This is a good original type of 'Beach Read' but I felt that not only did it drag on, but it became pedantic in all the minutiae and the whole thing boring and predictable - probably just not my genre and therefore unfair of me. There certainly was a lot of sparkle, warmth and romance to keep lovers of this genre interested.

I think that this suffered from a classic case of my brain having too high expectations due to over-hyping.

When two rival authors discover they are living next door to each other for the summer, they set each other a challenge. They both have to write the other person's new book. Yup, an author of literary fiction has to try his hand at romance, while the lover of romance has to attempt the hard-hitting world of literary fiction.

I'll start off by saying that this book was a really cute and fun read. Romance hasn't always been my sort of thing, so I do have a habit of reading it sparingly, but I can happily say that this was a fun book. However, I do not think that it was anything particularly special. The plot seemed quite flimsy and, as a result, it all felt very predictable. I liked how the two main characters came across as normal and down to earth, but neither of them really sparked any form of connection within me. Also, I went into this expecting a light summery read, but I don't think a beach was involved at all in the story. For this reason, I can understand why some people have said they found the cover and synopsis a little misleading.

Overall, I thought that it was a straight down the middle 3-star read. It was cute but a little too predictable for my taste. If you're a big romance fan then you'd probably enjoy it more than I did!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

The Beach Read is wonderful. It flew into my radar at a time when I really needed it. Sometimes a book just swallows you and you forget that you’re in the middle of a global pandemic and lost your job the previous week - but thats another story.

This book was warm, witty and just made me gooey inside. My Best Friend recommended this book to me so when it popped up on NetGalley I leapt onto a laptop and slammed that request button.

It has everything that a romance book should have, brooding men, a love hate relationship and enough cuteness to make my feet to that foot tap thing.

Gus and January are writing rivals so when they discover they’re living next door to each other, both with writers block and both with novels to finish. So they strike a deal, they switch genres. They have to spend more time together and honestly who even knows how it ends - me, I know. But you should read it and find out.

Emily Henry has created a book which was wonderful, warm and comforting with moments that stopped it being a cliched read.

I cannot express to you how much I enjoyed it. So, thank you Megan for telling me to read this book. It was wonderful and truly one of my favourite books of the year.

This book had been recommended to me by several friends who loved it, but unfortunately, it just didn’t live up to the hype. I loved the premise of two duelling writers and next-door neighbours who make a bet to swap the genres they write (her: romance, him: literary fiction). For very personal reasons, I related to the line about spending 12 hours in front of a laptop but with only 1,000 words and 14 Internet browser tabs open. While it definitely had its moments, particularly when dismantling the old trope about romance fiction being predictable, unfortunately it didn’t quite deliver by the time I turned the final page. I liked this book very much, but I didn’t love it.

This was comply unexpected. A real romance book, with complex characters and genuine emotions. I chuckled along and found it deeply moving at times. The perfect read fir a bit of romantic escapism!

With thanks to Netgalley and Penguin books

The blub of this book sounded good, but sadly Beach read didn't hold my attention and I had to will myself to finished this book.

I'm sure that this book will be a good seller for the summer holidays, but it wasn't for me..sorry

The cover sort of makes you think, lighthearted beach read. But this story is actually so much more than that. I am a sucker for a good love story, and I adored this. Great chemistry between the MC’s, Some difficult subjects but handled beautifully. A very moving book that I will probably buy the physical copy of for my shelf so I can lend it to my mother in law who I think will enjoy this one. Recommend. Thank you Netgalley.

First off thank you so much Netgalley for allowing me to read this fantastic book.

I really struggled to put this down. I don't often go for Romance books but this one took me to a place I've not been for a while and it made me feel and fuzzy inside.

The characters are engaging and fun and I really wouldn't mind being friends with January and help her out of the rut she has found herself in, through no fault of her own. I really felt we could be friends after this particular quote "I did what any reasonable adult woman would do when confronted with her college rival turned next-door neighbour. I dove behind the nearest bookshelf."

Gus on the other hand was not someone I was rooting for at first but I soon came around to his grumpy ways after a bit of background on him.

For someone who hasn't looked at the Women's Fiction section for a while, this was a nice wander down that road again and I'd certainly recommend it.

