Out of the many romance novels I have read (and I have read a few), I don't think I have ever come across one quite like Beach Read by Emily Henry. There is something different about this one that is about love and loss and finding yourself again, or that part of you that was missing, and how maybe that one special person can make you feel whole again. That brief idea may seem like something you can find in any other romantic book or movie, but what Emily Henry does with Beach Read is both beautiful and moving.
January Andrews writes romance novels for a living, but has now come to question the stories she has written about love after learning that her recently deceased father had had an affair with another woman behind her mother's back. The news rocks January to the core and apart from her break up with her boyfriend and how she is also struggling to write another book, she has to clean out and sell her father's house that he had bought and shared with the other woman.
When she arrives in the quaint town of North Bear Shore, she soon learns that she is living right next door to her literary rival, Augustus "Gus" Everett. Unlike January, Augustus writes dark and bleak dramatic fiction. His books have been critically acclaimed and he and January have been toe to toe on the bestseller's list harkening back to their days when they were classmates in the same writing program in college. It doesn't help either that while Augustus is frustratingly talented, he is also still attractive now as he was back then. After a few unflattering meet-cutes and exchanges here and there, the two strike up a bet that will help both of them get through their writer's block: January will write a serious work of fiction and Augustus will write a romance novel. While January gives Augustus lessons on romance that include a night at the carnival and a Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks movie marathon at the drive-in, Augustus brings January along to interview former members of a backwoods cult. What begins as a simple bet, with the occasional longing glances and handwritten messages like that Taylor Swift music video, soon starts to turn into something more, especially when their personal lives and heartache come in between.
When you see a title like Beach Read, the immediate thought is that this would be another typical romantic story as it implies, especially with its cover illustration that so many romance books have nowadays. Yet, I think it is much more than that and the title plays with that notion you initially have. Even the tropes that come into play early on, such as the two main characters as rivals and the bet they make teases you in. As I was reading it however, I noticed and felt the emotional subtext lying within the plot. Both characters are going through something deeply personal that the relationship that develops between them, along with the chemistry that had long been there since their college days, coincide seamlessly with their individual growth and how they need each other.
With the story told entirely through January's perspective, we learn about everything she is dealing with and how difficult it is for her. She just lost her father and when she finds out about his affair it ends up straining her relationship with her mother who knew and hid it from her. Also after her breakup with her longtime boyfriend, there's another layer of loneliness added on top of it. At twenty-nine years old, she feels like everything she thought she had or knew is different now. It's not so much questioning everything you thought you knew but wanting answers or wanting someone to be with to help you get through it. All of this comes out in this one scene when she goes to the beach:
"My world felt empty. Like there was no one in it, except sometimes Gus, and nothing in it except this book, and the bet. And no matter how much better this book felt than every iteration of it that had come in the last twelve months, it wasn't enough.I was on a beautiful beach, in a beautiful place, and I was alone. Worse, I wasn't sure I'd ever stop being alone again. I wanted my mom, and I missed my lying dad."
This sense of loneliness was something I felt and understood that maybe even others could connect to too. There are just inexplicable times when you feel alone and for January it's made especially harder because of this great loss in her life. It kind of reminds me of that scene in Mad Men (season 7, episode 6, "The Strategy") when Peggy Olson asks Don Draper what does he have to worry about and he replies, "That I never did anything, and that I don't have anyone."
Meanwhile, Augustus is also struggling with the same kind of loneliness in his own life. Compared to January, he never had parents who loved each other like she had. He grew up in a broken and abusive home. And while he was close to his mother, he never understood why or how she chose to stay with his father. So, a lot of his stories and the one he is writing about cults ties in with his childhood. When Augustus tells January how he doesn't believe in love it is not so much to do with his childhood, but his own recent divorce where his wife left him for his best friend. While January feels alone, Augustus believes he is alone.
