Beach Read
Ratings730
Average rating3.9
June 26 so I loved this and I can't wait or deny it any longer
June 17 The general consensus in the book community is that this is either top tier or #5 in readers Emily Henry ranking and I firmly fall into one of those camps but am feeling cheeky and won't reveal my rating until book club hehe
Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5 Stars
This book is very predictable, not that that is a bad thing just not really the kind of book I would re-read or give a higher rating,
For what is was it was great- easy to read rom-com with detailed charecters.
Contains spoilers
I liked both the story and the romance, but not the happy romcom I was expecting. Both of the main characters went through some shit (slight spoiler if you want to know before reading: the main characters father died relatively recently and she discovered he cheated on her mom while she had cancer, the love interest was abused as a child) and them dealing with that was a big part of the story.
A quick and fun read. It didn't have the depth that I've found in the other romances I've read this year, but it was a good read that gave me just the distraction I was looking for.
Bit of an emotional rollercoaster! My second book of hers and I enjoyed it.
ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS, GUS AND JANUARY HAVE MY HEART 🥹💖❤️ Beautiful romance with side stories well told and actual character arcs, just love ❤️🩹
When I watch you sleep, he said shakily, “I feel overwhelmed that you exist.”
For January, I don't care how the story ends as long as I spend it with you.
This is my favorite Emily Henry, mainly because I love the idea of the held up notes and how they're both improving as writers together by trying to understand the other.
I couldn't stop grinning through this whole book, regardless of how it made me look at the bus stop. Emily Henry is a genius at witty dialogue. And Gus... I love Gus. He's like a modern Mr. Darcy with his vibe of “I'm completely in love with you. I will demonstrate this by standing nearby and insulting you”.
Ok, not mind blowing. Probably not a good fit for my taste and some character quirks tended to annoy more than entice. Gus the male protagonist was described as having rough calloused hands constantly. His workman hands, crooked smile and dark black eyes were as constant as was his rumpled clothes and unruly hair. In my experience writers hands tend to be pretty smooth but hey he was a gravedigger a decade earlier that would be it. January didn't fair much better as a character, so i guess they were well matched.
This book left me feeling tender and hopeful. Much more literary than romance and all heart.
I think the rating would've been higher if I'd listened to the English audiobook, but since it wasn't available I had to resort to the Dutch version. The translation was really bad, especially during romantic scenes, it was just awkward. Perhaps I'll do a reread soon, but for now 3 stars. I also still had a lot of unanswered questions at the end, which sucks.
I loved this book! I would have put it to 5* if Emily Henry used quotation marks for texts between mainly Shadi and January, but also the pacing of events happening? It was a little off to me. I also hoped to see more between January and her mother, as well as Gus and his family.
BUT it's a 4.5 star read for sure. I loved the couple and the side characters, not a single actually irritating character which to me was so refreshing! I loved the dynamic between the two also, and their relationship and words that have been said to each other closely reminded me of my relationship with my s.o, which made the quotes hit even harder than usual romance.
I'm sorry but this book wasn't for me...
I'm just exhausted by stories about cisgender/straight/white characters who falls in love with each other, there is NO diversity at all, so I couldn't find the point on finishing this one
DNF at 70%, physically painful
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!!!
This is why I hesitate to read hyped up booktok books with cartoon covers. I finished this 3 hours ago and already forgot the characters (and the plot) because they were so boring.
A perfect post-breakup book.
I really liked the writing, surprisingly. This was my first Emily Henry book.
I feel like the book was more about the idea that the worst possible thing can happen and...you will survive. You have to. Life moves on. And you will move on too. You cannot let the bad thing trample over other good things, like living in fear that a relationship will end and not enjoying the present, not believing in the present.
I didn't like the main guy. His backstory was lazy and cliche. He was more charming in the starting when we didn't know much about him.
The book was more about dealing with pain than romance. And that was just what I needed. Maybe I projected onto the book. Maybe I didn't. I don't know. I read it in one day.
3/5
It was good but it didn't really blow me away. It might be due to the overhype or that i wasn't really in a romance mood but this one really didn't really do it for me like i hoped it would, unfortunately.
I loved this book! Really good. I Saw many people saying that this book only focuses on January's dad, but I think that this was important to the story. I loved January and Gus relationship, it's really a goal.
I liked the beginning and the setting, but I didn't feel connected to either character or a ton of chemistry between them. It was a LOT of reflection on January's past and it got stale. I appreciated incorporating parts of both Gus and January's books, but I hated the concepts of both stories and skimmed through them. But, this was Emily Henry's first romance, and I adored PWMOV and Book Lovers and am so excited for Happy Place. It's great to see each book better than the last.
I couldn't get into it. The romance was awkward. The characters were very one dimensional and didn't grow throughout the book. January was whiny and Gus was boring. The other characters seemed unnecessary and just thrown in for minor effect.