Beach Read: Deluxe Edition: Henry, Emily: 9780593817414: Amazon.com: Books

This item: Beach Read: Deluxe Edition

$17.50

Get it as soon as Friday, May 1

In Stock

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

+

People We Meet on Vacation: Deluxe Edition

$24.48

Get it as soon as Friday, May 1

In Stock

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

+

Book Lovers

$15.39

Get it as soon as Friday, May 1

In Stock

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

Total price: $00

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Try again!

Details

Added to Cart

Choose items to buy together.

People We Meet on Vacation: Deluxe Edition
Emily Henry

Hardcover
$24.48
Get it as soon as Friday, May 1
FREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by Amazon
Book Lovers
Emily Henry

Hardcover
$15.39
Get it as soon as Friday, May 1
FREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by Amazon
One Golden Summer
Carley Fortune

Hardcover
$18.76
Get it as soon as Friday, May 1
FREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by Amazon
Book Lovers: Deluxe Edition
Emily Henry
Hardcover
$24.50
Get it as soon as Friday, Aug 21
FREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by Amazon
This title will be released on August 18, 2026.
Every Summer After: Deluxe Edition
Carley Fortune

Hardcover
$18.91
Get it as soon as Friday, May 1
FREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by Amazon
The Weaver Bride: Book 1
Lydia Gregovic

Hardcover
$15.89
Get it as soon as Friday, May 1
FREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by Amazon

Customers also bought or read

Page 1 of 1Start over

Book Lovers
108,577
Paperback
$8.89
Delivery Fri, May 1
People We Meet on Vacation
120,267
Paperback
$10.54
Delivery Fri, May 1
Happy Place
109,863
Paperback
$9.41
Delivery Fri, May 1
Every Summer After
84,339
Paperback
$9.07
Delivery Fri, May 1
The Seven Year Slip
35,950
Paperback
$9.35
Delivery Fri, May 1
Part of Your World
82,261
Paperback
$13.40
Delivery Fri, May 1
Funny Story
119,839
Paperback
$10.36
Delivery Fri, May 1
The Unhoneymooners
94,017
Paperback
$9.00
Delivery Fri, May 1
The Love Hypothesis
92,775
Paperback
$8.97
Delivery Fri, May 1
One Golden Summer
59,068
Paperback
$9.98
Delivery Fri, May 1
The Summer of Broken Rules: A Young Adult Heartfelt Summer Romance
36,172
Teen & Young Adult Fiction on Girls' & Women's Issues
Paperback
$6.65
Delivery Fri, May 1
Love and Other Words
52,085
Paperback
$12.50
Delivery May 7 - 11
Great Big Beautiful Life: Reese's Book Club
78,864
Hardcover
$15.29
Delivery Fri, May 1
The Friend Zone
74,945
Paperback
$9.89
Delivery Fri, May 1
Practice Makes Perfect: A Novel (Rome, Kentucky)
18,334
Paperback
$8.93
Delivery Fri, May 1
First-Time Caller (Paperback or Softback)
22,335
Paperback
$10.82
Delivery Fri, May 1
Better Than the Movies
27,753
Teen & Young Adult Fiction about Emotions & Feelings
Paperback
$7.57
Delivery Fri, May 1
Story of My Life (Deluxe Edition): A Small-Town Romantic Comedy (Story Lake, 1)
57,397
Paperback
$8.50
Delivery Fri, May 1
Love, Theoretically
39,718
Paperback
$9.01
Delivery Fri, May 1
Meet Me at the Lake
28,532
Paperback
$9.32
Delivery Fri, May 1
Wild Love (Standard Edition): A Small Town Brother's Best Friend Romance (Rose Hill, 1)
110,841
Paperback
$9.00
Delivery Fri, May 1
The Deal: Soon to be a Streaming Series on Amazon Prime (Off-Campus, 1)
140,623
Contemporary Romance
Paperback
$9.04
Delivery Fri, May 1
Till Summer Do Us Part (Standard Edition)
65,859
Paperback
$9.79
Delivery Fri, May 1
Beg, Borrow, or Steal: A Novel (Rome, Kentucky)
11,784
Paperback
$9.49
Delivery Fri, May 1
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: A Novel
276,300
Paperback
$6.97
Delivery Fri, May 1
The Wedding People: A Novel
172,791
Hardcover
$17.84
Delivery May 10 - 14
The Bodyguard
41,648
Paperback
$8.50
Delivery Fri, May 1
Not in Love
24,502
Paperback
$10.72
Delivery Fri, May 1
Nora Goes Off Script
23,000
Paperback
$8.79
Delivery Fri, May 1
This Summer Will Be Different
35,605
Paperback
$13.65
Delivery May 7 - 11

Loading...

From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Once I started Beach Read I legit did not put it down.”—Betches

“Reader, I swooned! Beach Read is a breath of fresh air. My heart ached for January, and Gus is to die for—a steamy, smart and perceptive romance. I was engrossed!”—Josie Silver, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One Day in December

“This is a touching and heartfelt book about love, betrayal, grief, failure, and learning how to love again. I adored going along on Gus and January’s journey, and I closed this book with a satisfied sigh.”—Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of The Proposal

“Beach Read is original, sparkling bright, and layered with feeling. Has trying to see the world through your long time crush/rival’s eyes ever been this potent and poignant? If whipcrack banter and foggy sexual tension is your catnip, you’ll adore this book.”—Sally Thorne, USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game and 99 Percent Mine

“Beach Read is exactly the witty, charming, and swoony novel we always want; it also happens to be the unexpected wallop of emotional wisdom and sly social commentary we need right now. I adored it.”—Julia Whelan, author of My Oxford Year

“[It] has everything the title promises—a romping plot, family secrets, and the thrill of falling in love, all set on the sweeping shores of eastern Lake Michigan. I cannot wait to read what Henry writes next.”—Amy E. Reichert, author The Coincidence of Coconut Cake and The Optimist’s Guide to Letting Go

