jazhandz's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.25
Coming into this book, I loved Beach Read but haaaaaated People We Meet On Vacation, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Luckily I found this charming. It was a lot of fun, very sweet, and I appreciated that it wasn’t too saccharine. Great book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Minor: Vomit
chloelj27's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Medical content, and Cursing
Minor: Pregnancy and Alcohol
cristinareading's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
medium-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Pregnancy and Misogyny
Minor: Medical content
erkietheturkey'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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Mental illness
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
Minor: Medical content
nehanaomi's review against another edition
emotional
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 knew it would end like that and i loved it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Medical content, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Sexual content
hanz's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Pregnancy, Medical content, and Sexual content
kelly_e's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
Title: Book Lovers
Author: Emily Henry
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.0
Pub Date: May 3, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Modern • Funny • Heartfelt
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Nora, an unapologetically fierce and cutthroat literary agent, is the heroine in her sister Libby's life. When Libby begs Nora to go to Sunshine Falls for a girls' trip away, she begrudgingly agrees. However, Libby has ulterior motives and envisions a small-town transformation and happily-ever-after for her sister.
Nora bumps into Charlie, an equally ruthless editor she has dealt with countless times before, and who just so happens to be visiting his family in the same area. Coincidentally, when Charlie starts working on one of Nora's clients books, they will be thrown together again and again.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Of course, I was highly anticipating Book Lovers release as the premise sounded so good. Unfortunately, this one just didn't live up to my expectations nor the hype.
What I like:
- that the main characters both loved books. I am here for books about books. Every. Single. Time. There were some very satisfying quotes.
- the small town setting. There is just something about small town charm that sucks me in.
- the banter. Nobody does romantic comedy banter quite like Emily Henry.
- the sister bond. Although at times feeling very co-dependent, I still enjoyed Nora and Libby's relationship. In fact, I appreciated this relationship and the portrayal of family way more than the romance.
- the portrayal of ambition. Nora is driven, independent, and knows what she wants. She wasn't looking for a knight in shining armor. I liked this.
- the portrayal of grief. There were some powerful and genuine moments and thoughts on grief that resonated greatly with me.
What I didn't like:
- that the setting didn't play a bigger role. I wanted so much more of the small town charm. It honestly felt like this could have taken place anywhere, which was disappointing.
- the characters. I wasn't drawn to any of them. And honestly I just didn't really care what happened.
- the romance. I think this story would have been fine (or even better) without the romance. I found it hard to believe.
- the length. For a rom-com it felt overly drawn out, almost like two stories in one - the romantic aspect and the family aspect.
In a nutshell, I didn't feel strongly about this one way or the other. I was left feeling a little underwhelmed when I finished, but I did learn that enemies-to-lovers is my least favourite romance trope. Maybe I was waiting for a 'wow' moment that just never came, or it has been grossly overhyped, either way this was my least favourite of Emily Henry's adult romances.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers looking for a beach read
• anyone who likes the enemies-to-lovers trope
• Emily Henry fans
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"In my favourite books, it's never quite the ending I want. There's always a price to be paid.
Mom and Libby liked the love stories where everything turned out perfectly, wrapped in a bow, and I've always wondered why I gravitate toward something else.
I used to think it was because people like me don't get those endings. and asking for it, hoping for it, is a way to lose something you've never even had.
The ones that speaks to me are those whose final pages admit there is no going back. That every good thing must end. That every bad thing does too, that everything does.
That is what I'm looking for every time I flip to the back of a book, compulsively checking for proof that in a life where to many things have gone wrong, there can be beauty too. That there is always hope, no matter what."
"For a decade, I've known I will never again have everything, and so all I've wanted is to believe that, someday, again, I'll have enough. The ache won't always be so bad. People like me aren't broken beyond repair. No ice ever freezes too think to thaw and no thorns ever grow too dense to be cut away."
Author: Emily Henry
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.0
Pub Date: May 3, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Modern • Funny • Heartfelt
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Nora, an unapologetically fierce and cutthroat literary agent, is the heroine in her sister Libby's life. When Libby begs Nora to go to Sunshine Falls for a girls' trip away, she begrudgingly agrees. However, Libby has ulterior motives and envisions a small-town transformation and happily-ever-after for her sister.
Nora bumps into Charlie, an equally ruthless editor she has dealt with countless times before, and who just so happens to be visiting his family in the same area. Coincidentally, when Charlie starts working on one of Nora's clients books, they will be thrown together again and again.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Of course, I was highly anticipating Book Lovers release as the premise sounded so good. Unfortunately, this one just didn't live up to my expectations nor the hype.
What I like:
- that the main characters both loved books. I am here for books about books. Every. Single. Time. There were some very satisfying quotes.
- the small town setting. There is just something about small town charm that sucks me in.
- the banter. Nobody does romantic comedy banter quite like Emily Henry.
- the sister bond. Although at times feeling very co-dependent, I still enjoyed Nora and Libby's relationship. In fact, I appreciated this relationship and the portrayal of family way more than the romance.
- the portrayal of ambition. Nora is driven, independent, and knows what she wants. She wasn't looking for a knight in shining armor. I liked this.
- the portrayal of grief. There were some powerful and genuine moments and thoughts on grief that resonated greatly with me.
