Beach Read
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4.3 • 5.6K Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
FROM THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF FUNNY STORY!
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.
As featured in The New York Times Book Review ∙ Entertainment Weekly ∙ Oprah Magazine ∙ Betches ∙ Shondaland ∙ Good Morning America ∙ The New York Post ∙ Good Housekeeping ∙ CNN ∙ and more!
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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
A romance novel about a romance novelist? It may sound gimmicky, but Emily Henry pulls off the premise with high style, delivering a bubbly and satisfying story that puts a fresh spin on the enemies-to-lovers and forced-proximity conventions. When January Andrews finds out that she’s spending the summer next door to her graduate-school creative-writing rival Augustus Everett, she decides to settle, once and for all, their debate about whether romance constitutes a legitimate literary art form. She proposes that the classmates switch genres, with January taking a stab at writing tragic literary fiction while Gus tries to write a hot love story. Despite her book’s sunny cover and fun premise, Henry tackles poignant themes like grief and infidelity as she explores the experiences that have shaped her protagonists’ feelings about art and love. Beach Read lives up to its title and then some—it’s a gobble-it-up read with unexpected depth.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Henry (Hello Girls) hits all the right notes with this clever, compassionate contemporary romance. January Andrews, a 29-year-old romance author, has always believed in happily-ever-after. Then her father dies and she inherits his secret lake house in North Bear Shores, Mich., and discovers his long-standing extramarital affair. Broke and suffering from writer's block, January's moves into the "lakeside cottage brimming with charm and proof your father was an asshole and your life has been a lie." Her new next-door neighbor is Augustus Everett, the tortured darling of the literary fiction world. Their contentious front-porch chats lead them to construct a challenge: they'll each spend the summer writing a novel in the other's genre, giving one another tutorials in their respective approaches and going on research trips together. Whoever finishes and sells their book first, wins. January's struggle to reconcile her inherent optimism with the recent upheaval in her life is thoroughly convincing and handled with empathy. Her and Augustus's path from writing partners to friends to lovers is a constant delight and the inevitable third act communication issues are deeply rooted in the characters' psychology, making them believable and fresh. Readers are sure to fall hard for this meta, heartfelt take on the romance genre.
Customer Reviews
(SOME SPOILERS AHEAD)Emotional rollercoaster…
I have to admit that I did not see where the plot and the ending was going. I thought this was going to be a fun, summery, beach, touristy-small town read, but was I wrong (in a good way). This is the second Emily Henry book I’ve read and I think this was heavy on emotions. I absolutely adore both January and Gus. Their personality and chemistry despite starting off the wrong foot/past was perfect. They balance each other out. I like that January was there for Gus…somewhat patient.. even though there were times I felt that her actions and words were driven because of her impression from their college days. She didn’t know him—the him now to be that bold. And for Gus, I find that when he comes off as mean or rude was endearing. I don’t know if that’s just me, but it was new to me. In terms of we readers did not have to wait that long to know that is his thing. I was preparing for some miscommunication trope because of that, but I’m glad that did not happen. Although, I am holding a tiny grudge that he doesn’t like Meg Ryan :”)…
The reason why I rated this book 4 stars is because I did not like the fact that infidelity (to me) came across as something to talk about and be done with it. I like that this book teaches about healing—big on that and I am all for that, but I think that sometimes this hurt, being mad, being upset towards somebody you love betrays the other person you love is a good thing. I did not like the fact that January’s dad kinda made her feel like she has to forgive his cheating or not think he’s a terrible person. In the letter he says, “do you think I’m terrible? It’s okay if you do” That to me feels like ‘it’s okay if you do. I know having an affair is, but also don’t think of me that way.’
Going on a break or whatever is just an excuse to cheat. Her dad mentions about trying to find himself and finding his way back to her mother again, but you can do that by not cheating. Cheating isn’t an option it’s a choice. Same I can say with the mistress too. She knew and still stayed. I’m glad that January held on that she is right to be mad. And still hold love for her dad. I do wish we also focused on the mom. She is the wife and was the one being cheated on while she had cancer. We don’t know if the dad wrote her a letter. I just wish we could have gotten something for her mom other than the last happy moments she had with him.
Very good
Very god book Emily Henry really develops her characters. Happy place was my favorite.
Cute
This was a cute read but not great.