“Delightfully romantic and slyly poignant, Beach Read is brimming with crackling banter and engrossing prose. It has every flavor of booklover catnip: rivalry, creative struggle, family secrets, and the sweet head-over-heels tumble into love. Emily Henry's Beach Read is 2020's perfect anywhere read.”—Christina Lauren, New York Timesbestselling author of The Unhoneymooners

“If you liked Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game and Linda Holmes’s Evvie Drake Starts Over, you will definitely be into this, which feels like their spawn. (No one asked me to say this, by the way. I’m just high on that happy-sad feeling of finishing a book I enjoyed, that I wish wasn’t over.) Well played.”—Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, bestselling authors of The Royal We

“Readers are sure to fall hard for this meta, heartfelt take on the romance genre.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A heartfelt look at taking second chances, in life and in love.”—Kirkus Reviews

“This will still sweep readers off their feet. January’s first-person narration is suitably poetic and effervescent, the small-town beach setting is charming, and the romance is achingly swoony.”—Booklist

“That Henry can manage to both pack a fierce emotional wallop and spear literary posturing in one go is a testament to her immense skill.”—Entertainment Weekly

About the Author

Emily Henry is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Great Big Beautiful Life, Funny Story, Happy Place, Book Lovers, People We Meet on Vacation, and Beach Read. She studied creative writing at Hope College, and now spends most of her time in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the part of Kentucky just beneath it. Find her on Instagram @emilyhenrywrites.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

9781984806734|excerpt

Henry / BEACH READ

1

The House

I have a fatal flaw.

I like to think we all do. Or at least that makes it easier for me when I’m writing—building my heroines and heroes up around this one self-sabotaging trait, hinging everything that happens to them on a specific characteristic: the thing they learned to do to protect themselves and can’t let go of, even when it stops serving them.

Maybe, for example, you didn’t have much control over your life as a kid. So, to avoid disappointment, you learned never to ask yourself what you truly wanted. And it worked for a long time. Only now, upon realizing you didn’t get what you didn’t know you wanted, you’re barreling down the highway in a midlife-crisis-mobile with a suitcase full of cash and a man named Stan in your trunk.

Maybe your fatal flaw is that you don’t use turn signals.

Or maybe, like me, you’re a hopeless romantic. You just can’t stop telling yourself the story. The one about your own life, complete with melodramatic soundtrack and golden light lancing through car windows.

It started when I was twelve. My parents sat me down to tell me the news. Mom had gotten her first diagnosis—suspicious cells in her left breast—and she told me not to worry so many times I suspected I’d be grounded if she caught me at it. My mom was a do-er, a laugher, an optimist, not a worrier, but I could tell she was terrified, and so I was too, frozen on the couch, unsure how to say anything without making things worse.

But then my bookish homebody of a father did something unexpected. He stood and grabbed our hands—one of Mom’s, one of mine—and said, You know what we need to get these bad feelings out? We need to dance!

Our suburb had no clubs, just a mediocre steak house with a Friday night cover band, but Mom lit up like he’d just suggested taking a private jet to the Copacabana.

She wore her buttery yellow dress and some hammered metal earrings that twinkled when she moved. Dad ordered twenty-year-old Scotch for them and a Shirley Temple for me, and the three of us twirled and bobbed until we were dizzy, laughing, tripping all over. We laughed until we could barely stand, and my famously reserved father sang along to “Brown Eyed Girl” like the whole room wasn’t watching us.

And then, exhausted, we piled into the car and drove home through the quiet, Mom and Dad holding tight to each other’s hands between the seats, and I tipped my head against the car window and, watching the streetlights flicker across the glass, thought, It’s going to be okay. We will always be okay.

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.

There would be purpose. There would be beauty. There would be candlelight and Fleetwood Mac playing softly in the background.

The point is, I started telling myself a beautiful story about my life, about fate and the way things work out, and by twenty-eight years old, my story was perfect.

Perfect (cancer-free) parents who called several times a week, tipsy on wine or each other’s company. Perfect (spontaneous, multilingual, six foot three) boyfriend who worked in the ER and knew how to make coq au vin. Perfect shabby chic apartment in Queens. Perfect job writing romantic novels—inspired by perfect parents and perfect boyfriend—for Sandy Lowe Books.

Perfect life.

But it was just a story, and when one gaping plot hole appeared, the whole thing unraveled. That’s how stories work.

Now, at twenty-nine, I was miserable, broke, semi-homeless, very single, and pulling up to a gorgeous lake house whose very existence nauseated me. Grandly romanticizing my life had stopped serving me, but my fatal flaw was still riding shotgun in my dinged-up Kia Soul, narrating things as they happened:

January Andrews stared out the car window at the angry lake beating up on the dusky shore. She tried to convince herself that coming here hadn’t been a mistake.

It was definitely a mistake, but I had no better option. You didn’t turn down free lodging when you were broke.

I parked on the street and stared up at the oversized cottage’s facade, its gleaming windows and fairy tale of a porch, the shaggy beach grass dancing in the warm breeze.

I checked the address in my GPS against the handwritten one hanging from the house key. This was it, all right.

For a minute, I stalled, like maybe a world-ending asteroid would take me out before I was forced to go inside. Then I took a deep breath and got out, wrestling my overstuffed suitcase from the back seat along with the cardboard box full of gin handles.

I pushed a fistful of dark hair out of my eyes to study the cornflower blue shingles and snow-white trim. Just pretend you’re at an Airbnb.

Immediately, an imaginary Airbnb listing ran through my head: Three-bedroom, three-bath lakeside cottage brimming with charm and proof your father was an asshole and your life has been a lie.

I started up the steps cut into the grassy hillside, blood rushing through my ears like fire hoses and legs wobbling, anticipating the moment the hellmouth would open and the world would drop out from under me.

