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Book Lovers Paperback – May 3, 2022

by Emily Henry (Author)

99,809 ratings

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An insightful, delightful, instant #1 New York Times bestseller from the author of Funny Story.

“One of my favorite authors.”—Colleen Hoover

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.

From the Publisher

"Some books you don't read so much as live."

	Funny Story	Happy Place	People We Meet on Vacation	Beach Read

Price	$14.37	$12.18	$8.80	$9.33
More from Emily Henry	First they were heartbroken strangers. Then they were roommates. Now, their summer adventures could lead to something more… It’s a funny story.	From the perfect couple to exes, they're now pretending to be together for one last vacation with their best friends. Faking it for one week can’t be that hard, right?	Every summer for a decade, Poppy and Alex took a week-long vacation together. Can one more trip mend their broken friendship and maybe lead to something more?	Two polar opposite authors, one summer, a genre swap challenge. They'll finish their books and definitely won't fall in love...

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[Book Lovers] is multilayered and the characters' familial challenges are complex. . . . [T]his novel delivers an insightful comedic meditation on love, family and going your own way."—NPR

“[Emily Henry] is a master at witty repartee."—Associated Press

“It is humanly impossible for Emily Henry to write a bad book. . . . Whatever Henry decides to spear, be it literary posturing or vacation rom-com, she subverts her subjects in the most delicious ways."—Entertainment Weekly

“Book Lovers is a treat from start to finish, flipping the conventional small-town love story trope on its head.”—USA Today

“One of my favorite authors.”—Colleen Hoover, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Book Lovers is a rom-com lover's dream of a book. . . . Readers know that Emily Henry never fails to deliver great banter and a romance to swoon over but this may just be her best yet.”—Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Malibu Rising

“Book Lovers is sexy, funny, and smart. Another perfectly satisfying read from the unstoppable Emily Henry.”—Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of All Adults Here

"Emily Henry's books are a gift, the perfect balance between steamy and sweet. The prose is effortless, the characters charming. The only downside is reaching the end."—V.E. Schwab, New York Times bestselling author The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

"Charming, earnest, and clever, Book Lovers is Schitt's Creek for book nerds. A total delight . . . Nobody does it quite like Emily Henry.”—Casey McQuiston, New York Times bestselling author of One Last Stop

"I could not devour Book Lovers fast enough. Emily Henry is pure delight. I’m utterly enchanted by her wry, self-aware sense of humor, the relish that she brings to every cleverly crafted sentence, and her irrepressible love for love.”—Katherine Center, New York Times bestselling author of Things You Save in a Fire and How to Walk Away

“Emily Henry writes romantic comedy with such sass and humour, she has that gift for making you laugh and cry within the space of a few sentences. . . . Her characters fizz like good champagne, they leap off the page and into your heart."—Josie Silver, New York Times bestselling author of One Night on the Island

“Magical, delightful, and utterly one of a kind: Emily Henry's writing is a gift to the world."—Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis

“Heartfelt, funny, and full of joy.”—Tia Williams, New York Times bestselling author of Seven Days in June

“I loved every page, every line. It's so smart, so funny and so sexy.”— Beth O’Leary, international bestselling author of The No-Show

“[A] fun and flirty romance.”—Cosmopolitan

“Book Lovers uses classic romance tropes with purpose and intention . . . a smart, charming and dazzling book.”—Shelf Awareness

About the Author

Emily Henry is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Great Big Beautiful Life, Funny Story, Happy Place, Book Lovers, People We Meet on Vacation, and Beach Read. She studied creative writing at Hope College, and now spends most of her time in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the part of Kentucky just beneath it. Find her on Instagram @emilyhenrywrites.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

PROLOGUE

When books are your life—or in my case, your job— you get pretty good at guessing where a story is going. The tropes, the archetypes, the common plot twists all start to organize themselves into a catalogue inside your brain, divided by category and genre.

The husband is the killer.

The nerd gets a makeover, and without her glasses, she’s smoking hot.

The guy gets the girl—or the other girl does.

Someone explains a complicated scientific concept, and someone else says, “Um, in English, please?”

The details may change from book to book, but there’s nothing truly new under the sun.

Take, for example, the small-town love story.

The kind where a cynical hotshot from New York or Los Angeles gets shipped off to Smalltown, USA—to, like, run a family-owned Christmas tree farm out of business to make room for a soulless corporation.

