A review by drowningfaithh
Beach Read, by Emily Henry
4.0
tropes/tags:.
→ (one-sided) rivals to friends to lovers
→ well-developed friendship before relationship
→ sunshine x grumpy !!
→ flirty banter
→ all the freaking sexual tension ohmygod
→ with some family-centric issues
4.5 stars
One-sidedly competing during their collegiate days, writers January and Gus happen upon each other after 6 years as neighbors in Michigan. Both may have been writers, but that was where the similarities ended. Gus was cynical who believed that love was not meant for people like him and wrote literary fiction. Meanwhile, January was a hopeless romantic who saw life through rose-colored lenses and wrote romance. Different as they were, it seemed that they make up for what the other lacks proving that opposites do attract.
Beach Read is romantic, humorous, and all the while being heavy as it tackled grief and acceptance. Both the main and side characters were fleshed out well, and I felt for all of them. January’s reluctance, Gus’s distance, Shadi’s reliableness, January’s mom’s strength—I loved all of it. January and Shadi may seldom communicate, but either would drop everything to be for the other. I love their friendship.
As for the romance, I’m a sucker for sunshine x grumpy trope, or in their words, fairy princess x coldly horny trope. I enjoyed their witty and flirty banter, the slowly-forming friendship, and long-time-ongoing sexual tension. All their interactions were top tier. Also, their individual issues were tackled really well and weren’t just grazed past in the power of love. I cried a lot in the end, and I really did feel so much for January because father-daughter relationships are my weakness. Anyway, Gus finally letting January in and even going so far as to be a cheesy romantic bf and January letting go of her expectations for Gus—compromise at its finest. Super loved this <3
→ (one-sided) rivals to friends to lovers
→ well-developed friendship before relationship
→ sunshine x grumpy !!
→ flirty banter
→ all the freaking sexual tension ohmygod
→ with some family-centric issues
4.5 stars
One-sidedly competing during their collegiate days, writers January and Gus happen upon each other after 6 years as neighbors in Michigan. Both may have been writers, but that was where the similarities ended. Gus was cynical who believed that love was not meant for people like him and wrote literary fiction. Meanwhile, January was a hopeless romantic who saw life through rose-colored lenses and wrote romance. Different as they were, it seemed that they make up for what the other lacks proving that opposites do attract.
Beach Read is romantic, humorous, and all the while being heavy as it tackled grief and acceptance. Both the main and side characters were fleshed out well, and I felt for all of them. January’s reluctance, Gus’s distance, Shadi’s reliableness, January’s mom’s strength—I loved all of it. January and Shadi may seldom communicate, but either would drop everything to be for the other. I love their friendship.
As for the romance, I’m a sucker for sunshine x grumpy trope, or in their words, fairy princess x coldly horny trope. I enjoyed their witty and flirty banter, the slowly-forming friendship, and long-time-ongoing sexual tension. All their interactions were top tier. Also, their individual issues were tackled really well and weren’t just grazed past in the power of love. I cried a lot in the end, and I really did feel so much for January because father-daughter relationships are my weakness. Anyway, Gus finally letting January in and even going so far as to be a cheesy romantic bf and January letting go of her expectations for Gus—compromise at its finest. Super loved this <3