Title: Beach Read

Author: Emily Henry

Publisher: Berkley 2020

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 384

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Modern Mrs. Darcy 2020

Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.

They're polar opposites.

In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block.

Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She'll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he'll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.

This one was a surprise. I was expecting a light-hearted romcom and instead I got a much more serious story involving a romance. Even with that shift, I loved this book. Henry has created two very human characters full of strengths and weaknesses. This was one of the most realistic romances that I have ever read. We have two characters with lives and backstory that come together and connect. I was completely along for the ride. I loved January and Gus both individually and as a couple. I ended up flying through this book putting aside laundry and cooking just to keep reading. So good!

Next up on the TBR pile: