Emily Henry is the #1 New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Happy Place, Book Lovers, People We Meet on Vacation, and Beach Read. She studied creative writing at Hope College, and now spends most of her time in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the part of Kentucky just beneath it.

Book Lovers is multilayered and the characters’ familial challenges are complex. By both playing to and overtly subverting romance tropes and archetypes like the high-powered big city woman who neglects her family and the life-affirming power of small-town life, this novel delivers an insightful comedic meditation on love, family and going your own way.

“If Emily Henry makes herself laugh at the character’s dialogue in her own books, it’s understandable. She is a master at witty repartee….It’s a safe bet that viewers would enjoy seeing Henry’s characters come to life on screen.” — Associated Press

“It is humanly impossible for Emily Henry to write a bad book. Her particular blend of grief and messy relationships is a heady cocktail of intoxicating yearning…Whatever Henry decides to spear, be it literary posturing or vacation rom-com, she subverts her subjects in the most delicious ways.” — Entertainment Weekly

“Book Lovers is a treat from start to finish, flipping the conventional small-town love story trope on its head…This enemies-to-lovers novel is a quick and satisfying binge-read.” — USA Today

My reiew

“Maybe love shouldn’t be built on a foundation of compromises, but maybe it can’t exist without them either.”

I didn’t expect to end this one in tears, but it got me. I was just broken down with how complex and beautifully detailed this story is. My favorite thing about this one is how I could spend hours dissecting each character. It was a story of love, not just a romantic one, but also the kind of love that comes with family. There was so much love everywhere and I just wanted to tap into it!! Emily Henry knows how to grab hold the attention and heart of “Book lovers” everywhere and she did just that with this one.

Nora is quite ordered in her life. She is the kind of girl to have checklists including when she’s dating. She makes sure to ask the right questions, even if that means knowing their credit report early on. Unfortunately, her dating life is still not really going well.

Nora and Charlie first meet in person when she asks him to edit her client’s book. It wasn’t a great encounter as he wasn’t really the nicest person on the planet and wasn’t really a fan of the book. Fast forward years later, Nora and her sister go on a vacation to Sunshine falls with the intention of doing something fun and new and bonding more with each other. Unexpectedly, she bumps into Charlie and it turns out that he’s actually from the town. After many encounters, things start to escalate. While she is figuring out what exactly her relationship with Charlie is, her relationship with her sister might not be like she thinks because it’s possible that Libby is hiding things from her.

“Just because not everyone gets you doesn’t mean you’re wrong.”

Her characters are always so interesting! I love how Nora and Charlie have been both shaped by quite similar experiences but Henry does this in a subtle way. Nora has always felt like it’s her job to take care of Libby and Charlie also felt like it’s his job to take on the family business, and they both felt this way because of their childhood experiences. I love how we kept learning about them here and there. I rarely feel like book couples belong to each other because there is always something missing. But guys, Charlie and Nora BELONG to each other.

They’re SOULMATES!!! I will defend this to the death. Although the attraction and sexual tension were certainly there early on, it didn’t feel insta lovey at all. It wasn’t quite a slow burn either. It was perfect.

Libby and Nora’s relationship definitely got my attention more than Nora and Charlie’s. You could just see how much they love each other from the start to the ending of the book. They’ve had each other since their mother died, and Nora has taken the responsibility in ensuring that she’s okay for a long time.

Libby might not necessarily want her to do that anymore, and Nora feels that she might be hiding stuff from her. The effects that their mother’s lifestyle had on them were really evident. Their relationship literally shattered me and brought me back together again. I really just want what they have.

Very importantly, we can’t ignore the fact that Emily Henry is a whole comedian. She has made me laugh for a long time and I’m happy to see that this book was just as funny. This is Henry’s love language okay. She makes sure her characters are hilarious, and that is how we readers are able to see which characters have the best chemistry.

Henry, next book, please.