Escape the winter blues with these three summer reads by Emily Henry
I’d like to consider myself a romance novel expert. But I must admit a secret: there is one reason, and one reason only, why I love reading romance: escapism. And what is a better way to escape than diving into a perfectly fluffy, heart-melting, mildly cheesy beach read? Escape your winter and school year blues this season in the literary universe of Emily Henry, and be transported to a sunny dock somewhere on Lake Michigan bantering with the love of your life. So, now it’s time to share with you my favorite (and least favorite) Emily Henry reads.
1. Beach Read
My favorite Emily Henry novel is without a doubt Beach Read. January, a heartbroken hopeless romantic, escapes to her dad’s old Michigan lake house for a summer in hopes of having a breakthrough in writing her next big romance novel. Her next-door neighbor just happens to be her professional rival, literary writer and known pessimist Augustus Everett. Augustus doesn’t believe in love. January and Augustus are total opposites and do not get along… cue the “enemies to lovers” trope! If you aren’t swooning already, the two writers decide on a challenge for the summer to attempt to get out of their writer’s block by writing a book in the other’s typical genre. This leads to lots of cute “totally not” dates in hopes of teaching Augustus how to write a romance novel, and even more sarcastic yet flirtatious banter. This book made me laugh, cry, smile, swoon and everything in between. Not only is Augustus Everett my dream man (which I will shamelessly admit), but these two are an “enemies to lovers” match made in heaven. Outside of the romance plot, January is working through personal issues of her own as Emily Henry beautifully executes her character development. If you need a break from midterms, or are simply sick of the cold, I urge you to pick up Beach Read this fall and daydream of beautiful boys, books and beach days!
2. Book Lovers
Book Lovers is the perfect high-tension enemies-to-lovers book for, well…book lovers. Nora and Charlie are both workaholic, cutthroat, big-city literary agents. They neither have time for nor believe in love and relationships. When Nora agrees to accompany her little sister to small-town Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for a month, she is hoping to simply find a month of relaxation, sister bonding and a taste of simple small-town life. However, instead what she finds in Sunshine Falls is her pain-in-the-ass corporate counterpart, who is staying with his parents for the summer. Neither of the two are looking for or are fit for love, and they certainly do not seem like a good fit for each other… until one day they do. With enough coincidental meetings and small town charm surrounding them these too might just fall in love. This book has all of my favorite tropes and executes them in all of the right ways, not to mention the fact that Nora is the girlboss of the century and Charlie absolutely has my heart as the bookish boyfriend of my dreams. I do feel like Nora’s secondary storyline and character development with her relationship with her sister was less compelling than January’s in Beach Read (and frankly, a bit too dramatic at times), which is the only reason why I am ranking Book Lovers second.
3. People We Meet On Vacation
I’ll start off with a disclaimer that all of Emily Henry’s books are fantastic. However, sadly one of them must be put in last place. People We Meet On Vacation is an adorable friends-to-lovers romance, where two best friends, Alex and Poppy, embark on one last summer vacation together, and start to realize that there is more between them than just platonic love. The story jumps between the present day at their Palm Springs getaway to summer vacations past, from the time they met just out of college through two years ago when they jeopardized their friendship and haven’t spoken since. Everything that could possibly go wrong on their last hurrah vacation does in fact go wrong (broken AC, injuries, hotels and arguments), but this doesn’t stop Alex and Poppy from finally making their friendship into something more. This is truly such a cute romance story with plenty of funny moments. My only qualms were that I found the main character, Poppy, to be a bit much at times and frankly kind of annoying. Also, while I can appreciate a good “friends-to-lovers” trope, I am at my core an “enemies-to-lovers” girl. The set-up for this story was really well put together, and there were plenty of funny, heart-melting and spicy moments, but it just did not feel quite as impactful as Emily Henry’s other two novels. Regardless, this is such a fun read that I would highly recommend to anyone, especially those of you who like me, wish you were currently sitting on a pool chair in Palm Springs with your best friend who also happens to be the love of your life.
Ranking these books is so difficult because not only did they all make me laugh, cry and smile, but they are all so unique from each other. That being said, Beach Read has made its way into my top five books of all time, so I would definitely give that one a read first! Whetheryou’re reminiscing about warmer summer days or simply yearning to have the “meet cute” of your dreams this autumn, these fast-paced, flirty and beachy Emily Henry books will absolutely get you out of the midterms season slump and back into Hot Girl Summer.