Emily Henry

A by the book literary agent must decide if happily ever after is worth changing her whole life for in this insightful, delightful new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation. 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.

Book Lovers

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.

this line is giving what needs to be gave

Got distracted by two gin martinis and a platinum blond shark who wanted me dead.

Well okay no need to call me out like this!

Pia 

"Nora." He just barely smiles. "Youre in books. Of course you dont have a life. None of us do. There's always something too good to read"9

That’s so true and such a struggle for me how am I supposed to read all the once I want to read in one life?!

I realized there were too many books in the world and not enough time

What?! I think we skipped some chapters here can we go back 15

Thats the hing about women. There's no good way to be one. Wear your emotions on your sleeve and you're hysterical. Keep them tucked away where your boyfriend doesn't have to tend to them and you're a heartless bitch. 

Emily braeckman 

 I can almost miss it, this thing I never had. 

What do you have with bakers love, but true 💀

AshTheDumbPotato

Lizzy Jensen

Maybe love shouldn't be built on a foundation of compromises, but maybe it can't exist without them either. Not the kind that forces two people into shapes they dont fit in, but the kind that loosens their grips, always leaves room to grow. Compromises that say, there will be a you-shaped space in my heart, and if your shape changes, I will adapt. No matter where we go, our love will stretch out to hold us, and that makes me feel like...like everything will be okay.

This, I think, is what it is to dream, and I finally understand why Mom could never give it up, why my authors can't give it up, and I'm happy for them, because this wanting, it feels good, like a bruise you need to press on, a reminder that there are things in life so valuable that you must risk the pain of losing them for the joy of briefly having them. 

This book has crushed me with its weight and dazzled me with its tiny bright spots. Some books you don't read so much as live, and finishing one of those always makes me think of ascending from a scuba dive. Like if I surface too fast I might get the bends. 

That's the thing about being an adult standing beside your childhood race car bed. Time collapses, and instead of the version of you you've built from scratch, you’re all the hackneyed drafts that came before, all at once. 

Allison Detwiler

maybe it’s possible to have more than one home. maybe it’s possible to belong in a hundred different ways to a hundred different people and places.

“If I had to pick one person to be in my corner, it’d be you. Every time.”

“So if you’re the ‘wrong kind of woman,’ then I’m the wrong kind of man.”

That's the thing about women. There's no good way to be one, Wear your emotions on your sleeve and you're hysterical. Keep them tucked away where your boyfriend doesn't have to tend to them and you're a heartless bitch.

"Another enemy of yours?" His eyes darken, his mouth doing that grimace-twitch. "Is that what we are? 

Laura Michelle

“For anyone who wants it all," she begins, "may you find something that is more than enough." 

She wonders whether what comes next could ever live up to the expectations. 

"I love you, Nora," he says when we pull apart a few inches to breathe. "I think I love everything about you."

“But this, I realize, is what they mean, all those thousands of writers who've tried to describe the sensation of following the trail of your life for years, only to smack into something that changes it forever. 

The way the sensation jars through you, from the center out. How you feel it in your mouth and toes all at once, a dozen tiny explosions. 

And then an unfurling of warmth from your collarbone to your ribs, to thighs, to palms, like just seeing him has triggered some kind of chrysalis. 

My body has moved from winter into spring, all those scraggly little sprouts pushing up through a crush of snow. Spring, alive and awake in my bloodstream.”

"If anyone could be enough," I say, "I think it might be you." 

His arms squeeze around me, his voice dropping to a soft scratch. "I'm glad we had our moment. Even if it didn't last as long as we wanted it to." 

The tears are so thick in my eyes that the dance floor dissolves into streaks of color and light. "But," I finally get out, my eyes scrunching shut, "it really was fucking perfect."

"A week ago," I say, "I liked you so much I would have wanted to try to make this work." I swallow a jagged, fist- sized lump, but still my voice has to scrape by to get out. “But now I think I might love you too much for that."

“Even if you can't see them back in Manhattan, all of those stars will be over you too. Maybe every night, we look up at the sky at the same time." 

"Every night?" I say, dubious. "Or once a week," she says. "We get on the phone, and we look up at the sky, and then we'll know we're still together. Wherever we go."

“Sometimes, I write to Charlie, the first act is the fun part, and then everything gets too complicated. 

Coley T

I went from being embarrassed to buy this from the romance section to crying at the end, so good job I guess EH! I started reading a sample in a Penguin newsletter and got sucked in; I figured if nothing else it was a good summer beach read. But I liked this much more than People We Meet On Vacation.

Edit: I woke up the next morning and realized the tears could have also been related to being over-tired and sick so I moved to 4 stars. Still really good though.

Half a point extra for the last 50 (or so) pages, loved those! 

Salomé Gleusteen 

Sweet enemies to lovers/small town romance. I found it hard to get into this book, and I found the same struggle with beach read. It had good parts, but I did find myself skimming here and there. However, as it built up, I was really feeling it. This is a book I’m glad I read in one sitting because I Think I’d have a hard time continuing to pick it back up. The ending, so cute and sweet and honestly perfect. 

ally cuabo 

Loved this book! Truly for the book loving girlies. Grumpy x grumpy vibes. Emily Henry comes again with that banter. 

