As a romance writer, January Cole channels her parents' great love story to write happily ever afters. Until one unpredictable event snowballs into larger ones; January finds herself stuck in writer's block, unable to meet her deadline, and broke. When she moves into a beach house in Michigan, hoping to churn out her next novel in the summer, she runs into Gus Everett, her neighbor, critically-acclaimed author, and her polar opposite. January and Gus strike a deal to help each other: Gus will write a happy ending, and January will compose a gritty novel. By the end of the three months, they will both write something different, win accolades, and nobody will fall in love.

Beach Read is my second Emily Henry book after Book Lovers and I. STILL. LOVE. IT. Especially for romance, when the third act breakups and happy endings are a given, to write with such diverse back story and character development is a fantastic talent. I adore Gus' character; his background and personality strike an outstanding balance with January's. And for a guy who claims not to believe in happily ever afters, he has surprisingly romantic lines that have me bursting into pink bubbles. Often romance novels focus too much on the female protagonist's POV and end up with a guy that seems one-dimensional (except for their career success LOL). The Soulmate Equation and The STEMinist Novellas suffer from this boring man syndrome. I was pleasantly surprised by how much detail Henry put into creating Gus and how lovable but real his character is.

It's tough to decide if I like Book Lovers or Beach Read more (I haven't read People We Meet on Vacation yet). I like Nora's (Book Lovers) personality more than January's, but I love Gus more than Charlie haha. In the end, both books are incredible, and if you're on the hunt for a great romance, definitely check them out!