With all this said, this why I think their relationship is the heart of the book apart from this being a romance novel, and what makes this story so different than other books like it. Both characters could have easily fallen into the trap that romantic tropes set them up for, where boy and girl who hate each other ultimately fall in love over a bet. What Emily Henry does differently though is diverge from that idea and instead explore both characters' vulnerability given the emotional state they are in, where their lives are right now, and how their connection and relationship with each other helps them get through it. They are both more than just two characters in a trope to a romantic outline. They are two people dealing with loss, loneliness, and what it means to be loved and in love, all while dealing with the looming question of how to move forward and how to possibly do it together.
On a lighter note, this book was still a joy to read. I absolutely loved the chemistry between January and Augustus. Their back and forth banter was witty in a Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday kind of way, but with a bit of a perverse sense of humor sometimes. I also liked how they wrote together so to speak in their own separate homes, but in view of each other through their kitchen windows. Them lifting up messages to each other across the way was funny and sweet and didn't feel cheesy at all. The romantic tension brewing meanwhile ... phew! That's all I can say... 😏
The dates January takes Augustus on for "research" were fun. I liked the date when they went line dancing at a saloon. It was hilarious! I knew I was in for something when January asked Augustus if he owned a cowboy hat and then I couldn't stop laughing when they were actually there considering how completely out of place he was. Even their trips together to interview former cult members were interesting. It was much serious than their romantic dates obviously, but I thought it helped balanced their relationship in a strange way. With their romantic dates they got to have fun together and learn more about each other, while during and after their interviews they got to know each other on a deeper level.
The books they end up writing were great. I would definitely read Augustus's book about a cult with a happy-ish ending and January's book about a traveling circus family. It actually made me happy to see January try something new and express her thoughts and feelings relating to her father's death and his secret as well as her love for Augustus into a story she genuinely cared about. Her previous books seemed like they were based on an idea of what love is inspired by what she thought was a perfect relationship between her parents. After everything she goes through though, the one she ends up writing turns into something true and honest and maybe even something she never really explored before about herself. Augustus as well goes through growth with his book. What began as an exploration of why people choose to stay in what is undeniably a bad situation turns into something both poignant and beautiful because of his relationship with January. Both books end up showing how far they each have come.
The rest of characters were just as great and added an extra light to the story. Pete and Maggie are the best couple ever. I wouldn't mind starting a conversation about rocks with Maggie, who is a geologist, but I'm pretty sure I would regret it considering the tangent she will go on because of her love for the subject. Pete is pleasantly lovable considering that she hosts a book club dedicated to spy thrillers whilst serving White Russians. Although we only got a few bits of January's best friend, Shadi, I liked her a lot. She kind of reminded me of one of my friends. The only character I have mixed feelings about is Sonya, the other woman. I understand how awkward she felt and how hard it was to try and talk to January about her relationship with her father, but I don't know. It's a complicated feeling similar to January's where you can empathize with her, but cannot bring yourself to accept her.
With a minor spoiler alert, I do forgive what January's father did as he explains to her through a way she would listen. That moment was touching and I will admit that it may make you cry. I liked how he was the one who named her January, after the song "It's June in January" by Dean Martin. The only two other Januarys I know is the original literary character, January Wayne, created by Jacqueline Susann in Once is Not Enough and of course Mad Men actress January Jones, who was named after Susann's character. Maybe January Andrews was also inspired by January Wayne, who loved her father. I also liked how the author chose to name her characters January and Augustus as it almost fits the song.
Thinking back on all the other romance books written, I think this one brings something new and refreshing to the genre. Emily Henry reimagines it by exploring new ways to handle romantic tropes while also giving substance and emotion to its two characters that doesn't take away the humor and joy of the story itself. As a reader, I felt that I got to enjoy the story and understand January and Augustus much better than how they could have been handled in any other book or glossed over too quickly in a two hour movie. There is a lot of depth in Beach Read and I appreciated and loved all of it.
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