By Emily Henry
I'm not sure I have much to say that hasn't already been said a thousand times in other reviews for this book, but if you know me, you know I'll say it anyway! Beach Read was universally adored all over my IG feed all summer long, and I had major FOMO. So when I finally got my hands on the book, I knew it was going to be a binge read. I wasn't wrong, y'all. It did take me two separate sittings to finish, but only because I'm a wife and a mom. If I was just a single crazy cat lady, I could have gobbled this book up in a hot minute, ok!
I'll say right now, my favorite part of this book was the banter between January and Gus. Their conversations became its own character and I LOVED it. Their weird author inside jokes, their quick draw sarcasm, their 2008 T-Swift style hand written notes through windows. It was instantly classic banter like When Harry Met Sally or Silver Linings Playbook. That quality of two characters being perfectly matched in humor and wit. Like watching two people who've been together for ages and have their own form of communication, except they just met and it's an obvious sign that they're soul mates.
I'll also tell you my least favorite part was Gus' eyes. They also could have been their own character. And I just did not understand. Could we have left it at sexy/evil smolder - that I can get behind. But all this talk of pupils, and fire behind them, and narrowing gazes, and eyes homing in...people who make that much eye contact in real life are unsettling and creepy no matter how hot they are! You can crack open this book randomly, and I would wager that within a couple of pages you'll find a sentence about Gus' eyes.
I loved that both characters had some pretty messed up back stories. Neither of them became the instant cure for each other. They both had to work out their stuff and learn to share the burden. I loved how real that felt to read. I also loved how they seemed to be opposites, the romance author - queen of the "happily ever after." And the rebel without a cause who thinks happily ever afters don't exist. I won't lie, I was a teensy bit nervous that the ending would be lackluster because of all their talk of "happy for nows." I was half expecting the book to just end on a hug or a handwritten note through a window. But, without spoiling anything, I'll just say I worried for nothing. It was a satisfying ending.
Beach Read lived up to it's crazy hype on IG, y'all. I loved it, I think it's extremely movie adaptable, and I would not say no to more stories set in North Bear Shores, MI.
Grab your copy of Beach Read on Amazon.
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