That already happened. Last year. And it didn’t kill you, so neither will this.

On the porch, every sensation in my body heightened. The tingling in my face, the twist in my stomach, the sweat prickling along my neck. I balanced the box of gin against my hip and slipped the key into the lock, a part of me hoping it would jam. That all this would turn out to be an elaborate practical joke Dad had set up for us before he died.

Or, better yet, he wasn’t actually dead. He’d jump out from behind the bushes and scream, “Gotcha! You didn’t really think I had a secret second life, did you? You couldn’t possibly think I had a second house with some woman other than your mother?”

The key turned effortlessly. The door swung inward.

The house was silent.

An ache went through me. The same one I’d felt at least once a day since I got Mom’s call about the stroke and heard her sob those words. He’s gone, Janie.

No Dad. Not here. Not anywhere. And then the second pain, the knife twisting: The father you knew never existed anyway.

I’d never really had him. Just like I’d never really had my ex Jacques or his coq au vin.

It was just a story I’d been telling myself. From now on, it was the ugly truth or nothing. I steeled myself and stepped inside.

My first thought was that the ugly truth wasn’t super ugly. My dad’s love nest had an open floor plan: a living room that spilled into a funky, blue-tiled kitchen and homey breakfast nook, the wall of windows just beyond overlooking a dark-stained deck.

If Mom had owned this place, everything would’ve been a mix of creamy, calming neutrals. The bohemian room I’d stepped into would’ve been more at home in Jacques’s and my old place than my parents’. I felt a little queasy imagining Dad here, among these things Mom never would’ve picked out: the folksy hand-painted breakfast table, the dark wooden bookshelves, the sunken couch covered in mismatched pillows.

There was no sign of the version of him that I’d known.

My phone rang in my pocket and I set the box on the granite countertop to answer the call.

“Hello?” It came out weak and raspy.

“How is it?” the voice on the other end said immediately. “Is there a sex dungeon?”

“Shadi?” I guessed. I tucked the phone between my ear and shoulder as I unscrewed the cap from one of my gin bottles, taking a swig to fortify myself.

“It honestly worries me that I’m the only person who might call you to ask that,” Shadi answered.

“You’re the only person who even knows about the Love Shack,” I pointed out.

“I am not the only one who knows about it,” Shadi argued.

Technically true. While I’d found out about my father’s secret lake house at his funeral last year, Mom had been aware much longer. “Fine,” I said. “You’re the only person I told about it. Anyway, give me a second. I just got here.”

“Literally?” Shadi was breathing hard, which meant she was walking to a shift at the restaurant. Since we kept such different hours, most of our calls happened when she was on her way into work.

“Metaphorically,” I said. “Literally, I’ve been here for ten minutes, but I only just feel that I have arrived.”

“So wise,” Shadi said. “So deep.”

“Shh,” I said. “I’m taking it all in.”

“Check for the sex dungeon!” Shadi hurried to say, as if I were hanging up on her.

I was not. I was simply holding the phone to my ear, holding my breath, holding my racing heart in my chest, as I scanned my father’s second life.

And there, just when I could convince myself Dad couldn’t possibly have spent time here, I spotted something framed on the wall. A clipping of a New York Times Best Sellers list from three years ago, the same one he’d positioned over the fireplace at home. There I was, at number fifteen, the bottom slot. And there, three slots above me—in a sick twist of fate—was my college rival, Gus (though now he went by Augustus, because Serious Man) and his highbrow debut novel The Revelatories. It had stayed on the list for five weeks (not that I was counting (I was absolutely counting)).

“Well?” Shadi prompted. “What do you think?”

I turned and my eyes caught on the mandala tapestry hanging over the couch.

“I’m led to wonder if Dad smoked weed.” I spun toward the windows at the side of the house, which aligned almost perfectly with the neighbor’s, a design flaw Mom would never have overlooked when house shopping.

But this wasn’t her house, and I could clearly see the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that lined the neighbor’s study.

“Oh, god—maybe it’s a grow house, not a love shack!” Shadi sounded delighted. “You should’ve read the letter, January. It’s all been a misunderstanding. Your dad’s leaving you the family business. That Woman was his business partner, not his mistress.”

How bad was it that I wished she was right?

Either way, I’d fully intended to read the letter. I’d just been waiting for the right time, hoping the worst of my anger would settle and those last words from Dad would be comforting. Instead, a full year had passed and the dread I felt at the thought of opening the envelope grew every day. It was so unfair, that he should get the last word and I’d have no way to reply. To scream or cry or demand more answers. Once I’d opened it, there’d be no going back. That would be it. The final goodbye.

So until further notice, the letter was living a happy, if solitary, life in the bottom of the gin box I’d brought with me from Queens.

“It’s not a grow house,” I told Shadi and slid open the back door to step onto the deck. “Unless the weed’s in the basement.”

“No way,” Shadi argued. “That’s where the sex dungeon is.”

“Let’s stop talking about my depressing life,” I said. “What’s new with you?”

“You mean the Haunted Hat,” Shadi said. If only she had fewer than four roommates in her shoebox apartment in Chicago, then maybe I’d be staying with her now. Not that I was capable of getting anything done when I was with Shadi. And my financial situation was too dire not to get something done. I had to finish my next book in this rent-free hell. Then maybe I could afford my own Jacques-free place.

“If the Haunted Hat is what you want to talk about,” I said, “then yes. Spill.”

“Still hasn’t spoken to me.” Shadi sighed wistfully. “But I can, like, sense him looking at me when we’re both in the kitchen. Because we have a connection.”

“Are you at all worried that your connection isn’t with the guy who’s wearing the antique porkpie hat, but perhaps with the ghost of the hat’s original owner? What will you do if you realize you’ve fallen in love with a ghost?”

“Um.” Shadi thought for a minute. “I guess I’d have to update my Tinder bio.”

