Review: Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Thank you Berkley for my copy of Book Lovers. All thoughts are my own.
Hyped up books and well loved books are always tricky. We can read books at the wrong time and not like them. We can read them at the right time and they change our lives. One of the most hyped authors in the last few years has definitely been Emily Henry. I interviewed her last year on Read It Or List It and became obsessed with Emily the person. She doesn’t take herself too seriously and at the same time, she is utterly brilliant. She is smart and generous and fun.
But her previous two adult novels didn’t quite work for me. I didn’t fall into the camp that adored Beach Read. And while I liked People We Meet On Vacation, there was still something missing from it for me. But with Book Lovers, I am all in. I think it’s her best yet and it just worked.
Synopsis:
“Nora Stephens' life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.
Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.
If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.” —Amazon
What I Liked:
The Characters—Nora and Charlie have my heart. There were so many parts of both the characters I could relate to, in the best ways. Charlie is going to go up there on my book boyfriends list. I loved how dynamic of a love interest he was!
The Concept—The concept of “what happens the girl the Hallmark guy leaves behind for small town life” felt so original and unique. Seriously, what happens to all those “cold” women?! Cause Hallmark makes them so one dimensional but Nora shows us that it’s okay to be determined and successful, that city life doesn’t mean you value material things more.
The Writing—Emily Henry has always intoxicated me with her writing. I’m glad that this time I was able to attach to the characters and plot as well.
The Love for New York City—So many tiny moments that made me nostalgic and proud to have called NYC home for six years. I miss it every day.
What Didn’t Work:
Not much, maybe one too many side plots but this was a solid read for me!
Content Warnings:
Grief, loss of a parent