But while said City Person is in town, things don’t go to plan. Because, of course, the Christmas tree farm—or bakery, or whatever the hero’s been sent to destroy—is owned and operated by someone ridiculously attractive and suitably available for wooing.

Back in the city, the lead has a romantic partner. Someone ruthless who encourages him to do what he’s set out to do and ruin some lives in exchange for that big promotion. He fields calls from her, during which she interrupts him, barking heartless advice from the seat of her Peloton bike.

You can tell she’s evil because her hair is an unnatural blond, slicked back à la Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, and also, she hates Christmas decorations.

As the hero spends more time with the charming baker/seamstress/tree farm . . . person, things change for him. He learns the true meaning of life!

He returns home, transformed by the love of a good woman. There he asks his ice-queen girlfriend to take a walk with him. She gapes, says something like, In these Manolos?

It will be fun, he tells her. On the walk, he might ask her to look up at the stars.

She snaps, You know I can’t look up right now! I just got Botox!

And then he realizes: he can’t go back to his old life. He doesn’t want to! He ends his cold, unsatisfying relationship and proposes to his new sweetheart. (Who needs dating?)

At this point, you find yourself screaming at the book, You don’t even know her! What’s her middle name, bitch? From across the room, your sister, Libby, hushes you, throws popcorn at your head without lifting her gaze from her own crinkly-covered library book.

And that’s why I’m running late to this lunch meeting.

Because that’s my life. The trope that governs my days. The archetype over which my details are superimposed.

I’m the city person. Not the one who meets the hot farmer. The other one.

The uptight, manicured literary agent, reading manuscripts from atop her Peloton while a serene beach scene screen saver drifts, unnoticed, across her computer screen.

I’m the one who gets dumped.

I’ve read this story, and lived it, enough to know it’s happening again right now, as I’m weaving through late-afternoon foot traffic in Midtown, my phone clutched to my ear.

He hasn’t said it yet, but the hairs on the back of my neck are rising, the pit opening in my stomach as he maneuvers the conversation toward a cartoon-style drop off a cliff.

Grant was only supposed to be in Texas for two weeks, just long enough to help close a deal between his company and the boutique hotel they were trying to acquire outside San Antonio. Having already experienced two post–work trip breakups, I reacted to the news of his trip as if he’d announced he’d joined the navy and was shipping out in the morning.

Libby tried to convince me I was overreacting, but I wasn’t surprised when Grant missed our nightly phone call three times in a row, or when he cut two others short. I knew how this ended.

And then, three days ago, hours before his return flight, it happened.

A force majeure intervened to keep him in San Antonio longer than planned. His appendix burst.

Theoretically, I could’ve booked a flight right then, met him at the hospital. But I was in the middle of a huge sale and needed to be glued to my phone with stable Wi-Fi access. My client was counting on me. This was a life-changing chance for her. And besides, Grant pointed out that an appendectomy was a routine procedure. His exact words were “no big deal.”

So I stayed, and deep down, I knew I was releasing Grant to the small-town-romance-novel gods to do with what they do best.

Now, three days later, as I’m practically sprinting to lunch in my Good Luck heels, my knuckles white against my phone, the reverberation of the nail in my relationship’s coffin rattles through me in the form of Grant’s voice.

“Say that again.” I mean to say it as a question. It comes out as an order.

Grant sighs. “I’m not coming back, Nora. Things have changed for me this past week.” He chuckles. “I’ve changed.”

A thud goes through my cold, city-person heart. “Is she a baker?” I ask.

He’s silent for a beat. “What?”

“Is she a baker?” I say, like that’s a perfectly reasonable first question to ask when your boyfriend dumps you over the phone. “The woman you’re leaving me for.”

After a brief silence, he gives in: “She’s the daughter of the couple who own the hotel. They’ve decided not to sell. I’m going to stay on, help them run it.”

I can’t help it: I laugh. That’s always been my reaction to bad news. It’s probably how I won the role of Evil Villainess in my own life, but what else am I supposed to do? Melt into a crying puddle on this packed sidewalk? What good would that do?

I stop outside the restaurant and gently knead at my eyes. “So, to be clear,” I say, “you’re giving up your amazing job, your amazing apartment, and me, and you’re moving to Texas. To be with someone whose career can best be described as the daughter of the couple who own the hotel?”

“There’s more important things in life than money and a fancy career, Nora,” he spits.

I laugh again. “I can’t tell if you think you’re being serious.”

Grant is the son of a billionaire hotel mogul. “Raised with a silver spoon” doesn’t even begin to cover it. He probably had gold-leaf toilet paper.

