✨ the portrayal of Nora and Libby’s relationship as sisters is something that hits close to home. I loved that their conflict was not depicted as “pros and cons” to having a sister; it was shown that there are ups and downs they have to face together despite the strength of their bond and how they’re each other’s person.
✨ Sally and Clint’s short scene times (get it, screen time?) were still so wholesome. sure, I would’ve loved to see more of them together, but it didn’t feel like I didn’t know who they were and their relevance to Charlie’s life.
✨ I see no red flags in the hero, Charlie Lastra. his humor was the perfect blend of snark and wit. he was organized, orderly, and neat. he had sense of style and understood the love for impractical shoes. he had good communication skills and expressed what he wanted. he was understanding, loyal, and empathetic to a fault. as if if Emily Henry was god, she sent Charlie Lastra to apologize for the creation of other men.
✨ I found Nora Stephens relatable. always composes lists (especially color-coded ones), checks emails and answers calls after work hours, thorough with her makeup and skincare, also has fashion sense and in favor of wearing impractical shoes. but despite being perceived as this cold, relentless, workaholic, fastidious, emotionless bitch, she had a “sunny” side. she loves her nieces, goes great lengths to make her sister happy, is a softie, snorts at really good jokes (particularly Charlie’s), and is surprisingly capable of falling in love.
✨ Nora and Charlie’s banters either had me chuckling or uncontrollably smiling.
✨ the grumpy-grumpy here is SPECTACULAR. well, this is the first book i’ve read of that trope, but Book Lovers did it so well, especially with such an underused archetype.
✨ despite being grumpy-grumpy, Nora and Charlie weren’t remotely close to one-dimensional. there were so much more to their attributes and manners that went deeper than being thunderclouds. it is, after all, a reality that everyone is not just grumpy or not just sunshine, we are all a mix of both.
✨ the third act conflict was so nuanced and fleshed out. their situation was so realistic and it was actually high stakes.
✨ oh, to be in the shoes of someone who’s going to read this for the first time. I would love to be torn apart and put back together all over again.
✨ not to be that person but this book felt like a love letter to me
CONS
💫 did too much of an excellent job of raising my standards with men
CONCLUSION
💡 still at odds with deciding my top emily henry book, but this is 6 stars.
TRIGGER WARNINGS
⚠️
Spoiler
adoption, anxiety and panic attacks, bullying, child neglect, death of a parent (recounted), drug abuse (mentioned), divorce, estrangement, grief & loss depiction, overdose (mentioned), pregnancy, stroke (parent)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Medical content, Pregnancy, Cursing, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Drug use, Vomit, Miscarriage, and Drug abuse
ewalkergrace's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
Moderate: Pregnancy, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual content
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Drug use, and Medical content
wilybooklover's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
2.5
The romance trope and archetype references were really cute, and I loved the romance between Nora and Charlie. I loved how Charlie accepted Nora exactly as she is without trying to change her (unlike her sister) and how similar they were to each other. Sadly the romance was more of a subplot and I hated everything else in the book.
I couldn’t stand Libby. Like, I cannot even accurately convey the depths of my rage whenever she was on-page; she was AWFUL. I hated the plot surrounding her sisterly relationship with Nora and that was the central plot — publishers, authors, PLEASE stop marketing books as romances when the main plot IS NOT THE ROMANCE!! It didn’t even feel like 50/50 women’s fiction/romance; it felt like a book about grief and familial relationships wrapped up in superficial romance packaging. Even when Nora is WITH Charlie on page she is mostly thinking or talking about her sister. I thought romcoms (which, again, this is marketed as!) were supposed to be fun and lighthearted yet this was so heavy, especially from the 50% mark which had a weird tonal shift into angsting about parental trauma. That’s not to say you can’t cover heavy topics in a romcom, but when all I’m thinking about as I’m reading is how much your characters desperately need therapy, the tone is all wrong for the genre. When I pick up a romcom I want something light and fluffy and most of all focused on the romance. I felt like I barely even got to know Charlie!
