Given a glimpse at some stats it would seem my re-read and this review are redundant (4.5 out of 5 stars from 75,912 ratings on Amazon; 4.1 on Goodreads from 988,148 ratings), but here I go: Glorious! 4.5 stars! All the laughter and the joy! Sincere emotions! Hail fellows well met!
Amazon’s Version: Nora Stephens… 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.
My Version: This is a contemporary romance about a woman judged for wanting the “wrong” things and a man who struggles with not being good at the “right” things. They find each other as they were meant to all along.
Like the Hartbridge Christmas series, Book Lovers gives Hallmark movie romance tropes a big, friendly kiss (no tongue) and brings two people together. In this case, though, the story is for the people who are rejected in those movies: The woman whose ambition and autonomy is symbolic of missing out on what she’s told she’s supposed to want and the man judged for having neither practical manual skills, nor the intellectual pursuits that lead to coining money.
Emily Henry is fantastic at showing you don’t need to remake your life to find happiness (unless you want to) and that you can find someone who belongs in your world and makes you feel that you do, too. You need to be honest about what you want. You need to choose yourself. As a bonus, the main characters still have niche, fantasy jobs and a cool lifestyle. All of this is conveyed with so much wit that you will find yourself laughing out loud and swooning at the romance. The secondary characters are strong as well, including joyful and complicated family relationships, and the kind of quirk common to small towns in Hallmark-y romances.
I gave Book Lovers 4.5 stars instead of 5 because I thought the comeheregoaway elements went on a skooch too long, but was absolutely delightful while it did.