Beach Read

Solid romance/general fiction - it really does straddle the line a bit, because there's almost as much about January coming to terms with her dad's death and reconciling who he was with who she thought he was, which is all very well-handled and a good exploration of grief and disillusionment. I do just have to say, however, write as beautifully as you want in letters to your daughter about CHEATING ON YOUR WIFE WHO HAS CANCER, you're still cheating on your wife who has cancer, justify it however you like, you're garbage, sorry about it.

I really enjoyed the dialogue in this book, especially the banter between January and Gus as they get to know each other early on. Some of the drama late in the book with Gus's ex-wife coming back and January kind of spiraling out as a result seemed a little bit unnecessary, but other than that I liked this a lot and the development of the romance was really natural and fun.

(2020 summer romance bingo: “protagonist smells uniquely like themselves,” though really, once you're looking for it, almost every romance has a description or two that would qualify for this square. Would also work for “I'm on a boat,” and maybe for “dad jokes.”)

Definitely more of a 4.5 but I'm rounding up.

CW: talk of the existence of a cult in the past and it's destructive end; cancer, death of a parent

I knew I was gonna love this book when I first saw the cover; I just did. It has the two main characters reading books on a beach and that's the best kind of afternoon I can imagine, so I knew in my heart that this was going to be lovely. And maybe it was not as “fun” as it's marketing seems to make it out to be, but it was so much more than I expected.

The writing in this story is just so beautiful and charming that I was completely lost in it and didn't put it down except for very short breaks. The conversations are insightful, the banter is excellent and even the sad parts are so full of feeling that I was quite emotional through most of it, while also having a lot of fun. I was actually dreading what would come up when the romance genre or women's fiction is talked about (the genres get enough snootiness to deal with irl), but I was so glad that it never happened and that any discussions about book genres were much more thoughtful and sweet. I also quite enjoyed the setting of the book at a beach/college town, where neighbors can communicate through windows and decks and most locals know each other. However, the one reason I didn't like the book being perceived as a romcom is because a huge part of it is about dealing with grief and I thought the author handled it with a lot of sensitivity, but it also means that the book tends to be more introspective and solemn than a comedy.

I really loved both the characters of January and Gus, and I think it's been a while since I've had a situation where I couldn't decide who I liked more. They are the perfect embodiments of the grumpy and sunshine trope, and I thought the author did a wonderful job giving us context for why they are the way they are, and also ensuring that we get to know the depths of their heart. I related to both of them on different levels but particularly with Janie's belief in true love, romance and the power of happy romantic books in sweeping us away and making us forget the many real life problems we are dealing with. Gus's belief that no one can love him because of the way he is, is very heartbreaking and I related to that feeling as well sometimes. But I also liked that the author made his character grumpy but an overall nice guy and not letting him fall into the the very common trope of the guy being an asshole because of a sad backstory. They both have issues but they work through them, get to know each other, form a sweet friendship and support each other in their writing and I just loved the development of their relationship from the beginning to the end.

To conclude, I read a lot of amazing romance novels all the time but this book felt very satisfying in a way that I can't articulate. And I won't deny that I'm a probably a bit biased because both the main characters are authors. If you are looking for a novel which has a nice slow burn love story, great characters and is more on the quiet and reflective side, I think you'll love this book. I'm feeling very happy after finishing it and I needed that.

Beach Read was a clever, fun romance but it ultimately fell a little short for me.
The setup for the story – two writers that challenge each other to write outside their comfort zones – was fun. The evolution of their relationship from enemies, to neighbors, to friends, to more felt organic. I liked that a lot of the plot felt almost meta (how will he use his research about a cult in a rom-com, while the characters in this rom-com are researching a cult)
What didn't work for me was January, the main character. She just annoyed me, and I know she wasn't supposed to. On the surface, her emotional/personal journey is one I usually like. Her work and relationships are falling apart, and she's questioning who she is and what she really believes. That's a good foundation for any book.
I think my main problem was that every emotional high point and all the conflicts seemed very contrived and like overreactions on her part. The first time it happened, I was fine. Ah, they resolved it and now there will be a basis to look back and not jump to conclusions. But then every time any problem came about it was for the same exact reason – jumping to conclusions and not even trying to talk about it.
I think I'm just tired of miscommunication/lack of communication being the main driving force behind romance stories.
Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy of the book through Netgalley for review.

