A very sweet story about January who is clearing out her late father holiday property and bumps into a old friend from college. January is a writer and has struggled to write and even deal with her feelings about her father. There were a few light moments and it had a very satisfying ending. I would seek out more books by the same author.

Thank you to NetGalley & publisher for the copy in exchange for a honest review.

A romance to fall in love with
Beach Read has so many of the elements I’d expect of a light summer read, but there’s a glimpse of darkness within that actually makes this so much more engaging than you might expect it to be.
Our main character, January, has always felt like someone who believes in love and its power to transform us. She writes romance and has always looked for her happy ending. But when we see her things aren’t going quite to plan. She is struggling to write, she is grieving her father and yet trying to reconcile herself to the discovery that her father had a secret second life.
Upon arriving at his second hideaway home, January is nervous about what she’ll find. Nothing could prepare her for the discovery that her new neighbour is an old college acquaintance, Gus.
Like January Gus is a writer. But we quickly see that, like January, things in his life aren’t quite going to plan.
What follows is quite obvious - they slowly form a new bond, breaking down the barriers each had in place and eventually starting a relationship each has secretly harboured dreams of since they first met.
The interaction between these two was great fun. Seeing two such different outlooks and the little bet to each write a book in the style of the other gave it an interesting twist. Not everything runs smoothly, but it always feels like we’ll end up where we hope.
A huge thank you to NetGalley for granting me access to this prior to publication. I loved it!

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. I loved this book. Once elin hilderbrand recommended it, I knew I would enjoy it. Anything revolving around a beach is my favorite kind of story! Some parts were confusing with all the back story and trying to keep it all straight, but I really enjoyed this book

Sorry, not my kind of book.
Too much self-flagellation and overexplaining that I found irritating.
Gus' over-description of physical characteristics pretty much every time he was in a scene was over-the-top - there's no need to mention his crooked smile, dark eyes, and ruffled hair every single time. We remember, we get it.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin UK for providing me an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the discussion of the romance genre that is part of this book, but I didn't really care for the romance itself.

"Beach Read" is a romance about two writers of different genres that are suffering from a block and (re)find each other in a beach side town in Michigan. But it's more than that: it's also a validation of the romance genre, and that was wonderful.

What I mean by validation is that it's discussed as a genre wth value in itself, and not a lesser genre compared to others, such as literary fiction. In fact, it's not a lesser genre, it's just different. And if it makes people happy, if it gives them joy, what's the matter if they would prefer to read a romance over a heavier book? To me, there is none, and seeing that discussed in this book was amazing. Besides being meta, since this is a romance book, which is funny to me, it opens up a great discussion about things that are seen as "for women" being put down, and "why are they for women? men can't enjoy romances as well?", which is important and validating for a romance reader and the romance genre in general.

As for the story itself, it was cute but I was not invested in the romance. I was invested in January, I liked her, her relationship with her family and how dealt with that and all the changes that came with the death of her father. It seemed realistic, and relatable in some way, and I definitely felt for her.

On the other hand, Augustus wasn't all that, in my opinion, and neither was their relationship with each other. I don't really know what was missing for me (maybe less drama?), but it's clearly a personal preference, because so many people loved this book and loved the romance.

In the end, although I didn't really care for the romance itself, I think "Beach Read" is perfect for romance readers, and recommend it.

I enjoyed a lot about Beach Read – the two authors, the small town setting, the hate-to-love romance – but for me, too much was packed into the story, and there was too much back story to the characters that took me away from January and Gus as a couple. It just wasn't for me, personally. I was looking for a cute romantic comedy in the vein of The Flatshare, so perhaps I need to stick to British rom-coms!

Well this book was all kinds of wonderful! I love a good romance and this was exactly that, but it was also two writers and there were bookshop scenes, a bit of a sex and unexpectedly made my sob! Definetely worth the hype this one!

After being rivals at University, both Gus and January become successful published authors; January writing women's fiction/romance and Gus literary fiction. When they meet up some years later, both have suffered heartache and both have changed their outlook on life.
the characters played off each other, showing up their deep faults, lack of trust and shallow depth of emotion and empathy. However, I really enjoyed this book, it read as though the two characters gad joined forces and actually written it themselves; a work of romantic women's literary fiction.
A story which keeps flashing through your mind long after the final page.

