Book Blurb:
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.
My Review: 4 stars
Beach Read is so much more than the title implies. It’s an entertaining story about two authors, each battling personal demons that caused them to abandon their beliefs about love and living happily ever after. What they remember about each other from college was blatant dislike; one writes romance novels with happy endings, and the other pens deep literary novels. When they find themselves as neighbors in a Michigan beach town – that’s where the drama starts.
The idea of genre switching was so insightful to read about. Because they believe they are polar opposites, their “research” date nights opened their eyes to the other’s passion and character. It also allowed the reader to see how book ideas are ignited. January turned her personal story into a literary book and Gus took on a romance novel with heart. The writing in this book was a delight. Both January and Gus were witty and exchanged a lot of romantic and humorous banter. They were so emotionally depleted when the book began, so watching them grow into their true selves was the best part of the book.
Most readers will agree, that books about books are always a joy to read and this one is no exception. This pandemic has me starting and stopping a lot of books. I need to be sucked in from page one or I’ll get distracted by the news or my mind is flooded with scary thoughts about the Covid crisis. This one did the trick!
Quotes I liked:
When I watch you sleep,” he said shakily, “I feel overwhelmed that you exist.”
“I always liked that thought, the way two people really did seem to grow into one. Or at lest two overlapping parts, trees with tangled roots.”
“Once, in a bad season of tension headaches, my doctor had told me that pain was our body demanding to be heard.”
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The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
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