This just might be one of the last book reviews that I write on this website. Why? Because they’re going to move over to my professional website! This website that you’re reading on has always been more of a personal space for me, but since being in graduate school, I have had to design a professional website. If you’re still interested in checking what I’m reading, here is the link. I will probably post there on Tuesdays instead of on this website.
So how did I decide that this would be the last book? When I graduated from my undergraduate career, Her Campus UCF was just starting a book club. After starting graduate school, I joined again and learned that there was no longer a book club aspect, which made me a little sad. Once I became the new Events Director, I made it a mission to bring The Bookfast Club back. That was one of my more professional goals. which is why my book reviews are moving.
Of course, I didn’t want to be a dictator about it, so I put it to a vote. You shouldn’t be surprised because of the title of this blog, but everyone decided that we should read Book Lovers by Emily Henry. I was excited, because I had loved Henry’s Beach Read and already owned this book. Keep reading for some of my thoughts. Warning: there may be spoilers ahead.
Summary
Nora Stephens has never been a girl lucky in love, because she is the heroine who is always saving her clients and her sister, Libby. When Libby desperately reaches out for a girls’ trip, Nora knows that there’s something brewing. So she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina, where her client’s first book is set for the getaway. Nora is surprised to find herself constantly running into Charlie Lastra, an editor that she had an unpleasant meal with concerning her client. Now Nora finds herself in Charlie’s hometown and he is insistent that they work together on her client’s new book.
Between trying to figure out what is wrong with Libby while checking things off of their summer bucket list, reassuring her clients that they are top priority for her even if she isn’t in New York, and making sure that things with Charlie remain strictly professional, Nora doesn’t seem to realize she is living her own romantic comedy.
My Initial Thoughts
When I got to the end, I felt like I didn’t necessarily need Chapter 37 and the epilogue. The desire and the image that ends chapter 36 would have been a more poetic way of ending the story. Because we know Nora and Charlie, and because of the genre of this book, we know that they end up together and are happy; they have already professed their love. I don’t think we needed the time jump in the book, because it didn’t add too much after and disoriented me a little as a reader. The end felt like we were watching a sequence in fast-forward, and it wasn’t really necessary.
I want to give Henry credit for the way she developed Nora; Nora is a character that reminds me of a version of myself a few years ago, which is something that gives her authenticity in my mind. Like Nora, I was the girl who would do anything to help my sisters when they needed me. In that same vein, resentment would also develop as a result of me sacrificing things that I wanted, but it was unfair because I would sacrifice without consulting anyone. It was not healthy for my relationships, and that is why I grew out of it. Some of the issues in Nora’s and Libby’s relationship in the book are similar to how I once conducted my own relationships. The characterization of Libby and Nora is the strongest point of the book for me, and probably the strongest relationship that should be romanticized.
That being said, I think Shepherd could’ve been better presented as a foil to Charlie. I say this because it seems like Shepherd was a flash in the pan when it comes to Nora’s romantic life, but it seems like Shepherd is supposed to contrast against Charlie. My issue is that we don’t find out all of the things that make them different until after Nora has decided he is not much of a contender for a romantic relationship. I wish the tension here was a little bit stronger. Maybe the argument is that Nora and Charlie have chemistry and Nora and Shepherd do not, but I need that to be explored a bit more on the page.
My last initial thought is that the day we met for book club to discuss Book Lovers, it was announced that the movie rights to the book had been sold. If I were casting the movie, I would want Meghann Fahy to be Nora, and Lili Reinhart to be Libby.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I would give the book a 3.8 out of 5 stars. It is a classic romantic comedy that doesn’t do much differently, but I do appreciate the way that Emily Henry writes. That is why this is the score that I would give it.
Is there anything you would like me to blog about, now that I have created this divide on my pages? Are there any blog topics you think I’m missing out on? What should I read next? I would love to know in the comments down below!
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Love Always,
Kristi My
Kristi My Dao 