For Grant, college was a formality. Internships were a formality. Hell, wearing pants was a formality! He got his job through sheer nepotism.

Which is precisely what makes his last comment so rich, both figuratively and literally.

I must say this last part aloud, because he demands, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

I peer through the window of the restaurant, then check the time on my phone. I’m late—I’m never late. Not the first impression I was aiming for.

“Grant, you’re a thirty-four-year-old heir. For most of us, our jobs are tied directly to our ability to eat.”

“See?” he says. “This is the kind of worldview I’m done with. You can be so cold sometimes, Nora. Chastity and I want to—”

It’s not intentional—I’m not trying to be cutting—when I cackle out her name. It’s just that, when hilariously bad things happen, I leave my body. I watch them happen from outside myself and think, Really? This is what the universe has chosen to do? A bit on the nose, isn’t it?

In this case, it’s chosen to guide my boyfriend into the arms of a woman named after the ability to keep a hymen intact. I mean, it is funny.

He huffs on the other end of the line. “These people are good people, Nora. They’re salt of the earth. That’s the kind of person I want to be. Look, Nora, don’t act upset—”

“Who’s acting?”

“You’ve never needed me—”

“Of course I don’t!” I’ve worked hard to build a life that’s my own, that no one else could pull a plug on to send me swirling down a cosmic drain.

“You’ve never even stayed over at my place—” he says.

“My mattress is objectively better!” I researched it for nine and a half months before buying it. Of course, that’s also pretty much how I date, and still, I end up here.

“—so don’t pretend you’re heartbroken,” Grant says. “I’m not sure you’re even capable of being heartbroken.”

Again, I have to laugh.

Because on this, he’s wrong. It’s just that once you’ve had your heart truly shattered, a phone call like this is nothing. A heart-twinge, maybe a murmur. Certainly not a break.

Grant’s on a roll now: “I’ve never even seen you cry.”

You’re welcome, I consider saying. How many times had Mom told us, laughing through her tears, that her latest beau had told her she was too emotional?

That’s the thing about women. There’s no good way to be one. Wear your emotions on your sleeve and you’re hysterical. Keep them tucked away where your boyfriend doesn’t have to tend to them and you’re a heartless bitch.

“I’ve got to go, Grant,” I say.

“Of course you do,” he replies.

Apparently my following through with prior commitments is just more proof that I am a frigid, evil robot who sleeps in a bed of hundred-dollar bills and raw diamonds. (If only.)

I hang up without a goodbye and tuck myself beneath the restaurant’s awning. As I take a steadying breath, I wait to see if the tears will come. They don’t. They never do. I’m okay with that.

I have a job to do, and unlike Grant, I’m going to do it, for myself and everyone else at Nguyen Literary Agency.

I smooth my hair, square my shoulders, and head inside, the blast of air-conditioning scrubbing goose bumps over my arms.

It’s late in the day for lunch, so the crowd is thin, and I spot Charlie Lastra near the back, dressed in all black like publishing’s own metropolitan vampire.

We’ve never met in person, but I double-checked the Publishers Weekly announcement about his promotion to executive editor at Wharton House Books and committed his photograph to memory: the stern, dark brows; the light brown eyes; the slight crease in his chin beneath his full lips. He has the kind of dark mole on one cheek that, if he were a woman, would definitely be considered a beauty mark.

He can’t be much past his midthirties, with the kind of face you might describe as boyish, if not for how tired he looks and the gray that thoroughly peppers his black hair.

Also, he’s scowling. Or pouting. His mouth is pouting. His forehead is scowling. Powling.

He glances at his watch.

Not a good sign. Right before I left the office, my boss, Amy, warned me Charlie is famously testy, but I wasn’t worried. I’m always punctual.

Except when I’m getting dumped over the phone. Then I’m six and a half minutes late, apparently.

“Hi!” I stick out my palm to shake his as I approach. “Nora Stephens. So nice to meet you in person, finally.”

He stands, his chair scraping over the floor. His black clothes, dark features, and general demeanor have the approximate effect on the room of a black hole, sucking all the light out of it and swallowing it entirely.

Most people wear black as a form of lazy professionalism, but he makes it look like a capital-c Choice, the combination of his relaxed merino sweater, trousers, and brogues giving him the air of a celebrity caught on the street by a paparazzo. I catch myself calculating how many American dollars he’s wearing. Libby calls it my “disturbing middle-class party trick,” but really it’s just that I love pretty things and often online window-shop to self-soothe after a stressful day.