Also rivals WHERE? They’re working together, not in competition with each other?? They're not even enemies. And the heroine is not the ice queen she was promised to be; she’s actually quite warm and caring. You can tell me she’s a coldhearted bitch and that everyone refers to her as a shark all you want, but you also have to show me that for me to believe it. I feel like nothing about how this book was marketed (AKA my expectations) is related to what was between the pages. I did love Emily Henry’s writing, as usual but also as usual it feels as though the book was trying to be deeper and more different than it really was. And honestly, I'm just baffled at the choice to make such a big deal over Dusty writing a character based on Nora to then never address it or confront her over it in the book. What was the point of its inclusion?
If this had been a bit lighter and there had been more focus on the romance or maybe dual POV with more of Charlie’s life for balance (and a lot less of the sister) I think I would have really liked this but as it is... meh. This is my favourite of her three ‘romances’ but that really isn’t saying much. I just don’t think Emily Henry works for me, although I’ve said this before and every time I get lured in by the hype.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Abandonment, Chronic illness, Medical content, and Pregnancy
Minor: Body shaming, Drug use, and Miscarriage
taylorleilani's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Drug use, Alcohol, Cursing, and Medical trauma
btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Minor: Death of parent and Drug use
marioosa517's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Cursing
Moderate: Medical content, Alcohol, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Minor: Excrement, Sexism, Misogyny, Drug use, and Vomit
kaziaroo's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
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
3.0
I think this book suffers from its own marketing. The blurb calls Charlie Nora's "work nemesis" but in reality their "rivalry" consisted of him saying he didn't like her client's book which later did well, and her muttering "I told you so" at his office door for three years.
The interesting part of the book was how the author took on the admirable task of exposing the misogyny inherent in the "city-slick ex-girlfriend" trope in small-town romance stories and exploring that character trope in its fullness. Unfortunately, the actual romance in Book Lovers was dull in its inevitability. Despite their so-called rivalry, Charlie and Nora get on like a house on fire every time they talk (even at that disastrous first lunch) and there was no "will they–won't they" so much as "when will they" the whole way through. I'm not even sure why Nora's colleagues even call her "the Shark" – she seems lovely to everyone (apart from Charlie) the whole way through, which kind of breaks that trope apart.
The last hundred pages were much more interesting as the real meat of the characters' troubles came to light, and we finally escaped the endless banter and descriptions of Nora's body reacting every time Charlie opens his mouth to speak. This book isn't really a romance; the story's main focus is Nora's relationship with her sister (whom I sadly found very annoying as a character, so it was hard to care about this relationship) and Nora's grief for her mother. Overall, it was an easy and relaxing read, and if you have the patience to get through the first half the second half is quite good.
If you can understand the US-centric culture references used to describe everything and want to read about two according-to-the-cover rivals sharing banter while the author bludgeons you with the sexual tension in case you missed it, this might be the book for you. Just, don't go in expecting a rivals-to-lovers romance and be prepared for family drama and grief.
The interesting part of the book was how the author took on the admirable task of exposing the misogyny inherent in the "city-slick ex-girlfriend" trope in small-town romance stories and exploring that character trope in its fullness. Unfortunately, the actual romance in Book Lovers was dull in its inevitability. Despite their so-called rivalry, Charlie and Nora get on like a house on fire every time they talk (even at that disastrous first lunch) and there was no "will they–won't they" so much as "when will they" the whole way through. I'm not even sure why Nora's colleagues even call her "the Shark" – she seems lovely to everyone (apart from Charlie) the whole way through, which kind of breaks that trope apart.
The last hundred pages were much more interesting as the real meat of the characters' troubles came to light, and we finally escaped the endless banter and descriptions of Nora's body reacting every time Charlie opens his mouth to speak. This book isn't really a romance; the story's main focus is Nora's relationship with her sister (whom I sadly found very annoying as a character, so it was hard to care about this relationship) and Nora's grief for her mother. Overall, it was an easy and relaxing read, and if you have the patience to get through the first half the second half is quite good.
If you can understand the US-centric culture references used to describe everything and want to read about two according-to-the-cover rivals sharing banter while the author bludgeons you with the sexual tension in case you missed it, this might be the book for you. Just, don't go in expecting a rivals-to-lovers romance and be prepared for family drama and grief.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pregnancy
Minor: Vomit, Miscarriage, and Drug use
alina5556's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- 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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Abandonment and Bullying
Minor: Drug use, Infidelity, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
tiredtori's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Grief
Minor: Alcohol, Body shaming, Death of parent, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, and Vomit