Beach Read by Emily Henry is a book that perfectly lives up to its title, a fun frothy read that manages to keep the reader engaged in the trials and tribulations of its protagonists, January and Augustus. January is a romance writer whose life has been thrown into turmoil by the death of her father and the discovery that he had been carrying on a long term affair, making a mockery of what she believed to be a perfect love story, that of her parents. When she moves to his hideaway cottage to clear it out and put it on the market, she is determined that there will be no distractions and she will knuckle down and write the book she owes her publisher, one that she has been avoiding for months, but with a submission date fast approaching and a bank account rapidly dwindling her time is running out. The last thing she expected when she moved to the small beach town was to run into a familiar face, but living just next door is Augustus., or Gus as she knew him when they were in college together. As an acclaimed author of literary fiction his style is the polar opposite to hers. but she still feels a little envious of his success, As it turns out , his latest book has hit a rut too and he is struggling with writers block just like January. As the neighbours become friends, helped along by a little local interference they come up with a challenge to help each other through the block., each of them will write a book in the other's style, helping each other along the way with research and field trips and I think you can give a pretty good guess at what happens next.
This is a really fun and engaging romance, not a genre I usually gravitate towards but one I sometimes find myself reaching for, especially in times of crisis. The characters are wonderful and full of life and vitality and their banter was a joy to read, I routinely found myself chuckling at their latest antics , from a reluctant carnival ride to a memorable line dancing experience. Each of them felt well rounded and I found myself rooting for them. not just in terms of their budding relationship, but in their careers and other aspects of their lives. I fairly flew through this book, the pacing was perfect, and giving the characters a history meant that the author could avoid the insta-love trope and instead create a relationship with some depth.
A wonderful funny and feel good book with a little depth and a lot of heart.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I liked rather than loved this book. Whilst it's meant to be a rom-com, it does go dark in places, which doesn't quite marry up. I liked the main characters, January and Gus, for the most part, but both of them were irritating at times. There was some repetition, like the way January was referred to as a 'fairy princess'. Some sections dragged, particularly when Gus took January to some strange places in the name of research. I enjoyed the plot surrounding them both having writer's block and the dare they came up with to each write a novel in a different genre. I liked the way Henry described various things. Some good stuff here - worth a look.
With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this book just wasn't for me, it was an interesting and entertaining read but nevertheless I found the two main characters quite irritating which didn't help the general storyline of their sparring through any and every situation.

The Beach Read was a book that I had heard and seen so many great things about and I knew that I had to read it. Now this is not a genre that I read a lot of and I can see that I am definitely in the minority on this one. It was a fun and quick read but I found it predictable and the characters were not especially likeable. For me there was something missing, something to make it stand out from other books.

I did like that the 2 main characters were writers. January and Augustus were complete opposites of each other but both broken inside.

Thanks to Penguin UK for my advanced copy of this book to read.

I quite enjoyed it even if I found a bit slow at times.
It's well written, it made me smile and liked the characters.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine

To say I loved this book would be an understatement. I can't really find the words to describe how much I fell headfirst into this story and how it is probably one of my favourite books I've read this year until now.

I love this kind of romance books, where there is a bit of hate to love, but also where a lot of important and heavy issues are spoken about by the main characters. I fell in love with January and Gus's relationship, and I have to say I really enjoyed all of their banters, but also all the fluffy moments between them. I really hoped for nothing but the best for them, since none of the two had a easy life.

The family issues were portrayed amazingly in this story. I cared about all of the characters' story, beside the love story, and I have to say Emily Henry wrote this book majestically. The writing style really sucked me in, I wanted to know more about the Gus and January, but also about their background stories and where they came from.

The pop culture references were top notch, I adored all of the Taylor Swift references (I love Taylor Swift - I will never be objective about that), they really made me smile. And I have to say Henry really has the ability to shift from a funny and fluff scene to a very angsty and sad one and she makes it feel natural. I found this book to be really well balanced and thought-out.

