I went into this one with high hopes. The premise had everything I usually love: a beach town setting, two writers with opposite styles, and a summer-long challenge that could turn into something more. But for some reason, Beach Read just didn’t land for me.
The Premise:
January Andrews is a romance writer who no longer believes in love. Augustus Everett is a literary fiction author who kills off everyone in his books. When they find themselves in neighboring lake houses for the summer, both stuck in a writing rut - they strike a deal: he’ll try writing a feel-good love story, and she’ll dive into something darker and more “serious.”
Cue late-night writing sessions, research trips to cult meetings, and rom-com-worthy field days as each tries to break out of their comfort zone without falling for the other. Obviously, that part doesn’t go as planned.
My Thoughts:
I loved the idea of this book more than the execution. The banter between January and Gus was fun and their opposites-attract dynamic had real potential, but the pacing just felt... flat. I kept waiting for something big to happen and it never really did.
There were a lot of emotional undercurrents (grief, family tension, creative burnout), and while that added depth, it also made the book feel heavier than I expected - and slower. The romantic tension was there, but it wasn’t quite enough to carry the whole story for me.
This one just didn’t quite work for me. I didn’t hate it - I actually really liked Gus and January as characters, but the story didn’t grab me the way I wanted it to. It felt like a long build-up without much of a payoff.
If you’re already a fan of Emily Henry’s other books, it might still be worth picking up. But if you’re new to her writing, I’d maybe start with Book Lovers or Happy Place instead.
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