What I didn't like:
- that the setting didn't play a bigger role. I wanted so much more of the small town charm. It honestly felt like this could have taken place anywhere, which was disappointing.
- the characters. I wasn't drawn to any of them. And honestly I just didn't really care what happened.
- the romance. I think this story would have been fine (or even better) without the romance. I found it hard to believe.
- the length. For a rom-com it felt overly drawn out, almost like two stories in one - the romantic aspect and the family aspect.
In a nutshell, I didn't feel strongly about this one way or the other. I was left feeling a little underwhelmed when I finished, but I did learn that enemies-to-lovers is my least favourite romance trope. Maybe I was waiting for a 'wow' moment that just never came, or it has been grossly overhyped, either way this was my least favourite of Emily Henry's adult romances.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers looking for a beach read
• anyone who likes the enemies-to-lovers trope
• Emily Henry fans
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"In my favourite books, it's never quite the ending I want. There's always a price to be paid.
Mom and Libby liked the love stories where everything turned out perfectly, wrapped in a bow, and I've always wondered why I gravitate toward something else.
I used to think it was because people like me don't get those endings. and asking for it, hoping for it, is a way to lose something you've never even had.
The ones that speaks to me are those whose final pages admit there is no going back. That every good thing must end. That every bad thing does too, that everything does.
That is what I'm looking for every time I flip to the back of a book, compulsively checking for proof that in a life where to many things have gone wrong, there can be beauty too. That there is always hope, no matter what."
"For a decade, I've known I will never again have everything, and so all I've wanted is to believe that, someday, again, I'll have enough. The ache won't always be so bad. People like me aren't broken beyond repair. No ice ever freezes too think to thaw and no thorns ever grow too dense to be cut away."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Sexual content
Moderate: Pregnancy, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, and Alcohol
beckyyreadss's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I wanted to read this book because I’ve heard so many good things about this book and I’ve been on a mission this year to discover new authors. This book was super cute.
This book is based on Nora Stephens, who is a cut-throat literary agent and her whole life is around books. Nora has been through enough break-ups to know she’s the woman men date before they find their happy-ever-after. That’s why Nora sister has persuaded her to swap her desk in the city for a month’s holiday in Sunshine Falls, North Carolina. It’s a small town straight out of a romance novel, but instead of meeting sexy lumberjacks or cute bartenders, she keeps bumping into Charlie. Charlie is an editor with a gift for creating bestsellers and he is Nora’s work nemesis after a lunch meeting went wrong between the two of them. What is he doing in North Carolina? Will Nora be able to get through this holiday without any issues?
Considering this is the first book of Emily Henry’s I’ve read, she has set the bar high. This storyline was super cute and pulled at the heart strings. I loved that you learned why Charlie and Nora sort of became each other work nemesis but I wouldn’t really say it was enemies-to-lovers because you learn why they behave the way they’ve behave later in the book. I love Nora I think she is kickass and has made so many sacrifices that when she was thriving and happy, you would be rooting for her. I would have loved to see more of her nieces and the bond between them especially when she is depicted as a cold woman expect to her nieces. I love Charlie as well and he sort of warms your heart and realized your standard for men should be higher than the ground. I would have loved to see some chapters with his POV – I think that would have really elevated it.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and will look into reading more from Emily Henry. I enjoyed her writing style and the pace was easy and the storyline wasn’t too complicated.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Pregnancy, Medical content, Infidelity, and Sexual content
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
anastashamarie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
This story and these characters stabbed me repeatedly in my type-A, big-sister heart until I was nothing but a sobbing puddle on the floor.
I loved this. I loved the banter and push-and-pull between the romantic leads. I loved the bond between the sisters. I loved the subversion of tropes. I loved the lack of a contrived Act IV miscommunication that you knew would blow over anyway. I loved how real and raw and genuinely funny this was beginning to end. The story is woven so gently at first that I didn't realize my heart was being cut out until it was too late and by then I wanted to embrace it all: the vulnerability, the understanding, the amount of emotional work I had poured in just to have it handed right back, how it feels to have a character who feels like me be seen.
I signed up for a rom-com, but got a therapy session wrapped up in pretty gingham bow (probably like a wreath on the door of Goode Books, if we're being honest). I'm not sure how I'll recover, but I also know that the way out is through.
Idk how I'm going to get over this one. A+++ for sure.
I loved this. I loved the banter and push-and-pull between the romantic leads. I loved the bond between the sisters. I loved the subversion of tropes. I loved the lack of a contrived Act IV miscommunication that you knew would blow over anyway. I loved how real and raw and genuinely funny this was beginning to end. The story is woven so gently at first that I didn't realize my heart was being cut out until it was too late and by then I wanted to embrace it all: the vulnerability, the understanding, the amount of emotional work I had poured in just to have it handed right back, how it feels to have a character who feels like me be seen.
I signed up for a rom-com, but got a therapy session wrapped up in pretty gingham bow (probably like a wreath on the door of Goode Books, if we're being honest). I'm not sure how I'll recover, but I also know that the way out is through.
Idk how I'm going to get over this one. A+++ for sure.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, and Pregnancy
Minor: Vomit, Infidelity, and Medical content