Beach Read

by Emily Henry

[Leigha]

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Romance writer January Winters and literary fiction darling Augustus Everett trade genres in this entertaining adult contemporary romance.

The cutesy cover pulled me into requesting this book on NetGalley. While the cover gives off hardcore rom-com vibes, it has a bit more drama than I anticipated. It’s not bad, but the cover and synopsis are a little misleading.

Much of the novel is January coming to terms with the grief at her father’s passing. A damning secret of his comes out after his death, completely wrecking January. I’m lucky to have never lost a parent, but the emotions she experiences seemed genuine. More time spent with her interacting with her mother would have been rewarding. Augusta is also working through some emotional issues, which made the book feel evenly balanced between the two main protagonist.

January and Augusta have a super delicious slow burn romance. It’s built methodically piece by piece to make for a satisfying relationship. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the catalyst pushing forward their DTR (determine the relationship) moment. Listen, if my or my husband’s ex had appeared after we started our romance, we would have pointed them to the door faster than you can say bye. It felt unnecessary and cheesy, despite its foreshadowing.

tl;dr A dramady with compelling characters, a delicious slow-burn romance, and a cutesy cover make this a must-read.

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