I’ve previously read/loved Emily Henry’s other books, Beach Reads & People We Meet on Vacation. As you’ll see in that previous review, I love Henry’s writing. And I can’t wait for the movie(s) of her books to come out! 
So, believe me when I say that I’m sad that I can’t give this book more stars.
Emily Henry is great (and also a fun Instagram follow, by the way). But this one didn’t work for me. Why? I don’t think the romantic co-lead is as well-developed as the guys in the past, nor are most of the other characters. The setting felt more like an old Hollywood western movie set than a real, lived-in place. I don’t know if it was a time crunch, or maybe just a mismatch between book and reader, but boy did I struggle to finish this book. In fact, I think I read four other books in the time it took me to finish this one.
The plot: Nora is a New York literary agent “shark,” and generally a terrifying person to the people who don’t know her well. She is tthe steely, career-driven woman who gets dumped in all of the Hallmark movies where the guy goes to a small-town and rekindles a high-school love with the Girl Next Door. Literally! This happens to her several times over the course of a few years. At some point, she more or less gives up on that part of her life, content with her mountains of books and doting on her younger sister.
However, in a pregnancy-induced whim, Nora’s sister drags Nora on a month-long trip to a small town not unlike the ones that draw away Nora’s ex-boyfriends. The town is the real-life setting of a famous book – one Nora’s client wrote. Sort of like Dawson’s Creek or Hart of Dixie. Guess what? Another shark is in town! And Nora knows him from New York! He is a book editor! And he is steely and career-driven. Or is he?!?!?!
You can figure out the rest.
2.5/5
