“Beach Read” by Emily Henry

I’m going to put this really simply and bluntly: it’s been a rough couple of months for all of us. If you need an escape and an injection of happiness and witty banter, you need to read Beach Read.

When bestselling author January goes through a breakup and her father unexpectedly passes away, she must take on the daunting task of cleaning out and selling his cabin in Michigan (the one he shared with his mistress). She’s the queen of the happy ending in her books, but now she’s not sure that those are even real. Which makes her other summer task difficult: writing her next novel before her publisher drops her.

But little does January know, she’s moved in next door to none other than her college rival, Augustus (Gus), who is also a bestselling author, but of the literary, almost snobbish type. Both January and Gus think the other’s genre is hacky and easy to write, so they make a bet. They’ll write their next books as the other’s preferred genre, and the one that sells better wins. Part of this deal is research “dates” — January takes Gus to the carnival rolling through town, and Gus takes January on an interview with a former cult member.

But despite some darker tidbits and themes, this book is really fun. The two clearly like each other, but are trying to play hard to get. The book is full of fun banter that made me laugh, and awesome imagery in one of my favorite places, northern Michigan. Ultimately, it’s a fun read that can take you away to an easier time for a while. And we all kind of need that right now.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Purchase your copy here (Amazon). Or join Book of the Month Club (where I got my copy of Beach Read) here and get your first book for $5.

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