nina_readsbooks'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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Infidelity
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
adamsolive's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
charlie lastra the man that you are
this book was so good!! while being a great romance, it also beautifully shows what it feels like to be a sibling - younger or older.
overall, i really enjoyed this book. it was my first emily henry read, but it definitely wont be my last.
this book was so good!! while being a great romance, it also beautifully shows what it feels like to be a sibling - younger or older.
overall, i really enjoyed this book. it was my first emily henry read, but it definitely wont be my last.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
avkay3's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
5.0
I really enjoyed the book. I found that it met a lot of criteria‘s and I really it was thought was really funny. It’s the first Emily Henry book I read I really enjoyed it.
This book is considered a grumpy x grump but at the same time I almost feel like they’re just a little bit misunderstood but they’re not actually grumpy but they’re just job focused but like their actual personalities are just a little bit misunderstood. They’re definite sunshine though, but they’re more like a realistic modern day grump and less like a typical boktok grump (like the mafia type). I felt like They had definitely had their key morally Grey or grumpy moment but it was very like modernize it didn’t seem so far fetch which I really liked
I would say this is more like a Frenemies to lovers than the actual enemies. Overall I really like the book I thought it was really funny and I thought it was like really intriguing. It was a little different from what I normally read. I also didn’t have the highest expectations going into it so I really intrigued when I got sucked in by the prologue.
the book in anyway self-aware. I never really cringe while reading. anytime they did cheesy they were really aware of it and they would almost talk about it because they were literally agent read books for living and talked about tropes and so when it would happen in my life she was very open about it. it add another level to the joke.
It’s very strong sister bond the book is about the older sister. We do a lot about the younger sister as well. for both of them families is talk about.
(Later on)
Ended up changing it to five star because it’s a book and I liked it and I think a lot of other people with you
And the fact that I even took the time to write a review which I never do I feel like proof that I really did like the book I really enjoyed it
I thought about rewriting this review so many different ways.
This book is considered a grumpy x grump but at the same time I almost feel like they’re just a little bit misunderstood but they’re not actually grumpy but they’re just job focused but like their actual personalities are just a little bit misunderstood. They’re definite sunshine though, but they’re more like a realistic modern day grump and less like a typical boktok grump (like the mafia type). I felt like They had definitely had their key morally Grey or grumpy moment but it was very like modernize it didn’t seem so far fetch which I really liked
I would say this is more like a Frenemies to lovers than the actual enemies. Overall I really like the book I thought it was really funny and I thought it was like really intriguing. It was a little different from what I normally read. I also didn’t have the highest expectations going into it so I really intrigued when I got sucked in by the prologue.
the book in anyway self-aware. I never really cringe while reading. anytime they did cheesy they were really aware of it and they would almost talk about it because they were literally agent read books for living and talked about tropes and so when it would happen in my life she was very open about it. it add another level to the joke.
It’s very strong sister bond the book is about the older sister. We do a lot about the younger sister as well. for both of them families is talk about.
(Later on)
Ended up changing it to five star because it’s a book and I liked it and I think a lot of other people with you
And the fact that I even took the time to write a review which I never do I feel like proof that I really did like the book I really enjoyed it
I thought about rewriting this review so many different ways.
Content Warnings
Minor: Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Death of parent, and Alcohol
symabee's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
If you enjoy romcoms, but also find their stereotypes a bit ridiculous, then you'll probably like this book. We've all seen/read it; big city person finds themselves in a small town for reasons, falls in love with down to earth local, find the true meaning of happiness. Book Lovers flips the script on that trope in the most delightful way. BOTH our main characters are career driven city people who have no interest in finding love in the country, but reluctantly do anyways. The first chapter gives the impression that this will be a rivals/enemies to lovers romance, but really it's just two people who are assertive and brutally honest matching each other's energy (which produces the most delicious witty banter.) As much as I loved Nora and Charlie's relationship, it wasn't what made this a 5 star read for me. Its exploration of complicated family relationships, the idea of where home is, and the balance between ambition and sacrifice, are what give this book depth.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book has had mixed reviews among my friends for months, and so I've been *worried* to pick this up and really excited to pick it up at the same time. The complaints that I kept hearing were that this wasn't really a romance even though it was marketed as such, that it was more about the sisters. People came to this book for a romance and got familial trauma and a complicated sibling dynamic.
I get why they didn't like it, I don't think that this book is for everyone, but I think because I knew going in that this was more about sisterhood than romance, I wasn't disappointed. Like its predecessor, "Beach Read," Book Lovers is heavy on the family dynamics and familial trauma, and is often flat out sad. There is still a romance IN it and its prevalent, but this is very much a story about the growth in the relationship of Nora and Libby (whether or not I liked Libby as a character is a completely different post altogether). While a lot of people hated this aspect, I think it made the book more memorable for me. It reminded me of a Hallmark movie but with more depth.
It was refreshing to see a female character from Emily Henry who is so starkly different from her other heroines, Poppy Wright (my beloved) and January Andrews (my other beloved). It was even refreshing to me for there to be a character in an Emily Henry book that I didn't like. I didn't know that was even possible, and instead of it making me rate the book down a star, it just made me more entertained.
