Book Lovers was my third outing with Emily Henry’s books after reading and loving both People We Meet on Vacation on Beach Read. Her writing and the way she writes relationships mirrors a lot of what I look for in people: sarcastic humor, understanding, and a willingness to be vulnerable. Out of the three novels I’ve read I was disappointed to come to the conclusion Book Lovers missed the mark, though there are plenty of lovable moments.
The story opens with Nora Stephens, a sharp-minded literary agent, running late for a meeting with broody editor Charlie Lastra, who has an equally fierce reputation in the publishing industry. Their meeting doesn’t go too hot and that’s the end of that, or so they thought. When Nora’s sister, Libby, very pregnant and looking for a break, plans a surprise trip to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina–the setting of her favorite book–she drags Nora along on a mission to live out all of the cheesy romance tropes to get her to let loose and live a little. The only hitch in their plan is Charlie, who has managed to pop-up in the truly least expected place, Sunshine Falls. As they keep getting thrown together in a plot twist neither of them could see coming, Nora and Charlie might just realize there is more to each other’s stories than what’s on the surface.
Book Lovers was an interesting twist on the trope Nora talks about in romance stories at the beginning of the book, where the hard-edged city person goes to a small town and through a twist of fate falls in love with one of the charming locals. Emily Henry gives us a somewhat more realistic version of this with a deeper exploration into Nora and Charlie’s flaws, showing us how trauma can be passed on down generations, manifesting itself in frustrating ways the characters can’t seem to shake. This story began to draw me in with its rumination on how the relationships we have with our parents informs how we exist in our relationships with other people, leading to battles with anxiety and insecurity in some cases. Nora’s character is built around the loss of her mother and being forced to step into a motherly role for Libby changed the course of her life. She constantly fluctuates between mom and sister, always searching for ways to fix problems that aren’t hers to solve.
Based on the blurb I was expecting a slow burn, rivals-to-lovers story between Nora and Charlie, but their romance left something to be desired. I think this was in part due to the timeline of their falling in love taking place over the course of a month; by the end of those weeks they are somehow deeply in love with one another. This seemingly small detail nearly took me out of the story completely. I don’t need realism in romance, but I just can’t believe those feelings when they aren’t earned. Even a few scenes in flashbacks between the two of them to show they already had a slightly established connection would have gone a long way in showing they weren’t near strangers, but they kind of were. I genuinely liked Nora and Charlie’s sarcastic banter and romantic tension for the most part because if there’s one thing I love it’s a snarky male love interest.
I went back and forth about whether this would end up a 3 or 4 star read, with the determining factor being the lack of balance between the threads of Nora and Libby’s relationship and Nora and Charlie’s. There was a decent bit of page space dedicated to exposition relating to how Nora had to step up in the past once their mom was gone and not enough time was spent building her present day relationship with Libby. I also struggled with the repetitive physical descriptions of Charlie’s facial expressions and the way being near him made Nora’s body feel. Sometimes I was having deja vu thinking I was re-reading the same page I’d already read a few chapters before. It was too heavy handed and clunky. I needed more slow moments where we really get to understand the characters as flawed, complicated people, but I didn’t get it until the very end. Book Lovers didn’t seem to know what it wanted to be at times, or whether it wanted to focus on sisterly bonds or unexpected romance between two people torn by duty and trying to live the lives they always wanted.
This story was alright to me, but it had the potential to be great. Emily Henry was working with a lot of good ideas that simply didn’t come together for me, but it was still an enjoyable read. My final verdict for this one is 3.5/5 stars. I would recommend this for readers who like Rebecca Serle and Josie Silver.
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