Book Review: Beach Read | Emily Henry

Emily Henry’s new book Funny Story is about to debut later this month, and I (like many others) am impatiently waiting for my copy to arrive. Emily Henry has taken the book world by storm—even the non-bookish people in my life have read and fallen in love with her writing. As I was thinking about this and looking back at the previous Emily Henry books I read, I realized that I never reviewed the book that started it all for me—Beach Read.

Since it is inexplicably snowing in Chicago this week (in April!), I decided to do a re-read. Escape to summertime, fall into the story, and remember the feeling of discovering the greatness of Emily Henry the first time. If I had to say what it is about her books that has a special type of magic, it’s that she writes stories and characters that are so gripping, they feel like real people. Sometimes I come out of an Emily Henry book and I have forgotten what day it is, I was that immersed in the story.

What’s Beach Read about?

Beach Read centers around two writers who are polar opposites. January Andrews is a best-selling romance novelist. She writes stories that always end in a happily ever after. Augustus (Gus) Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. He writes stories that don’t have a happy ending in sight.

January is going through it in her personal life—something that is not helping with her writer’s block. Her boyfriend broke up with her (not exactly a happily ever after romance). Her father died unexpectedly, and in the wake of this loss she learns that her father had been having an affair with another woman. January had looked up to her parents as inspiration for her books—they were the ideal. Now she feels that their happy marriage was all a big lie. January’s father left her a house by the lake in Michigan. Her plan is to stay at the house and get it ready to sell, while working on her next book.

The last thing January needs at a time like this is to arrive at the beach house and discover that Gus Everett—a man she knew at university and didn’t exactly like—lives in the beach house next door. Gus has baggage of his own, and he doesn’t believe in happily ever afters. He often ends a book by killing off all his main characters, taking out his issues in life in the stories he writes. The two writers may not have much in common, but they find themselves at the same beach at the same time, both experiencing writer’s block. Even sworn enemies can bond over the torture of writer’s block!

However, the two writers can’t exactly avoid one another. Whether it’s their proximity, boredom, and loneliness, a hazy evening leads to a conversation and a deal between them. In an effort to shake them out of their creative ruts, they’ll each spend the summer working on a story in the other’s genre—Gus will craft a romance with a happy ending, and January will write a dark, bleak literary novel. Each plans outings to teach the other one about their inspiration (January plans a rom-com worthy series of events that would make a perfect montage; Gus brings her to interview people who have lost a loved one to a death cult). The more they learn from one another, the more their feelings grow. Will January and Gus find a real-life happy ending?

What did I think of Beach Read?

The covers of Emily Henry’s books bring to mind a soapy and light rom com with cute moments but without much depth. Don’t let her adorable covers fool you, her books are character-driven, layered, emotional masterpieces. They are contemporary fiction that tell an epic love story. I get so invested in her books that I lose myself and I forget that it will surely end in a happy way. Henry has a way of building a relationship, cranking up the tension until it could snap. Then when we’re invested, she’ll shatter everything to pieces only to swoop in with poignant prose and soul-baring moments to heal us right up and leave with our hearts soaring.

When I said that I don’t really consider Henry’s books to be romance books (though they certainly have wonderful love stories)—its because her stories are really about the characters laying bare all their pain, flaws, and insecurities, and finding their way to happiness. It just so happens that happiness includes the other person, but I always feel that there is a world where the love story could be removed, and the stories of the characters would still work.

Mixed between the witty banter and fun scenes between Gus and January as they fall for one another are emotional, heartbreaking scenes as they process other things from their lives. For January in particular, I was touched by the relationship between her and her father. It was intensely emotional, raw, and melancholy at times. It also brought a depth to January that made me root for her with my entire heart.

January and Gus weren’t just opposites in the obvious ways, they had contrasting back stories that were juxtaposed to great effect. January is an optimist, and her upbringing was seen through the rose-colored glasses of happily married parents who supported each other even during the hard times. This makes the death of her father and learning  more about the other side of his life overwhelming for January. Her entire view of her world and upbringing is rocked to it’s core. Gus’s pessimism and general skepticism about life and love make more sense as the reader learns more about his abusive father and traumatic childhood. Gus’s challenge is to learn to let those walls down that he built to protect himself.

The sizzling chemistry shouldn’t go unacknowledged! There is a wonderful romance plot threaded through the beautiful character studies. The attraction between January and Gus is undeniable. They are at very different places in their life and they come from different backgrounds. But they also may be the right match to heal the other one by showing them a different side of life. Heart-melting, emotional, and authentic!

What should you read next?

About the Author

Emily Henry is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Book Lovers, People We Meet on Vacation, and Beach Read, as well as the forthcoming Happy Place. She lives and writes in Cincinnati and the part of Kentucky just beneath it.

Find her on Instagram @EmilyHenryWrites.