I’d put Charlie’s outfit at somewhere between eight hundred and a thousand. Right in the range of mine, frankly, though everything I’m wearing except my shoes was purchased secondhand.

He examines my outstretched palm for two long seconds before shaking it. “You’re late.” He sits without bothering to meet my gaze.

Is there anything worse than a man who thinks he’s above the laws of the social contract just because he was born with a decent face and a fat wallet? Grant has burned through my daily tolerance for self-important asshats. Still, I have to play this game, for my authors’ sakes.

“I know,” I say, beaming apologetically but not actually apologizing. “Thank you for waiting for me. My train got stopped on the tracks. You know how it is.”

His eyes lift to mine. They look darker now, so dark I’m not sure there are irises around those pupils. His expression says he does not know how it is, re: trains stopping on the tracks for reasons both grisly and mundane.

Probably, he doesn’t take the subway.

Probably, he goes everywhere in a shiny black limo, or a Gothic carriage pulled by a team of Clydesdales.

I shuck off my blazer (herringbone, Isabel Marant) and take the seat across from him. “Have you ordered?”

“No,” he says. Nothing else.

My hopes sink lower.

We’d scheduled this get-to-know-you lunch weeks ago. But last Friday, I’d sent him a new manuscript from one of my oldest clients, Dusty Fielding. Now I’m second-guessing whether I could subject one of my authors to this man.

I pick up my menu. “They have a goat cheese salad that’s phenomenal.”

Charlie closes his menu and regards me. “Before we go any further,” he says, thick black brows furrowing, his voice low and innately hoarse, “I should just tell you, I found Fielding’s new book unreadable.”

My jaw drops. I’m not sure what to say. For one thing, I hadn’t planned on bringing the book up. If Charlie wanted to reject it, he could’ve just done so in an email. And without using the word unreadable.

But even aside from that, any decent person would at least wait until there was some bread on the table before throwing out insults.

I close my own menu and fold my hands on the table. “I think it’s her best yet.”

Dusty’s already published three others, each of them fantastic, though none sold well. Her last publisher wasn’t willing to take another chance on her, so she’s back in the water, looking for a new home for her next novel.

And okay, maybe it’s not my favorite of hers, but it has immense commercial appeal. With the right editor, I know what this book can be.

Charlie sits back, the heavy, discerning quality of his gaze sending a prickling down my backbone. It feels like he’s looking right through me, past the shiny politeness to the jagged edges underneath. His look says, Wipe that frozen smile off your face. You’re not that nice.

He turns his water glass in place. “Her best is The Glory of Small Things,” he says, like three seconds of eye contact was enough to read my innermost thoughts and he knows he’s speaking for both of us.

Frankly, Glory was one of my favorite books in the last decade, but that doesn’t make this one chopped liver.

I say, “This book is every bit as good. It’s just different—less subdued, maybe, but that gives it a cinematic edge.”

“Less subdued?” Charlie squints. At least the golden brown has seeped back into his eyes so I feel less like they’re going to burn holes in me. “That’s like saying Charles Manson was a lifestyle guru. It might be true, but it’s hardly the point. This book feels like someone watched that Sarah McLachlan commercial for animal cruelty prevention and thought, But what if all the puppies died on camera?”

An irritable laugh lurches out of me. “Fine. It’s not your cup of tea. But maybe it would be helpful,” I fume, “if you told me what you liked about the book. Then I know what to send you in the future.”

Liar, my brain says. You’re not sending him more books.

Liar, Charlie’s unsettling, owlish eyes say. You’re not sending me more books.

This lunch—this potential working relationship—is dead in the water.

Charlie doesn’t want to work with me, and I don’t want to work with him, but I guess he hasn’t entirely abandoned the social contract, because he considers my question.

“It’s overly sentimental for my taste,” he says eventually. “And the cast is caricatured—”

“Quirky,” I disagree. “We could scale them back, but it’s a large cast—their quirks help distinguish them.”

“And the setting—”

“What’s wrong with the setting?” The setting in Once in a Lifetime sells the whole book. “Sunshine Falls is charming.”

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 3, 2022
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593334833
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593334836
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1.08 x 8.22 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #920 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #23 in Contemporary Women Fiction
- #33 in Romantic Comedy (Books)
- #87 in Contemporary Romance (Books)

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Emily Henry

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Emily Henry is the #1 New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Happy Place, Book Lovers, People We Meet on Vacation, and Beach Read. She studied creative writing at Hope College, and now spends most of her time in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the part of Kentucky just beneath it. Find her on Instagram @EmilyHenryWrites.