A breeze rippled off the water at the bottom of the hill, ruffling my brown waves across my shoulders, and the setting sun shot golden spears of light over everything, so bright and hot I had to squint to see the wash of oranges and reds it cast across the beach. If this were just some house I’d rented, it would be the perfect place to write the adorable love story I’d been promising Sandy Lowe Books for months.

Shadi, I realized, had been talking. More about the Haunted Hat. His name was Ricky, but we never called him that. We always spoke of Shadi’s love life in code. There was the older man who ran the amazing seafood restaurant (the Fish Lord), and then there was some guy we’d called Mark because he looked like some other, famous Mark, and now there was this new coworker, a bartender who wore a hat every day that Shadi loathed and yet could not resist.

I snapped back into the conversation as Shadi was saying, “Fourth of July weekend? Can I visit then?”

“That’s more than a month away.” I wanted to argue that I wouldn’t even be here by then, but I knew it wasn’t true. It would take me at least all summer to write a book, empty the house, and sell both, so I could (hopefully) be catapulted back into relative comfort. Not in New York, but somewhere less expensive.

I imagined Duluth was affordable. Mom would never visit me there, but we hadn’t done much visiting this past year anyway, apart from my three-day trip home for Christmas. She’d dragged me to four yoga classes, three crowded juice bars, and a Nutcracker performance starring some kid I didn’t know, like if we were alone for even a second, the topic of Dad would arise and we’d burst into flames.

All my life, my friends had been jealous of my relationship with her. How often and freely (or so I thought) we talked, how much fun we had together. Now our relationship was the world’s least competitive game of phone tag.

I’d gone from having two loving parents and a live-in boyfriend to basically just having Shadi, my much-too-long-distance best friend. The one blessing of moving from New York to North Bear Shores, Michigan, was that I was closer to her place in Chicago.

“Fourth of July’s too far off,” I complained. “You’re only three hours away.”

“Yeah, and I don’t know how to drive.”

“Then you should probably give that license back,” I said.

“Believe me, I’m waiting for it to expire. I’m going to feel so free. I hate when people think I’m able to drive just because, legally, I am.”

Shadi was a terrible driver. She screamed whenever she turned left.

“Besides, you know how scheduling off is in the industry. I’m lucky my boss said I could have Fourth of July. For all I know, he’s expecting a blow job now.”

“No way. Blow jobs are for major holidays. What you’ve got on your hands is a good old-fashioned foot job quid pro quo.”

I took another sip of gin, then turned from the end of the deck and nearly yelped. On the deck ten feet to the right of mine, the back of a head of curly brown hair peeked over a lawn chair. I silently prayed the man was asleep—that I wouldn’t have to spend an entire summer next door to someone who’d heard me shout good old-fashioned foot job.

As if he’d read my mind, he sat forward and grabbed the bottle of beer from his patio table, took a swig, and sat back.

“So true. I won’t even have to take my Crocs off,” Shadi was saying. “Anyway, I just got to work. But let me know if it’s drugs or leather in the basement.”

I turned my back to the neighbor’s deck. “I’m not going to check until you visit.”

“Rude,” Shadi said.

“Leverage,” I said. “Love you.”

“Love you more,” she insisted and hung up.

I turned to face the curly head, half waiting for him to acknowledge me, half debating whether I was obligated to introduce myself.

I hadn’t known any of my neighbors in New York well, but this was Michigan, and from Dad’s stories about growing up in North Bear Shores, I fully expected to have to lend this man sugar at some point (note: must buy sugar).

I cleared my throat and pasted on my attempt at a neighborly smile. The man sat forward for another swig of beer, and I called across the gap, “Sorry for disturbing you!”

He waved one hand vaguely, then turned the page of whatever book was in his lap. “What’s disturbing about foot jobs as a form of currency?” he drawled in a husky, bored voice.

I grimaced as I searched for a reply—any reply. Old January would have known what to say, but my mind was as blank as it was every time I opened Microsoft Word.

Okay, so maybe I’d become a bit of a hermit this past year. Maybe I wasn’t entirely sure what I’d spent the last year doing, since it wasn’t visiting Mom and it wasn’t writing, and it wasn’t charming the socks off my neighbors.

“Anyway,” I called, “I’m living here now.”

As if he’d read my thoughts, he gave a disinterested wave and grumbled, “Let me know if you need any sugar.” But he managed to make it sound more like, Never speak to me again unless you notice my house is on fire, and even then, listen for sirens first.

So much for Midwestern hospitality. At least in New York, our neighbors had brought us cookies when we moved in. (They’d been gluten-free and laced with LSD, but it was the thought that counted.)

“Or if you need directions to the nearest Sexual Fetish Depot,” the Grump added.

Heat flared through my cheeks, a flush of embarrassment and anger. The words were out before I could reconsider: “I’ll just wait for your car to pull out and follow.” He laughed, a surprised, rough sound, but still didn’t deign to face me.

“Lovely to meet you,” I added sharply, and turned to hurry back through the sliding glass doors to the safety of the house, where I would quite possibly have to hide all summer.

“Liar,” I heard him grumble before I snapped the door shut.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 1, 2024
Edition ‏ : ‎ Deluxe
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593817419
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593817414
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.31 x 1.1 x 9.28 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #10,231 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #9 in Contemporary Women Fiction
- #15 in Romantic Comedy (Books)
- #45 in Contemporary Romance (Books)
Customer Reviews:
(100,433)

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Product Videos

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Emily Henry

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Emily Henry is the #1 New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Happy Place, Book Lovers, People We Meet on Vacation, and Beach Read. She studied creative writing at Hope College, and now spends most of her time in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the part of Kentucky just beneath it. Find her on Instagram @EmilyHenryWrites.

Related books

Page 1 of 1Start Over

Customer reviews

100,433 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Customers say

Customers find this book to be a perfect summer read with a beautifully crafted story that resonates emotionally, making them feel all the feelings and move to tears. The romance is wonderfully slow-burning, and customers particularly enjoy the witty banter between characters. They appreciate the writing quality, with one customer noting how easy it is to follow, and they love the characters, finding them easy to fall in love with.

