One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn’t see coming…
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.
My Review
This is the first book I have read for my summer reading challenge. This book spanned all the seasons, but I found some summer vibes in the story with the location, weather, and outdoor activities. You can find more info here if you would like to participate in my Summer Reading Challenge.
This romantic comedy is quirky, the banter is fabulous, and the characters are even better. I liked how the author worked in the small-town and enemies-to-lovers tropes in this later-in-life story. Nora is a control freak and very neurotic, but a wildly successful working independent woman. Charlie’s is a tough-as-nails editor with sarcastic humor and small-town charm. Throughout the story, they are like magnets, and any book lover will enjoy the puns, snarky commentary, and inspirational lines in this read. This book is a slow burn and a refreshing romance of two people who don’t fit, fitting together perfectly. This book does have its steamy moments. I really enjoyed the characters, relationships, and descriptions in this book. The ending is surprising and not quite what I expected, but I enjoyed this read.
The prologue of this book is intriguing. I kinda feel like the author is speaking directly to any book lover. But in actuality, she is describing the profession of the main character. She is a literary agent, and her love life is very similar to a bad romance.
After an exciting prologue, the book time jumps by two years. Nora is a bit of an ice queen, but she is a determined, hardworking lady who hasn’t set herself up to fail. She and her sister Libby are together, and the big city seems to be out of sync, but she doesn’t know why?
They decide to take a trip together to Sunshine Falls, a small town where the book they love is inspired.
Nora has an interesting connection with an editor. I think he is his name is Charlie Lastra. After her big city meeting with him, where he was a grumpy ass, she happens to run into him in this small town. Their banter is even better. Omg, the book samples that are fiction but could only be in this town are fabulous.
This book jumps back and forth between childhood memories and reality a lot. I love the author’s inclusion of tropes and literary mentions in this book. I can relate to her main character being a book lover and living in the stories so much. This working woman is also very relatable to many different people as we see other sides of her. I love the slow-burn romance in this story and the human characters. Charlie, Nora, and Libby are perfectly imperfect.
After all this, we finally find out the truth behind the trip, behind her insecurities, behind her sister’s decisions, and breaking them. I don’t like where this is going, but I can’t wait to see how it ends. Okay, I did like the ending of this book. This book did end like a hallmark movie but not as unreasonably as you expect it to
I absolutely love the reading list at the back of the book.
If you want to read Book Lover by Emily Henry, you can find this book on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn on qualifying purchases.
if you like this book, you may also enjoy books with these tags and categories Small Town, Midlife, and Slow Burn Romance.
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