People We Meet On Vacation is still my favorite Emily Henry book but, like Beach Read, this also captured me. Interesting characters and a great atmosphere from my newest auto-buy author.
This is the section where I'm going to share a critique - I know, wild that I'm adding a very specific critique to a 5 star book, but I feel like I'd be doing people who genuinely trust my opinions a disservice if I pretended this book was perfect.
Anyway, there is a line in the book that gave me pause. My best friend and I both raised our eyebrows at this line from Nora:
"Straight men have it too easy. A heterosexual woman can see a very normal looking, nonsexual appendage, and biology's like, Step aside, last four thousand years of evolution, it's time to contribute to the continuation of the human race."
My issue here isn't that Nora is straight and experiencing attraction, but the use of the word heterosexual specifically feels not only unnecessary, but unintentionally exclusionary. It seems to me that while writing this part, Henry - in order to not seem like she was lumping all women together (after all, not all women or afab people experience attraction to men and some don't experience sexual attraction at all, and furthermore, sexuality is obviously a spectrum and many women are attracted to men, women, and those who do not conform to the gender binary), she overcorrected and got too specific, which felt kind of alienating to read as a member of the lgbt+ community. It isn't a *big* thing, but it's still a thing that's been on my mind. I don't think that EH was trying to be exclusionary or homophobic here, but I think that line could've been taken out or edited a certain way so as to not come off strangely.
I get why they didn't like it, I don't think that this book is for everyone, but I think because I knew going in that this was more about sisterhood than romance, I wasn't disappointed. Like its predecessor, "Beach Read," Book Lovers is heavy on the family dynamics and familial trauma, and is often flat out sad. There is still a romance IN it and its prevalent, but this is very much a story about the growth in the relationship of Nora and Libby (whether or not I liked Libby as a character is a completely different post altogether). While a lot of people hated this aspect, I think it made the book more memorable for me. It reminded me of a Hallmark movie but with more depth.
It was refreshing to see a female character from Emily Henry who is so starkly different from her other heroines, Poppy Wright (my beloved) and January Andrews (my other beloved). It was even refreshing to me for there to be a character in an Emily Henry book that I didn't like. I didn't know that was even possible, and instead of it making me rate the book down a star, it just made me more entertained.
People We Meet On Vacation is still my favorite Emily Henry book but, like Beach Read, this also captured me. Interesting characters and a great atmosphere from my newest auto-buy author.
This is the section where I'm going to share a critique - I know, wild that I'm adding a very specific critique to a 5 star book, but I feel like I'd be doing people who genuinely trust my opinions a disservice if I pretended this book was perfect.
Anyway, there is a line in the book that gave me pause. My best friend and I both raised our eyebrows at this line from Nora:
"Straight men have it too easy. A heterosexual woman can see a very normal looking, nonsexual appendage, and biology's like, Step aside, last four thousand years of evolution, it's time to contribute to the continuation of the human race."
My issue here isn't that Nora is straight and experiencing attraction, but the use of the word heterosexual specifically feels not only unnecessary, but unintentionally exclusionary. It seems to me that while writing this part, Henry - in order to not seem like she was lumping all women together (after all, not all women or afab people experience attraction to men and some don't experience sexual attraction at all, and furthermore, sexuality is obviously a spectrum and many women are attracted to men, women, and those who do not conform to the gender binary), she overcorrected and got too specific, which felt kind of alienating to read as a member of the lgbt+ community. It isn't a *big* thing, but it's still a thing that's been on my mind. I don't think that EH was trying to be exclusionary or homophobic here, but I think that line could've been taken out or edited a certain way so as to not come off strangely.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Misogyny, Grief, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Medical content and Alcohol
Minor: Injury/injury detail, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Abortion
kirareadssometimes'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
This is truly my favorite book I have ever read. I laughed, I cried, I loved. It felt like it was holding my soul. Felt like being seen. Immensely enjoyable! 10⭐️s
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief
Moderate: Pregnancy and Death of parent
Minor: Medical content
effthecanon'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
5.0
I'll be honest: I didn't expect to love this one as much as I did because I often find myself disappointed by Bookstagram babies, but oh boy, was I wrong. I loved how real the story felt. So often, romances can frustrate me because the problems keeping people apart are so easy to fix. But Henry created a romance that faced real roadblocks that felt natural and kept me emotionally invested. I loved the banter between Nora and Charlie and the dry humor they share. Nora and Libby's relationship is absolutely fantastic. I love that this was a love story about love, not just romantic love, but all kinds of love we experience; romantic, friendship, familial, etc.
I honestly can't wait to read the rest of Emily Henry's work after reading this one.
I honestly can't wait to read the rest of Emily Henry's work after reading this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Pregnancy, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
ncarson's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content and Suicidal thoughts
msradiosilence's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
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
4.0
Tldr; for a straight romance, I had a good time.
Read my full review at: https://www.rainyreader.com/single-post/book-lovers
Read my full review at: https://www.rainyreader.com/single-post/book-lovers
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Alcohol, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Child abuse, Cursing, Grief, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pregnancy