Review: Beach Read by Emily Henry

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Author: Emily Henry
Edition : eArc 
Publisher: Penguin (August 20, 2020)
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
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Synopsis

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My thoughts

I received a free eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Beach Read is a bittersweet romance about love, loss, writer’s block and murder cults and Emily Henry balances all those elements gracefully.  It’s a story about how a “Happy Ever After” isn’t always possible but a “Happy For Now” can be just as sweet. 

Plot and Pacing

My favourite elements of the plot were the scenes that focused on January’s and Gus’ writing. Whether it was insights into January’s manuscripts or their (very cute) research adventures, I was excited to get to know them as artists and get a glimpse into their processes. I kind of wish the second half would have had more insight into their writing, that aspect kind of vanishes once they’re together. However, I was very happy to see that they didn’t just give up on the bet and that their final books are briefly discussed.

Because I am me, I obviously loved the murder cult plot. To me, it seemed like a clever way to both explore Gus’ worldview further but it also manages to turn Beach Read into a mixture of a romance and a more dark and literary novel, reflecting the genres the protagonists write! But don’t worry, it’s not as dark as you might fear, and while the cult plot runs throughout the book, it doesn’t play a huge part. 

I am not a big romance reader, but Beach Read had me rooting for the blossoming relationship right from the start. I might have come for the writer representation, but I definitely stayed for the banter and small, human moments that unfolded. So while by nature of the genre this isn’t a 5 star read for me, I had a lot of fun and it delivered exactly what I hoped it would within its confines and I can very much see why people love it so much!

Characters

January and Gus seem to be polar opposites at first but as they get closer they learn to imagine each other complexly and recognize that they just might have more in common than they thought.

It is this juxtaposition of characters that drew me to this book (apart from, you know, being about writers) and I was not disappointed! Gus seems grumpy and serious where January is happy and lighthearted, except her dad is dead, his life might have been a lie and her Happy Ever After broke apart. Through Gus and January, Emily Henry manages to explore grief, both for people and for possibilities, and how it affects and changes a person and their worldview. The more the characters figure each other out, the more complex they become and the more they grow.

I absolutely loved their character arcs, precisely because they weren’t about changing their personalities. January still writes a hopeful sad ending and Gus finds tragedy in a happy one, they haven’t fundamentally changed who they are, they’ve just learned to let the world exist, as wonderful and tragic as it is. 

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I think Beach Read is the perfect romance for me because it has characters I love, a wonderful premise and themes I always care about (love! death! grief! truth or the illusion of it! friendships! art!). One of the main lessons January learns is to imagine people, and life, complexly and that is a sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with. Yes, there isn’t always a happy ending, but there’s beauty in unexpected places, too.

This book is for you if…

…you like contemporary romances with loveable characters that are well-rounded and almost like people you know.
…you’re looking for a summer read that gives you your dose of cute and larger-than-life romantic moments whilst not shying away from darker themes that balance out the story and add nuance.

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