Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Book 38/30.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I started reading Book Lovers on August 9th as that is Book Lovers Day and I know that is a little… okay a lot 😝 on the nose, but I have a lot of nose to begin with so 🤷‍♀️😅

Book Lovers is a story about one summer, two rivals and the plot twist they didn’t see coming. Nora is a cut-throat literary agent at the top of her game. Her whole life is books. Charlie is an editor with a gift for creating bestsellers. And he’s Nora’s work nemesis. Nora has been through enough break-ups to know she’s the woman men date before they find their happy-ever-after. That’s why Nora’s sister has persuaded her to swap her desk in the city for a month’s holiday in Sunshine Falls, North Carolina. It’s a small town straight out of a romance novel, but instead of meeting sexy lumberjacks, handsome doctors or cute bartenders, Nora keeps bumping into…Charlie.

I loved the characters, setting, plot and pacing, but my favourite thing about this book was the banter between Nora and Charlie, as well as Nora and her sister Libby. It took me back to the banter between Poppy and Alex in You and Me on Vacation, more so in the opening third, that had me alternating between giggling like a schoolgirl and laughing out loud. After back-to-back books of absofuckinglutely delightful banter, I am shouting from the rooftops 🗣️📣ALL HAIL EMILY HENRY, THE QUEEN OF BANTER!📣🗣️

Book Lovers won the Goodreads Choice Award in 2022 for Best Romance, the author’s second win in a row as she also won it in 2021 for You and Me on Vacation. IMO the 2021 win should have gone to The Love Hypothesis (SOOO GOOD!!!), but this definitely maybe deserved its win due to the empowering message the author crafts by not changing Nora or punishing her for being ambitious and hardworking. Instead of changing her boss bitch ways to fit into a man’s life as is typical in the romance genre, the author allowed Nora to be appreciated by Charlie for who she is and what she values. I respect Ms. Henry for asserting that being career-oriented, valuing independence, living in the city, and being childless are qualities women do not have to change in order to have a happy ending.

This was my third Emily Henry read, the first being Beach Read that I rated 3 stars and You and Me on Vacation that I rated 4 stars. I was excited to read Book Lovers as several bookstagram reviewers say it is the author’s best yet, so I am happy to report that I wholeheartedly agree with my fellow bookstagrammers and now I cannot wait to read Happy Place 🤩🤓

View all my reviews

** A guide to ratings **
1 star – did not like it
2 stars – it was okay
3 stars – liked it
4 stars – really liked it
5 stars – it was amazing