Title: Book Lovers
Author: Emily Henry
Series: N/A
Publication Date: May 3, 2022
Format: E-Book
Genre: Romance
Sub Genre(s): Contemporary
Summary: 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.-From Goodreads
What I Liked: Emily Henry has become a must read for me because she writes characters I wish were real, characters I want to be friends with, and characters I want to date and fall in love with. Only in my dreams do I have the ability to speak like her characters do-the witty banter between Nora and Charlie, the heartfelt conversations between Libby and Nora, it was all perfection. Charlie is a perfect, brooding, enemies-to lovers romance hero who has flaws and imperfections but who deep down wants to be brave enough to show his true self to someone who deserves it. Nora is a true queen and a breath of fresh air in the romance novel world. She’s not the girl who dreams of the white picket fence or 2.5 kids. She knows who she is and what she wants but that has left her feeling left out in a world that places so much emphasis on being the sweet, docile woman. I love that Nora and Charlie compromise for each other without losing themselves in the process. While categorized as a romance, one of my favorite parts of this book is the complex relationship between the sisters and the evolution of that relationship. The way Henry shows how two people who are everything to each other can still view shared experiences differently is masterful as is the way she shows how two “identical” people (Nora and Charlie) can be vastly different.
What I Didn’t Like: I loved everything about this book. There is nothing I would change.
Who Should Read It: Fans of Emily Henry will love this book as will fans of complex yet fun romances.
Review Wrap Up: This book was truly an enjoyable experience that checked all the boxes I look for in an enemies-to-lovers romance: flawed yet likable characters, sexual tension, witty banter, and a satisfying ending. Emily Henry continues to write entertaining stories that are must reads for romance fans and I highly recommend this book.
Favorite Quote(s): “Is there anything better than iced coffee and a bookstore on a sunny day? I mean, aside from hot coffee and a bookstore on a rainy day.”
“That is what I’m looking for every time I flip to the back of a book, compulsively checking for proof that in a life where so many things have gone wrong, there can be beauty too. That there is always hope, no matter what.”
The Spinster Librarian 