January is a romance author who is dealing with writers block after the death of her father and finding out he was having an affair. She moves into his vacation home for the summer in hopes of getting her belief in love and happy endings back while taking the time to write her next book. Augustus Everett is a literary fiction writer who happens to be January’s nemesis, and her next door neighbor for the summer. Will they butt heads or fall in love?

I went into this book with high expectations because I’ve heard such good things about it. That didn’t sway my rating though. I loved January and Gus’s relationship, and I love a rom-com with the enemies become lovers trope, but Beach Read is not your typical rom-com. The storyline was totally original. I enjoyed the bet and them swapping genres. It created such an interesting plot.

The scenes with Gus and January were my favorites. There were some fun secondary characters, for example, Shadi and Pete, but in my opinion, they weren’t necessary to move the story along. January and Gus had such humorous banter, and I loved how they played off each other. I enjoyed learning about their pasts and what made them write the genres they were each known for.

This book will make you laugh and it will make you cry. I’m not sure it’s a typical “beach read”, but it’s definitely worth reading!

Thank you Goodreads and Berkley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.