Beach Read by Emily Henry
This book is a New York Times Bestseller for a very, good reason. It is such a lovely, warm, feel good book that will bring a smile to anyone’s face. The plot centres around two writers, January and Gus, who are both celebrated writers in very, different genres. January is a romance novelist who believes in happy endings while Gus is a thriller writer who has a more cynical approach when it comes to ending his books.
January’s romantic nature has been influenced by her parents’ ideal marriage and her reliance on romantic novels during difficult periods in her life but when she finds herself in a place where she cannot rely on her parents or her romantic, happy endings, she finds herself at the start of a very serious writer’s block.
There’s only one way she can resolve it and that’s to spend her summer at her father’s lake house and thrash out another novel before her agent and her publisher can put any more pressure on her. While there she meets Gus, her grumpy, next door neighbour who hosts wild parties and plays sad music on repeat. However, there’s more to Gus than meets the eye and as the two of them get to know each other better, they make an agreement to delve into each other’s literary genre. So Gus seeks out his romantic, happy ending and January can embrace a more cynical approach to her writing.
I loved the classic will they, won’t they, pull of the book. There’s also some really funny and warm moments and as you begin to get to know the characters better, you start to realise that everyone has a completely different way of looking at what constitutes a happy ending. I think if you enjoyed Beth O’Leary’s Flatshare and Christina Pishiris Love Songs for Sceptics you’ll also really enjoy this book.
Submitted by Danielle
