Emily Henry’s hit novel Beach Read was published on May 19, 2020 with Berkley Paperback. A popular book on Book Tok, the place to discuss such reads on social media platform Tik Tok, Beach Read deserves all of the hype it gets and possibly more.

This novel follows twenty-something January Andrews, a romance writer who–after discovering some major family secrets–moves into a beach house in North Bear Shores, Michigan. Her next-door neighbor winds up being none other than her old college rival, Augustus Everett, a literary fiction author. After a misshapen meeting at the local community’s book club, the two decide to make a bet. They trade genres, with January penning the next Great American Novel and Gus trying his hand at writing a rom-com, and whoever sells their book first wins the loser’s full support and endorsement.

The journey this little bet takes these characters on forces them to not only get to know one another better, but to look more deeply into their own lives as well. While the entire book is told through January’s first person point-of-view, Gus’s character and all of his struggles become just as heavy and important the more she learns about him. Henry does such a wonderful job at crafting these four dimensional characters, one half expects them to walk into the room and sit next to them. They feel so real and their quick, witty banter only adds to the immense amount of charm this book holds.

While many would call it a classic rom-com story, Beach Read actually covers some fairly heavy topics such as grief over losing family members, abuse, and even some involvement in a cult. All of which combine to make this story endlessly fascinating and one you’ll never want to stop reading. Between the cute romantic field trips January takes Gus on and the harrowing adventures he leads her on, the book rarely has time to grow slow or boring.

While it is not her very first novel, Beach Read is one of Emily Henry’s most popular, and for good reason. Anyone looking for their next summer read would most definitely find a home in this bright and heartfelt contemporary romance novel.