PLOT: 4.5/5 ENTERTAINMENT: 4/5 CHARACTERS: 4/5 STEAM: 3.5/5 OVERALL: 4/5
“It fit so perfectly into the love story I imagined for myself, where I mixed it with the love of my life.”
– Emily Henry, Beach Read
This book has been on my TBR (read) stack for almost two years, especially after seeing a lot of good reviews. bookstagram,
I knew I had to read it but it was never the right time. So in June for my birthday, I decided to read love, my favorite genre, and the books I was looking forward to. Needless to say, Beach Read was at the top of my list.
As the plot goes free
January Andrews is a writer of Romanticism, broken and out of date. In the middle of the writer’s block, he decides to come to a beach house, where he decides to come to a beach house that has been left to him. So he comes to this house to save money on rent to write something to give to his agent.
Augustus Everett is a successful literary fiction writer who studied at the same university in January and is now also a neighbor of his January beach home.
They’re both facing a writer’s block and are struggling with their inner demons when they come across a writing bet! To see who publishes the gender exchange first. As fate would have it, this could be what they both need.
But what happens when they both share their troubled past?
As they continue to spend time together on the pretext of researching their new genre, a new love and respect for their art has been found.
But will they be able to bet?
Who gets to the book first?
Can the attractions of their past be revived?
My thoughts
January & Gus both write opposing genres and both have opposing views, so they give “enemies to lovers” with some nice exchanges of notes / messages between them, while each writes their own story.
It’s great to get out of your comfort zone and write / do something different, and in return it’s nice to help each other with different research activities.
I love Emily’s writing style. The focus is on the characters and the relationships and communications between them, which makes for an entertaining read.
The January character was very well recorded but I didn’t enjoy Gus’s character so much. It must be insidious, communicating only on the basis of knowledge, which in many cases is frustrating. Romanticism, too, seemed to me a bit lacking.
Don’t be fooled by the title, as there isn’t much peace of mind and easy action in this. The comic atmosphere is also a bit underestimated. There are some serious basic issues, such as mourning, childhood trauma, and discussions about worship in the context of researching a book.
All in all, it’s a book you shouldn’t miss, especially if you love reading contemporary romantic fiction.
My favorite part, no doubt, should be the confessions they both make in their books.
One of them was, “For January, I don’t care how the story ends as I go through it with you.”
Can’t wait to read it? Buy a copy of Beach Read using the link below.
This review was done by Dr. Nitisha Shah. Nitisha is a 37-year-old homeopathic medical consultant based in Mumbai. She started reading when she was 7 years old, after being hooked on Enid Blyton’s Famous Five series. Romance is and always will be his favorite genre. He also enjoys reading thrillers, mysteries, and children’s fiction. You can connect with her on her Instagram page @our_readingjourney, which she started in January 2021 to talk about her and her 7-year-old daughter’s reading journey.
