Book Review- Emily Henry's Book Lovers

Nora Stephens has always loved books, she spent her childhood living above a bookstore and has spent her adult years as a book agent in New York City. Although she makes a good living, Nora spent many years struggling, especially after her mother died and Nora, in her early twenties, took over caring for her teenage sister, Libby. Libby is now married and pregnant, but Nora still feels mothering, especially when she sees Libby struggling financially. This dynamic has driven a wedge between the sisters.

When Libby asks Nora to go on a sisters only trip to a small town in North Carolina, a town that is the inspiration for one of their favorite books, Nora jumps on the chance to spend time together. Libby is acting odd and Nora fears that her sister might be pregnant and heading for a divorce. Libby does have a secret motive for this trip and it involves getting her sister to fall in love with both the town and perhaps, one of its locals.

Their vacation is thrown into a tizzy, when Nora runs into Charlie, an editor that she had an awkward meeting with in New York. Charlie is from this small town and has returned home to help his aging parents run their independent bookstore. Nora and Charlie quickly realize that they may have more in common than just their love of books.

This is my third Emily Henry novel and I’m a fan. I love her snappy dialogue, wry humor, and quirky characters. Her stories have a sweetness to them that isn’t over wrought or sickly. In the best possible sense, her stories remind me of an episode of Gilmore Girls.

Book Lovers has a fun theme that is a take on the tropes in romance novels or more specifically, Hallmark Christmas movies- although, the story is not set during the holidays. Libby creates a list of all of the things that Nora must experience during their vacation, which includes things like going skinny dipping in the lake and saving a local business. The idea is to use the list to recreate tropes from rom coms, and of course, rarely does anything go according to plan.

Henry excels at creating strong, believable relationships and in Book Lovers, nothing is more powerful than the sister bond between Libby and Nora. This is the primary relationship in Book Lovers, with the budding romance between Charlie and Nora coming in second. Although there are some unsavory characters in the town, there are no true villains and the story is mostly concerned with the dynamics between likable characters.

It’s hard to choose a favorite Henry novel, but I think the theming for Book Lovers will resonate strongly with readers. It’s a cute story with a lot of heart.

Book Review- Emily Henry's People We Meet on Vacation

Best friends Poppy and Alex are complete opposites. She is a free spirit and he is a rule follower. She’s a bit messy and unfiltered, while he is restrained and proper. She likes to go with the flow and he always has a plan. The biggest thing they have in common is an undeniable chemistry than neither wants to confess, keeping both Poppy and Alex in each other’s “friend zone.”

Keeping with a tradition that they have had since college, Poppy and Alex take an annual vacation together. It doesn’t matter where they are living or who they may be dating, this annual vacation is non-negotiable. Years into this tradition, they have a disastrous trip that threatens to end both their friendship and any possibility of a romantic connection. Told in a non-linear fashion, the story unfolds in chapters that reveal their history, the details of the disaster, and the aftermath.

This was my second Emily Henry novel, the first being Beach Read, and I am hooked. Henry has a gift for writing snappy and humorous dialogue, plus simmering tension with clear subtext. I love her characters and developed a pretty deep book-crush on Alex! I think People We Meet on Vacation might have had an edge over Beach Read, because I loved the vacations, especially the last part being in Palms Springs. As a frequent visitor to Palm Springs, Henry has the sights and flavor of the city down to a T, from the colorful, yet dumpy motels to the more fabulous spots.

People We Meet on Vacation is fun and romantic. I like to compare Henry’s books to an episode of Gilmore Girls, which in my world is high praise. The similarities include the rapid dialogue, brand of humor, and quirky characters. However, another similarity is that both have a huge heart and the problems that the characters encounter can be quite heavy. The sweetness present in Henry’s novels is never saccharine, but it is also the type of sweetness that leaves my heart happy.

I read that People We Meet on Vacation is being turned into a movie, which I feel would work very well. I can’t wait to see who gets cast as Alex and Poppy.

Book Review- Emily Henry's Beach Read

I work as a bookseller and for months, I’ve been watching Emily Henry’s novels fly off the shelves and I’ve been given enthusiastic recommendations from customers. I don’t often read in the romance genre, which is Henry’s wheelhouse, but I was curious to see why so many people love her books. I took my recent vacation to Hawaii, as an opportunity to theme my reading with a copy of Henry’s Beach Read. Her novel is not set in the islands, it is set in a small lake town in Michigan, nevertheless, it is full of summer vibes.

January is a struggling romance writer who has just received shocking news about her recently deceased father. Her father had been having a long-time affair, spending large chunks of his time in a secret lakeside cabin. After the funeral, January has been handed both the news and keys to the cabin, which she is reluctantly visiting to clean out in preparation to sell. She is equally annoyed and charmed by her mysterious next-door neighbor, whom she doesn’t physically see until a run-in at a local book store. She realizes it’s Gus, January’s arch-nemesis from her MFA program. Gus was January’s rival for best student and although they were academically competitive, they also were flirtatious, and had one drunk party fling.

January is mortified and tries to hide from Gus, but he keeps popping up as she navigates the small town. They end up making a bet: they will each write a novel in the other person’s chosen genre and the first person to sell their book, will get bragging rights and a cover blurb from the loser. The cynical Gus must write a romance and the optimistic January, must attempt literary fiction. As they write, they spy on each other through neighboring windows and decks, fueling both their creative energy and their romantic chemistry.

Beach Read was not the book I thought it would be, it is much better. Half of the story is a sweet, light-hearted comedy that follows conventions of the romance genre. Gus and January have an awkward and comical “meet cute” via a chance run-in at the bookstore. The setting is an impossible perfect small town with quirky locals. They have a series of storybook dates based on the premise that January needs to teach Gus how to experience romance to help inform his writing. Naturally, these dates have implications beyond writing research. These sweet elements attracted me to Henry’s novel, in the same way that I love shows like Gilmore Girls. Sometimes you just need a little happy fluff.

However, Beach Read is not simply fluff. It deals with heavy themes, such as January’s fractured ideas of her father and her inability to confront him. Complicating these emotions are January’s memories of her mother’s cancer treatment. Her mother survived, but January now realizes that her father was having the affair during this time. Gus is also very complex and Henry explores the reasons that Gus is drawn to heavier subjects in his writing. Beach Read has depth.

I really enjoyed Beach Read and may have even developed a crush on Gus. January is a lovable protagonist and I hope that Henry considers continuing with these characters in a future novel. I wasn’t done with them at the end of Beach Read. I’d love to see a film adaptation.