Beach Read

 Synopsis

Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a Happily Ever After, he kills off his entire cast.

They're polar opposites.

In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke and bogged down with writer's block.

Then one hazy evening one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She'll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he'll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.

Loved

• The premise. This was one of those books where I read the synopsis, added it to my cart, and ordered it right then and there. The premise is fresh, original and clever- and it did not disappoint! The idea of two opposite writers living next door on a dreamy lake is just magical, and the charm delivers. For bookworms, this is especially tasty because it's a book about books! Never having written a book, I really enjoyed getting some "behind the scenes" about writer's block, inspiration, and what it's like to develop a story.

•  The deal. Again, this is part of the premise, but the deal is so clever and fun! January will teach Gus how to write a rom-com, and Gus will teach January how to write something tragic and thought-provoking. So naturally, they have to do some research and go on different outings to learn more about these things. This created opportunity for hilarious and awkward moments set in cliche romantic settings (the fair, line dancing, etc.), especially with grumpy Gus hating every minute of it :)

• January and Gus. Both January and Gus are very lovable and relatable- each with their own heartbreaks, insecurities, and quirks. They are both sharp, quick and witty, and their banter was hilarious. I laughed out loud multiple times throughout the book and January's deadpan and sass. Not only do they have chemistry, but their relationship feels very real because it's imperfect. They struggle with insecurities and past heartbreaks and help each other through these, understanding that things may not work out between them because they're both feeling broken, but deciding to be vulnerable anyway. Their romance is a perfect blend of banter, awkward situations, swoony moments, and raw hurt and healing. 

• The heart. I went into this expecting a fluffy rom-com-- and while the rom-com part was very fun and made me laugh and smile, this story is much deeper than that. January's world fell apart a year before this book began, and she struggles throughout this whole story to reconcile what happened with her family. This is just as much a story about forgiveness and family as it is about romance, and I was shocked at how January's raw and beautiful journey to start healing touched me. I even got a little teary at the end of the book when January makes some discoveries about her family and chooses to love them.

• Also can we just talk about the cutest moments ever? Like Gus holding January's hair while she pukes, even though he has a phobia of vomit. And their writing notes back and forth like the "You Belong With Me" music video? I about died . . .  SO many cute moments that had me swooning :)

Didn't Love

• One small complaint about this story is the subplot with the cult. I understand the irony of having Gus be working on a story about a cult while January writes rom-coms, but I didn't think there would actually be detail about what happened in the cult. They interview people who were in the cult and it talks about some really dark events and ideas. It just felt odd to have this subplot going on amidst such a sweet and heartfelt story-- I would've preferred to keep the dark cultish stuff out.

• My other complaint is that I was uncomfortable with the strong language (F-word used in almost every conversation with Gus), and with the two open-door sex scenes. That may not be an issue for a lot of people, but for me it was a little too much spice haha!

Content

• Language: 
• VERY strong language: "F***" used about once every page or two. Very frequent uses of "A**," "Sh**," "Bit**," and "Damn" and "Hell."

• Sexual content: 
• LOTS of innuendo, jokes, and talk about sex.
• Talk about blow jobs and foot jobs.
• Talk about fetishes.
• Talk about one-night stands.
• Talk about boobs.
• A night described of dancing- grinding on each other.
• A few pretty steamy makeout scenes with feeling each other up and undressing.
• **Two open-door sex scenes with lots of details. Describes kissing, undressing, fondling, thrusting, etc.
• A main theme of the book is a main character's parent having cheated on the other parent- and character working through this pain. Lots of talk, speculation, and jokes about the affair.

• Violence
• Violence referred to when learning about the cult. People were killed for disobedience. The "prophet" of the cult burned down the whole village, including the nursery.
• A main character was abused as a child- talk about being beaten when father was drunk.


• Other themes:
• The above-mentioned cult. Gus and January interview former members of the cult and it addresses some very dark themes of why they joined the cult and why they couldn't leave. Talks about violence that happened in the cult. The conversations are brief, but dark and disturbing.
• LGBTQIA Rep: Two secondary female characters are married to each other.

Overall Thoughts

This was a fresh and original story, with such a fun premise and dreamy setting. Not only was this a swoony and hilarious romance with awkward moments and clever banter, this was also a very heart-felt story about the journey of healing. I felt that the sweetest parts of the story were actually about January deciding to love her family than the parts where she falls in love with Gus. This was a deeper, more raw romance than we typically see as both January and Gus grapple with dark, painful heartbreak, and decide to love each other even in their broken state- and help each other on the road to healing. Overall this was a very clever and unique romance, and it had me laughing, crying, and swooning-- and also wanting to love a little better in all my relationships.