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Customers say

Customers find this book to be a fun summer read with great banter and interesting plot twists. They appreciate the character development, particularly how it reveals hidden depths and the chemistry between characters, while the writing style is described as an easy, cute read. Customers describe the book as heartwarming, with one review noting how it captures the exhilarating ups and downs of life's journey, and they find it meaningful and clever.

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Readability Romance Character development Writing quality Plot Heartwarming Charm Interest

830 customers mention "Readability"822 positive8 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable and entertaining, describing it as a great summer read with great banter.

"...Great balance of profound and funny! The tackling of what to do when life pulls you in every direction is really interesting...." Read more

"...Book Lovers is a fun, heartfelt read that I’d definitely pick up again!" Read more

"...I bow to the queen of witty and captivating contemporary romance books, I will read your grocery list, your..." Read more

"...Great characters, a bit over the top in the scenarios, but a fun read." Read more

462 customers mention "Romance"428 positive34 negative

Customers enjoy the romance in this book, describing it as a sweet and heartfelt story that leaves them breathless at times, particularly appreciating the relationship between Nora and Charlie.

"...This is a book about sisterhood, romance, family, love and loss...." Read more

"...Such a great story. I loved Nora and Charlie’s story, but I also loved her relationship with her sister...." Read more

"...the power of literature but also explores the themes of friendship, family, and the resilience of the human spirit...." Read more

"This was a fun and completing story to read. I found it to be romantic and clever with a few interesting plot twists. I recommend reading it...." Read more

328 customers mention "Character development"313 positive15 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, noting how it reveals hidden depths and allows them to grow throughout the story.

"...The humor, story line, characters, the works. My first Emily Henry book but definitely not my last" Read more

"A book about book tropes. Great characters, a bit over the top in the scenarios, but a fun read." Read more

"Loved the characters Couldn’t put down once I got started Sorry the story was over Need a sequel Ha Ha" Read more

"...The dialogue is razor-sharp...so witty, so funny, so engaging. I loved the characters, their back stories, motivations...." Read more

303 customers mention "Writing quality"272 positive31 negative

Customers enjoy the writing style of the book, describing it as an easy and cute read, with one customer noting the author's skillful use of conversational text.

"...Overall this was a lighthearted, easy read with a very satisfying ending and amazing writing. A very enjoyable, must-read release of 2022👏🏼💕..." Read more

"...It was well written and I read it in one day. Bravo!" Read more

"This book was very cute and heartwarming. It was light and full of humor. Nora and Charlie are absolutely adorable...." Read more

"Loved this book. Feel good book. Easy read. First review I’ve ever written. I definitely recommend reading this book. ❤️" Read more

270 customers mention "Plot"213 positive57 negative

Customers enjoy the plot of the book, finding it engaging with just enough interesting elements, and one customer particularly appreciates the big sister/little sister dynamics.

"...It's fun, it's predictable, and I really enjoyed it." Read more

"...There's sn actual, engrossing, storyline." Read more

"This romantic comedy is quirky, the banter is fabulous, and the characters are even better...." Read more

"Seems like it will be quite predictable, but there are twists and turns that keep it interesting." Read more

160 customers mention "Heartwarming"156 positive4 negative

Customers find the book heartwarming, with many noting its emotional depth and ability to make them cry, while one customer specifically mentions its honest portrayal of grief.

"...It's hilarious and fun and sexy and sad. All the feels, perfectly human and mostly relatable. If I wasn't a Henry fan before, it's a sealed deal now!..." Read more

"...I laughed, I cried, I highlighted in every chapter. I devoured this book and know I’ll come back to read again!" Read more

"This book was very cute and heartwarming. It was light and full of humor. Nora and Charlie are absolutely adorable...." Read more

"...As a self-proclaimed bookworm, I found myself swept away by this heartfelt and enchanting tale from start to finish...." Read more

158 customers mention "Charm"153 positive5 negative

Customers find the book charming, describing it as lovely and sweet, with one customer particularly appreciating its cute Hallmark setting.

