A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters.
BEACH READ by EMILY HENRY
Series: Standalone
Genre: romance, women's fiction
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: May 19, 2020
Synopsis:
Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.
They're polar opposites.
In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block.
Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She'll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he'll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.
They're polar opposites.
In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block.
Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She'll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he'll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.
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“Once I started Beach Read I legit did not put it down.”—Betches
One of…
Oprah Magazine’s most anticipated romance novels of 2020
Betches’ 20 Books to read in 2020
Shereads’ Most Anticipated Books of Summer 2020
“Reader, I swooned! Beach Read is a breath of fresh air. My heart ached for January, and Gus is to die for – a steamy, smart and perceptive romance. I was engrossed!”—Josie Silver, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One Day in December
“This is a touching and heartfelt book about love, betrayal, grief, failure, and learning how to love again. I adored going along on Gus and January’s journey, and I closed this book with a satisfied sigh.”—Jasmine Guillory, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Proposal
“Beach Read is original, sparkling bright, and layered with feeling. Has trying to see the world through your long time crush/rival’s eyes ever been this potent and poignant? If whipcrack banter and foggy sexual tension is your catnip, you’ll adore this book.”—Sally Thorne, USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game and 99 Percent Mine
“Beach Read is exactly the witty, charming, and swoony novel we always want; it also happens to be the unexpected wallop of emotional wisdom and sly social commentary we need right now. I adored it.” —Julia Whelan, author of My Oxford Year
“Beach Read by Emily Henry has everything the title promises–a romping plot, family secrets, and the thrill of falling in love, all set on the sweeping shores of eastern Lake Michigan. I cannot wait to read what Henry writes next.” —Amy E. Reichert, author The Coincidence of Coconut Cake and The Optimist’s Guide to Letting Go
“Delightfully romantic and slyly poignant, Beach Read is brimming with crackling banter and engrossing prose. It has every flavor of booklover catnip: rivalry, creative struggle, family secrets, and the sweet head-over-heels tumble into love. Emily Henry’s Beach Read is 2020’s perfect anywhere read.”—Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners
“If you liked Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game and Linda Holmes’s Evvie Drake Starts Over, you will definitely be into this, which feels like their spawn. (No one asked me to say this, by the way. I’m just high on that happy-sad feeling of finishing a book I enjoyed, that I wish wasn’t over.) Well played.”—Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, best-selling authors of The Royal We
“Readers are sure to fall hard for this meta, heartfelt take on the romance genre.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A heartfelt look at taking second chances, in life and in love.”—Kirkus Reviews
“This will still sweep readers off their feet. January’s first-person narration is suitably poetic and effervescent, the small-town beach setting is charming, and the romance is achingly swoony.”
—Booklist
BAM | iBooks | Kobo
Praise for Beach Read:
“Once I started Beach Read I legit did not put it down.”—Betches
One of…
Oprah Magazine’s most anticipated romance novels of 2020
Betches’ 20 Books to read in 2020
Shereads’ Most Anticipated Books of Summer 2020
“Reader, I swooned! Beach Read is a breath of fresh air. My heart ached for January, and Gus is to die for – a steamy, smart and perceptive romance. I was engrossed!”—Josie Silver, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One Day in December
“This is a touching and heartfelt book about love, betrayal, grief, failure, and learning how to love again. I adored going along on Gus and January’s journey, and I closed this book with a satisfied sigh.”—Jasmine Guillory, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Proposal
“Beach Read is original, sparkling bright, and layered with feeling. Has trying to see the world through your long time crush/rival’s eyes ever been this potent and poignant? If whipcrack banter and foggy sexual tension is your catnip, you’ll adore this book.”—Sally Thorne, USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game and 99 Percent Mine
“Beach Read is exactly the witty, charming, and swoony novel we always want; it also happens to be the unexpected wallop of emotional wisdom and sly social commentary we need right now. I adored it.” —Julia Whelan, author of My Oxford Year
“Beach Read by Emily Henry has everything the title promises–a romping plot, family secrets, and the thrill of falling in love, all set on the sweeping shores of eastern Lake Michigan. I cannot wait to read what Henry writes next.” —Amy E. Reichert, author The Coincidence of Coconut Cake and The Optimist’s Guide to Letting Go
“Delightfully romantic and slyly poignant, Beach Read is brimming with crackling banter and engrossing prose. It has every flavor of booklover catnip: rivalry, creative struggle, family secrets, and the sweet head-over-heels tumble into love. Emily Henry’s Beach Read is 2020’s perfect anywhere read.”—Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners
“If you liked Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game and Linda Holmes’s Evvie Drake Starts Over, you will definitely be into this, which feels like their spawn. (No one asked me to say this, by the way. I’m just high on that happy-sad feeling of finishing a book I enjoyed, that I wish wasn’t over.) Well played.”—Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, best-selling authors of The Royal We
“Readers are sure to fall hard for this meta, heartfelt take on the romance genre.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A heartfelt look at taking second chances, in life and in love.”—Kirkus Reviews
“This will still sweep readers off their feet. January’s first-person narration is suitably poetic and effervescent, the small-town beach setting is charming, and the romance is achingly swoony.”
