Natalie’s Beach Read
“If you think the story has a sad ending, it’s because it’s not over yet”
This book stood out to me of everything I read this month because of Henry’s raw honesty and her impactful storytelling. A Beach Read is about “a romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut”. The pair, January and Gus, strike up a summer-long challenge to switch genres and it shakes up everything they know about love and their relationships with themselves. It’s a slow-burn, enemies to lovers story with plenty of grace given to the heavier themes presented and moments of lighthearted and tender care between the characters.
You can now buy “A Beach Read” from The Pouring Pages! Whether you want a physical copy or e-book (powered by Bookshop.org) or audiobook (powered by libro.fm), feel free to drop by ThePouringPages.com or click the buttons below!
Beach Read Audiobook on Libro.fm
A Beach Read by Emily Henry - Audiobook
“Love, after all, was often made not of shiny things but practical ones. Ones that grew old and rusted only to be repaired and polished.”
At the worst possible time, her father’s funeral, January finds out relationship-altering news about her dad. She is given a key to a mysterious beach house; broke, and suffering from writer’s block, she agrees to spend the next few months there. Gus is in a similar situation and living right next door so the stars totally align for a rom-com style swap. Though I picked up this book mostly to get my slow-burn fill, I appreciated the way the plot felt driven and active the whole way through. I also appreciated the way the characters were able to communicate their feelings to one another openly without it feeling unrealistic. These were obviously two people who had been in relationships before so the maturity they showed, even while working through major issues of their own, was beautiful to me.
”Hate, I found out on the ride home, was a less embarrassing way to say fear.”
Anyone who has listened to the podcast knows that adolescent psychology is a subject I would call myself a hobbyist in. The relationship between parent and child is so vital yet oftentimes it can be a source of pain. The reason I decided to recommend this book this month was the way Henry handled the complicated bond between family and how changing your view of your parents can shift your whole narrative. January finds out information about her father that she would rather not know and now that he’s gone, she has no one to question but herself. The way this breakdown in self-image after realizing her mistreatment is shown as a vital part of the plot makes this a must-read for me. The romance is there. But, the beautiful and messy character Henry created in January showed a depth of understanding of grief that hit hard and that aspect of this story is just as important.
