Book: “Beach Read” by Emily Henry
Genre: Romantic Comedy/Drama
Rating: 4/5 Stars
“Beach Read” by Emily Henry is a romantic comedy/drama novel set to release on May 19 2020. The story follows romance author January Andrews who is staying at her late father’s beach house and desperately trying to write her next novel. When the book opens, January is at a low point in her life after a terrible break up and is struggling to believe in love at all, which makes writing about it next to impossible. Into her life walks Augustus Everett, a fellow writer and her college rival who also happens to be her new next door neighbor. Will January be able to put her pen to the paper and finish her novel before the deadline? Will she find her way back to believing in romance?
Let me start by saying, I enjoyed this book. “Beach Read” was a quick and entertaining story. As a general rule, January and Gus (the main characters) were likable. It was a cute story with some great moments. As a romantic comedy, the book does a lot of building when it comes to the main relationship which I appreciated. I think the build up made the story feel more realistic and less fabricated.
Part of the premise is that both of the main characters are writing books simultaneously. The book actually dives into the plot of their stories, and gives specific examples from January’s book. This for me was a side piece and not really necessary in the evolution of the characters. I understand why it was added, but it was not critical to the relationship or character development.
Straight up, the main character January creates a lot of drama for herself. An overthinker and self critical, this typical depiction of a woman is exhausting to read. She is constantly worried about what Gus thinks of her and the quality of her writing. I overlooked this while reading the book, but it kept me from really investing myself in her character.
However, there were parts of the story that I really enjoyed. All of the supporting characters were engaging and compelling. January’s father was an extremely interesting character. I wish the author would have spent more time elaborating on the relationship between his character and January. This developed over the last 50 pages or so and is the reason why I ended up giving the book four stars instead of three. That section of the book left me ugly crying and had me soul searching for an answer to the question of what it means to be a good parent.
Recommendations: Pick up this one if you enjoy romantic comedies or drama! You can choose it as an add on book in the Book of the Month Club.
Happy Reading!
