The cover & title of this book lead me to believe it would be a light hearted easy to read romance. But I struggled to adhere with the characters & found the story line quite complicated. I did stick with it to the end, but wasn't really one of my favourites

This book definitely was not as it seemed, I was expecting light and fluffy but instead it was moody and dealt with challenging issues such as betrayal and cancer.

Another ARC and another goody. The kind of light (but well written) book that is much appreciated right now. January is mourning her dad. She's also clearing out his beach house, and trying to write a novel. Her belief in happy endings has been sorely tested by the appearance of her dad's mistress at the funeral. Her mum knew, but she'd thought her parents had a perfect relationship.

Anyway, January meets the local eccentrics, and finds another writer next door. They challenge each other to write in a different genre, and magically writer's block is cured, and romance follows. Well, not quite so straightforwardly, but something like that. I liked the characters, and the thread of black humour.

"I picked through buckets of cut flowers, longing for the days when I could afford a bundle of daisies for the kitchen, calla lilies for the nightstand in the bedroom. Of course, that had been back when Jacques and I were sharing an apartment. When you were renting in New York by yourself, there wasn’t much money for things that smelled good for a week, then died in front of you."

You know when you read a book you like and you don't want it to end but you also want to know how it ends? This is one of those books for me.

January is an author with a writer's block and a deadline to finish her next book. She decides to spent her summer to her father's beach house in order to achieve that. This is where she meets her next door neighbor, Gus. He is also a writer working on his next book. They place a bet to see which one can write a book in the other's genre and style and sell it.

The book was very entertaining, with a very interesting plot that captured my attention from the start. Both characters had a very intriguing backstory and so much chemistry between them, their interactions were full of clever banter and sweet moments.

At times it was like reading three books at once, I was very excited to see how each story would develop.

I had the best time reading it.

* I received an arc from the publisher through Netgalley.

Good. Interesting characters and idea as it shows how writers work on their stories and the stresses they go through. Nice romantic read.

5 SHINY, WONDERFUL, FILLED WITH TEARS OF JOY STARS!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Beach Read is quite possibly my favourite book I’ve read this year so far, and it has definitely made its way to my top 5 all time favourite books!

"Bad things don't dig down through your life until the pit's so deep that nothing good will ever be big enough to make you happy again. No matter how much shit, there will always be wildflowers."

I went into this book without any specific expectations, I only wanted to read it and let the story envelop and surprise me. And I could not be more pleased!

Beach Read follows January and Gus, both published writers who have found themselves struggling to put their next story onto paper due to mishaps in their personal life. And so they make a bet to finish writing their books by the end of summer and see who can sell it first. If a story about people who write stories doesn’t already scream INCREDIBLE at you, then you should also know that Beach Read will give you two amazingly well developed and lovable characters, heartwarming moments, people and relationship development, and so much more!

Emily Henry writes a love story like I’ve never seen before. I fell in love with January and Gus, but I also felt their pain, and their hurt, and the sympathy they have for each other over the inevitable things life has thrown at them. Emily Henry wrote so many hauntingly beautiful passages in this book - that I could so closely relate to/feel - that I don’t think I will ever forget them for as long as I shall live.

Gus and January both feel so real and like characters someone can easily relate to, maybe not with the specifics of their back stories, but just through how human they feel and how their worries about life and relationships and their weariness about what the world really is and what being alive means; how all of this passes from them to the reader in a way that makes you feel understood.

This is such a well written, joyful, uplifitng, captivating story that also deals with the pains and realities of life and reading it has left me extremely content. A story I didn’t know I needed but am so extremely thankful I had a chance to read and will forever hold with me in that part of my heart that stores all the greatest things.

Here’s to happy endings!

I couldn't make up my mind about this book as I struggled, initially in particular, to get into.. I found it rather convoluted and for me didn't flow particularly well. Quite intense main characters with convoluted pasts which they were struggling to come to terms with. The plot panned out rather predictably even if it took a while to get there.

HOWWW have I never read an Emily Henry book?! Seriously?! How?!
AMAZING.

I just finished this book and I am basically thanking the literary gods for this book - a book about people writing books is always a winner for me, and January was basically my hero, seriously I loved her. I want a movie of this book already.

January Andrews is a romance writer who loves happily ever afters, until her own life crashes and burns around her. One year on shes trying to piece together whats left of her life, write a book for her agent that she doesn't wanna write, and figure out her dads hidden secrets. There she meets Gus, Augustus, who she briefly knew at college and now lives next door to (also an author).

Seriously amazing, no spoilers from me, it needs a read! Beautifully written and so well thought out, and I am now definitely on the hunt for more Emily Henry books.

Really struggled getting into this. I was hoping to be swept away into a nice ready fun read but it felt darker than I expected and January was a character that I struggled to connect with.

