Book Club July 2022- Book Lovers
By: Emily Henry
Published Year: 2022
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 377
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): 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.
What I thought
This book was such a delight. This is the first of Henry’s adult novels that I’ve read. I loved her YA novel, The Love that Split the World, so I shouldn’t be surprised I enjoyed this one, but I was worried the hype around her adult novels would let me down.
Nora Stephens is a book agent who has been ditched by her last 3 boyfriends for the classic romance novel trope of finding love in a small town. Her sister decides that they should have their own small town experience, so they go to spend a month in Sunshine Falls. While in town, she meets her rival editor, Charles Lastra. Though maybe nothing is as it seems and that includes first impressions.
I love that this book acknowledged and even played off of so many romance novel tropes. I really enjoy books and heroines that are self-aware that that fit this story to a T. The chemistry between Nora and Charlie was off the charts. Their banter worked so well and I loved every scene they had together.
I also liked that this book was more than just the romance. The story of sisterhood and their relationship in addition to dealing with the trauma of losing their mother at a young age was so well done. There were so many layers to this story and I think that’s what Henry does best. Nothing is just surface level within this book which keeps it intriguing, yet it also balances the lightness to make this a great summer read.
This book sucked me in from the first page and I enjoyed it all the way to the end. I honestly don’t think I could have anything about this book to complain about.
What Book Club Thought
Everybody really enjoyed it! Three of us have never read any oh Henry’s adult novels and interestingly, the one who has, preferred The People We Meet on Vacation to this one. We all agreed that we loved Nora and especially enjoyed her banter with Charlie. However, we did have an interesting discussion about her sister Libby and some of the choices she made. All in all, it was a delightful summer read. It may not have sparked a bunch of discussion, but it was enjoyable and we liked answering the questions that were in the back of the book. I highly recommend this one and I look forward to reading Henry’s other books.