Book Review: Book Lovers by Emily Henry

 

Goodreads Overview:

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.

Review:

Emily Henry is an automatic read for me now. I am "a little" behind on my reviews, so this is only the second of her books that I am reviewing on the blog, but my next review will also be an Emily Henry novel. Needless to say, they have all been fantastic. In fact, I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads. In addition, it was the Goodreads Choice Award winner for best romance in 2022 and definitely deserved this honor. 

Nora Stephens is the literary agent for a writer whose claim to fame is a book set in Sunshine Falls, North Carolina. Nora and her sister Libby grew up living above a bookstore in New York City and books are their life. Libby is expecting another child and needs a break, so she invites Nora to spend some quality time with her in Sunshine Falls. She has visions of the town being exactly like the book, which they quickly discover is not the case. 

Nora has a successful career, but she has struck out multiple times in the relationship department. Her sister is determined to help her find prince charming just like in some of the novels they grew up reading. She is convinced Nora will meet some small-town farmer, rancher, etc. who will sweep her off her feet. Unfortunately, the one man she keeps running into is her archnemesis, Charlie Lastra. He is an editor that she worked with in the past, but they got off on the wrong foot. Seeing this NYC hotshot editor in Sunshine Falls is a bit of a shock to say the least.

Nora isn't sure why Libby REALLY brought her to Sunshine Falls and thinks Libby is having marital troubles. She does everything she can to appease her sister, but she still has to work. In fact, her number one client has a new novel in the works and her editor just went out on maternity leave. This leaves her with none other than Charlie Lastra as the editor for this book. With the two of them both in Sunshine Falls for the summer, they begin co-editing the novel and the relationship takes off from there. 

This was such a fun story that I most likely will read again. I am not typically one to reread books, but it was that good. I absolutely loved these characters and hope to see them again in some of Emily's future novels. As I have been reading her books, I have enjoyed how she has woven little cameo appearances of her previous couples into the novel, so readers can see how they are doing. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a self-proclaimed book nerd.