AI Generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more

571 customers mention content, 500 positive, 71 negative

Customers find the book wonderful and fabulous, with one mentioning it was their favorite book of the year.

I laughed, I cried, I was moved. This was such a great book...so unexpectedly great and just what I needed to get lost in right now....Read more

Ugh. So fabulous, teary eyed and happy for now. I loved this book and all its emotions. This is not another chic lit beach read....Read more

It was such a good book! I couldn’t read it fast enough and was so sad when it ended! A great summer read!Read more

I loved this book which always kept me guessing it's ending from the first page. Brilliantly crafted. Keep them coming, Ms. Henry.Read more

394 customers mention enjoyable, 374 positive, 20 negative

Customers find the book very enjoyable and entertaining, describing it as a perfect summer read.

...It was a great read! More specifically, a really good romance. I mean some people could be super annoyed with January's constant assumptions....Read more

“Happy for Now” much needed twist on Happily ever after! Fun and easy read to finish in a day. Little bit of smut to cling to (we like that)!Read more

...Cute, fun read.Read more

...This book was such a good read. I couldn’t put it down. It was witty, charming and funny but also had some serious feels to it....Read more

312 customers mention story, 248 positive, 64 negative

Customers enjoy the story of the book, describing it as beautifully crafted and surprising, with one customer noting it's a love story with a twist.

This is a great story about two writers with a difficult past who struggle through their differences to work through their writers block and end up...Read more

Good story. I read the book for my book club While it’s not a book that aim would normally choose, It held my interest....Read more

Couldn’t put it down! Do yourself a favor and read this beautiful story. I promise you will not be disappointedRead more

...them switching genres begins on page 80 of 360ish, so it's a very slow moving plot. But it is incredibly developed....Read more

284 customers mention character development, 231 positive, 53 negative

Customers love the characters in the book, finding them easy to fall in love with, with one customer noting they are three-dimensional.

I enjoyed this book very much. Great characters, I didn't want to stop reading! Reminiscent of Susan Elizabeth Phillips for a younger crowd....Read more

...That first 15 took me too long bc of the sleep deprivation! Loved the characters and while it was predictable the story was beautiful and made me...Read more

I thought the characters were well developed. I enjoyed their triumphs and empathized with their pain. The romantic parts were very well done....Read more

Loved everything about this book. The characters, the story. All of it! I can’t wait to more from Emily Henry!Read more

246 customers mention emotional, 205 positive, 41 negative

Customers find the book emotionally engaging, describing it as heartwrenching and made them feel all the feelings, with touching moments that moved them to tears.

...This book is emotional and inspiring but never strays from being a unique love story of two lost souls....Read more

I loved this book so much. It was heartfelt and funny, but also so incredibly emotional at times....Read more

...it is a read about love, heartbreak, grief and understanding that your parents aren’t perfect and sometimes in life, we meet our person before we...Read more

...books was the perfect romance novel and so so incredibly funny and heartwarming and swoon worthy and adorable and perfect and......Read more

213 customers mention romance, 188 positive, 25 negative

Customers enjoy the romance in the book, describing it as a beautifully written story of love with a wonderfully slow burn.

Loved this book it was sad and funny and painful and romantic All the things you want in a good bookRead more

This was a cute love story! My book club picked it out to read. I was a little hesitant at first because I am a spicey book reader....Read more

I loved every minute of it. The romance, heartbreak, but most of all, the ability to be a regular human....Read more

I love a good romance book and this is it. Filled with the hard stuff that inevitably brings people together. Loved it. Finished it in a dayRead more

205 customers mention humor, 194 positive, 11 negative

Customers enjoy the book's humor, particularly its witty banter and silly moments that make them laugh and cry.

...Light, funny and relatable. Sexy, but tasteful. If you're looking for your next easy read, and appreciate a rom-com, I would recommend this bookRead more

...It is well written and witty but… no life is that rosy! If you want to be taken away to fairy land to rainbows and unicorns , this book is for you.Read more

...looking for something that is real and true and still uplifting and hilarious while sorting through grief and insecurities and self-defeating...Read more

Beach Read is a slow burn rivals-to-lovers romance filled with witty banter, angst and the old age question: do happily ever afters exist in...Read more

187 customers mention writing quality, 165 positive, 22 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, finding it well-crafted with insightful prose, and one customer notes that it serves as an entertaining course on creative writing.

...I'm not quite sure what was going on there for me, because it's well written (and I can deal with the overuse of the word 'leap', it's kind of cute)...Read more

...characters slowly built up and then jumped off the pages... Beautifully written. Very intense. Humour and drama - this novel has it all!Read more

...But very good story. Very quick read. Very well written and it helps you deal with loss as well. Great book overallRead more

...Enjoyable. She is a good writer and I look forward for reading another one of hersRead more

Reviews with images

See all photos

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.

Book Bruin
Enjoying All the Happy-For-Nows
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2020
Format: KindleVerified Purchase

I loved this book so much. It was heartfelt and funny, but also so incredibly emotional at times. It made me pause and think about my own experiences and examine how truly complicated and complex family and relationships can be. The writing was amazing and Emily Henry perfectly combined the salty and the sweet, throwing in just the right amount of humor to balance it all out. The banter and playful back and forth between January and Gus were some of my very favorite moments and the addition of pop culture references were hilarious. ("Thanks be to Jack Reacher.")

January and Gus were so relatable with all their cracks and rough edges. They struggled at times and didn’t say or do all the “right” things, but it made me love them more. I wouldn't necessarily classify Beach Read as a romance, even though there are elements of many tropes in the story like second chance, wager/bet, enemies & friends to lovers, forced proximity, etc. There are definitely strong romantic themes in the book though, and the chemistry and build up between these two is some of the best I've read. It's a slow burn for sure, but boy was my patience rewarded. Gus and January were hot and sexy, but also so tender and raw. I also really appreciated the message that it’s ok to not have all the answers and sometimes just being and is enough.