3.5*
This book was actually a lot better than I was expecting. I don't usually read a lot of adult romance books but I'd heard a lot about this one and decided to give it a go.
January is a romance writer who has recently been struggling with family problems and lies that have turned her world upside down and Gus, her new neighbour but who she also knew (and hated) from college is also a writer but prefers to write darker novels. They both have writers block and decide to make a bet to write in each other's genre and see who can create a book worth selling first.
There is much more to this book than just the romance blossoming between these two, January is still figuring out who she is after the lies revealed from her dad's death and trying to work on herself and I really enjoyed joining her on her journey of self worth and realising that love is still real. I didn't like Gus's character and attitude at first but once he started to open up and talk about his past he soon became more likable.
Overall a good read and fans of romance will love this.

A very enjoyable book to read - I found the dynamics between Gus and January very sweet and I loved the 'competitive authors' storyline. However, I think what gave this book even more depth was how January's relationship with her father. Really lovely read!

Trigger Warnings: death of a parent/loved one, mentions of cults, depression, mentions of past physical abuse, breast cancer, adultery, fear of vomiting

Characters
The book is narrated by January, a writer who recently lost her father and found out he was cheating at the same time. At first I didn’t like January as a character. Her thoughts are quite set in stone and she is very stubborn and unwilling to change. Of course, change is scary and I loved seeing her character develop throughout the book. By the end of the book I loved her as a character and reading from her perspective was a treat.

I think Gus might be one of my favourite love interests of all time. His character is so fascinating and I was drawn to him from the first meeting between the two. He is such a complex individual and I loved how Henry took the time to peel away the layers, one chapter at a time, revealing his vulnerable sides.

9/10

Writing Style
Henry’s writing is honestly so beautiful at times, you forget that you’re supposed to be reading summer’s hottest romance and not literary fiction. But it gives the theme of the book an extra layer. This book isn’t just one thing. It has multiple facets and explores grief and abuse and love in such a phenomenal way through Henry’s writing style.

10/10

Plot
The plot was entirely unexpected to be honest. I thought it was going to be a story of two neighbour writers who swap stories and try and out-do one another in an enemies-to-lovers type of setting. While the book did contain all of those basic elements, there was just so much more. There was exploration of grief and discovering truths and navigating issues surrounding trust. There was crying and catharsis and so many emotions. I was amazed by how much Henry was able to delve into in 384 pages.

The pacing in the beginning was very slow and it took me some time to really dive head first into this story. But once the actual deal took place, I found myself so immersed in the plot that I stayed up until 1am reading this book. There was always something that kept you reading on. You wanted to find out more about Gus and his past and you wanted to see how January copes with her grief and you wanted them both to succeed in their writing projects.

9/10

Enjoyment
As I said earlier, I stayed up until the early hours of the morning to read this book. I had such a great time reading about these characters and their journey together. I think the ending was perfection and I cried whilst reading (which almost never happens). If a book makes me so emotional, that says something. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a romance with a bit of a more serious air to it. This is described as a romcom but I would rather call it a romance since there weren’t too many laugh out loud moments compared to the serious topics discussed in the book.

10/10

AVERAGE RATING – 9.5/10

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a complimentary eARC for review purposes*

Fantastic read, I could not put it down. just the right amount of hardship and romance

Here's how good this book is: the wait list for Beach Read is approximately 6 months and we have multiple copies! I own an arc, a Kindle copy, and the paperback. I loan the pb to customers who seem extra strressed (everyone, it seems like these days!) and it cheers them up 90% of the time. So yeah, Beach Read is awesome.

I wanted to get my hands on a copy of Beach Read for a long time before I noticed it was on NetGalley. Thankyou so much NetGalley for allowing me to read it via ebook. It did not disappoint, and I would definitely recommend it. I really liked the premise of the book - the idea that both of these writers are stuck in a rut with their work and they decide to try to swap genres to see if they can become stimulated to write again. I liked both of the characters, they were the right mix of messed up, but not too messed up that you couldn't see that they would every be happy in the end. I liked the slow burn of the romance between them. I did find the book easy to read and I looked forward to picking it up and reading more - the last thing I can tolerate as a reader is when you have begun to read a book and you just don't want to pick it up when you have the chance - you would rather do other things - so I'm happy this book wasn't like that. There were a few things I found that irked me just a little bit - things that in my life wouldn't happen at all - so that brought it down from a five star read to a four for me. I'm not sure if I can go into detail without spoiling the plot line but at one point in the story the main characters are out in the wilderness - and events conspire to have them stay there overnight. They are caught in bad weather and soaked through, etc. The next day, they head home and they put their soaked / still damp clothes back on, and walk a considerable (a few hours?) distance to get back to the car - but on their way home they stop for lunch and spend the day sight seeing in local places? I'm not sure that is entirely believable - would you not go straight home for a hot shower and clean / dry clothes? Or is that me being entirely to unwilling to suspend reality and just enjoy the flow of the story? I'm not sure - you decide! Otherwise I loved it and it was a great read - I'll probably re-read this one in the future. I love this genre and I love a good / happy / you get closure ending.

