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Book Review: Book Lovers by Emily Henry

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Book: Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Berkley Romance

I picked up my first Emily Henry novel a couple weeks ago. As someone who reads and reviews the romance genre, I constantly hear how much readers love her books, and how they intimately identify with the characters she writes. Naturally, I thought a romantic comedy starring two leads that work in publishing might be a good place for a literary enthusiast to start.  

In Book Lovers by Emily Henry, Nora Stephens’ life revolves around two things: her career as a NYC literary agent and her younger sister, Libby. Libby convinces Nora to take an extended vacation to a small town in North Carolina that is featured in one of Nora’s client’s books. While away, Nora runs into Charlie Lastra, an editor she knows from the city. Nora and Charlie have a prickly working history; however, in a serendipitous chain of events, they begin to see past each other’s professional reputations and learn more about one another. 

Although this is marketed as a contemporary romance, it is very much a story about family and sisterhood as well. There is a crossover into the women’s fiction genre with Book Lovers. While romance is a main focus, Henry also highlights how the wants, needs, and goals of women are not universal, and there are many different life paths that can lead to happiness. 

I can certainly understand why readers are attracted to Emily Henry’s writing style. It is smart, sentimental, and packed with romantic banter. The pages are full of quotable paragraphs and sentences about life and circumstances that would make anyone feel seen. In Book Lovers in particular, there are many moments where Emily Henry points out the pull between our wants and our obligations in life. Collectively, this is something most people have experienced at one point or another, and the general notion here makes it easier to further connect to the main characters in the book. 

I know some people love tropes, and other people feel like they don’t do a story justice, but I will talk about them here because I think they help connect romance readers to the right books. I wouldn’t necessarily classify Book Lovers as your traditional “enemies-to-lovers” read. I interpret it as a “colleagues-to-lovers” book with a miscommunication aspect to it. There are also some “doomed romance” vibes going on here, but rest assured you will still get a version of the “happily ever after” you expect with contemporary romance. Overall, Nora and Charlie’s romance is a slower burn, and it’s a good mix of witty playfulness and earnestness. 

In my opinion, Nora is really the star of this book, and her character speaks to many modern women in our culture. Emily Henry intentionally subverts the typical stereotypes associated with female main characters in romantic comedies. We read so many romance novels where women just drop everything for love, and they sacrifice their entire lives to find it and keep it. In Book Lovers, Nora is realistic in knowing what she wants, and she is unwilling to give up everything she has worked for without significant compromise. Although Nora’s stoic approach to love could be perceived as generally cold, her selfless, sensitive and protective nature towards her sister throughout the book forces the reader to challenge this perception. Henry really excels at developing Nora’s character in this way, so readers know that Nora’s choices for her future are rooted in strength and practicality and not selfishness. 

If you are looking for an endearing, small-town versus big-city romance with a side of family drama, Book Lovers is a great pick to add to your reading list. 

View Book Lovers on Amazon | Bookshop.org | Audible | Kobo Rakuten | Books-A-Million

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