Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Blurb (on back of book): One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn't see coming....
Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.
Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.
If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.
MY OPINION: **
After all the Booktok hype over Emily Henry's other books, both of which I read and didn't necessarily die for, I knew I had no choice but to read this one. I think I've come to terms with the fact that Emily Henry just isn't for me. I don't think there is anything objectively bad about her writing or her characters or her plots, but something about her romances just don't ever seem to click with me.
Emily Henry's books are the first adult rom-coms I ever read and, since I had no other experience or knowledge of the genre, I believe I rated Beach Read a whopping five stars, which, if I were to ever reread it, would most likely be lowered a couple of stars. I'm not sure what it is but something about Henry's writing comes off very disjointed and standoffish and don't seem to meet the level that I tend to associate with these kinds of cartoon-cover romances.
The banter in this book was truly the only thing keeping me going. I didn't actually like any of the characters in this book and felt zero to no chemistry between our two MCs but for some reason, the dialogue and witty/snarky comments added to the flavor that this book was so desperately lacking and striving to find. The bigfoot erotica (don't ask) comments and the "hateful words" were funny and unique and kept me wanting to read more.
I actually liked the first half of this book a lot. While I didn't see the enemies-to-lovers buildup I was promised and I also hated Charlie on sight, I thought it was cute. It read more like the rom-coms I've come to know and love in comparison to Henry's other books and I was excited. However, as soon as the two characters got together (much too early for my taste and with absolutely no slow-burn tension) I was bored and just wanted the book to be over. There were things I liked about the second half that kept me from lowering my rating even more, such as the hilarious conversations and all that jazz, but for the most part, this book was yet again not my cup of tea.
I heard older sisters should not read this book because it'll resonate and make you feel all emotional and sad. Eh. I am an older sister and maybe my bond with my sister is different or something but this book made me feel nothing, quite honestly. I found Libby (or whatever her name was) quite aggravating and thought her to be selfish and annoying. I did not feel a lot of sympathy for Nora. She was actually also getting on my nerves, babying her clearly adult younger sister. Yes, they went through a lot of trauma what with losing a mother and having a rough childhood, but their relationship honestly did not pull at my heartstrings...
Nora is a work-a-holic who views herself as unlovable and cold and icy. Her fears are confirmed by her client's book which is clearly written about her and her shark-like tendencies, breeding more insecurities and "woe is me" complexes. Eh. I'm gonna be honest: I didn't see Nora as the shark she believed herself to be but I also did not see her as the goddess that Charlie claimed she was either. To be quite clear, Nora was annoying, obsessive, overbearing, and irritating, and while I felt bad for her in some situations, half the time I wanted to smack some sense into her and tell her to grow up. I said it. Yeah, yeah, she has that stony personality I usually love (and resonate with) but coupled with her blatant immaturity and overbearing self, I wanted to hit her more than hug her.
While I didn't like Charlie, I thought that the fact that he wasn't an asshole while still checking the broody, moody, bad-boy-like boxes was a definite plus. He wasn't toxic or anything, which was refreshing to read about in a romance where the main hero is described as the grumpy part in the grumpy/sunshine trope. Charlie had his issues (which I honestly don't even fully remember) and I liked learning more about his character as the story progressed but I wasn't obsessed with him like everyone else seems to be. He was very blasé and I didn't really feel a lot for him or about him. He felt like he was typecast to be the soulmate for Nora that would break her out of her shell and see past her insecurities but instead he just came off as very bland and unrealistic.
Libby had so much potential to play a core role in speeding along Nora's development but instead she is just sort of there. She has a couple of moments and then she sort of fades into the background. I have absolutely no interest for characters with kids or husbands and honestly forgot about Libby anytime her name wasn't mentioned. I wish we had gotten more of her standing up against her sister's overbearing self, but she acted like she was five and just did what she was told.
I really wanted to like this book. I was promised that this was Henry's best yet and that for those who didn't like PWMOV (which I strongly disliked), it was going to be different. It was going to be better. I was supposed to cry. Nope, did not happen. I felt more emotions for the characters in PWMOV than for Nora and Charlie. I just wasn't a fan, no matter how hard I tried. Will I read more of Henry's books in the future? Possibly. However, I've come to terms with the fact that she will never be my favorite author. And that's okay, because everyone and their mother seems to have her on the top of their lists.
I would recommend this book to readers looking for a fun rom-com with tons of banter, tension, and family angst.
Main Character: Nora, Charlie
Sidekick(s): Friends, family, etc
Villain(s): Misunderstandings, trauma, family drama, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book was all very real to life.
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