The writing contest between the two really was my favourite part, I loved to see them challenge each other but most of all themselves and I think it was amazing to see how things turned out. How they found each other while they were finding themselves. It was the most amazing thing to see and to witness.

This book is a lot heavier than I thought, so check the trigger warnings before diving right in. This was an aspect I completely enjoyed, though. I loved to see all of the different shades of their personality and what brought them to be who they are. I can't stop talking about this book, but really there was NOT a single thing I disliked. It was truly perfect in my opinion.

So yeah, if you like hate to love romances that deal with literature and funny characters, but also with angst topics, this is the book for you. I can't recommend it enough.

This is a great read. It's definitely not a light read as maybe the title suggests, but nevertheless is one that covers all the emotions and leaves you wanting more.
The banter between January and Gus is brilliant, and I loved the handwritten notes between them as their relationship developed.

I saw lots of people talking about this book on twitter & how good a book its is, So I had to request a copy from Netgalley.

I really enjoyed this book and loved all the characters in this book & Everyone was correct this book is really good.

I would give this book 3.5 starts out of 4

With thanks to Netgalley & Penguin Books Uk for the ARC of this in exchange for this review.

I really enjoyed this book. I was expecting a fun summery read, which this was, but it was also so much more than that. I am a sucker for a good romance book, especially one which tackles some harder issues, and this did that so well.

I loved seeing January's relationship with Gus shift from frenemies, to friends to eventually people who were meant to be together. They were both such complex and well-crafted characters who I loved and rooted for so much. What was particularly beautiful about this book was the spectrum of emotions that was explored. There was so much rawness and beauty in their human experiences and I really appreciated the depth of this. Both of them had past and present traumas to face and I loved seeing how they slowly began to open up and trust each other. It truly felt like an accurate representation of real life relationships. Trusting someone is scary and hard to do, but they work through this all together.

I also loved seeing January come to terms with the realities of her parents relationship. Having always seen them as an example of true love and then learning of his betrayal and infidelity following his sudden death, we see January struggle to come to turns with the true picture of their lives. The later scenes which focused on her dad were beautiful and brought me to tears, but I won't give spoilers about what happens in these, but it was such a special part of the book for me.

One of my favourite elements of this book was the debate around happy endings. Many romance books go through ups and downs to end with the couple together, in love and looking blissfully towards the future, and although I do love books like that, I loved the shift in the language in this one. They talk a lot about "happy for now", rather than Happy Ever After, and I loved this idea. In reality, that is what life is, you have to live in the moment and relish what you have now, rather than sitting and waiting for the next bad thing. The ending was happy and realistic, rather than overtly optimistic, and in our modern society this was something I loved.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin books for an e-ARC of this in exchange for an honest review.

I am not someone who is constantly reaching for romances but after hearing so many amazing things about Beach Read I decided I would request it and give it a go. I am so happy that I did because I have fallen head over heels in love with this book and it has quickly become one of my new favourites - I already have a physical copy on the way!

I am such a sucker for rivals to lovers and Emily Henry got it completely right. The banter between the two main characters was incredible, the timing for everything was perfect and I was constantly having a bit of a chuckle.

While this book definitely had its funny moments I was pleasantly surprised that this book was also tackling more series topics e.g grief. It was really sad and it definitely had me crying but I appreciated that this book was setting out to be more real-life than happily ever after. This is a book that embraces the bad and doesn't shy away from it and I really respected the main characters and everything that they had been through.

January is a top selling romance author who is suffering from writer’s block. She needs to meet an already extended deadline from her editor and focus on nothing but finishing her story. She has recently inherited a house by the beach, and she is hoping it will present the perfect environment to get her creativity flowing through her fingers and onto her keyboard.

Augustus lives in the beach house next door and he too is an author suffering from writer’s block. He writes fiction with a bit more grit and there is usually no happy ending in sight, let alone romance. He extensively researches the details in his plots and this can often take months. He likes to dig as deep as he can and have the most accurate content in his finished work.

