BOOK LOVERS by EMILY HENRY

“How do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Say the right thing.”
“No one thinks that.”
“I do.”
His lashes splay across his cheeks as his gaze drops. “Maybe I just say the right thing for you.”

WOW!!! 5 Fabulous Stars! And just like that, we hit the Emily Henry jackpot once again! We’ve adored every book we’ve read by this author, and with Book Lovers, she’s left us positively giddy, we love every fabulous minute!

In Book Lovers, Emily Henry has perfectly blended the seriousness of grief whilst enveloping it in warmth, peppering it with humour, and wrapping it up in a swoony romance with a small-town atmosphere. Gosh, we loved this book. It gave us those warm and fuzzy ‘book love’ feelings.

‘That’s life. You’re always making decisions, taking paths that lead you away from the rest before you can see where they end. Maybe that’s we, as a species, love stories so much. All those chances for do-overs, opportunities to live the lives we’ll never have.’

Now this is a big call, but… we think Charlie Lastra might be our favourite Emily Henry hero, and that’s saying something, considering how much we loved Gus in Beach Read and Alex in People We Meet on Vacation! Both those heroes were to die for, but Charlie…there’s just something about him – his vulnerability, his protective nature, and his directedness with Nora. It all boiled down to one fabulous hero!

“I’ve got you, Nora,” he promises quietly. “I’ve got you, okay?”

There was so much to Book Lovers – the wonderfully swoony romance, the ode to New York (which had us wanting to jet off there immediately!), the importance of family, the pain of grief, and of course the wonderfully quirky characters, all moulded together with the relationship between Nora and her younger sister Libby being the icing on the book cake. The sister’s relationship was so beautifully crafted, and how can we not mention the witty banter, cheeky one-liners, heart-warming moments, and intense chemistry that is synonymous with an Emily Henry read! We ADORED this book!

‘That is what I’m looking for every time I flip to the back of a book, compulsively checking for proof that in a life where so many things have gone wrong, there can be beauty too. That there is always hope, no matter what.’

Nora Stephens has always cared for and nurtured her younger sister Libby before and since their Mum’s passing some ten years ago. Both sisters have unresolved grief that is explored so poignantly throughout Book Lovers. To appease her sister Libby, Nora agrees to spend a month with her to tick off some ‘bucket list’ items Libby feels the workaholic and unlucky in love Nora desperately needs to experience. Libby doesn’t normally reach out to Nora in this way and considering it will mean a month away from her husband and two daughters, she figures the pregnant Libby needs a break.

Libby is obsessed with a small-town romance series, of which the author is one of agent Nora’s clients. Libby wants Nora to experience small-town living – in a way, to bring a small-town romance to life, but New York loving Nora agrees with some hesitancy – being away from New York and her work is frightening. Not to mention she is handholding her client through the new breakaway book, Frenzy.

But Libby’s needs win out. So, it’s off to Sunshine Falls for the sisters. And so, the journey begins! What Nora didn’t expect was to run into her New York nemesis, Editor Charles Lastra. The chemistry between them has always sizzled, but their sharp barbs and intense last meeting are seared in Nora’s brain.

Why is he here in Sunshine Falls and how can she avoid him? Does she even want to? What is Libby’s real reason for wanting some alone time? The overthinking Nora deduces all manner of scenarios, and we witness all the crazy, sad, and painful monologues Nora delivers.

“I think you’re one of the least disappointing people I’ve ever met.”

This book really hit the spot. Nora was such a unique heroine – very direct, no-nonsense, and the more we came to know how she ticked the more in love with her we fell. Book Lovers is a book for all of us book lovers. Emily Henry really hits the spot with all that we crave in this genre. She gets us, and we LOVE IT!