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Start giftingBeach Read
Bookseller recommendation
“What do you get when you cross a disillusioned romance author with a Hemingway wannabe? A compulsively readable book where you kind of hope for your train to be delayed so you can spend a few more minutes with January and Gus. These two, saddled with writer’s block, make a pact to write the other’s genre. Literary snobbery is (rightfully) called out, and the two begin to navigate a friendship outside of writing as they explore the other’s process. Reader, I loved it.”
Audrey,
Belmont Books
Bookseller recommendation
“2020 is apparently the year I start reading romance novels and loving them. Maybe it's my need for a little lighthearted fluff in quarantine, but straight fluff isn't really my jam no matter the day. I want fluff with meat on its bones. I want fluff with substance.
As for Beach Read... Did I just give a romance novel ALL THE STARS? Why yes. Yes I did. And if I could give it a few more, I would. Because Beach Read is just the kind of substantial 'fluff' I needed to read. It's the kind of book that flips the patriarchy on its head, the one that has told readers like me that romance novels can't be good literature. Because at the end of the day, my preference for anything *but* romance had little to do with the writing quality, and everything to do with social biases. Henry attacks those head on. And then she goes leaps and bounds further, delving into grief and love and identity, and how we understand each other.
This book is therapy. It's a book about writer's block in the best of ways - not just the literal premise of swapping stories, but that of feeling stuck in a rut and not knowing what to do to move forward with life. I felt completely and utterly seen in its pages. I cried ugly tears until I had none left. And then it lifted me up in a bucket full of swoon. Reader, I adored every minute. And with Julia Whelan to narrate, what more could you ask for?”Britt,
Second Star to the Right
Bookseller recommendation
“This title says it all - Beach Read is the perfect romantic beach read book and not just because of the romance. Emily Henry has given us complex characters in a solid story line while keeping the sexual tension at a perfect, steamy temperature. Beach Read IS the perfect beach read; but it is also the perfect vacation read, staycation read, quarantine read, and escape read. Queue it up, pop in your ear buds, and the hours will disappear.”
Mary,
Anderson's Bookshop
Bookseller recommendation
“Two vastly different authors, one summer in close proximity, and a challenge issued to write in each other’s style, and do it better. Is that the set up for a perfect romance? Yes. The answer is absolutely, positively, 100% yes. Equal parts witty banter, real-world issues, and incredible character dynamics, this should be the go to for anyone looking for something fun, but undeniably full of heart.”
Kendall,
Brilliant Books Audio
Bookseller recommendation
“This was so much fun, both in story, and also to listen to. January is a romance writer, Gus a dark, literary fiction author, and in a fit of rivalry, they make a bet to write a book in each other's genre for the summer. Packed with emotional depth and plenty of hi-jinks, this is the perfect novel to lighten your heart while challenging your preconceived notions. I wanted to reread it right away!”
Belmont Books
Bookseller recommendation
“So enjoying listening to the audio book of Beach Read by Emily Henry. The story revolves around two writers. January who writes romance and Gus who writes fiction. Over one summer they come up with a challenge: January challenges Gus to write romance and Gus challenges January to write a fiction novel. What happens next makes for a great story, a perfect summer book. Beach Read is a must-listen-to on Libro.FM.”
Anderson's Bookshop
Bookseller recommendation
“ Full of wit and heart I fell hard for BEACH READ. A romance author seeks solace in a lakeside resort town to grieve the loss of her father, only to find her college nemesis and publishing's current literary darling is her next-door neighbor. The heroine is so funny and relatable (I too would like to keep a bottle of wine in purse for fortification). I loved it so much I read the physical book, and listened to the audiobook. ”
Jessica,
Country Bookshelf
FROM THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION AND BOOK LOVERS!
A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters.
Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.
They’re polar opposites.
In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block.
Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She’ll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he’ll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.
Emily Henry is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of People We Meet on Vacation and Beach Read. She studied creative writing at Hope College, and now spends most of her time in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the part of Kentucky just beneath it. Find her on Instagram @emilyhenrywrites.
