January Andrews is a successful author who writes romance novels. She lived in blissful happiness with her boyfriend in New York until the unexpected death of her beloved father, when her relationship with Jacques falls apart. Her father was involved with another woman, meeting at his lakeside beach house, and this gross betrayal of her mother sees her challenging everything she thought she knew about her family. This eventually leads to depression, with her partner unable to deal with these changes. January has inherited the beach house and goes to prepare for its sale whilst trying to write her next book. There, she meets next door neighbour, Augustus (Gus) Everett, an acclaimed author of literary fiction... Emily Henry's novel is set in North Bear Shores, a small town located on Lake Michigan. The unusual tale has two wonderful protagonists in January and Gus and their developing friendship and rivalry were wonderful to read about. Beach Read is so well written, and I was overcome with a wide range of emotions, from pleasure to sadness - it made me cry, it made me smile and it made me impatient. There is plenty of substance to the characters and the plot toys with some heavy themes, though it is still a lighter read. There is something tantalisingly indefinable between them and along with the smart dialogue, I really did not want to put Beach Read down. A superb and thoroughly enjoyable novel. I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Penguin Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

A beloved dad passes away and secrets start to unravel. Relationship with your mum becomes strained and you move into a house you never knew your dad owned. Your own long term relationship implodes and next door is your nemesis from college days. Confusion, heartbreak and misunderstanding are par. It goes to show what you think of someone actions and the reasons behind them are not what you think. A roller-coaster of a read but you will definitely enjoy the story.

This book was about love and heart break but not at all what I thought it would be. I thought this would be a classic chick lit but it was so much more then that and I loved it. I fell in love with the characters and my heart broke with them and I just really felt all the feels reading this book. Even from the first line I was gripped and I feel that the cover , although gorgeous, doesn't really match the book. I will definitely pick up more books by this author as her writing is so beautiful. The pacing of the book is really well done, and even the sub characters were so important to me. There wasn't a point where I didn't enjoy this book. 10/10 would recommend

Rare is it that books dubbed as ‘rom-coms’ actually deliver on both the romance and the comedy front. Luckily, this novel was one of the few exceptions. The banter between the main characters was amazing (I couldn’t help but smile chapter after chapter) and their deeper connection was undeniable. The story packed in so much fun but was also not afraid to take time to delve into the characters’ personal issues .By expertly balancing genuine humour with soul-baring moments, this book was a dream to read. I never wanted it to end, yet I couldn’t put it down. Would I recommend?… 100% yes, especially for anyone stuck in their own reading rut.

(4.5 rounded to 5) Emily Henry has done it again, with another sizzling romance. January has had the perfect life, until after her father’s death, when she finds out it was all a lie. As she moves into his beach house she encounters her grumpy neighbour, and the story unravels from there. I adore the way Emily Henry manages to go below the surface. She writes about messy humans in the most joyous way. She knows how to balance the happy emotions with the darker, messier ones and that is what I think makes her books stand out. I also love that her books are about writers and people in the book industry. She is one of my favourite writers and you can’t go wrong with her books if you like books about books and a good romance. I flew through this one and would highly recommend giving it a try, along with all her other books!