By Emily Henry
A 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.
This is my favorite romance read of the year. It came in second place in the Goodreads Choice Awards voting, but my thoughts haven’t changed! I loved it so, so, so much!
OH MY GOODNESS! Finally, the literature gods heard my prayers! I’ve been longing for a fantastic romance, something heart-wrenching that shakes me to the core and makes me feel everything at once: happiness, angst, joy, forgiveness, enjoyment, resentment, and hurt. Yes, I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH! I want to scream it! Oh, thankfully, I already did!
I have to add: This is not a beach read. This is a GLUED READ. You don’t want to end it, and you don’t want to stop reading it, so you carry your book everywhere as if it’s one of your internal organs.
I expected to read something more chic-lit, a soft, sweet story, but instead, I got an amazing work of fiction—a remarkable romance juggling so many themes at once: friendship, regrets, cancer, betrayal, dysfunctional families and their secrets, enemies to friends, friends to lovers, and rivalry between authors!
The things I loved most:
• Sarcastic but smart, entertaining, unique dialogues between January and Gus.
• The soul-crushing, tear-jerking, heart-shattering, intense father-daughter relationship.
• Captivating storytelling from the beginning: I couldn’t put this book down. I devoured the pages (maybe I accidentally licked my Kindle, but its screen looks dustless, and I’m the grossest person right now!). I couldn’t stop reading about January and Gus’ growing attraction, their struggles to open up, their fears of getting hurt, and their stupid and childish actions toward each other. Yes, I had so many “awww” and sighing moments. My husband thought I was secretly ordering cases of French wine because I smiled so much, and I got an appointment with the surgeon because my smile was glued to my face, making me look like a worse version of the Joker right now! I cannot stop!
• A witty plot: Two writers, nemeses from college, now have neighboring beach houses. They both have deadlines for their books but are suffering from writer’s block! Gus thinks that happily-ever-afters don’t exist, but he can push himself to write about it, and January could write some high-rated, complex fiction instead of swoony romances! So they bet and switch genres, but to do that, they need to spend time together, experiencing both the bright and dark sides of life. This means January will take Gus to carnivals, romantic beaches, and field trips to watch the sunset, while Gus will take January hiking in graveyards or arrange an interview with a grieving woman who lost her sister to a death cult. See? It was impossible not to get hooked from the beginning!
• Characterization: January and Gus seem like polar opposites—one a pessimist who had a problematic childhood with his abusive father, and the other an optimist who loves to see the brighter side, even though her childhood was overshadowed by her mother’s battle with cancer. They are both suffering from loneliness and wrong choices in their love lives. Actually, they have so much in common, not to mention the SIZZLING CHEMISTRY and UNDENIABLY GROWING ATTRACTION!
THE LAST PARTS OF THE BOOK: Oh boy! Please prepare your napkins, paper towels, anything to dry your non-stop dripping tears! I’m not giving spoilers, but Ms. Henry is an emotional torturer who knows exactly how to sing to our hearts, break them into pieces, and then magically gather and heal each piece with her soul-brushing, poignant words. She is a heart whisperer. She knows how to melt your heart!
OVERALL: This is not only one of my favorite books of this year but also one of my all-time favorite romance books! I’m so happy my craving for a well-written romantic fiction is over!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this year’s one of the best books’ ARC copy with me in exchange for my honest review. And Emily Henry, thank you for reaching my heart with your effective, soul-touching, and talented work.
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By Nilufer Ozmekik