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Feb 17, 2025 Adrianna rated it really liked it

OKAY, after a lot of pondering, I have settled on 4 stars.

I hate rating books because I feel like my thoughts cannot be captured by star ratings, and this book was a tough one for me. The other Emily Henry books I've read were tough for me, too, but I gave them three stars, meaning I had to decide to break EmHen out of 3-Star Jail for this one.

I've also decided to frontload the negativity in this review so that I can end it on a high note. Let's start with the names.

The names are, unfortunately, OKAY, after a lot of pondering, I have settled on 4 stars.

I hate rating books because I feel like my thoughts cannot be captured by star ratings, and this book was a tough one for me. The other Emily Henry books I've read were tough for me, too, but I gave them three stars, meaning I had to decide to break EmHen out of 3-Star Jail for this one.

I've also decided to frontload the negativity in this review so that I can end it on a high note. Let's start with the names.

The names are, unfortunately, dumb as hell. JANUARY and AUGUST(us). Naming one lead "January" is already crazy work, but having her love interest also be named after a month is even crazier. And January's name gets dumber when you evaluate where it comes from: the song "June in January." One of the months in that title is also a normal, cute name. The other one is January. ALSO, January was born IN JANUARY. So, if her name was June, she literally would have been June in January, which makes way more sense if she's being named for the song. Augustus would have been a fine name if there was no January, but alas, there was, and every time he said her name I was a little taken out of the story.

As far as matters that are actually more important than that go, there were two major scenes where I had to ask myself "what the fuck?" before moving on. The first was when they banged after visiting the cult. Not only after visiting but at their tent that they set up within walking distance from the site of the cult. What about that was supposed to be sexy? It felt pretty distasteful, and kind of killed the vibe. The other scene was right there at the end when Gus is telling January (dumbass name) about how Naomi came back, and for some reason, he throws in that he needed some time to think, and he could see them getting back together. Now, I know that this part of the speech was just a precursor to the whole "no one compares to you, January (dumbass name)" part of his speech that follows, but I could have done without it. The rest of the speech/dancing in the rain scene was quite adorable (look, some positivity) so I can forgive. But I can't forget.

Last but not least on the negativity front, this book is remarkably similar to Book Lovers in many many MANY ways. Beach Read is getting a pass here because it came out first. The synopsis for her next book is already out, too, and it's looking awfully familiar. So, in the back of my brain, there was always the sound of little clip-clops from a one-trick pony.

ANYWAY, now that we've covered everything I packed into the one star I took off, we can explore all the good that was in the four stars this book earned.

It was so compulsively readable. I was itching to pick it up whenever I had the time, and I stayed up well past my bedtime to read as much as I could in a day. The plot is fast-moving, and besides the main romantic plot, we also explore January's (dumbass name) complicated grief with her father's death. Sometimes, these B plots can feel like a drag in a romance novel, but in Beach Read, there is a mysterious letter (which later becomes more letters) looming over January (one more time -- dumbass name), which propels that plotline forward.

The chemistry between the characters was excellent, and I'm a chemist, so I feel qualified to say this. The banter was sweet and sarcastic, and it made me excited to keep turning the pages. I loved that they both had crushes on each other in college, but assumed the other one had a negative opinion of them. I felt like that was a rare example of how miscommunication can elevate a romance novel. It did not prevent them from getting together -- it just added a little bit of tension bubbling under the surface. Very very cute. And I can see them being together forever; they seem genuinely compatible, which cannot be said for other couples (Alex and Poppy, I'm looking right at you).

The first "I love you" scene keeps replaying in my head. It was just SO PRECIOUS to me. And the notes across the windows were so cute, too, and even though I felt like the timeline between the literal divorce and Gus's proposal was insanely short, I loved that the notes came back for that. I personally would rather be executed in public than proposed to in public, but January was happy, so I was happy for her.

This is also the first EmHen book to make me cry! I bawled at the letters chapter, which I think is a testament to the love and care put into the B plot.

The whole book was a love letter to romance as a genre and the value of a happily ever after, or a happy-for-now. It is about finding joy in small moments. It is about the beauty of a hopeless romantic outlook when things seem just hopeless. I did get so much enjoyment out of this book, and it is definitely my favorite Emily Henry novel now. But we'll see if I can get a 5-star read out of her soon. ...more

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Jul 04, 2025 sophia࿐ rated it liked it · review of another edition

Wanted it to be 5 or 4 stars, but I just cant. The male character made so uncomfortable sometimes. And how he ignored and avoided her? Maaaan. And then he said it was not about her. Cmon. It was. If it wasnt, this wouldnt be a story about you two. And I know he was handeling some other stuff, but he literally left her and then said he doesnt know her feelings. BRO WHAT THE F?
So yeah, this wasnt that good. But it was not the worst. 3,3⭐️

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Feb 04, 2025 ~` faerie `~ rated it really liked it

Shelves: spicy

This book was so adorable and a perfect beach read, hence the name!! Even though I read this in winter, it brought comforting vibes to this cold, miserable season. The intellectual banter between Gus and January had me blushing SOO much! Shadi was by far my favorite character, because even though she was not a main in the story, Emily Henry still gave her a captivating personality and some struggles of her own. Finally, the spice was SPICING! Omgg. JaniexGussy 4ever! The only thing that I didn't ...more

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Jul 16, 2022 chloe ✩‧₊˚✧｡*ﾟ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars because there wasn't necessarily anything wrong with it I just don't think I'm a big contemporary romance reader. ✨

it was a good read, with some top-tier banter and I think Emily Henry's writing style is simple yet so lovely ...more

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Aug 03, 2024 ⋄⋆⋅Tay⋅⋆⋄ rated it really liked it

4⭐️!

I had super high expectations for this book because my first two Emily Henry books were Happy Place and Funny Story. And they were both absolute bangers and some of my top reads. They absolutely blew it out of the fucking park. And then I read this.

Beach Read was good, but not as good. I still very much loved it though, hence the four stars lmao

Alright, Gus. He is incredible and I love him so much. It was so easy to love him too. He was smitten with January, and I died a little when he said ...more

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