This is definitely a book in which I think the title and the cover don't accurately reflect what it was about. The characters are lounging on the beach on the front of the book – and very rarely make it to the beach at all in the pages. I also get that the title is probably poking fun a little at the idea of romance novels as light books you read on the beach, and the basic premise of the book involves the characters exploring their genres, but I think you could have taken the entire story and set it in the mountains and it would have been the same. I like that Emily Henry writes emotionally complex characters. But I think this might be my least favorite of the three adult novels she has published, mostly because I struggle with reading leading men who can't say what they feel. I understand that Gus's backstory explains why he is the way he is. But something January says to Gus really summarizes what frustrated me about this book: "I don't need you to be Fabio...I just want you to tell me how you feel. I want to know what it is you want." I just didn't like how they each made assumptions about what the other was feeling or needed throughout the story. What I did enjoy was the way both January and Gus explored why feel-good fiction is not just naïve or unrealistic.

4,5 stars

Opinião no link: https://peaceful-place.blogs.sapo.pt/livros-beach-read-42543

Este livro acabou de sair e eu vi tanta gente a lê-lo no Goodreads que não resisti e também decidi dar uma vista de olhos.

Aqui temos história de uma escritora - January, que desde pequena acreditava no “Felizes para sempre” e dedicou a sua vida quase toda a escrever romances desse tema. No entanto, a sua vida dá uma reviravolta quando o pai morre e ela descobre que ele teve uma amante durante anos. O mundo do felizes para sempre aos olhos dela, fica destruído, e ela tem um bloqueio criativo e não consegue escrever o livro que deverá está proponto em 3 meses.

Para melhorar a situação, o pai deixou-lhe uma casa na praia, onde pelos vistos passava os tempos com a sua amante. Perdida da vida e desesperada para limpar a casa e vendê-la January descobre que o seu vizinho, é o seu rival de escrita da escola e posteriormente da vida - Augustus. Este escrtitor, despreza o felizes para sempre e sempre gozou com o facto dela acreditar nisso. Portanto, já desesperada com a situação que está, ainda mete-se com a última pessoa que lhe apetecia.

É um livro diferente daquilo que eu estava a espera, pensei que fosse mais leve e não tocasse em tópicos tão complicados. Mas obviamente que goste do livro e dei uma avaliação muito alta. Contudo, para mim ainda faltaram algumas coisas que talvez preenchecem melhor a história.

This is one of the better romances I've read in a while. I went in expecting a typical light read romance, where the two characters (who inevitably fall in love) start out hating each other, etc etc - follow formula here. What I found instead in this story was more. There is still the romance, and the two characters finding their way toward each other, but there was also a lot of good stuff in here about family, forgiveness, secrets, and all the baggage we all carry into our relationships with everyone around us. More than once the line “people aren't math problems” is used - there is so much complexity to all of our lives that nothing is quite as simple as it often seems. This reads like a light ‘beach read' but includes enough ‘real' stuff to make it appeal even to those who don't normally like romance novels. This will definitely be on my list to suggest for book club in the future - something to appeal to everyone and LOTS to discuss!

I absolutely LOVED this book!!! I've never read Emily Henry before, but I love her writing style. It was a quick read but also very descriptive. I typically don't like really descriptive writing, but this one was just right. I love the characters and I absolutely LOVE the setting!!! I'm from Ohio so I loved the references to Ohio and Michigan. The characters were amazing, the plot was intriguing, and the dialogue was superb I am a total fan of Emily Henry now!!!

If you need a definition of wasted time, this book is just its definition. Most of the time it felt as the book was ashamed of itself. The promise of the book is two author - one of them writes serious manly fiction and the other - romance novels. But what we get is the main character so ashamed of what she writes, that she tries not to mention it at all or justify it at any cost. I don't even know what is more cringey.

Of course, it was only one of many problems in the book. It was overwhelmingly long. boring and bland. My only emotion was annoyance at the main chacter, January, from whose POV we read this story. She's so eager to determine and tell the reader what each character feels that she doesn't even have to ask them. Or anyone at all. She just assigns them feelings and motivations for actions as she sees fit.

You know what? This doesn't even deserve a review, so to hell with this book. Read and forgotten already.