A review by spellbindingtomes
Beach Read by Emily Henry

emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

๐˜ž๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ง๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ. ๐˜ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ, ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜บ๐˜ด ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ.

๐Œ๐ข๐ง๐ข ๐’๐ฒ๐ง๐จ๐ฉ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ:
Two writers with opposing styles - a cynical romance novelist and a brooding literary author - challenge each other to switch genres for the summer while living as neighbors. They agree to inspire each other's writing through themed outings, all while promising not to fall in love. Their creative experiment may end up changing more than just their writing.
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Unfortunately, Beach Read didn't quite hit the mark for me. I struggled to connect with the plot and characters, and the audiobook had me drifting off more than I'd like to admit ๐Ÿ˜ซ 

I also thought the tone of the book was all over the place. I went into this thinking I'd be reading a breezy summer romance (which we do get at times!), but it deals with pretty heavy topics. 

I can't help but feel that maybe I just picked this up at the wrong timeโ€“so soon after reading and LOVING Book Lovers. It's one of those rare cases where I'm considering giving Beach Read another shot down the road. 

For now, it's a solid 3-stars for me. But don't let my review stop you from checking it out! I'm definitely in the minority here. So many people have Beach Read as their favorite EmHen book. And after diving into three of her books, I've realized that her diverse writing style means there's likely an EmHen novel out there for every type of romance reader, even if not every book resonates with everyone.

So give Beach Read a shot because you might end up loving it ๐Ÿงก

Read if you like:
โœ๐Ÿผ rivals to lovers
๐Ÿ“‘ next door neighbor 
โœ๐Ÿผ small town romance
๐Ÿ“‘ writers romance
โœ๐Ÿผ family secrets

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