Review: Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Emily Henry is one of my favourite authors. She has a real gift for creating wonderful, relatable characters and fabulously funny stories. Book Lovers is her best novel yet.

Nora is a literary agent often compared to a shark. Charlie is an editor with a publishing house and is Nora's Nemesis after he turned down one of Nora's authors who went on to become a bestseller. The bestselling book in question was a feel-good story set in a small town called Sunshine Falls. For a treat, Nora's sister suggests they take a holiday there but it soon becomes apparent that the Sunshine Falls in real life is not remotely like the one in the book. To make matters worse, everywhere Nora goes she bumps into Charlie. What on earth is HE doing in Sunshine Falls? And is Nora's sister being entirely honest about the reason that they're here too...?

In Book Lovers, Emily Henry takes the popular 'Small Town Romance' trope and pays affectionate homage to it. If you've ever watched one of those Hallmark/Netflix movies where the heroine, a confirmed city girl, ends up in a rural town where she meets a handsome farmer/vet/carpenter, you will have fun spotting the references and enjoying the in-jokes. Book Lovers also has an enemies-to-lovers trope (which I love), so there is lots of fabulously funny dialogue between the lead characters. I adored Nora, who is such a refreshing heroine, much misunderstood by everyone, including her own sister, but I LOVED Charlie, who is a complete sweetheart.

Book Lovers is clever, romantic and brilliantly funny. It would suit fans of modern romantic comedy and authors such as Mhairi McFarlane and Beth O'Leary. One of my favourite reads this year. I absolutely loved it!

Thank you to Emily Henry and Viking (Penguin) for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

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Beach Read by Emily Henry 
You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry

Review: The Secret Path by Karen Swan

Karen Swan is one of my favourite authors, so I was thrilled to receive an early copy of this book. 

The Secret Path has two flawed but fascinating main characters. Alex, who admits he is prepared to do anything (no matter how morally reprehensible) if he believes it is the right thing to do, and Tara, who has always found it hard to trust anyone. The start of the story shows how Alex cruelly betrays Tara's trust, leaving her miserable and embittered. Skip forward ten years and Tara has worked hard to create a career for herself as a doctor, away from the influence of her loving family's toxic wealth. When her father invites her to his home in Costa Rica for a special event, her first instinct is to decline. Unwilling to hurt him, she decides to take her friends because she knows they will enjoy the holiday. Once there, the young son of an old friend becomes ill and Tara volunteers to trek through the jungle to find the cure. Unfortunately, the only person available to act as Tara's guide is her old enemy Alex...

I found myself still thinking about this book several days after finishing. I've always enjoyed stories with complicated, flawed characters - you know, the ones who make you yell 'No, I can't believe you did that!' at the book. Alex exists in his own world with his own moral code and hurt Tara so badly that ten years later she still hasn't recovered. When they meet again, to say they have a lot of unresolved issues and tension is an understatement. The descriptions of the jungle (and the wildlife and the insects) are so fabulous you can almost hear the rain dripping from the lush vegetation; you'll certainly be reaching for the mosquito spray.

No one does destination fiction as well as Karen Swan. The jungle setting and lovers-to-enemies trope reminded me of that old film, Romancing the Stone - there is also an action-packed finale. Refreshingly, Tara is not a trust-fund princess and is quite capable of surviving in the jungle on her own. Finding her way through it, however, is a different matter!

The Secret Path is one my of favourite reads this year. Karen Swan's fans will love it, along with anyone who loves destination fiction and a cracking good story.

Thank you to Karen Swan and Pan for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

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The Christmas Party by Karen Swan
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Together by Christmas by Karen Swan 

Review: You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry

Emily Henry is one of my favourite romantic comedy authors. She never fails to deliver. So if you're looking for the perfect Staycation read, this is it!

Poppy and Alex meet on their first day at university and Do Not Get On, but that doesn't matter because they'll never see each other again, right? Wrong! When Poppy's friend manages to blag her a lift back home at the end of the year with someone who lives in the same town, guess who it is? Alex. By the time they reach their home town they've developed a friendship of sorts and agree to go on a summer vacation with each other.

A few years later Alex is a teacher, happy to stay in the dead-end town where they grew up. Poppy, however, cannot wait to travel the world. The blog she writes, detailing her experiences, becomes such a success she's offered a job at a famous travel magazine. Soon she and Alex are taking holidays all around the world at the magazine's expense. Until one summer, she and Alex fall out. For two years they don't even speak until she accidentally texts him, one text leads to another, and they've agreed to go on one last holiday together...

You and Me on Vacation takes familiar romantic tropes like enemies-to-friends and opposites-attract and puts a wholly original and modern spin on them. The laughs come thick and fast, the banter between the characters is whip-smart, and the sexual tension fairly crackles off the page. Poppy is adorable, I loved her eccentric family, and Alex is a complete sweetheart.

Verdict? You and Me on Vacation is completely brilliant, I absolutely loved it and I am sure you will too! One of my favourite reads this year.

You and Me on Vacation will be published in ebook on 11th May 2021 and in paperback on 8th July 2021

Thank you to Emily Henry and Penguin for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Related Post:

Beach Read by Emily Henry