They could not be more different writers but they do strike up a friendship of sorts and having a bit of friendly company over summer is better than being completely alone. When they both realise they are suffering from the same writing affliction they come up with a plan. Augustus will write a romance story, a genre he loathes after his own experience of a failed happy ever after, and January will write something a bit dark and real. It may not be what their editors want but it seems to stir something in them both and the block seems to fade away with this renewed sense of enthusiasm.

‘You make beautiful things, because you love the world, and maybe the world doesn’t always look how it does in your books, but… I think putting them out there, that changes the world a little bit. And the world can’t afford to lose that.’

There is an interesting backstory about how this beach house came to belong to January and it takes her on a very emotional journey into her past. Augustus has his own personal things going on but the story focuses more on January’s family. There is a slow building romance simmering between them that actually started many years ago, unbeknownst to January. I loved the hilarious banter these two had how comfortable they were with each other.

This story was a refreshing break from my usual romance trope choices and I’m glad I took the time to enjoy something different from a new to me author.

‘The only promise you ever had in life was the one moment you were living. And I was. Happy for now. I could live with that. I could learn to live with that.’

I think it’s time that I list adult contemporary romance as one of my favourite genres. They’re just so enjoyably bingeable. The banter, the sweetness, the steam – it’s the perfect little package I can’t resist. Almost like wiggling a Mars Bar in my face. And that’s pretty much what hearing the premise for Beach Read was. Two authors, living in beach houses, engaging in some friendly competition to see if they can write a book in the other’s genre, bouncing off one another until they eventually crack and rip each other’s clothes off… You see what I mean, right?

January & Gus
The two leads in this book are great. They’ve got complexity, great chemistry and, most importantly for romance, appropriate levels of personal baggage to dramatically bring up at opportune moments. January is a romance writer who after the death of her father and discovery of his mistress has been suffering from severe writer’s block. In the hopes of finally getting something written and recovering her sunny, hopeful disposition, she moves into her dad and his girlfriend’s empty beach house. To her surprise, her new next-door neighbour is her former university classmate, and now successful literary fiction author, Augustus Everett.

Unlike January, Gus is cynical, broody, and more than happy to murder fictional characters. But he’s also sweet, funny and somewhat mysterious. Also, to my immense joy, he has none of that Alpha male type bullshit typical of romantic leads these days. Look romance writers: Proof that you can be nice and still have sex appeal!

Banter-ific!
As you can probably tell, this is an opposites attract kind of relationship and it works really well on that level. January and Gus’s interactions are perfectly balanced between fun banter and get-things-off-my chest emotional. Even when there’s not much happening plot-wise, the book is enjoyable simply by having them be around each other, whether they’re terribly line dancing or writing notes Taylor Swift style through their windows. These interactions make up the bulk of the novel so thank goodness their exchanges work as well as they do.

Battle of the Authors
I really enjoy books about authors and writing so the idea of a competition between two writers involving them producing work vastly outside their comfort zones was a massive drawcard here. Yet, while the competition is present and does result in January and Gus doing several research activities, it isn’t as prominent as I would have liked. Mostly because it tends to take a backseat to their romance and dealing with past troubles, particularly in the middle. It does, however, pop more to the forefront toward the end of the novel.

In Cheesy Territory
Beach Read is cute, okay. It is. It’s fun and sweet and mostly enjoyable. But it’s also kind of… cheesy and over the top at points. There were certainly a few lines of dialogue (“I don’t need snowflakes.” He kissed me. “As long as there’s January.”) and moments I could have done without to avoid the cringe factor. This is especially so considering the seriousness of some of the plot points. The book also frustratingly leans into the age-old complication of 'failure to communicate properly'. I could see it coming and resigned myself to the fact, but I really wish it hadn’t been done twice. There were also a few points at which I feel January behaved somewhat annoyingly irrational but hey, you can’t have everything.

