Title: Book Lovers
Author: Emily Henry
Genre: Fiction, romance
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Publication Date: 2022
Page count: 373

Rating:

Romance is a common theme in the books that I read, but I seldom read romance books. I love the elaborate world building of fantasy and the complicated political dynamics that often come with a good piece of science fiction, but sometimes I just want to read something light and fun.

Book Lovers had immediate appeal to me based on the synopsis alone: a romantic comedy about a literary agent who keeps bumping into a handsome, brooding editor in small-town North Carolina.

A book about books? That also involves the people who love books falling in love with each other? Yes please.

This story had all of my favourite elements of a cheesy romantic comedy packed into a short and punchy novel. It was everything I wanted out of a romcom, with the added benefit of a career-driven female main character who didn’t need to compromise for a small-town beefcake.

Book Lovers was funny and corny in a way that was endearing. It was like pure sunshine in a book format; it left me feeling all warm and fuzzy and like my romance itch had been scratched. It was perhaps a tad predictable, with some of the bigger arcs being clear before they fully unfolded, but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book. It really was just a light, fun read that felt good to finish, and it’s one I know I’ll likely revisit just for the sheer joy of it.  

Fair warning: spoilers ahead for anyone who hasn’t read this book.

Book Review: Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Book Lovers begins with Nora Stephens, a cutthroat literary agent, being dumped on a phone call by her boyfriend for being too focused on her job. Her boyfriend accuses her of having no feelings at all and promptly alerts her that he’s leaving her for a small-town girl he’s met while on a work assignment.

This has happened to Nora several times before. She’s quick to observe that in the common romance trope that sees a man fall head over heels for a woman and leave his life behind, Nora is not the romantic interest; she’s the villain. Aside from her sister Libby, who is unequivocally the most important thing in her life, her career is her only love and her entire focus. She’s endured her fair share of heartache as a result, and at this point, she sees it coming so plainly that she’s barely deterred from the task at hand: meeting an important literary editor.

She hangs up with her boyfriend and walks into the restaurant where she meets Charlie Lastra, the editor in question, who is immediately rude and abrasive about the book she’s brought to him from her longest-standing client. Nora grits her teeth through the remainder of the dinner, already thinking forward to the next editor she’ll bring her client’s novel to and trying her best to forget both the events of the day and Charlie.

From here, the plot flashes forward two years, where Nora is riding a career high after successfully selling the novel Charlie passed on. The book, which was set in a small town called Sunshine Falls in North Carolina, is a massive commercial success, selling more than a million copies and solidifying Nora’s reputation as an expert literary agent. Even though it’s the summer, which is a slow season for publishing, Nora has barely looked up from her work since the day she met with Charlie. The only thing that could deter her from her regular grind is Libby.

Libby meets with Nora to convince her that she needs to go on a vacation with her to Sunshine Falls. Not only is Libby a diehard fan of the author and the book, but she also knows that Nora is incapable of stepping away from work on her own. She’s convinced that Nora needs to learn how to have a life that doesn’t revolve entirely around her work, and as she’s nine months pregnant, she also wants a break for herself before her baby arrives. She begs Nora to go and eventually she reluctantly agrees.

As they make their way to North Carolina, Libby alerts Nora that she’s booked a full month at a cottage and when they arrive, they’ll have to complete a list of stereotypical small-town things, like sleeping under the stars, skinny dipping, and dating a local. Nora agrees under the condition that she can get work done during the day while Libby enjoys much-needed relaxation.

Nora and Libby are only in town for a day when Nora runs directly into Charlie. As it turns out, Charlie is from Sunshine Falls and is also spending his summer in the small town. As fate would have it, their lives quickly become intertwined again as Nora needs Charlie to edit her star client’s latest book, a loose adaptation of her own life. Charlie agrees and the book forces them to work together, putting them in all sorts of situations that allow them to learn more about each other. They encounter many obstacles, particularly as Libby not-so-subtly attempts to convert Nora from her career-driven city ways to small-town life, but ultimately, they work well together and begin to form a bond stronger then either of them has ever experienced.

I really enjoyed Nora as a character. Beyond being an excellent vehicle for demonstrating the deep prejudice often associated with women with ambition, she was also just a really nicely rounded female lead. She was flawed in ways she both was and was not aware of, she was witty and sharp, but not immune to the harsh judgement she constantly faced, and she was fiercely loyal to a fault. I appreciated that she didn’t back down on who she was or what she wanted when push came to shove. She wasn’t going to be happy settling for anything less than the career she’d spent her entire life building, and I respected that despite every common romcom trope that was thrown her way, she remained steadfast in that dedication to her purpose. If a man was going to come into her life, he had to complement it; he could not be her entire focus, it just wasn’t how she was built.

Charlie was, in my opinion, precisely the compliment that she needed. He was so self-assured and confident that he didn’t need her to be any smaller than him. He gave her the space to flourish and never forced her to try to make something work that just wouldn’t. He let her be her own person and I don’t think there’s anything that’s more attractive than that.

While the characters themselves were fun and memorable, what I can’t adequately capture in words is how enjoyable Henry’s writing style in this book was. It was funny and quick and corny in undeniable ways, so much so that the characters are even aware of the cheese. She also creates a very rom-com archetype of a novel without forcing the female lead to conform to the more limiting stereotypes of the genre, making the writing even more enjoyable. You get to see people get happy endings, but in ways that respect them as individuals. I loved how she pulled it all together: the humour, the grief, the imposter syndrome, and the love. There were so many relatable elements, all packaged into a nicely rounded story.

There were aspects that I found to be a little predictable, but what romcom isn’t? It was still an immensely enjoyable book, one that I’ll be happy to recommend to anyone looking for something that just makes your heart feel good.