Before I give my two cents on this book, I must admit that me and romantic fiction don't always get on. I am a little too cynical to fully appreciate it, I think, but I am trying to change that. You overcome your fears by facing them so I am overcoming my judgement and literary snobbery around romance novels by reading them. A ton of them. What better way to spend quarantine?

Meet 29-year-old January Andrews. She is a romantic fiction writer who has just arrived in the small town of North Bear Shores, and her baggage is of the emotional variety. Her father died a year ago but she still hasn't gotten over that or the shocking news she received at the funeral: that he was cheating on her mother for years and lived with another woman in the very beach house January now stands in. On top of everything else, January is broke and facing writer's block, owing to the fact that she no longer believes in the happily ever afters that have dominated the storylines of her books.

Enter Augustus Everett, darling of literary fiction and, coincidentally, January's college rival. Gus lives in the beach house next door and is hoarding emotional baggage of his own. One afternoon, the pair decide to set each other a challenge with the hope of reawakening their literary genius: January must write the next Great American novel while Gus tackles romantic fiction. Our pair spend the summer together, going on 'educational' outings that include a local carnival (major The Notebook flashbacks) and the burned-down, dilapidated remnants of a former cult (charming). Through the process of writing and spending time with each other, the pair process their respective grief and loss, lightening the load of their baggage as they go.

I can say with great certainty Beach Read will be one of this summer's most popular reads. For me, it lost a little of its sparkle after the 50% mark and the characters felt like ones I have met before (the character of Shani, January's friend, was particularly hollow), but it is still a very enjoyable book. I liked the witty banter between January and Gus, the enemies-to-lovers storyline, the background family drama and the small-town charm. Overall, it is a fairly heartfelt novel about taking chances in life and love, and learning that 'happy for now' is just as good as 'happily ever after'.

I really, really enjoyed this, but I think the title does it a disservice.

It suggests a novel of fluff and not much else, but like most rom-coms, it’s smart and funny and really digs into love, family and friendship in a way that is constantly undermined by readers outside of the genre.

A delightful and amusing read. I have to admit this was right up my alley because I love anything that deals with writers and the publishing business.
The plot is apparently simple, two writers that start off as "enemies" and have contrasting approaches to life. The wonderful thing about the book is that it actually faces a lot more that just romance, it deal with grief, friendship, resentment and the fear that comes with being in love and in spite of this, it still manages to be a light read that you can pick up and put down whenever you want so it's perfect for you even if you don't usually read romance.
I gave it four stars out of five because it's just what I never knew I wanted from a "beach read".
I really hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!

When I first saw this cover I thought I was getting in to a light, rom com beach read so don’t let it deceive you, whilst it is those things it also covers topics that are much deeper.

The story centres around January, a romance writer that no longer believes in love or happy ever afters and Augustus who writes literacy fiction. They went to school together, however they haven’t seen each other in many years and find themselves living next to each other.

Overall it was more of an ok read for me and not one I loved, I think it was a case of it’s me and not you. The only thing I can put it down to is I was expecting quite a different read and I didn’t connect with the lead characters.

I did enjoy the beach side setting and seeing the relationship develop between January and Augustus. It gave me a range of emotions times and at times had me laughing out loud and was heartbreaking and sad at others.

I want to thank Penguin UK and Netgalley for generously providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating : 3.5
Lovely light read. Most of us went into this book expecting the next The Flatshare.
What to love:
- writers going from enemies to lovers
- writers with writing blocks
- writers swapping genres (romance and literary fic in this case) and trying to write a manuscript on a dare
- book clubs not going as planned
- handsome guy, beautiful girl, in love, as all romance books do

What bothered me?
- many loopholes. For example how did they write so fast and edit and publish in the middle of so many problems.
- actually wanted more of writing scenes than talking scenes.
But no big complaints. I really enjoyed the book. And plus points for cute names like January and Augustus.
Read this as a light breather and don't overthink and you'll enjoy it.

To start with my 3 start rating is based in my opinions as an individual not enjoying the Romance genre at the moment.. there could have been a time in which I would have probably given the 5 roaring stars.

My thoughts... Well the book was enjoyable and had it's funny moments. It was easy to read and great if you are looking for a light, feel good book. It gave me the feeling of a YA Book ( if we remove the steamy parts 🤭)

Also the ending was very neat, and of course it was a love story so it deserved a happy ending. But I would have wanted it to be a little bit messy.