Deceptively Fluffy Covers
I feel I should mention that because of the genre, blurb and cover imagery, this is a book people will go into expecting fluff, levity and laughter but, like me, will probably be surprised to find there’s a heaviness to it, too (something that’s become common in romance reads lately). Infidelity is a big theme in this book but there’s also the death of January’s father, Gus’s research into a cult, and both our leads’ somewhat fractured outlooks on love and life to contend with. In other words, be prepared for things not to be constantly sunshine and daisies.
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As far as contemporary romance goes, this is a good choice. It’s got more emotional gravity than you’d expect from something titled Beach Read, but that’s perhaps what makes it more memorable. While I wouldn’t count this among my favourite romance reads, it’s definitely a good way to spend a few hours. If this seems like something you’ll like, there’s probably about a 90% chance that it is.

3.5 STARS

What's your definition of a perfect beach read? Addictive, emotional, humorous and romantic? This story is all of these things with an intelligent pacy plot and believable, relatable characters.

January and Gus are successful writers, they met at college but were not friends, now they are both experiencing difficulty writing their next book. January is grieving her father's death and the revelations that followed. Gus carries emotional damage from his childhood. Their first encounter is humorous but bordering on disastrous, but things improve, and they make a bet to write in each other's genre with life-changing results.

The story explores genre and prejudices about female writers. It's also an emotional journey of self-discovery for our couple with angst, fun, romance and tears.

The perfect beach read.

I received a copy of this book from Penguin UK via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

January decamps to a beach house with no money and writers block, only to discover that the guy in the next house is that guy from college, who’s now become a successful writer of gritty books, whilst January’s success is in romcoms. They challenge each other to spend the summer writing in the other’s style, and have to devise trips out for background.

I enjoyed the differing personas of January and Gus, and the way they bounced off each other. The slow burning tension between them positively sizzled. January’s background dates were considerably more fun than Gus’s cult, but I cared more about his backstory than hers, as it was kept in the background quite a lot. Overall a very readable book, and one that means I’ll bookmark the author for future novels too.

E-ARC received from netgalley in return for an honest review. Thank you, I enjoyed this one!

I kept seeing everybody reading this book and loving it, so of course I got intrigued. I wanted to know why everybody fell in love with this story and the characters. And now I get it. This book was extremely adorable, while still having a lot of depth. Seeing both main characters evolve throughout the book made my heart so happy! Their relationship was simply delightful to read about!

Three-dimensional characters, electric verbal sparring and a romance you can't help but root for even when everything seems to be going wrong - what more do you need? I loved the concept of two writers struggling with writers block daring each other to spend the summer creating a book in the other persons genre. Gus and January were endearing characters and the slow reveal of the history of their relationship was well written. Some great and quirky supporting characters, and along the way some positive perspectives on happiness and living in the moment. The perfect feel-good summer read.

Incredible! The perfect mix of humour, romance, heartache. I laughed. I cried. The premise of the story is brilliant, the characters are fantastic, I would happily jump into a reread right now!

I avoid romcoms if I can - I think it is a lazy read and predicable. I could not be more wrong in the case of Beach Read! The dialogue between January and Gus is the best part - it is witty, funny and fast paced. I was intrigued by their individual angst and back stories. We were not left with feeling that they would need a lifetime of therapy to be understood, and worked through their issues on the page, sometimes together and sometimes not - who knew realistic romance was possible. This and the tempo of the story made it the perfect, fun escapist read. I am sure it would be a great movie or series....

Unfortunately I really struggled to get into this one.

I found it really slow paced and just hard going in general.

Thanks to netgalley and Penguin Books UK for the ARC.

wow... this book.. just wow. this is so much more than just a romance book, or at least i expected this to be just your usual romance story but it’s much much more than that. it’s real, feels so real and the characters are beautifully flawed and human and so lovable and the story is too and idk what else to say apart from drop everything you are reading and read this!


tw: death of parent, grief, etc