Beach Read is marketed as a light-hearted romantic comedy, but it is actually quite hard to place in any particular genre; it’s neither one thing nor the other. The cover, while attractive to look at, is very misleading.
January and Gus end up living next door to each other on the shores of Lake Michigan. Both are published authors having trouble with writer’s block. They hatch a plan to swap genres to see if this will inspire them, and offer to help each other with their research. This is the interesting part of the story, as the writer explores why men can be so snooty about books written by women. I would have liked more on this subject, and less about the ‘Cult’ subplot which felt like it was in the wrong book.
The writing was good, but I did not like either of the main characters, and their romance felt contrived. Part of the problem was that the story was told solely from January’s point of view; in this case it did not work for me. Alternate chapters from both main characters might have given a more balanced view.
The lakeside setting was underused – it seemed strange that they rarely went to the beach – considering the book’s title and cover. There were a lot of repetitive phrases that became a bit annoying, and some of the dialogue was very cheesy. January, especially, did not come across as a mature adult.
Judging by the number of five star reviews for Beach Read, I realise that I am in a minority. Sometimes you just can’t put your finger on why a book does not appeal.
Thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for a review copy.

Thank you Penguin UK and Netgalley for this read! I always try and push through and finish each book I choose, but unfortunately 'Beach Read' is my first DNF in a good while and I feel so bad!!😬

January and Gus were rival writers during college and are now both published authors. January's father died revealing a secret double life with another woman. January moves into the home they shared with a view to selling it. Randomly her next door neighbour turns out to be Gus and as they reacquaint themselves with each other, they find out they want to be very much more than friends

I don't know if I should rate a book that I've given up on😶 I'd probably say 2⭐ to be generous as I've seen a lot of people loving this book and I always say to try something yourselves and not only listen to my experience! Alas, it was not for me. It started out with some really well written humour and so much promise, but for me, it died halfway through when I found the story just became boring and I stopped really caring about the main characters. Again, just for me, it didn't mesh well and felt disjointed and strung out😥

January Andrews is a writer, who loves writing stories where families live charmed lives which end up being Happily Ever Afters. That is, until her dad dies unexpectedly and her life unravels, one happily ever after at a time.

She tries to get away from it all by escaping to a small town, bumping into her college nemesis, Augustus ‘Gus’ Everett. What are the chances. Worse, he’s also writing his next book which will be this generation’s Salinger/Franzen.
Without giving too much away, they agree to a challenge – they each sign up to writing a book in the genre of the other one, and the manuscript sold first wins. As a vehicle to a narrative, I forget what they win, if I’m completely honest. Dinner, I think.

Fairly soon, that’s not important as January’s trying to deal with a lot of stuff in her exploded life and remembering the crush she had on Gus a few years ago, too.

Put simply – I enjoyed Beach Read. It wasn’t a typical romcom light hearted story for the beach, and I think the title is there as a bit of an in joke. I can understand how it might irk people expecting a more straightforward meet cute/meet boy and girl as that’s not really how it plays out.

I thought it was really interesting that there was exploration of different styles and genres in the book itself, as well as from the characters. There were excerpts from January’s nihilistic draft, and a description of Gus’ story, which managed to be recognisable as a love story and yet something different. It was easy to see the author drawing from real life – the little bit I know about publishing was well represented, and there was definitely an emphasis on deadlines which sounded familiar!

The characters were well drawn, although there were a few too many mentions of Gus circling his hands and fingers round someone’s skin or hip or back, and quite a lot of ‘his eyes darkened as he thought deeply’, which might be irritating for some. I liked the characters – they were human and made mistakes. Still, they were well rounded and likeable. I wanted to know more about the people in the side. There was a mention of someone near the end who I swear hadn’t come into it before, but popped up without introduction. I may need to re-read the first chapter or two.
January’s conversations with her best friend, Shadi, reminded me of discussions with my best friends. Daft injokes, nicknames, shared experiences and common loves, like food and drink. That felt really natural, and I wished Shadi was in it more. I’d love to see a book with her as the main character, as well as books with some of the other faces too, writ large and drawn sharp.

This is a half way between out and out romance, and something a bit more focussed on human connection and the meaning of life. It might fall in the gap for some people but I enjoyed it, it was thoughtfully written.

