Book Lovers Paperback – May 3, 2022

Yet another book I’ve been looking forward to read for a long time & I very much enjoyed! The FMC is 32-year-old Nora Stephens, a literary agent with a Type A personality heavily laced with neuroticism & anxiety (particularly after losing her mom 12 years prior). She’s roped into a month-long vacation by her more free-spirited younger sister, Libby, to Sunshine Falls, NC, the setting which inspired Nora’s client’s latest hit novel, “Once in a Lifetime”. Everyone seems to like this book except for Charlie Lastra, a surly editor with whom Nora gets on the wrong foot two years prior. The two sisters arrive to Sunshine Falls with a to-do list they hope to accomplish while there; Nora goes along with it to please her sister, who’s expecting baby #3 soon, but she is soon shocked to run into Charlie, the editor Nora met two years ago, who turns out to be a Sunshine Falls native! Eventually, the two must collaborate on Nora’s client’s next book, the protagonist of which seems to resemble Nora in every way but name. With Nora’s bad luck streak in dating, can she possibly find her own small-town love story & fix her own life narrative the same way she’s tried to fix others?With many love stories you find the FMC golden retriever/MMC black cat characterization, but here both the main love interests are black cats. In this way, whereas everyone else in Nora’s life has written her off as an unfeeling, uncaring, overly ambitious, bloodthirsty shark, Charlie is the only one who seems to get her. They also match each other’s wit & dry sense of humor, which made their banter quite entertaining. That made it all the more incredible to see both their guards lower as they became more professionally & personally comfortable with each other. The spice was at the perfect level for me, detailed enough to allow me to visualize the action but also allowing the characters & readers alike a reprieve from potentially more graphic content. Some of the plot points were a bit predictable for me, but not so much that I never entertained other outcomes. Overall, this is a book I think is suitable for anyone like myself who’s not a huge romance fan but still likes a good story with some twists & turns.

I loved the banter between Nora and Charlie!But I felt like once they realized they liked each other the banter kind of tampered. I thought the story was going to end at around the 80% mark, and while I loved the ending the last 20% drug on a little too long for my personal preference.With that being said I found the book to be very funny and would definitely recommend

"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 adaptNo 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 soulALL 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 growthNora 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 relationshipThe 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

Somehow, I always forget how moving Emily Henry’s last book was until I pick up the next. This, as the others before elicits a combination of emotions that result in an incredibly satisfying ending. She makes you realize that not everything is perfect and not everyone has all the answers, but if we’re able to identify like minds and hearts amongst us, it very well may all work out in the end.

I can’t quite fathom the popularity of this book. Perhaps it’s simply because this isn’t the type of book I usually choose. I picked it in the airport, wanting some light fluff to get me through a 5 hour flight. It’s definitely light fluff, but by the end I was just completely non-engaged with this book. To the point I reverted to just reading the quoted parts where the characters spoke and not the long, obvious, drawn out, in between parts. It took me two weeks to force myself to finish this book, having broken down and bought the $8 Wi-Fi inflight because Instagram scrolling was more appealing than this book. I rarely guess the ending. But this one was so blatantly obvious that even I couldn’t miss it. This book was just not for me.