Beach Read

By Emily Henry

Penguin Book July 2020

What it’s about?

From the blurb:

He doesn’t believe in happy endings.
She’s lost her faith that they exist.
But could they find one together?

January is a hopeless romantic who likes narrating her life as if she’s the heroine in a blockbuster movie.

Augustus is a serious literary type who thinks true love is a fairy-tale.

January and Augustus are not going to get on.

But they actually have more in common than you’d think:

They’re both broke.
They’ve got crippling writer’s block.
They need to write bestsellers before the end of the summer.

The result? A bet to see who can get their book published first.

The catch? They have to swap genres.

The risk? In telling each other’s stories, their worlds might be changed entirely…

Set over one sizzling summer, Beach Read is a witty, feel-good love story for fans of The Flat Share and Our Stop.

What I think:

Lockdown in the blazing spring sun Beach Read is the closest I’m getting to the beach for a while. This is the perfect holiday book and I can see it being a popular read this summer.

January and Gus are both successful yet struggling writers. Their own lives are getting into the way if their creativity.

January is a very positive person. She’s grown up in a loving and supportive family. She is generous, thoughtful and her self-confidence means she works hard for her success. But losing her father and breaking up with her long term perfect boyfriend have left her with serious writer’s block. As a romance writer she can’t write a happy ending that she doesn’t believe it.

Gus is brooding and thoughtful, writing great American novels and hiding away into the house next door.

Their romantic relationship is inevitable, but there is a lot of fun and of course misunderstandings along the way.

January’s story and the secrets that are revealed set this about an average romance novel. I’m not going to spoil it, but her relationships with her parents is central to the book and I really enjoyed. Her father’s letters are particularly poignant.

Overall this is an enjoyable romance that is perfect for the summer. It’s not afraid to make fun of the romance genre while also utilising lots of the cliches and tropes of the romance genre.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review. You can preorder a copy of Beach Read from:

Waterstones: click here

Amazon.co.uk: click here