I devoured this book. It is a gentle romance which touches on many different social issues delicately. I didn’t enjoy the many references to alcohol but on the whole this is an excellent romance story with many twist along the storyline which left me unable to put down. Well done to this author. Please see blog post. https://www.blogger.com/blog/posts/7097801138930210722?hl=en

This is a romance set mainly in rural Michigan, by the lake shore, between two authors who first met in college, had one hook up at a party, but went their separate ways. Now they meet again about 7 years later, as one is going through a divorce and one getting over the death of her father. The story is slow to begin with, but picks up with humour and great description of characters and convoluted scenarios of family, friends and their novel writing, for which they challenge each other to understand each others style of writing. An engaging read, with an ending that satisfied my romantic heart.

Content warnings: cancer, grief, death, affairs, divorce, cults, domestic abuse

This is not your average Summer chick lit read! I'd heard some really great things about this title so I just had to request it and give it a go myself.

Beach Read follows January and Gus, two rival authors who went to the same college and now live in beach houses next door to one another. After a couple of mishaps on January's part (thinking the book club she was attending was about her book!), the two meet again and strike up a friendship.

Writing notes to each other to hold up through the windows of their houses (yes like the Taylor Swift video as January says), they begin to rely on each other to learn about themselves and grow through writing a book in each other's genre.

So from the tag line on the front cover, I was expecting a sort of Lindsey Kelk-esque read. Don't get me wrong, there were moments that made me laugh but it was darker than I anticipated. There were a lot of moments about finding yourself, forgiving yourself and your family even though you can't speak to them again and a lot of thoughts around death and abuse.

Despite this, there was still a really lovely (hot!) and angsty romance throughout the book. I was really rooting for the two of them as a couple because I could just see they wanted to be together! You know when you're just like "KISS ALREADY?!". Well it was like that for me. There was on page sex though it wasn't too explicit and the kissing scenes were really well described and almost tangible.

I kind of lost my way in the last third of this book after being so excited in the beginning. I think it took me longer to read the end than the rest of the book put together as I kept getting distracted. Maybe I prefer the build up will they/won't they aspect of romance? Also it's told in singular perspective, January's. I love a dual POV and I think hearing from Gus too would have worked so well - it also had that kind of feel to it where you would expect a dual POV.

Overall I devoured this book in around 36 hours and I would definitely read more from Emily Henry! 3.5/5 stars

Beach Read by Emily Henry

Two writers, January and Gus, spend a summer writing a book in each other's genre to cure themselves of writer's block, and get to know each other a whole lot better along the way!

A very enjoyable and fresh take on the romcom genre with great characters. I read it very fast as I wanted to know how January and Gus got on but the story covers so much more - grief, cults, domestic violence, secrets... and some lighter topics too.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

3.5 stars

I read Beach Read expecting a light fluffy romance, well in short, a beach read. But this is not quite what’s on offer. January is still reeling from the death of her father, she’s juggling feelings of grief, anger and betrayal. Gus has his own issues around childhood trauma and self-worth, none of which lend themselves to a light fluffy romance.

So, the first half of the book is following January and Gus as they ‘find’ themselves again and the second part of the book illustrates them ‘finding’ each other.

I enjoyed Beach Read but have reduced the star rating because I found the mismatch between the first half of the book and the second half quite striking. Having said that credit definitely goes to Ms Henry for giving the fluffy rom-com genre a damn good shake up.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

January is reluctantly spending the summer at her dad’s secret second home, a year after he died and she met his mistress at his funeral. She is hoping to finish her new novel and get the house ready to sell, while still grappling with the confusing medley of missing and being angry with her father and being unable to get answers from him now.
Meanwhile, her new neighbour is none other than Gus Everett, literary fiction writer and rival since college. Hilarity ensues as they make a bet to write in each other’s genres, including research trips, with the promise for the loser to promote the winner’s next novel.

Secrets can be confusing, destructive and all-consuming. January is still trying to understand her dad’s and what his secrets did to her belief in happily ever after’s. This book was equal parts the warm fuzzies and harsh truths. I laughed, I cried, my heart melted, and all the while, the romantic tropes were cleverly hiding the importance of trusting each other and coming to understand that people are complicated but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a happily ever after.

Beach Read starts with the leading women, January, a former romantic picking up the pieces of her life after her fathers death and the secrets it revealed. After having the rug pulled from under her we see her and her cynical neighbour make a pact to write each others genre under the condition they don’t fall in love.

To be honest, I started this book ready for an easy enemies to lover trope, but this book was far from being that simple. Instead it follow many themes. Some moments were dark while others had you smiling brightly. If definitely wasn’t the simple read I had expected, it was so much more.