Learning to love ....and to write again
January and Guy
At the ......Beach house
Both have...... Writer’s block
What a fun story as they seek a way to solve their problem. Read it and find out for yourself

Book review ☀️🏝💛
It was everywhere all summer. I loved the cover, it drew me in and I thought yeah a beach read - perfect for my summer holiday. I saved it for Cornwall.

I literally read most of it on a beach as you can see by the two pics. Very fitting 🏝☀️

The story is based on two characters who see the world very differently. Because of their past.

January a hopeless romantic - (all the best people are 😂) having had a great upbringing and wonderful parents, her world is then shattered and she struggles.

Gus - is more serious and when it comes to romance the opposite - he doesn’t believe love is all fairytales people make it out to be. When you get to know him you understand why.

Both are writers with a deadline to write bestsellers. Except they both have hit a wall. They end up swapping genres from a bet. Which leads to them both seeing the world through the other ones eyes.
Well this bit was fun as I thought they would both struggle swapping. It was good to see how they went about learning the other ones genres. This was my favourite bit of the story. Drive in movie - I’ll leave it there. If you read it you will know 🙊 oh the chemistry.

It wasn’t what I expected but I did enjoy it still. It was a slow burner. A fairly serious book about two people helping each other through a difficult time.

Also how cool was the setting. Living on the beach. Sounded amazing having that on their door stop. It’s my dream 😌 but they didn’t seem to use it often which wound me up 😂 also I would have had to rip open that letter right away!!

Guys, I think I missed something with this book, it was god, but I just didn't love it as I expected to. Everything about this book I should have loved, the humour, the romance, but something just held me back.
January has moved to her dad's secret beach house to pack it up to sell, she is in a writing slump and urgently needs to finish (start) her next novel. Gus lives next door and is also struggling to write his latest book. So after some uncomfortable interactions they make a bet to swap genres.
Sounds great doesn't it?
So why didn't I love it? Maybe I didn't feel their connection, or there wasn't enough made of the dates they went on. This book touches on grief, which is always hard to read about and also deals with some big topics including cults and suicide, not the most expected of subjects with the title of the book.
Ultimately, I think this is the issue I had, this book is billed as one thing and turns out to be something else. Lots of people have loved this book, so do not let me put you off, maybe just go in knowing it isn't all fun and games and light reading.

Thank you to Netgalley for a pre publication copy. In return for an honest review! #beachread #netgalley

January Andrews has had a loved and warm upbringing whilst Augustus Everett has been plagued with being a young carer and a human punch bag. However both wind up in North Bear shores for different reasons. The only similarity is they are both authors of fiction. Can they overcome their own secrets? Will they be able to find the truest image of themselves deep within?

I was recommended this book by many different people and I knew I must read it.

However I do not feel that the title or the cover do this book justice or make you want to read it. I also don't think either is representative to the book and could loose a lot of readers to this.

This book is a great romance read. It is a beautiful story that gently unfolds making nothing feel too heavy. Whilst your totally invested in the characters happy ending for their books. You forget that they are falling deeper together at the same time. A brilliant way to write romance.

The characters each have their own unique personality and this provides important dynamics. It also makes it feel more real of why at the start January cannot stand Gus because their personality at that time is so different.

This book keeps the pace steady and pages turning throughout.

This book makes you laugh, cry, jump with joy and shout at the pages! The twists and turns hit just in the right places when you start to get that warm fuzzy feeling. Right up until the last page!

Fabulous escapist read from a writers perspective.
January, die hard romantic, has moved to her late fathers beach house, to try and write a bestseller before the end of summer.
Next door is Gus a realist, serious kind of guy.
Both have writers block!
In an effort to start the flow they make a bet to swap genres and race to see who gets published first!
A fast paced, insightful novel set in a idyllic location.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read and review.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! I really enjoyed the characters and appreciate how real January was. I have a hard time reading romance/fiction when the main female character lacks in confidence and does things to self-sabotage. I didn't find that in this book. January was a strong lead who knows her own limitations but is also completely competent and capable. I like how the story unfolded and problems and resolutions were addressed. Overall, Beach Read is a good read - not just for the beach!