Beach Read
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Let me get a concern off of my chest. I fear I may have fallen into a Taylor Jenkins Reid trap whereby I really like the first book that I read of hers and then the more I read, the more I realize that she’s a one hit wonder. My first Reid read, Malibu Rising, pleasantly surprised me, but then it started to go down hill. One True Loves gave me pause and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo felt massively overrated. That got me questioning the whole enterprise. Do I actually like Malibu Rising or was my initial exposure to Reid’s particular brand of writing a refreshing delight with not enough staying power? Perhaps I was more willing to look past the faults of Malibu Rising simply because I wanted to give this unfamiliar genre a fighting chance?
Emily Henry is of the same ilk (young writer, relatively prolific, romance-centered stories), hence the concern. This is my first exposure to Henry and unlike the noble generosity that I led with in my Reid Era, I came into Beach Read even more critical than I normally would be. On that uplifting note, let’s dive in.
The bones of this story are solid. It’s an unlikely love story and both characters, January and Gus, come with emotional baggage. January’s baggage consists of particularly heart-wrenching family drama; I was impressed by the non-cheesy complexity of her situation. There’s a very tender family related moment toward the end of the book that had me crying in a random Starbucks. Gus was less endearing to me, perhaps because I was completely distracted by the sheer fact of his name. I kept thinking of Gus Gus, the rotund mouse from Cinderella. It’s hard for me to think that you’re hot if your name is Gus.
When I wasn’t overthinking his name, I liked the irreverent voice of the characters. Similar to how I felt with Listen for the Lie, I liked that their dialogue was snarky and genuine. Sometimes they were a little too quippy with each other, taking the flirtation in an unrealistic direction, but I think that just comes with the territory of *most* romance novels.
That leads me to a lil rant on romance tropes. I get frustrated when there’s a promising, nuanced plot and authentic, complex characters who get overshadowed by cheesy, unnecessary and avoidable cliches. For example, I don’t like an overly dramatic epiphany, especially when that realization has been a total duh the whole time. January says, “My stomach bottomed out. My throat clinched. Pain stabbed through my chest. It all made sense at once: the hesitancy and deflection, the mistrust of people, the fear of commitment.” Girl, chill. I also get bored of the ~will they, won’t they~ dance if it’s drawn out too long. If there’s too much talking about having a relationship because you’re soOoOo broken, it feels like beating a dead horse. Even if you’re broken! Go on the damn date!
I realize that this is nitpicky, but I told you that I came into this with my lil cynical antennas on tilt. Ultimately, I liked the heart-warming message that comes from this book. The smut, while sparse, was pretty good. The ending is a little eye-rolly, but it’s also sweet if you’re not a sourpuss. My friend, Laura Hamby, described this book as “silly chick lit” and I very much agree. I’m perhaps completely overanalyzing this book. Why did yall even read my review lol? Beach Read receives 3 out of 5 flames. It checked the lighthearted romantic boxes but didn’t wow me enough to bump up to a 4. Up next: I’ll have to see if Emily Henry is my new Taylor Jenkins Reid.
For those who have read the book, here’s some SPOILER-FILLED assorted reactions:
Shadi is a useless filler side character. I like her name tho
How could you avoid reading a letter for over a year that your dead dad left you wtf even if I hated him, I would be plagued by curiosity alone
The logistics of the January sailboat still being there at the end of the book are completely unpractical and I fixated on them. The dad didn’t know he was going to die so who was paying for that thing to stay docked while she waited a year to open the letter? Repo central
January not answering the door in time for Gus at the end and then branding it as a ‘last chance moment’...plz, you live NEXT DOOR to the man, you will literally see him in 12 hours.
I liked Gus’ slovenliness lol
Writing a story about writers is meta in a way that I liked a lot but I did think it was funny whenever she pushed the importance of the craft lol like she’s basically complimenting herself (so relatable)