"...Although Nora and Charlie’s romance is unique, sweet, and slow-burny, with sooo much witty banter, my favorite relationship in this story was that..." Read more

"...-weaver and because of the way she spun this tale Nora is funny, even charming while never changing those typically "unlikeable" traits...." Read more

"...Where to start? I loved Nora and Charlie's banter. It was cute, funny, and witty...." Read more

"Sweet, loved seeing a controlling older sister perspective. All the characters are amazing and sad to say goodbye to them." Read more

149 customers mention "Interest"144 positive5 negative

Customers find the book interesting and meaningful, appreciating its cleverness, with one customer particularly noting its novel approach to a common trope and another highlighting its great message about crafting a life.

"...Nora “the shark” is so sharp and clever but also funny, caring and honest. Her sister is a ray of sunshine...." Read more

"...I admit; I'm a sucker for a romance where the banter is quick-witted, smart, catchy...." Read more

"...She appears cold and callous, but really she’s an incredibly driven, intelligent, caring person, and because she’s a woman people don’t like her..." Read more

"...They felt fleshed out and interesting, like people I wanted to really know, and the chemistry between the two mains was PALPABLE in a way I haven't..." Read more

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Sowmya
Perfection just like expected!
Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2022
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

"Maybe love shouldn't be built on a foundation of compromises, but maybe it can't exist without them either.Not the kind that forces two people into shapes they don't fit in, but the kind that loosens their grips, always leaves room to grow.Compromises that say, there will be a you-shaped space in my heart, and if your shape changes, I will adapt
No matter where we go, our love will stretch out to hold us, and that makes me feel like...like everything will be okay"

I don't even know where to start with this book! but let me just say two things-
1)I bow to the queen of witty and captivating contemporary romance books, I will read your grocery list, your 3yr old to-do list or a detailed recipe on how to broil Asparagus to perfection.I will read anything and everything you shall write.
2)Emily Henry's books are truly soul food, they penetrate deep inside your skin and settle down in your soul

ALL THE STARS IN THE SKY!
_________________________________

Book Lovers is one of my most anticipated releases this year, after being moved by Beach Read and how PWMOV spoke to me, I thought I am ready for her new book, ehh naah I wasn’t prepared for the onslaught-she blew it out of the park once again with this charming blue book which is filled with larger than life emotions. Emily Henry has the knack to cater a book for a wide set of audience but somehow can make it personal to each and everyone of her readers, I believe everyone has something or the other within themselves that they can relate to her books with.

Book Lovers felt like a witty, heartfelt love letter to life filled with hard to talk about emotions, day to day relationship struggles, familial bonds and deeply rooted anxiety that can stem out of loss and grief. There were moments I laughed so much that my insides were in stitches and then there were endearing moments that made me heart ache with joy, this once again is a very quotable book like her other books.

It follows Nora, a literary agent who is a city girl through and through and holds life by it reigns trying to have everything under control. Nora's character is a personification of a strong woman who wants everything and has the capability to take it,but what lies under that brave facade goes deeper than she could ever anticipate, her life revolves around her younger sister Libby to whom she is more of a mother than a sister. Nora's fear of losing makes her overprotective at times so when Libby and Nora feel like they are drifting apart, they decide to go on a vacation to spend time together, a lot of things boils to the surface during their time in a small quaint town in North Carolina, which Nora will have to tackle head on. Nora's character will be quite relatable to people who have hard time sorting their emotions and talking about them, I absolutely adored her character growth

Nora and Libby's struggles and sibling rivalry is true to real life and complex because of the way they grew up and varying perspectives they have on life, I love how their relationship wasn't turned into something hurtful or ugly. It was authentic and refreshing how their characters develop and how their love for each other changes them into better people, if you have a sister yourself I dare you not to cry while you read their beautiful relationship

The unexpected twist Nora's doesn't anticipate while going on this "trip of a lifetime" is having to see the ever charming albeit snarky Charlie Lastra, her work nemesis which later ensues a fiery banter and sizzling chemistry between these two true enemies.Nora and Charlie's banter is a chef's kiss, they have so many witty word volley's that will make you guffaw and make you forget that you are reading, my heart is so full while I read the precious moments between them.I also had to say this is probably the "spiciest" of all Emily Henry books could go on spice level with few open door scenes. Here is one of my favorite quote-

"Be my shark Stephens". "Already was",I say. "Always have been".
"I love you", he says again.
"I love you too". I don't have to force it past a knot or through the vise of a tight throat.Its simply the truth, and it breathes out of me, a wisp of smoke, a sigh, another floating blossom on a current carrying billions of them.
"I know",he says. "I can read you like a book".

