Book Lovers

 Book Lovers- Emily Henry

Berkley/Penguin Group

Release Date: May 3, 2022

Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: 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.

___________________________________________________________________

Confession- this is the first of Emily Henry's books that I've read, despite knowing that they are hugely popular and selling about a million of them as a bookseller. That said, I wasn't sure what to expect from the book. Was I going to love it because everyone loves Emily Henry's other books or be really disappointed because everyone loves Emily Henry's other books?

The writing style wasn't one I was a fan of- it went a little too stream of consciousness and heavy on the descriptive metaphors for me. Because of that it took me awhile to get into the book, but when I did, I really enjoyed the plot.  It's a clever reverse on the typical romance book trope. Nora is the character who is career driven, focused, problem solving, loves NYC, and usually the one in movies or books the hero ultimately leaves for the small town heroine. Its happened to her multiple times in fact. Her married sister Libby is more the typical romance heroine- flighty, fun loving, the Marianne to her Eleanor. The two are incredibly close, but lately things have been off so when Libby wants to take a sisters' vacation, Nora agrees and hopes they can reconnect. Libby sets up a bizarre, small town get-away with a list of things for them to do that are classic small town romance book items and Nora isn't sure about she's going to enjoy her vacation. But in comes Charlie, her professional nemesis from New York, also in town for the month. And suddenly she finds herself having more fun than she'd planned.

Nora and Charlie are not your typical main characters or romance heroes, and that's why I liked them so much. They are sharks in the literary world- Nora is a cutthroat literary agent and Charlie is a killer editor- and at first meet are far too similar to even politely pretend to stand one another. But beneath the shark smiles are deep vulnerabilities they refuse to allow anyone to see, and heavy protective needs towards the few they love. These are people who don't want to change, don't want kids, don't want to work less and party more- they like their lives (mostly) as is, despite what society may tell them about being wrong. It takes a lot of courage to be that person, and Emily Henry peels back some incredibly insightful layers about how much courage that really takes. Henry reminds us that even the people who seem to have it the most together on the outside, or the ones we think we know the best, have hidden vulnerabilities, hidden pieces that make them the way they are, and that even the strongest of us need love and support from family and friends to make it through the tough times.

A love story to New York, to the power of books, the power of family, and the power of love- in all its aspects, this was a delightful plot with twists on the typical tropes that will keep you smiling.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review