If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m a big romance fan and having read all of Emily Henry’s other books, when I saw this one was about an agent and an editor who hated each other falling in love, I was all in, obvs.
Our heroine is Nora Stephens, an NYC-based lit agent who is good at her job and bad at wearing her heart on her sleeve. She has been dumped multiple times by men on business trips that fall in love with smalltown girls and has accepted the fact that she is the Big City Girlfriend who gets dumped at the end of Hallmark movies. She has her little sister and that’s good enough for her.
A few years ago, one of Nora’s authors wrote a book set in a small town in North Carolina that was a huge hit and Nora’s little sister Libby is a huge fan. Such a fan, in fact, that she convinces Nora to go on a month-long vacation to said small town to get away from it all, reconnect with her sister, etc etc. Nora’s not thrilled about leaving the big city for that long but has felt things have been off between her and Libby and as Libby’s very pregnant with her third child and has a sweet husband happy to watch the kids for a few weeks, so she agrees. Libby has even created a list of small town things for them to do, things like go camping, go on a date with a local (that’s for Nora, obviously), and save a small business. Totally normal, not at all Hallmark movie-esque, things.
Nora realizes two things to her dismay upon arrival: one - that this small town is less charming, quirky, win over your heart and more there is not even a single fast food place and the one coffeeshop doesn’t even have wifi and two - standing in this internet-less coffee shop is none other than Charlie Lastra, the editor that she had an awful business lunch with a few years ago and has loathed ever since.
These two will definitely, never ever fall in love.
The thing that makes romance novels like Book Lovers so good is that these two people falling in love is not the entirety of the plot. They each are dealing with their own problems (in the case, both family problems) and personal self esteem issues and they become supports to each other, something I think is perhaps more romantic than pure romance. If they are cute together, great. If she discovers her own inner strength after overcoming a trauma and he’s just there to grab her a coffee and kiss her cheek as she does it, perfect.
Both Charlie and Nora are dealing with deep-seated issues from their childhood that have manifested into problems in their adult lives. Neither is an easy fix and the reason they might not end up together isn’t just that one of them has made up a thing to be mad about. So you understand the pain of knowing that love sometimes isn’t enough but also, there’s gotta be a loophole somewhere to make this work (and it’s a romance novel so you never have to worry too much.) Something that makes you choke up a little while deep down, you know everything will turn out alright? Yes, please.
Book Lovers by Emily Henry is published by Penguin Random House and you can find links to purchase it here or find it at your local library!
Looking for other love stories that strong on both the loving yourself and the loving your partner? Check these out!
Beach Read by Emily Henry: The first rule of reading is that if you like a book, check out other books by that author. Beach Read is the first Emily Henry I read and probably still my favorite. Two authors, one of romance, the other of literary fiction, with a past end up in neighboring summer homes and bet each other that they other can’t write a good book in the other’s chosen genre. It’s absolutely delightful. Again, both are dealing with bigger issues in their personal lives and the bet is originally a distraction that helps both of them find out more about themselves, as well as appreciating (and falling in love with) the other. Lovely.
Don’t You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane: I read this almost a year ago and I still think about it all the time. Georgina has been in a rut for ages and it has dulled her sense of self. After she gets fired and dumped on the same day, she ends up getting a job at the grand opening of a new local pub. It unfortunately turns out that co-owner is the boy she was desperately in love with in high school. And he doesn’t remember her at all. This book, as much as it is about Georgina and Lucas falling in love, is just as much about forgiving yourself for mistakes in your past, realizing what is (and isn’t!) your fault, finding a sense of self, and overcoming. It made me cry several times and reread it immediately upon finishing. I adore it.
The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary: If only any of my numerous roommate-ing situations had turned out like this… Tiffy finds herself without an apartment last minute and ends up in a strange flatshare situation: she has the flat during the evening and Leon, a nurse who works nightshifts, takes it during the day. A love story mostly told in notes left around the house, Tiffy and Leon spend most of the book figuring out what they want for themselves before finally falling in love. Beth O’Leary is another author who I’ll read anything she writes as it’s all handled with deft grace and I’d love to fall in love like any of her characters.
Next Time
So I got a new kitten last week. Her name is Rosie and she’s perfect.
My twitter has become roughly 90% kitten and/or kitten + Jamie content if you would like to enjoy pictures of my two adorable children on a more regular basis. My home life now mostly consists of taking pictures of them, making sure one isn’t eating the other’s food, and breaking up spats. It’s lovely.
There’s also a new video game I’m very excited to play called The Quarry that just came out so I might start streaming again. I got extremely burnt out at the beginning of the year and haven’t streamed for quite awhile but I miss it and this is a great excuse. You can watch me on Twitch, if horror movie teen shenanigans sounds like your jam.
A couple of good links for you, before you go:
What the Pina Colada song is really about from a pal in my discord that cracked me up on the desk.
David Farrier’s Webworm is great. He’s been doing some amazing work investigating abuse claims at a NZ church but if you want something lighter to dip your toes in, here’s a great recent interview with Louis Theroux about his silly rap going viral on TikTok.
Garbage Day is a newsletter by my pal Ryan Broderick that is about weird stuff on the internet and has transformed my pandemic by introducing me to friends I have literally flown across countries (and oceans!) to meet, including the friend who fostered Rosie. Also, it’s just really good. You should probably read it.
That’s it for this issue! Thanks to my paying subscribers who have really kicked this up a notch for me! Remember: becoming a paying subscriber means you get to choose a book for me to read! So if you want to read your favorite book or subject me to utter nonsense, click this button:
See you all in two weeks! Happy Reading!