I both read and listened to Beach Read and definitely recommend the audiobook. Julia Whelan is one of my very favorite narrators and she gave another brilliant performance. She captured all of the joy and heartbreak so well, but also showed off her wonderful comedic timing. I had no problem differentiating between characters and it was such a wonderful listening experience. This review wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention Shadi and I think all of us would be so lucky to have such an incredible ride or die BFF. I would love to read her story one day.

I don't think that I can fully articulate how much my heart and mind needed this book. I just know that it will stay with me for a long time.

Audiobook Review
Overall 5 stars
Performance 5+ stars
Story 5 stars

CW: infidelity, death of a parent, discussion of cults, cancer, abuse

Read more

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
Secret_shadow_self
Beautiful, but at times, kind of privileged and infuriating
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2020
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
This book swept me off my feet and the chemistry between January and Gus was so palpable and tangible. You feel like you're falling in love too! I really loved it, however, I started to feel a bit frustrated by some of the drama and character elements towards the end. And it's because I loved this book so much that I feel the need to vent about the areas of the novel of which I take umbrage.

*SPOILERS*

First of all, January's intense anger about her father's infidelity was at times a bit much. You'd think SHE was her father's wife and she was the one who got cheated on. I guess that was the point, but the way she was insulting Sonya (his father's mistress) while she was standing on her front porch crying and trying to explain herself felt a little cruel. I saw that January could see herself in Sonya but she still couldn't treat her like a "full person," which made me feel annoyed with her.

Also, January is a pretty privileged character, and that at times made it hard to empathize, especially toward the end. Based on the way Gus describes her as this tiny, beautiful, fairy princess reveals that January is massively attractive. She also inherited a beautiful beach house from her dad upon his death. She's financially broke because she hasn't been writing, but you can really feel her privilege at times. Sometimes I wanted to shake her and be like "Girl, it's NOT that bad. You have a beach house. You write novels for a living. You're an attractive white girl. Relax."

NOW, onto Gus. As fun and as real as this character felt, I found him kind of infuriating in the end, especially during that rainy dance where he confesses that he wants to be with January forever. He and January had a book event together a few nights before and his wife Naomi who left him for his best friend on his BIRTHDAY shows up. They're still in the middle of a divorce, even though she left him a few years ago. This woman clearly never cared about him, and yet, when she shows up, he totally ignored January and grabs a drink with her. He doesn't even try to contact January until the next morning! And it takes him like two days before he starts pounding on her door, begging to talk to her. I'm sorry, but if I was January, I would have been SO PISSED. Gus literally just walked away from January during their shared book event and has a drink with his ex wife. After he had time "to think" he realized that he wants to be with January forever, not Naomi. Why didn't he know this before? Why didn't he care show concern about how January felt during all this? January was literally heartbroken! And of course, when he FINALLY shows up again, she takes him back instantly. This just really left me feeling like Gus is kind of selfish and weak and it just ruined all of my positive feelings toward him. Obviously, this was done purposefully to create romantic tension, but it left me feeling triggered more than anything.

Read more

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
Madd
Nothing compares 2 u
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2024
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
𝔹𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕓𝕪 𝔼𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕪 ℍ𝕖𝕟𝕣𝕪
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Review: this book was beautiful. Utterly heart wrenching in all of the best ways. The banter between the characters, the humor, and the dark themes that were implemented created this perfect read. It had a lot more meaning to it than just romance. It touched on real life issues in the world, and it easily made it to where it can be relatable rather than just a fictional book world.
the FMC’s inner monologue was so relatable and I find myself thinking some of the same thoughts that she experienced herself. Kind of refreshing to know that you aren’t the only one in the world with those thoughts. (I know she’s fictional buttt ;)
the two different plots, one about loss & one of the romance, you’re really just holding on hope the entire book and I found myself rooting for the main characters - extensively.
I did find myself sobbing with the FMC multiple times so just fair warning that it may trigger some emotions, but overall this book was such a great read & really ties everything up in the ending. 🥺💗

Favorite quotes:
“Even if there aren’t any snowflakes, we’ll have January all year long.”
“When I watch you sleep, I feel overwhelmed that you exist.” (Of course this one) 🩶
“But people aren’t math problems.”

Emily Henry really did it this one, 10/10!

Read more

Madd

Nothing compares 2 u

Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2024
𝔹𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕓𝕪 𝔼𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕪 ℍ𝕖𝕟𝕣𝕪
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Review: this book was beautiful. Utterly heart wrenching in all of the best ways. The banter between the characters, the humor, and the dark themes that were implemented created this perfect read. It had a lot more meaning to it than just romance. It touched on real life issues in the world, and it easily made it to where it can be relatable rather than just a fictional book world.
the FMC’s inner monologue was so relatable and I find myself thinking some of the same thoughts that she experienced herself. Kind of refreshing to know that you aren’t the only one in the world with those thoughts. (I know she’s fictional buttt ;)
the two different plots, one about loss & one of the romance, you’re really just holding on hope the entire book and I found myself rooting for the main characters - extensively.
I did find myself sobbing with the FMC multiple times so just fair warning that it may trigger some emotions, but overall this book was such a great read & really ties everything up in the ending. 🥺💗

Favorite quotes:
“Even if there aren’t any snowflakes, we’ll have January all year long.”
“When I watch you sleep, I feel overwhelmed that you exist.” (Of course this one) 🩶
“But people aren’t math problems.”

Emily Henry really did it this one, 10/10!

Images in this review

10 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report

Top reviews from other countries

Yaneli Chávez Arias
Fun, witty, unexpected.
Reviewed in Mexico on September 28, 2023
Format: KindleVerified Purchase

Even tough it's a love story, I didn't feel like it was too predictable and enjoyed the struggles that both of the characters had, things that they dealt with on their own but with the other's support. Great and light read.