Maybe.. this will be an unpopular opinion.
I know this book is loved by many. So I'm not trying to discourage anyone of reading it.. if you love Romance, absolutely GO FOR IT!

For the last few months, I've been seeing reviews about this book everywhere. On instagram, goodreads, twitter and even some facebook groups I'm in! So when I saw there was going to be a heatwave, I thought it would be the perfect time to read this book.

From reading reviews, I knew it wouldn't be a cute fluffy book to read on holiday which I found quite refreshing!

For the first 30% I didn't enjoy this book and wondered why so many people loved this so much and I just couldn't stand the hype but after the chapters at the movie drive thru 😉 I began to love both characters and soon after that I couldn't put the book down and wanted to find out what happened next.



I loved the small parts where they go to each other planned days/nights out for their book research and the bits where they was sitting at the desks writing each other notes!



I also find it clever for the author to write a storyline/book where the main character is also planning a story but this book had two stories to make up and I kept wondering how complicated I'd find that!



Anyone if you haven't read this book yet, it's currently 99p and for only a limited time! Amazon



I never normally think abut the questions at the end of the book but I thought I'd answer some of them. I'd love to hear your answers too!

What traditional romance tropes do you see used in Beach Read? Past lovers, neighbours and frenemies to lovers
If you could visit one setting from the book, with one of the characters, whom and where would you choose? I think I'd have to go Augustus's house overlooking the lake and of course it would have to be Gus with me!
Have you ever felt 'book shamed' for liking a particular genre? Quite often! I've only recently starting romantic comedy books but I normally read books which are based around a character moving to a new town and opening up a: cafe, restaurant, farm or any kind of business at a certain area: seaside, country, on the pier! But I enjoy reading them so who cares!
Do you believe in the idea of Happily Ever After? What would your HEA look like i real life? I'd like to believe that there is a HEA for everyone and that I would get a chance of one. As I mentioned above about the books I read, I would love to move to the seaside and open up a little cafe or an ice cream shop! Maybe I could settle down there with my HEA Love maybe meeting him after I set up my shop?
Do you read books with a certain kind of ending? Yes! form my cute little reads, to thrillers and friends to lovers/ fake relationship books (what's the genre again?)
What is your perfect beach read? I haven't found my perfect beach read for this year but I't would most probably be a book by Heidi Swain or a thriller based at a seaside!
If there was a sequel, what do you reckon comes next for them? I'd love for them to write a book together and could possibly be a different genre all together? Or maybe they could travel the country together and go to scary and cute places together!

I really enjoyed this novel. I loved the characters of January and Gus and enjoyed the way their story unfolded. I think it goes deeper than your typical rom-com and was full of snarky banter which meant it wasn't sickly sweet. A fun and joyful Summer read, I'll be looking out for more writing by Emily Henry.

Was surprised by how much I loved this story. Much darker and deeper than expected and really well done, a story with real heart. Only downside is the cover and marketing which seem completely off for this story. This is not a laugh out loud beach read. It’s so much more than that.

Absolutely LOVED this book! I'm not usually a romance fan but I thought this was fantastic. A great story with real substance, and the characters back stories all seemed quite believable and real. The first book I've read by Emily Henry but I'll definitely be looking out for more. Thanks so much for sharing this review copy.

I'm sure I'm not the only reader who's frustrated with the way 'women's fiction' is treated when compared with how 'literary fiction' is treated. Often if a woman writes a novel about a divorce it's a cute chick-flick with a pink cover, but if a man writes about a divorce it's the Next Great Novel™, so when I saw the premise of Beach Read I knew I had to get my hands on a copy and I was thrilled when I was approved for an eARC.

January Andrews writes romance novels and has always believed in happy endings—at least she did until her father died and she discovered, at his funeral, that he had an affair while her mother was battling cancer. Her father has left January a beach house to sort through, but when she arrives for the summer she discovers her neighbour is none other than literary fiction author, Augustus Everett, her college rival. The two of them decide to strike a summer deal: they'll each write a novel in the other's genre, and whoever sells their book first is guaranteed an endorsement from the other. Oh! And, obviously, no one's going to fall in love with anyone else in the process...

