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A uplifting, heart warming and captivating story about love, grief, forgiveness and self acceptance.

What does a romance writer, who no longer believes in love, who is questioning everything in her life have in common with a pessimistic literary writer? Not much on the surface! She writes happily ever afters, he usually kills off his characters! So what happens when they make a deal to swap genres for their next books, and go on field trips for research?!

Ok so we all know that I am a hopeless romantic, but have you ever finished a book, and you just have that feeling? You know, when you have a massive smile on your face, your heart is fizzing in your chest, and you feel on top of the world?! Beach Read gave me that feeling! I devoured this book, it had me engrossed, and today I'm am most definitely walking with a skip in my step.

I love the cover of this book, but it might be misleading, as this isn't a fun, summer beach read, not that I have anything against those, I love them! But Beach Read was so much more than a rom/com, it had so much depth, and took me on a roller coaster of emotions!

Emily Henry has written a book that was an emotional and relatable look at family angst and grief, friendship (I ❤️ Shadi!), love, forgiveness, and learning to love again after heartbreak. It both cracked my heart and made me sob, yet also lit me up and made my little heart soar. It was just the right side of steamy for me, but wasn't really explicit, and it was so funny! I hadn't read anything by this author before, but I was won over with her impressive writing! I loved everything, from the lake house set in the charming small town, the characters, who I loved fiercely, the unique plot, and the witty dialogue. I will definitely be looking out for more from Emily Henry.

I loved both of the main characters, they were both so interesting, had such a great connection, and went on such an emotional journey. January was an amazing heroine. She was funny and relatable, and I loved it when she compared Gus and herself to a predator and a 'dumb bunny!' January felt like a real person to me, she had worries, insecurities, and was questioning everything about her life, family and history. Her thoughts and feelings felt so raw.
Gus, Gus, Gus...Authors, here is how you write a sexy, flawed, dark and brooding male romantic lead without making him a total arsehole!! Gus was a pessimist, with a past, but was sweet, and kind and wonderful 😍 Whilst it started off as optimist vs pessimist, and seemed like January and Gus were total opposites, actually they had a lot in common! The tension from their rivalry, their banter and the off the charts chemistry sizzled in this slow building romance!

For me, even though we only had January's POV, this is where Emily Henry excelled, where other author's have tried and failed. Sometimes, when we only get one character's POV, I feel like I don't get to know the other character, and that I can only see from the main POV's side, but here, we still got to know Gus, through little admissions, declarations, and spilled secrets from him! I felt like I could see past his damaged exterior, and get to know the real, lovable Gus?!
I also loved the side characters! Who couldn't love Shadi, Pete and Maggie?! Please can we have a book about Shadi?!!

Sure, towards the end, some of the dialogue was a little cheesy and over the top, but by then I was so utterly invested in the happiness of both characters, that it didn't bother me.
I was genuinely gutted when I finished the book, and thought to myself, when can I read it again?! I am definitely buying a copy, adding this to my favourites (I really need to set that shelf up btw), and 100% recommend this wonderful book!

Release date: 18th/19th May 2020

I downloaded a DRC of this from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review
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Wow! All the stars! My favourite romance of the year so far. I'm feeling emotional, so RTC once I gather my scattered thoughts.