REVIEW: Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Every time I read a book by Emily Henry I tell everyone who will listen that this is her best yet — and Book Lovers is no exception. After the huge success of Beach Read and You and Me on Vacation, the queen of contemporary romance is back with another book filled with loveable characters, sharp, witty dialogue and crackling chemistry. Book Lovers is not only a swoony love story, but an ode to books and the people that love them.

Emily Henry

Nora Stephens is a type A city girl living in New York and working as a literary agent. She can be cold and cutthroat, she hates getting her heels dirty and you just know she would rather die than go camping (relatable). Nora knows that if her life were a romance novel, she wouldn’t be the sweet-tempered and charming love interest, but the bitch ex-girlfriend of the protagonist who gets dumped for being too vain, too unfeeling, or too ruthless. In fact, it’s happened to her four times in her storied romantic history.

When Libby, Nora’s heavily pregnant younger sister, convinces Nora to take a trip with her to Sunshine Falls, Nora jumps at the chance to spend more time with her sister. Libby wants Nora to not only have a break from work, but also for them to have their own small town adventure, filled with bucket list items such as saving a small business and falling in love with a local fisherman/farmhand/lumberjack. If we were following the trope made famous by many a Hallmark movie, Nora would do exactly that — but to her surprise, she keeps running into Charlie Lastra, the brooding book editor from back in the city that she loves to hate. When the two join forces to work on an upcoming release, they realise that not only do they make a good team, but that they might have more in common than they thought.

My favourite romance trope has always been enemies-to-lovers, so going into Book Lovers I had a sneaking suspicion it would be right up my alley, but this book truly knocks it out of the park. There is something so inherently readable and exciting about Emily Henry’s writing, which is part of the reason why she has swiftly become one of my favourite romance authors of all time. Each book she gets better and better, the characters become more real and relatable, and each love story more compelling. The relationship between Nora and Charlie is my favourite by far; I absolutely loved reading about these two characters who are considered cutthroat by the rest of the world but are each other’s perfect complement, and who are able to confide in and take refuge in one another. Their banter is one of the highlights of the novel, with every line of dialogue infused with humour and heart in equal measure, and their chemistry leaps off the page.

Another highlight of Book Lovers is the character of Nora herself, who perfectly subverts the tropes of the genre while buying into them completely. Nora is not a typical romance heroine, but romance fans will easily recognise the trope of the cold city girl falling in love with a kind-hearted small town boy and her heart melting just in time to save Christmas/rescue a failing business/prevent nuclear war/etc. The difference is that Nora stays true to herself for the entire novel, and the person she ends up with is not someone she needs to change herself for. Emily Henry has created a female lead who is unapologetic, career-driven, and materialistic – and Nora is never punished for these traits. She deserves a great love story just as much as anyone else.

Book Lovers is my favourite type of romantic comedy — smart, self-aware, hilarious and bursting with love. Emily Henry is a master of the genre, and manages to both gently mock and unapologetically celebrate what makes romance so great, and what keeps readers coming back again and again. Romance lovers, add this one to your TBR immediately!

—Book Lovers by Emily Henry (Penguin Books Australia) is out now.

Book Lovers

by Emily Henry

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.

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About the Contributor

Hannah Armstrong