Seasoned With Sydney

What happens when an author of happy endings suddenly stops believing in them? January Andrews is broke, recently-single, and suffering from a serious bout of writer’s block when she finds herself moving into the beach house that, up until her father’s untimely death, she never knew existed. To top things off, she’s staring down the barrel of a tight deadline for her next manuscript, AND suddenly living next door to her literary arch-nemesis, Augustus Everett, a man who she’s convinced never took her or her writing seriously. But when the two strike up a deal to step out of their comfort zones and into each other’s genres, things take an interesting turn, and an unlikely kinship forms between them. Is there more to Gus than striking looks and a superiority complex? Will January ever find all the answers she’s desperate for? And can the pair help put each other back together again without expecting Happily Ever After? They’ve got three months to find out.

The Good: Beach Read is a love letter to the rom-com enthusiast. All the classic boxes are checked: two characters who start off hating each other eventually seeing eye-to-eye, the picture-perfect setting for falling in love: a quaint beach house situated in a small summer town, the quirky yet slightly broken heroine dealing with internal (and external) conflict interacting with the handsome, brooding antagonist wrestling with even more conflict, and plenty of the witty banter you’d expect of the genre. Emily Henry’s writing style is strong, enjoyable, and full of subtle and not-so-subtle pop culture references that make it fun to read.

The Bad: While I found myself returning to this book often to see how the plot would advance, I also found myself skipping considerable chunks of chapters. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy the story or disliked the characters, it was more that I never found enough depth in scenes to keep me fully absorbed. I felt as though there weren’t enough truly meaty examples of why I should believe that Gus was truly out to get January when they were younger - enough for her to consider him her literary mortal enemy. I also found it interesting that for as many interactions as the characters must have had in college, January would expect Gus not to recognize her when they meet again. They shared several classes it seems, and January even makes it a point to say that Gus would go out of his way to critique her work. Only seven or eight years have passed since they’ve seen each other last. Surely the two of them wouldn’t have changed drastically, looks-wise.

Bottom Line: I really enjoyed Beach Read. It was light and fun, and the romantic scenes are pretty palpable. Is it a book that I see myself returning to again? Probably not. But it’s a pleasant beach companion PERFECT for the summer season. I couldn’t imagine a more apt title for a book than this one!

Find Beach Read by Emily Henry HERE