Book Lovers Book Review: A Romance by Emily Henry
Emily Henry has become one of my favorite contemporary romance authors, so I was really looking forward to the release of Book Lovers. This enemies to lovers romance is about two people working in the publishing industry: a cutthroat literary agent and a brooding book editor. They may be as different as night and day, but they do have a few things in common, including their love of books… and their attraction to each other. Keep reading for my full Book Lovers book review.
After reading and processing Book Lovers, it’s hard to say which Emily Henry book is my favorite. I love Beach Read because it’s about authors, and I loved the premise of People We Meet On Vacation because it’s about a travel writer who goes on fabulous vacations. When it comes to writing a love story between bookish people, Emily knows what works.
And that’s part of why I’m so excited to share my Book Lovers book review on the blog today!
P.S. You can read my other Emily Henry book review here:
What is Book Lovers by Emily Henry About?
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. (from Amazon.com)
What I Like About Emily Henry Books
Before we dive into my Book Lovers book review, I wanted to talk about Emily Henry books in general. She’s pretty much the master of the contemporary romance novel. She writes realistic and flawed characters. And her books are always funny. This one was especially fun because Nora has visions of a small-town transformation. But more on that when we get into the full review!
My Initial Thoughts
I’ve been slow to jump on to the Emily Henry bandwagon, but now that I’m on it, I’m never getting off! Her books are so fun and well written. Frankly, Book Lovers was just the contemporary romance that I was looking to read right now.
I really liked Book Lovers because of its literary plot. I find the publishing industry very fascinating. So some of the scenes where Nora was working with her clients was very interesting to me.
The Main Couple
The main characters, Nora and Charlie, are as different as night and day. And opposites make for the best main couple, don’t they?
Nora is a literary agent in New York City. She’s a little controlling but as you learn her backstory, she has good reason for being so. Although she’s very dedicated to her career, she’s not a robot. Her younger sister means everything to her and she would do anything to protect her and keep her safe, even though she’s married now and the mother of (almost) three children.
Meanwhile, Charlie (Nora’s love interest) also works in the NYC book scene as an editor. He’s just as dedicated to his job as Nora is to hers, but he’s got a quick wit and a salty tongue. Some of his comments during the scene where he and Nora first meet are so funny. I could tell that even though he and Nora both had different ideas about books and writing, they also had a lot in common as well.
But that’s the thing with romance tropes. Once the main couple decides they don’t like each other, they get pretty set in their ways. I knew that something big was going to happen in order for these two city people to learn to like each other.
Book Lovers is Filled with Great Characters
As with all of Emily Henry’s books, Book Lovers is filled with a lot of fun surprises. But my favorite surprise was the fact that this story isn’t just about romantic love. It’s about the close relationship between two sisters. I grew up with two brothers so I love to read stories about sisterhood.
As the older sister, Nora has always looked out for Libby. The two sisters grew up incredibly close because of their Mom being busy working all the time. And because the two women knew each other so well, some of the dialogue between them so so funny. I was like, yup! Only siblings can talk to each other that way.
If You’ve Ever Wanted to Live in a Hallmark Movie…
You’re going to love the side plot of this story. Libby begs Nora to go on a sisters trip with her. It’s the perfect time because in a couple of months her third baby will be born. Nora agrees because as big sister, she wants nothing more than to make Libby happy. But right away, things don’t go exactly according to plan.
The small town of Sunshine Falls North Carolina is picturesque. It’s the kind of place that makes Nora feel like she can reinvent herself. Maybe she’ll even find herself getting involved in one of those small-town love stories. So she and Libby dive in to try and get the official small-town experience.
But when an unexpected face shows up in town, main character Nora has no idea how to react. Suddenly her small town girls trip with her sister is a lot more complicated.
In Conclusion
If you liked Beach Read or People We Meet on Vacation, I think you will really like this book as well. It’s another fun dive into the world of Emily Henry books and honestly, it might be my favorite of hers so far. I just love a good enemies to lovers book, and Book Lovers did a great job at that.
Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
