REVIEW: Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Book Lovers Book Cover Book Lovers
Emily Henry
Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction
Berkley
May 3, 2022
Audiobook
377
Public Library
February 23-27, 2023

“One of my favorite authors.”—Colleen Hoover

An insightful, delightful, instant #1 New York Times bestseller from the author of Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation.

Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by Oprah Daily ∙ Today ∙ Parade ∙ Marie Claire ∙ Bustle ∙ PopSugar ∙ Katie Couric Media ∙ Book Bub ∙ SheReads ∙ Medium ∙ The Washington Post ∙ and more!

One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn't see coming...

Nora Stephens' life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.

Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.

If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.

Review

You know the woman in all the small town, Hallmark-style romance novels? The one who meets the big city man and convinces him to stay in her small town and break things off for his uptight girlfriend/fiancée back home? This isn’t her book. 

This is the story of Nora, a New York City literary agent who has been dumped multiple times by boyfriends who went to the small town and fell for the aforementioned girl, leaving Nora unlucky in love. When her little sister, Libby, convinces Nora to leave the Big City in lieu of spending a month in the small town of Sunshine Falls, Libby has big plans to help Nora loosen up and follow her heart, not just her career dreams. 

Shortly after arriving in the small town, who does Nora run in to? Her mortal enemy. Charlie Lastra, the book editor who trashed her favorite clients last book, refusing to even consider working on her book.

Obviously they’re meant to fall in love, this is a romance novel after all! But it’s not a straight shot to love. Nora has a lot of baggage, and so does Charlie. Together they wind up editing a novel together while in the small town of Sunshine Falls and each faces their baggage. 

This book is smart and funny (oh so funny). It’s not just a romance, it’s about sisters and loss and self-sacrifice. About learning to let go and accept who you are, and having someone accept you as you are.

This book is beautiful and I can NOT wait to read my next Emily Henry novel!

3 thoughts on “REVIEW: Book Lovers by Emily Henry

    • All of her book covers are so bright and happy. I’m kind of glad it took me this long to discover her because now I have a small backlog to read!

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