Beach Read by Emily Henry Book Review

Title: Beach Read
Author: Emily Henry
Publisher: Berkley Books
Release Date: May 19, 2020
Pages: 361

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.

Buy it on Barnes & Noble or Amazon  

My Thoughts

January Andrews is a romance writer who writes happily ever afters for her characters. However, from her own experience and watching her parents, she no longer believes in them herself.

And that was the moment I realized: when the world felt dark and scary, love could whisk you off to go dancing; laughter could take some of the pain away; beauty could punch holes in your fear.

Gus Everett was January's biggest rival in college and is a successful writer of fiction. Both of them haven't seen each other since college and both are experiencing writer's block.

"When you love someone," he said haltingly,"... you want to make this world look different for them. To give all the ugly stuff meaning, and amplify the good.

When they agree to switch genres and help each other with their novels, they also find comfort in the company of each other. With both people experiencing emotional pain, they begin to find a way to cope with it.  

Sometimes he came to my house. Sometimes I went to his. The wall between him and the rest of the world wasn't gone, but it was lower, at least between us. 

Star Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.5)

For me, it was more of a slow burn novel instead. It took a while for the characters to face their feelings despite the initial feelings in the beginning.

The chemistry wasn't as good as I would have expected. I really wished they would have opened up to each other more because it could have solved the communication part of their relationship.

Overall, Beach Read was a fun book I finished in a day or so. I think I had too high of expectations for the book because of all the hype it was getting; it wasn't a five-star read for me. However, I still found it to be enjoyable and a nice summer read.

About the Author

Emily Henry is the New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation. She writes stories about love and family for both teens and adults. She studied creative writing at Hope College and the New York Center for Art & Media Studies, and now spends most of her time in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the part of Kentucky just beneath it. Find her on Instagram @EmilyHenryWrites.