Read more
Report
Anika
Beach Read is a delightfully captivating romance, and a touching gem for happy ending devotees.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 28, 2020
Verified Purchase
January Andrews arrives in North Bear Shores to get away from life’s stresses, tie up loose ends, and begin writing her fifth romance novel. Augustus Everett has lived in North Bear Shores for about five years, and is stuck in a creative rut when it comes to creating his next literary bestseller. To say the two characters are opposite is an understatement. They playing in two completely different fields!

January is a romantic at heart, forever chasing the idea of a happily ever after. Gus is much more of a realistic, he takes the world as it is, rather than how he’d like to be. Still, January and Gus have their insecurities and burdens. Despite their differences, both characters are extremely likeable. It’s quite easy to relate to both. I’m a hopeless romantic and enjoy getting lost in a love story, so every one of January’s beliefs makes sense to me. At the same time, I’m well aware life events don’t always play out like a rom-com, so Gus’ reservations make sense too.

It’s wonderful that both the characters are authors with the same struggle yet completely different ways of thinking. The reader gets insight into the book-writing process too. I also like that the entire narrative is told from January’s point of view, but we get a balanced understanding of both personalities.

The witty back-and-forth between January and Augustus is the most enjoyable part of the fiction for me. From the moment they spoke to one another, I was happy. Then to see their connection evolve, I was even happier. The author so perfectly creates a charming chemistry in just a few sentences. And the repartee between them felt very similar to the dynamic between Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in The Proposal. There’s sarcasm and quick-witted humour but with a real levity to it. It’s compelling, exciting, and thoroughly entertaining.

Henry‘s method of description is so vivid it’s difficult not to place yourself in the world she has established. Some moments are so rich in detail I may as well be a background character in the book. Not only does her writing paint a clear picture, it pushes you to keep reading. The atmosphere and emotions are so authentic it’s difficult to stop at the end of one chapter.

The development of January and Gus’ characters is brilliantly laid out in Beach Read. Rather than experience one giant (and improbable) epiphany at the end of the book, the author slowly reveals their layers with each chapter. This way, the reader genuinely gets to know the characters, and it’s so much easier to connect with them. Seeing the story unwind in a timely way adds to the legitimacy of the romance.

Oh, and the romance. It’s so lovely. If you love books that make you fall in love with love, Beach Read should be your next read. The dynamic between January and Gus isn’t an all-out enemies-to-lovers trope, but has a very similar feel. The bet set at the beginning of the book creates an air of competition which is both playful and flirtatious. Their budding relationship is swoon-worthy without the cringe, which is the best kind of romance. I could easily see this tale on the screen!

Beach Read is way more emotional than I anticipated. The book is filled with passionate and deeply touching statements that are genuinely moving. One chapter made me cry from the first word to the last. On top of that, it has the humour and charisma like most contemporary romances, but the plot is laced with deep and heartfelt complexities.

Fortunately, the heavy themes don’t weigh down the narrative or take away from its most heart-warming aspects. In fact, the overall story is very uplifting and exhilarating – the way a romance should be. It’s the kind of book I would return to when I need to get out of a slump. It has the kind of fuzzy feels that make it both the perfect summer read and the best curl-up book.

If you pick up Beach Read, you’ll be glued to its pages. Emily Henry’s writing is addictive, and her powerful romance is definitely a new favourite. My expectations were high and still beaten.

Anika | chaptersofmay.com

Read more

Anika

Beach Read is a delightfully captivating romance, and a touching gem for happy ending devotees.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 28, 2020
January Andrews arrives in North Bear Shores to get away from life’s stresses, tie up loose ends, and begin writing her fifth romance novel. Augustus Everett has lived in North Bear Shores for about five years, and is stuck in a creative rut when it comes to creating his next literary bestseller. To say the two characters are opposite is an understatement. They playing in two completely different fields!

January is a romantic at heart, forever chasing the idea of a happily ever after. Gus is much more of a realistic, he takes the world as it is, rather than how he’d like to be. Still, January and Gus have their insecurities and burdens. Despite their differences, both characters are extremely likeable. It’s quite easy to relate to both. I’m a hopeless romantic and enjoy getting lost in a love story, so every one of January’s beliefs makes sense to me. At the same time, I’m well aware life events don’t always play out like a rom-com, so Gus’ reservations make sense too.

It’s wonderful that both the characters are authors with the same struggle yet completely different ways of thinking. The reader gets insight into the book-writing process too. I also like that the entire narrative is told from January’s point of view, but we get a balanced understanding of both personalities.

The witty back-and-forth between January and Augustus is the most enjoyable part of the fiction for me. From the moment they spoke to one another, I was happy. Then to see their connection evolve, I was even happier. The author so perfectly creates a charming chemistry in just a few sentences. And the repartee between them felt very similar to the dynamic between Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in The Proposal. There’s sarcasm and quick-witted humour but with a real levity to it. It’s compelling, exciting, and thoroughly entertaining.

Henry‘s method of description is so vivid it’s difficult not to place yourself in the world she has established. Some moments are so rich in detail I may as well be a background character in the book. Not only does her writing paint a clear picture, it pushes you to keep reading. The atmosphere and emotions are so authentic it’s difficult to stop at the end of one chapter.

The development of January and Gus’ characters is brilliantly laid out in Beach Read. Rather than experience one giant (and improbable) epiphany at the end of the book, the author slowly reveals their layers with each chapter. This way, the reader genuinely gets to know the characters, and it’s so much easier to connect with them. Seeing the story unwind in a timely way adds to the legitimacy of the romance.

Oh, and the romance. It’s so lovely. If you love books that make you fall in love with love, Beach Read should be your next read. The dynamic between January and Gus isn’t an all-out enemies-to-lovers trope, but has a very similar feel. The bet set at the beginning of the book creates an air of competition which is both playful and flirtatious. Their budding relationship is swoon-worthy without the cringe, which is the best kind of romance. I could easily see this tale on the screen!