I've seen quite a lot of reviewers talk about how Beach Read is a little darker than your classic rom-com, but while it does tackle some more serious themes (although I think a lot of romance novels do, on the whole) it's still a really fun and uplifting novel to read. I saw so many warnings about this book that I was expecting it to be rather bleak, but it's not at all. Yes, we have January's heartbreak at losing her father and discovering he wasn't quite the man she thought he was and Gus's own demons surrounding his childhood and a previous relationship that come to light, but this book isn't a downer. In fact I loved it all the more for including all those darker elements while still being a book that brought a smile to my face while I was reading it.

I wasn't sure what to expect from January and Gus's relationship. I know enemies/rivals-to-lovers is a very popular romance trope, but it's a trope I'm fairly picky with; I don't like couples who literally hate each other one minute and then love each other the next because it just doesn't seem like a healthy basis for a relationship and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Luckily, that's not what happens here at all. January and Gus were on the same writing course in college and there is some rivalry there, especially now that they're both published authors in very different genres, but it's all fun.

The chemistry between January and Gus is palpable, their banter is so much fun to read and genuinely funny, and I wanted them to succeed and be happy. They're the kind of couple who could make washing dishes an enjoyable, romantic experience, without ever feeling corny or over-the-top, and as much as I love the romance genre I do think those kinds of couples who feel real can be hard to find. One of the many joys of the romance genre is that it's a type of fantasy in and of itself in which everyone's a romantic and knows exactly the right thing to say at exactly the right time, but there's also something comforting in reading a romance novel that feels like it could actually happen.

I also really appreciate that this isn't a romance novel that condemns literary fiction, despite the fact that it features a romance author in a rivalry with a literary fiction author. In much the same way that January is allowed to defend romance and prove it's a genre that doesn't deserve to be dismissed just because it's happy, Gus is also given a chance to defend his writing, too. He doesn't write literary fiction to make a point about literature - in fact I often got the impression that Gus himself isn't a fan of the 'women's fiction' vs. 'literary fiction' distinction - instead the genre he writes is a way for him to understand his own feelings about the world and everyone in it, in much the same that January does by writing happily ever afters.

Essentially Beach Read is one of the best contemporary romance novels I've read, I had such a good time reading it and immediately recommended it to my sisters and friends, and I'd love to try whatever Emily Henry releases in future.

Beach Read has been one of my most anticipated reads of the year after hearing such good things about it all over my bookstagram.
The story sees the two main characters January and Gus, two published writers who went to college together coincidentally living next door to each other on a lake shore. They soon make a bet to switch to writing a book in each others genre whilst a fast friendship and more develops. Each of them has their own interesting past which must be dealt with so they can both find their happy ending.

In the end I did enjoy it and I always love rom coms that have characters finally reunited with some interesting shared past. But at the same time it didn't grip me the same way that I thought it would and their were no tears from me.
Thanks to Netgalley.com and Penguin Books UK for this complimentary eARC.

The first few pages of this almost put me off for good but I'm glad I went back to it because it had me literally laughing out loud a few times and I think it actually stuck the landing.

The banter was solid and the scenarios funny. The shared history and their different understandings of that was dealt with well.

A few things were a bit of a stretch but ultimately, I really enjoyed the chemistry of January and Gus. I would totally read Gus's novel... Not so sure I'd read January's.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was an easy summer read with some complex characters and more depth than stereotypical romance novels.

January is in a writing rut. With her next book deadline looming, she takes herself off to her dad's beach house to a) get peace b) run away from, her problems, and c) face the demons and life that her dad left behind. Once there, she discovers her neighbour is none other than Gus Everett, her college classmate and frustratingly handsome author nemesis. Book writing and witty banter bring the two closer together but will January ever get the happily ever after she has spent years writing about but never achieving in her own life?

At first, I was really invested in this novel., I loved both Gus and January (particularly Gus as he is practically me in male form with his vomit phobia and lack of romantic bones in his body). I loved the easy banter that flowed between them and thought the idea of challenging each to write a book in the other's genre was refreshing and original.

