e-ARC, 384 pages
Release Date: May 19, 2020
Published by: Berkley
Read from: May 24-29, 2020
Stand-alone
Source: Netgalley (I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Parental Death (Not pictured on page)
For fans of: Contemporary Romance, Adult Romance, Rom Coms, AdultA romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters.
Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.
They’re polar opposites.
In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they’re living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer’s block.
Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She’ll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he’ll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I knew I wanted to read this from the title alone. And then I saw the cover and that furthered my thoughts. And then I started seeing all the reviews come in and I knew this was a me book. And sure enough, there were some things I thought could have been different, but for the most part, I loved this.
“I have a fatal flaw. I like to think we all do.“1%
Putting together a romance writer who doesn’t believe in happy endings anymore and a literary fiction writer who has writer’s block seems like it will be a pair that results in fights and more. But although they have differing ideas, they have become friends and started a fun bet that ends with them swapping genres. Nothing can go wrong with that right?
“And that was the moment I realized: when the world felt dark and scary, love could whisk you off to go dancing; laughter could take some of the pain away; beauty could punch holes in your fear. I decided then that my life would be full of all three. Not just for my own benefit but for mom’s and for everyone else around me.“2%
Just like with Emily Henry’s YA novels, I LOVED the writing style. I laughed out loud and I wrote so many passages down. It was good to see her personality shining through her writing. I think that was what it so easily read-able for me. It felt comfortable, like a warm blanket and I slipped easily under it each time I sat down to read.
“Here’s the thing about writing Happily Ever Afters: it helps if you believe in them. Here’s the thing about me: I did until the day of my father’s funeral.“5%
But, even though I loved it, I did feel like the plot was a bit slow. Just a tiny bit. Like some of the big events that kept me drawn to the story were few and far between and that made me feel like it drug a bit. Don’t get me wrong, the whole book wasn’t like that, but I did feel it in some places.
“He could love-struck pirates and werewolves me all he wanted, but when it came down to it, Augustus Everett was still packing in the dark, making shit up like the rest of us.“13%
The romance and the bookish aspect of this were my favorite parts of this book. And the time when the two collided at the bookshelf scene?! I easily fell more in love with this book. Anytime there’s a bookish aspect in a book, I know immediately I will be reading it and the romance was so well written. I loved seeing the two of them fall in love. Adding the bookish aspect and them finding each other over writing….. EASILY brings them together.
“There are worse things to be than delusionally confident.“39%
Unfortunately I didn’t feel as attached to everyone else to January. I’m not sure what it was about her character, but for some reason I didn’t really connect with her. I knew it when I didn’t even get teary eyed after the events toward the end. Normally I cry like a baby with books like these, but for some reason I just didn’t with this one. I didn’t even get teary. I’m thinking it was my connection with her. I felt more of a connection with Gus. I would have liked to see inside his head a bit.
“I fought a smile stifled a flutter in my stomach. A smile and a flutter weren’t enough for me. I was done with secrets and lies, no matter how pretty.“51%
And of course, there was the setting. MY FAVORITE PART! For those who don’t know, I was born and raised on a city with a beach, and always feel at home when I’m reading a book featuring one. I liked how Henry bought the beach to life by mentioning the small community, the tourists, the thunderstorms, reading on the beach, and so much more. I do wish they had utilized it more, but that was just me wanting to see more of the beach. I know that might not have been an issue for most other readers who aren’t as into world building and beaches as I am.
“We can never fully know the people we love. When we lose them, there will always be more we could have seen […]“86%
This novel will make you think its light and fluffy from the bright cover and the title alone, but this novel does hit some pretty heavy topics. And yet, it’s still one of my favorite rom coms this year. Definitely a book I will recommend to others. I mean it was so good I read the acknowledgements, the author’s note on writer’s block, and the discussion questions. I couldn’t stop reading Henry’s words. I hope others are as caught up in this book as I was!
Overall, I give this
What about you? Did you read this? Did you love it? Let me know in the comments!