Not for me, but I'm sure I'm in the minority.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book. This is my honest opinion.

There is nothing objectively bad about this book. It's an interesting premise - a romance writer and a literary fiction writer deciding to switch genres to write their own books. The execution, unfortunately, is flawed.

'Beach Read' has a lot of strings involved. There's an enemies to friends to lovers dynamic, which is punctuated with the heavy trauma that both of them carry, there's the deadbeat dads that both characters still hold in their minds, there's the topics of the books - one of which is based on the horrific true story of a cult - which don't gel at all with the genre of the book. It's far too much and none of them are paid off well through the writing. After about 100 pages, every chapter just feels like a re-write of the previous one, just with slightly different words. There's so few central characters involved that you can only read about them for so long with their one-dimensional problems before you want to put the book down again.

It feels like Henry wanted to write a 'different' rom-com book: one with depth and intensity about it, so it couldn't just be classed as your classic women's fiction novel. But it's just not very well done. I think that it needed to be stripped back again and re-thought. I'd have been far more interested in two novelists going against each other when they swapped genres and falling in love - the other clutter just needs to be pushed away.

While this is packaged as a romantic comedy, the book has a lot going for it. It has quirky main characters who are the result of their very different childhoods., it has some laugh out loud moments, it has a good supporting cast, it has sadness and loss at it’s core, and it has some very well written sex. What is not to like?
I’d recommend this book and I thank the author, the publishers and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it prior to publication in the UK (Beach Road is an American book.)

I really enjoyed this. But... I have some issues. The title: it didn’t quite fit, the novel was darker in tone than suggested. The challenge: all the talk about writing kept reminding me I was reading one of the genres being discussed. Having said that, I did like the way the writer deliberately veered of from the rules, which I realised was the whole point and that did make for an interesting read. I didn’t really need the sex scene to be spelt out for me but I think some people like that in a love story.

I loved this book!!

When January's father dies she discovers he had a whole secret second life, so when hers starts falling apart and she is struggling with writers block she decides to move into her father's second house for the summer to focus on finishing her book.

She soon realises that her new grumpy neighbour is actually Gus, the guy she knew and fancied in college and one drunken night later she has made a deal, they each need to write a book in the other's genre. To do this they need to do research. Gus takes January to see the darker side of life, whilst January takes Gus to learn all about romance on the condition that she doesn't fall in love with him.

I really enjoyed Gus' and January's story and found it easy to care about them both and want their happy ever after. This is a great, easy read, perfect for anytime you want to escape for a bit!

Beach Read by Emily Henry a refreshing five-star read. This is one of those stories that will keep you hooked, its witty and funny, and the dialogue is so good you can see the sparks coming off the page. This was not what I was expecting, it turned out to be so much more, this will be the perfect each read, but it will also be a perfect read at other times as well. Gus and January seem like the couldn’t be more opposite of each other, under the surface but as you read you learn the truth. Don’t miss this great story, and I for one will be checking for more from this author as I loved every word.

January writes romance Gus writes the opposite.. They were at school together but she thought he hated her and he thought the same about her. They meet up years later and bet each other they can't write a book about the others genre.. Quite enjoyed the book until the last chapter when I couldn't read it for all the repeated words and jumbled up letters so couldn't get to finish. I know it;'s probably a proof but it would have been better if I could have finished

DNF @ 54%.

I don’t even know where to start. I’m no expert when it comes to marketing but even I know that cover shouts light, easy-going rom-com rather than angst-filled romance which could also pass as the life and times of an author. Not for me.

Perfect book for the summer by the pool. It was fantastic to read. I couldn’t put it down. It was well written. Nice and easy to read. Idyllic location that made you just wish you were right there.

very good book I enjoyed to see the ups and downs of January and Gus whether they would both get their happy ever after end or not.

This is a beach read. Easy, enjoyable and fun. Good characters who engendered empathy. What is not to like. I read it in two chunks

Oh, I LOVED this book.

January Andrews and Augustus Everett - from their names to the way the story was told, there's so much about this book that made it feel like I was following two YA characters into their thirties, and I mean that in the best possible way. There is a rawness and honesty to YA that we sometimes lose in adult fiction, and it's here in spades.

I loved that the author started with a lovely, hooky concept, and then kind of threw any thoughts of plot away and let the characters run with it. None of it felt cliched at all, which could have so easily happened especially in the bits where they live out typical romcom experiences. The dialogue is fantastic, the character development a complete delight.

I read this over the course of one night and one morning just wrapped up in my duvet, completely invested in Gus and January's story. They're both such wonderful, messy, human, lovable characters, and they fizz with genuine warmth. I couldn't tell you which character I loved more, but love that I got to live them both for a while.

Emily, you are fabulous.