What to expect
-Heartfelt belly laughs as a result of witty/hilarious writing
-A story of two siblings that tugs at your heart strings
-A strong woman's love letter to life in NYC
- Endearing moments that will make your soul content
-A beautiful love story between two characters who can be easily misunderstood
- Deep discussions on big foot erotica ;)

Do yourself a favor and get lost in this book!

PS- That epilogue tho…

TW- Anxiety, Death of a parent, grief

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Ashley Nicole
She’s Done it Again, Another Great Read
Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
I’ve yet to meet an Emily Henry book I didn’t like, and while this one wasn’t my absolute favorite of hers, I still really enjoyed it! I love that Emily Henry writes about couples in their 30’s and makes the relationships believable.

This was ultimately a really cute book that took on a lot of the hallmark-esq movie tropes. The small town setting was very cute, and I also loved reading all the descriptions of New York; I’m now torn between wanting to move to a small cutesy town, or moving to NYC.

Charlie and Nora’s banter was very fun. I liked that we got to kinda explore what happens to the big city, workaholic character from hallmark movies and see them have their happy ending. While Charlie and Nora were a cute couple, I found myself being more investing in Nora and Libby’s relationship as sisters. Their sister relationship reminded me of my sister and I, and I just wanted to go give my sister a hug after reading this one.

All in all, another enjoyable read from Emily Henry, and I would recommend this one, especially if you love small town romance and hallmark movie tropes.

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Finds and Faves
So much more than just a romance novel
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2023
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
500/5 stars! I loved this book SO much. I went in expecting a fun enemies to lovers rom-com, but knowing it was an Emily Henry novel, I should have known it would be so much more than that. It’s a story about love and loss, and the way those things can shape who you are and who you choose to become. I laughed a lot, and I also cried. It really pulled out a lot of emotions for me!

I don’t want to give away much about the plot because it’s so poignant and nuances that I don’t think I could do it justice. What I will say is that I laughed out loud SEVERAL times! The banter between Nora and Charlie was so perfect, and was totally my sense of humor. The tension between them lit up the page, and I was dying for them to let down their walls and really SEE each other. When it finally happened? Perfection.

Book Lovers is also set in the book industry, which I loved. Nora is a literary agent, and Charlie is an editor, so reading the discussions they had about publishing, editing, references to tropes, and working on books was really cool.

I really enjoyed the fact that Nora was portrayed as a career woman who focused on her career to the detriment of her personal relationships. It’s not something you usually see in romance books - these women are often made out to be the villain. It was an interesting change of pace and we really got to learn who Nora was at her core as the story progressed.

Last but not least, I loved that we really got to see Charlie and Nora’s feeling for each other change. I’m so many romance books the discussions about life and about getting to know each other are skipped in favor of spicy scenes (which I have no problem with) but while they do a great job at displaying the chemistry between characters, the reader doesn’t always see what ELSE drives the relationship. We are often told how connected they are, but those conversations take place off page so frequently that it was really nice to read so many actual conversations about real life things between them. It made their relationship feel believable and realistic.

All in all, I recommend this book to pretty much anyone. While it is a romance, as I mentioned before, it’s so much more. It deals with grief, family, feelings of loneliness and not belonging, and how people cope with those things, in addition to being a love story. Definitely a new favorite for me!

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N. Castrellon
unexpectedly perfect
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2025
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
This was not at all what I expected in the best way possible. I loved these characters so much. It honestly all unfolded beautifully and artfully. The witty and hilarious banter between Nora and Charlie was so fun. The complicated sister relationship was relatable and honest. The way the author writes about grief and almost-lives and wants and needs. Ugh it really wrenched my heart out of my chest like in a weird Alien-way that is as cool as it is gory. No notes.

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Gabriela
Hab’s geliebt
Reviewed in Germany on July 8, 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Perfekte Sommerlektüre 🥰🔝

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Gabriela Graciosa Guedes
will she ever write a book that isn't absolutely amazing?
Reviewed in Brazil on September 6, 2022
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
5 ⭐️ | 📖 book lovers

if she were in a Hallmark movie, Nora would be the ex left behind while the lead goes to a small town and falls in love with a local. she knows that. it has literally happened to her. more than once.

when her sister, Libby, decides that they too deserve to have their own small-town-life-altering experience, Nora finds herself spending a whole month in the city that inspired a bestselling book from the author that skyrocketed her career as an agent.

what she didn’t expect was to find her nemesis, editor Charlie Lastra, running the local bookshop. while she tries to keep her distance, she realizes this might not be as easy in a small town as it’d be in NY.

