Book Lovers by Emily Henry

 

Summary (from the publisher): One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn't see coming....

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.

Review: Nora Stephens has a reputation as a cutthroat literary agent based out of New York. Her life is her job, being there 24-7 for her clients, and her little sister Libby. She agrees to spend a month with her sister in Sunshine Falls, North Carolina but their idyllic small-town getaway is almost immediately punctuated by run-ins with Charlie Lastra. Charlie is a handsome book editor from back in the city. They have had rocky interactions in the past, but somehow, as they keep coincidentally get drawn together, they realize they have a lot in common, and a lot of chemistry between them. 

This was a delightful romantic comedy with wonderful banter and the added bonus of the two main characters being bookish types. This was the first Emily Henry book I have read but her books seem universally adored and I wondered if it would live up to the hype. I was pleasantly surprised to see that while clearly planted in the romance world, Henry brings depth to her characters and engaging dialogue between them to make it fun to read. I was surprised to find this was spicier in content than one would guess from the innocent cover. 

This book is a very deliberate play on the Hallmark-esque smalltown meet cute. It somewhat pokes fun at the romance trope of the big city girl falling in love with the smalltown guy while suddenly turning it on its head. The ending, while not quite like all the Hallmark movies, is still picture perfect in its own way and almost too good to be true. But that's really what we want from a fun romance book, right? 

I did really love how significant the relationship between Nora and her sister is in the book, but I did not enjoy how they called each other sissy all the time. I've never had a sister, but it seemed absurd terminology for two grown women to use. It also seemed highly unrealistic for a mother of two very young children to be away from her children for three full weeks just to hang out. 

I listened to the audio version of this book and, as always, Julia Whelan is one of the best audiobook narrators out there. 

Stars: 4