Beach Read is way more emotional than I anticipated. The book is filled with passionate and deeply touching statements that are genuinely moving. One chapter made me cry from the first word to the last. On top of that, it has the humour and charisma like most contemporary romances, but the plot is laced with deep and heartfelt complexities.

Fortunately, the heavy themes don’t weigh down the narrative or take away from its most heart-warming aspects. In fact, the overall story is very uplifting and exhilarating – the way a romance should be. It’s the kind of book I would return to when I need to get out of a slump. It has the kind of fuzzy feels that make it both the perfect summer read and the best curl-up book.

If you pick up Beach Read, you’ll be glued to its pages. Emily Henry’s writing is addictive, and her powerful romance is definitely a new favourite. My expectations were high and still beaten.

Anika | chaptersofmay.com

Images in this review

Report
popi
Almost perfect
Reviewed in Germany on July 1, 2025
Verified Purchase
So much of this book was simply wonderful. I loved how much dialogue there was between January and Gus. Good dialogue. Importanr dialogue. I love how they truly got to know and see each other. Emily Henry's writing style is just beautiful: smart, witty and funny and never at the expense of depth and warmth. The way the author dealt with both January's and Gus's trauma felt right to me. All the past and recent experiences that made them who they are were hinted at (in Gus's case) and full on explained (in January's) in a way that was meaningful. But there was something missing for me that made the reading experiences less than perfect - true reciprocity. While Gus laid down his heart completely before January, telling her not just how much he felt for how but also how long, why he acted the way he did back when they were in college all those years ago, and generally rendering himself completely vulnerable before her, January never reciprocates in words. While he tells her he was sure she hated him back in college because she never looked at him, and she's presented with the perfect chance to correct his misconception, she never takes it. We as readers are told that January had had a crush on him back in college and actually had a hard time not staring at him whenever she had the chance, only looking away before he caught her, Gus is never told those truths. Gus makes the great romantic confessions and January responds with single words or a single sentence at most. While he dedicates his book to her with the warmest, most beautiful words, we never learn who she dedicated her book to or what words she chose. And that feels like such a missed opportunity. Why not have the female protagonist be as brave and generous with her words - and not just her thoughts - as the male protagonist? Why have him make promises of forever and generously handing out love and reassurances while hers remain in her mind and are never articulated to the man she supposedly loves just as much as he loves her? I'll never be able to wrap my mind around this imbalance that sadly exists in so many of the stories within this genre.

Read more
Report
Ha2005
A cute rom-com.
Reviewed in the United Arab Emirates on April 8, 2022
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
This book is really hood I liked the characters and everything.

Read more
Report
a. lloyd spanton
Exactly what I wanted for a summer read.
Reviewed in Canada on July 30, 2020
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Well, it doesn't look like there's going to be many beaches in our near future, so I was happy to let Emily Henry bring the beach to me. I have read all of Henry's books, The Love That Split The World is still one of my favourites and I think about it often. I feel almost like she's a childhood friend and I am so happy and excited every time she writes a new book.

I love it when writers write about writing, even if it's through their characters. Beach Read gave us two very different writers, but both with their own love and appreciation of the art. And paralyzing writers block. Henry weaves some really great comments and descriptions of writing and reading into these character's personalities, whether they are her own thoughts or not, and I loved being able to bond with them over my own love of writing.

This book felt like a hipster beach read, which I suppose is what it was supposed to be, at least on the surface. There are trendy pop cultural references and Juno-like conversations. But somewhere in the middle, the feel starts to shift and the puffy pink romance gets a bit deeper and a bit darker, asking a lot of the characters as they self examine and try to sort out their messy lives and a boatload of complicated feelings that stem beyond the romance in front of them. Or more specifically, next door.

I'm not one to read books that can be described as steamy, but I'm lacking for any other word that could sum up the romantic part of this. I was expecting the romance, thought it would be more of the rom-com type, but boy does Henry know how to write a brooding, sultry love story and it seeped past my cold exterior, filling me with some kind of warmth. This was the kind of book that I didn’t want to end, the kind of book where I’m rooting for a happy ending.

I have read all of Henry's books and there is a noticeable progression in her work; she seems to always write about love and family, usually in an uplifting and light air, but with every new book, she is stretching those themes in different directions, exploring different approaches. Sure, that means that maybe not every book will hit me quite like her first did, but it also makes me feel like I am discovering a new talented storyteller every time I see her name and I love that.

Read more
Report

See more reviews

Sorry, there was a problem.

Sorry, there was a problem.

Image Unavailable

Follow the author

Beach Read: Deluxe Edition Hardcover – October 1, 2024

Purchase options and add-ons

Frequently bought together

More items to explore

Customers also bought or read

From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Product details

Product Videos

About the author

Emily Henry

Related books

Customer reviews

Customers say

Select to learn more

Images in this review

Reviews with images

More than a “beach read” 🥰

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoying All the Happy-For-Nows

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, but at times, kind of privileged and infuriating

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing compares 2 u

Nothing compares 2 u

Images in this review

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, witty, unexpected.

5.0 out of 5 stars Beach Read is a delightfully captivating romance, and a touching gem for happy ending devotees.

Beach Read is a delightfully captivating romance, and a touching gem for happy ending devotees.

Images in this review

5.0 out of 5 stars Almost perfect

5.0 out of 5 stars A cute rom-com.

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly what I wanted for a summer read.

Enjoying All the Happy-For-Nows

Beautiful, but at times, kind of privileged and infuriating

Nothing compares 2 u

Fun, witty, unexpected.

Beach Read is a delightfully captivating romance, and a touching gem for happy ending devotees.

Almost perfect

A cute rom-com.

Exactly what I wanted for a summer read.