I’ve found a lot of books I have read lately are from at least a two person point of view. So reading just January’s take on things was a bit different. From this my connection to the character felt stronger. And much was left to guessing until she found out herself. You’d think a singular point of view would limit a story, but this only added more depth.

I love the writing, especially the dialogue between characters. They definitely sounded like writers with their witty banter to each other.

My favourite part was the characters. Yes it did follow the usual set of people in a romance - the funny best friend, wounded hero, the welcoming elder. But each one of them added to the story in their own way. The development was beautiful, you could really see January finding herself in this new world that had been forced on her. As for Gus, though his development isn’t as obvious, it’s there in little scenes. I found myself constantly wanting to give him a cuddle. My frustration lay with January’s dad (I don’t really felt like he was redeemed) but I suppose that’s dependent on how your views are on certain things.

Overall I did really enjoy this book and grateful for the e-book provided by Penguin. The layers to it are so much better than expected. But now I reallyyyy want to read the books January and Gus wrote!

I think this would be a good holiday read as it’s easy to read and the characters are engaging. However, for me, the story wasn’t deep enough. It is focussed on Gus and January, who knew each other at college and meet again when January inherits a beach house from her father. She finds out he had an affair during his marriage and she is struggling to come to terms with this. She has writers block and so agrees to swap with Gus and write each other’s books - both different genres.
I felt more could have been made of the relationship her father had as this was only briefly explained near the end.
If you are looking for a nice romance story then this is a good read. Unfortunately it just wasn’t for me.

Let me preface this review by saying how much I loved this book, it had depth, it had engaging writing and it had such a swoon worthy romance. I didn’t know how much I needed a cute romance like this until I read it and sped through it in a matter of days, I can see this being huge over the summer especially as we’re all still spending more time indoors and who doesn’t need a healthy dose of escapism!

I loved the basis of the story and how the plot progresses, from January and Gus discovering that they’re neighbours for the summer to their developing friendship and then burgeoning romance and chemistry. I think the whole idea works so well because it’s just so fun – both main character’s are writers but while Jan writes heartwarming romances, Gus is all about dark and twisty literary fiction. Their challenge then becomes to write what neither have written before; Jan has to write literary fiction and Gus has to write a romance. I loved their banter and the challenges this task provides for them both and how it forces to re-evaluate their beliefs and their ‘niches’ as writers. I think it also makes some interesting points about which kind of books are taken seriously and which books aren’t.

I also really liked the fact that Jan and Gus had that whole not quite rivals to lovers thing going on. This was a more one sided rivalry but it was still fun to read as this is explored through their snarky banter and back and forth and also how they reminisce about their times in college. I love the trope of college friends / acquaintances reconnecting later in life and noticing how the other has changed, or how certain things were misconstrued when they were younger. I thought Gus was such a refreshing character in that he had the whole dark and brooding persona but he wasn’t needlessly mean to January or any other character.

As well as the light and sexy moments, there was also a lot more depth than I expected from a book called Beach Read, but I guess it was a case of not judging a book by its cover or title in this case. I wasn’t expecting the complex family relationships, infidelity and exploration of childhood abuse which was in the novel and I think these issues were tackled in a sensitive way. It was so heartwarming to read as both Jan and Gus shed their defences and learn to trust again. While this wasn’t strictly a second chance romance – as the characters didn’t date but had a close encounter in college – it had the feel of a second chance romance all the same and it was a sweet element.

I did want to point out one issue with this which others readers have also picked up on and that’s in the way the one POC in the novel is represented. Shari is Jan’s best friend, but she only pops in and out to give some advice and then disappears again. While I liked how close their friendship was and how they clearly care a lot about each other, enough to come and visit at the drop of a hat, I didn’t like how we got no backstory on her and especially how ethnically ambiguous her character was left. This is a pet peeve of mine when an author has a POC in their work but makes minimal effort to actually explore them, it just feels a bit lazy. I would have liked if Shari was more fleshed out and we got the chance to get to know her the way we did some of the other secondary characters. All we know about her is that she has the tendency to fall in love quickly and has a big heart, but it would have been nice if she had her own backstory rather than just being a sounding board for Jan and her issues. If you’re looking for more nuanced rep then I would recommend reading a book by a BIPOC writer.

Overall, Beach Read is an enjoyable, feel good book, which made me tear up, swoon and smile so much. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of contemporary romance and anyone looking for a really fun and engaging book to read over the summer or at any time really but just keep in mind it’s a bit of a slower one, it hopefully won’t disappoint!