Olivia :)

her best book so far. loved the subversion of a traditional romance!

natasha

Addie 🌻

jupiter

Jamieson

bella <3

nora stephens would bop so hard to the archer by taylor switft

i am not the same person as i was before i read this book

Super cute, quick read. I liked the perspective the author was going for and I thought it was executed really well!

madison mcgarvey 

catherine kane

Mika Chavarria

AHHHHH
I'm so mad it took me so long to read this book because I'm so in love!!!
I love Nora Stephens, I love Charlie Lastra! I love NYC AND NORTH CAROLINA!!!
I've never been able to fully relate to a character, not since Poppy (PWMOV) but there's something about Nora that I understand. I feel her on a very emotional level, I've been her in my past. 
This book made me laugh my ass off, it made me cry multiple times and it made me fall in love with the Sunshine Falls. 
And if you're not comparing Sunshine Falls to Lake Lure or Hendersonville, we need to talk!!!
I am so obsessed, book hangover is setting in. 
A full review coming soon to my Instagram 🥹🥹

Beatriz Aguiar

3.5

I really liked the concept and i was so invested in the heroine but i just don't vibe with emily henry's romance... maybe if it was literary fiction it would've been more satisfying (to me, personally)

i can possibly read this book everyday for the rest of my life! i loved how nobody had to make any compromises they didn't want. i am in love with this book!!

Jess Griffin

i’ve had to give it a few days to allow myself to fully process how much i enjoyed this book before reviewing it.

emily henry completely outdid herself with this novel. the main characters charlie and nora were so excellently written and the flow/pace of the story was just perfect.

as always with emily henry’s books, i went into this novel with a ‘women’s fiction with romance on the side’ mindset and that is exactly what it was. emily henry has such a unique way of writing her female leads and stories as a whole that just captivate you as the reader. 

emily henry remains one of my all time favourite authors after this latest release, and i cannot wait for all of her future works.

grace richards

i didn’t really enjoy this book, there are a few cute moments where it’s nice but overall the characters didn’t give me that buzz and neither did their romance

lea da silva

i struggled to finish this one. i couldn’t point exactly what i was struggling with. but i was. i guess it just has more potential than what is actually used. Nora & Charlie both are great characters, they are very easy to love and yet, they are under-utilised during the entire book, mostly Charlie. many things could have been more interesting and well rounded but sadly they were not. i guess i had huge expectations because i love emily henry’s work, she writes romance in such a wonderful, delicate way. and this book is no different in that regard. it is a wonderful romance, it just lacks something. the last 100 pages saved it for me, this part was truly beautiful & touching. i loved the reference to wuthering heights, the story behind the title, i loved their bond. some parts were rushed and some were properly ignored for most of the book, yet i still have love for this book (and i am glad to be out of that reading slump!)

Midori Kobayashi

all the vibes💯 (need i really say more than this is the book that finally got me out of a 6-month long reading slump?) fucking love emily henry and her characters♥️

belle

Jasmine

3.75-4 Stars
This was such a great summer read and Nora&Charlie had me smiling constantly over their banter! I would say though Book Lovers wasn't quite like my experience with previous Emily Henry books, we didn't have that instant connection. Meaning it took a bit to finally get into this story and warm up to the character, but once I did I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it was about 30% mark the book for me found its stride and that's when the banter and sexual tension between them was palpable and eventually got to that point where I didn't want to stop reading. I also wasn't expecting this to be a fastburn/ emotional slowburn but I do enjoy reading them almost as much sometimes as slowburns and it was a good change of pace from the previous books.

Once the book found its rhythm I really started enjoying it, and overall this was a nice read and I would recommend it (can you really go wrong with Emily Henry's books?). Also, appreciate the attempt at emotional depth with the family relationships especially the sister bond between Nora and her older more free-spirited sister Libby. Now the only problem is I read a book earlier this year Wrecking Ball by B.N Toler which reminded me a lot of their relationship and also had a spontaneous trip that they take together and all that. Expect, I found that one to be executed much better and I formed a deep connection with the sisters. I actually thought that this was going to go like that too and when I say that book had some really sad elements I'm talking about finding myself sobbing after, so I was bracing myself for something similar to happen with their story so because of that feeling my entire Book Lovers experience was altered a bit. That's probably why also when certain things came out I had a completely different scenario in my mind and it fell majorly flat in comparison. Overall, easy to read but there was something missing. I think most people will enjoy this especially if like me enjoy the buzz you get reading good banter and some nice emotional moments.

Not my usual jam...very rom-com formula, but good enough for January. 

Jeannette Ordas

Cindy McKee

Book lovers

I loved this book for so many reasons. 1) I’m a sucker for banter and Nora, Libby, and Charlie are all masters of it here. 2) I love any character who sees New York as a magical place to be. Nora’s (and Charlie’s) love for the Big Apple , faults and all, see it as a wonderland where anything is possible. 3) The tropes of so many of those Hallmark movies and many many romance novels get thoroughly mocked and revered in equal measure here. 4) Enjoying old movies , especially one of my absolute favorites, The Philadelphia Story, makes me extremely happy. And 4) I thoroughly loved Charlie and Nora. As much as I liked Beach Reads, I never completely connected with the characters
and kinda felt indifferent about the ending. But I was invested from page one in Nora and later Charlie in Book Lover’s. Loved this!

Jennifer mitchell

going to need 5-7 business days to process

Book Lovers

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