I went into this book not knowing much. and I thought, I truly thought, maybe I wouldn’t love it as much as Emily’s previous books. I don’t have much in common with Nora. I didn’t think I’d be able to relate to her. I went as far as to convince myself that it’d be okay if I didn’t love it.

well, I should’ve known better. even if I had hated Nora, which I obviously didn’t, I’d still have loved the book. simply because of Emily’s writing. what she does with words… it feels like magic. the kind of magic people hunt grimoires down to try to replicate, but it just never comes out the same. there’s a secret recipe that belongs only to her.

she has the ability to put feelings into words, and I know this sounds like a basic skill a writer should have, but that’s not what I mean. I just can’t quite explain it. like, in pwmov, when she gave the best definition of “saudade” I’ve ever come across, and she doesn’t even speak Portuguese.

i’m gonna leave her own words here, because it’s the best way I can explain how reading her books feel:

“This book has crushed me with its weight and dazzled me with its tiny bright spots. Some books you don’t read so much as live, and finishing one of those always makes me think of ascending from a scuba dive. Like if I surface too fast I might get the bends.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️❤️
🌶🌶

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Manesh Kumar
Good book
Reviewed in the Netherlands on December 9, 2024
Verified Purchase
Good book

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Emily
There are no words
Reviewed in Australia on June 21, 2022
Verified Purchase
This book was magic from the first sentence to the last, full of witty banter and dialogue and so much incredible understanding and emotion. I rarely cry in a book and even rarer still—happy tears, but I finished this book and sobbed. It is utter perfection, I instantly want to start again and absorb all of it again in case I missed something. (I literally hard to force myself to put this down and eat I was so engrossed) I truly loved the emphasis and depiction of the bond two sisters share and the absolute love and understanding the men in this book showed for that.

Emily Henry has written such beautifully flawed and real characters that make you wish you could crawl inside the book and get to know them forever, Charlie was so real which I find rare in a romance book. So often male characters are written to perfection in such unrealistic standards, but Charlie’s characteristics are what any of us can find in a decent partner who just wants to see us thrive and love us despite the flaws we see in ourselves.
I especially loved Nora and watching her grow and adjust her outlook on life whilst still staying so true to herself and who she was.

This book is going straight to the top of my list of favourite books ever, there truely was not a single thing I did not like, Nora was strong and independent and such a great example of a female lead in literature, this book felt inspiring.

Thank you Emily Henry for writing this, I’m happier in this world for reading it.

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Stacey
This has my heart!!
Reviewed in Canada on August 20, 2024
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Phenomenal. I loved this book so much. Absolutely binged this book in one sitting, captivated.

✨ “Until you got here all this place has ever been was a reminder of the ways I was a disappointment, and now you’re here — I don’t know. I feel like I’m okay. So if you’re the ‘wrong type of woman’ then I’m the wrong kind of man.” - Charlie

✔️ enemies to lovers
✔️ city to small town
✔️ top tier banter
✔️ chemistry
✔️ beautifully crafted characters

Literary agent Nora Stephens loves her career, but she loves her sister more. After their mothers’s passing, Nora has always put Libby first. So, when Libby begs for a trip to small town Sunshine Falls, the location of one of Nora’s authors best selling book, reluctantly agrees. Libby is armed with a checklist, a step by step guide on how to become the main character in their own stories. Enter Charlie, a New York book editor and Nora’s rival, who has moved to his hometown to look after his father and the family bookstore.

As one of Nora’s authors brings them to work together, their hateful banter turns into something more, with a sprinkling of sexual tension. Nora and Charlie slowly work through their fears that stop them from living their lives to the fullest and to start writing their own future together.

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One of the best books I have ever read in my entire life

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfection just like expected!

4.0 out of 5 stars She’s Done it Again, Another Great Read

5.0 out of 5 stars So much more than just a romance novel

5.0 out of 5 stars unexpectedly perfect

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars Hab’s geliebt

5.0 out of 5 stars will she ever write a book that isn't absolutely amazing?

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book

5.0 out of 5 stars There are no words

5.0 out of 5 stars This has my heart!!

Perfection just like expected!

She’s Done it Again, Another Great Read

So much more than just a romance novel

unexpectedly perfect

Hab’s geliebt

will she ever write a book that isn't absolutely amazing?

Good book

There are no words

This has my heart!!