However, about half-way through, I felt that there were too many distractions and tangents (the cult interviews, glimpses of January's father's backstory, Gus's background, etc.) that were all explored a little but not enough. There was also a slight overdose of one-liners that I'd loved at first but then felt were a bit too try-hard. I didn't feel a particularly strong connection to the characters. Plus, there was too much smut for my liking (I just think sex scenes are so overrated and usually exaggerated to the point where I just roll my eyes and skip).

As an anti-romantic, I think three stars is still a pretty good win.

This book is slow-paced and long-winded. It takes ages to get to the point. We spend so much time inside the main character's head going over the same points again and again. Yes, it's extremely hard to write a book, but let's have less telling us that and more showing us that through dialogue or action.

Beach Read needs to be condensed, edited, sharpened up, made punchier and wittier and more interesting. The descriptions need to be improved as they are confusing. That's why it was hard to understand and picture the characters. Also, there were inconsistencies in the descriptions. For example, January said in one scene she was wearing trousers and a t-shirt, but later on it refers to shorts she was wearing at that time when there was no mention of shorts in the original scene. It's better not to include these details if you end up getting them wrong.

Overall, I had to make a real effort to get to the end of the book as I didn't find the characters engaging, there was too much telling not showing, and it was too slow for its genre. This book is written like it wants to be in the literary fiction genre, but the storyline and characters (another unrealistic male lead) suggest otherwise.

Yes, indeed, this is a beach read. It's a very lightweight, typical chick-lit romance. The plot was not original and I soon got bored with the silly bantering dialogue. January (ridiculous name) does not come cross as any kind of author - she is immature and vomits at least three times throughout the book - the author needs to think of a different way to express emotion.. Judging by the tone of some of the reviews, the audience for this book is a much younger age group. Not for me.

This was - for a reason I can't quite fathom - a weird reading experience, so this review is probably going to be a bit rambling.

On the one hand, Beach Read made me feel a lot of things, and it made me laugh throughout - usually a 5* combination for me. To add to that, the characters were interesting plays on tropes - January as a romantic female lead verging on a manic pixie dream girl, Gus as the broody male lead who writes "coldly horny" literary fiction. This is very much a book about people being more than their archetypes and how they seem on the surface, which is always great. The discussions about women's fiction really resonated too, as well as those about "happy fiction". As someone who aims to write hopeful stories that bring a bit of light into readers' lives, it was nice to see such stories appreciated and validated here. Best of all was January and Shadi's friendship - that deserves a novel of its own, even if it was written entirely in the form of texts. Would also happily read a spin off about Shadi and Haunted Hat guy. I feel like she has a story to tell too!

So yes, lots of good things. So why do I feel so weird about it?

I don't think it's the grief aspect - something that can negatively affect me due to my own personal experiences. I've read other books recently with an even stronger emphasis on grief, and have been mostly fine. Neither is it the mix of light and dark in the book - I actually love a book that can do both, and found the cult aspect of the story particularly interesting. Admittedly the writing style was hit and miss for me...sometimes it was great, but there was the odd page/paragraph/sentence that felt more cliche to me - but that's not something I'm particularly bothered by usually either. So I can't really explain why something was off for me with this book - honestly, I think it's my fault, not the book's!

Overall though, this was definitely interesting. I felt like was reading a book that was written by January and Gus both, which felt apt. I just wish I didn't have that weird disconnect with it, which seems very personal to me, and almost makes me feel like I can't review it in a truly subjective way. But yes, objectively, it's at least a very strong 4*!

A fun romantic comedy for the hot days of summer. The characters are likeable, nice and fun plot.
All you'd ask from a rom com.

Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

What a cracker, devoured in one sitting. Laughed out loud and cried until I could cry no more. Such conflicting emotions but I can’t praise the Writing enough. A brilliant novel with great characterisation. I fell in love with Gus and wanted to be January’s best friend. I wanted to go to Maggie and Pete’s party and watch the sun set over the lake.

A glorious book which I can’t recommend highly enough. 5 stars from me.

I found this to be a nicely written, light and entertaining read, but not memorable at all. It was interesting in the way in which it dealt with the writing process, one in which I often have tried and failed at ...no staying power...so the premise was different and appealing, but ultimately still beautiful people, in beautiful places living comfortable lives. This isn’t a criticism as this is what we all wish to read during a lazy time.. Thank you Netgalley, publisher and author for the opportunity to read this pleasant story for an honest review.