—Booklist
REVIEW
Beach Read by Emily HenryMy rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
To some, Beach Read may have the appearance of a light rom-com, perfect for easy summer reading. I was pleased to discover that underneath the humor that it delivered, each main character had a wonderfully complex emotional conflict to work through. The emotionally deeper plots are the kinds of romances that I'm attracted to the most. You really get a chance to dig into the characters' minds and hearts so that even if you don't necessarily agree with everything they do, you understand what influences them. There were some common, recognizable tropes found in your typical contemporary romance, but Emily Henry managed to infuse new life into them and make the story feel fresh and real.
This is an enemies-to-lovers romance of sorts. January and Gus have known each other since college when they attended writing classes together. He was the grumpy unapproachable hero, and she was the optimistic romantic who was ready to conquer the world. Their life experiences and world views were so completely different that a barrier was erected between them. And so began a competitive streak that carried into the present time. January still grits her teeth at the mention of his name and success story. He was that guy that always rubbed her the wrong way and got her hackles up without even trying. When her life is falling apart at the seams, she discovers that her new neighbor is none other than her nemesis, Augustus Everett.
January's entire outlook on life and love has been shattered by a secret unearthed about her father after his death. One year later, she's still trying to come to grips with her disillusionment and heartbreak over his betrayal. Unfortunately this upheaval has translated into a hardcore case of writer's block. How could she possibly write a love story that her readers have come to expect with hearts and flowers and a happily-ever-after when she's not sure she believes in them anymore? She's twenty-nine, flat broke, and living in the house that brings all of her hurt and pain right back up to the surface.
I’d started publishing romance because I wanted to dwell in my happiest moments, in the safe place my parents’ love had always been. I’d been so comforted by books with the promise of a happy ending, and I’d wanted to give someone else that same gift.
When she realizes Gus is next door, she goes on the defensive and they immediately start throwing snark back and forth. What she doesn't know is that they currently have more in common than she thinks. Writer's block has struck him as well, and he's just as desperate to get the words flowing. An idea is proposed: what if they both stepped in the other's shoes and tried to write from the other person's perspective? She would write a dreary, tragic literary novel, and he would write a romance with a happy ending. It starts out as a game to prove their versatility and talent to each other, and becomes so much more.
January never bothered to truly get to know what was underneath Gus' gruff exterior, and made snap judgements on surface appearances. Now she was discovering his soft underbelly, his vulnerable side that not many are allowed to see, and she realized that they actually make a surprisingly strong team. They were having fun again, and learning that when people weren't what they seem, it isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes it's a gift. In finding each other, they found their way back to themselves again, but stronger than ever.
I really enjoyed the bantering between these two characters, and the gradual path to them discovering love when they least expected it. I can't put my finger on what held me back from giving a full five stars. While I enjoyed the concept of the plot, and the excellent characterization of both main characters, for some reason I didn't feel butterflies in my stomach, heart-pounding excitement for the romance. Regardless of that, I thought the writing was fantastic and this is most definitely worthy of a read for those who are looking for a romance with some really relatable, weighty themes. Without a doubt I'll be reading more from this author in the future.
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