Flu Review - Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Posted on Apr 25, 2022 by Anna Jackson  | Comments (0)

Book Lovers should be the standard for modern romance. It made no pretense of trying to deny that it fell into romance tropes, it straight up told you in the prologue that this was one big trope on top of another and that worked. You know going in that this is going to be full of ridiculous things happening and to just enjoy the ride. Emily Henry didn't write this book to try to break the mold, but instead she highlighted the beauty of the mold.

This book was hysterical- not simply comedic or cute, but so funny that I had to set my reader down and cover my face from laughing so hard. That humor built the chemistry which built the romance. You fell in love with the characters' rivalry because they found someone who loved their snark. They could joke around without coming across as rude and it was perfect.

The male lead never belittled Nora or tried to change her personality. He didn't try to make her soft or less controlling or less of a workaholic, but through their relationship, Nora does heal from her past. In her healing, she does not lose her personality, but now she can live her personality as a healthier person.

I also love that while Nora and Charlie have an initial misunderstanding, they work through communication and they don't have some big blow up fight near the end that breaks them up. I hate senseless fights in romance, and Emily Henry delivers conflict without the love interests fighting each other. Instead, she has them communicate and grow closer to realize how they can help each other achieve their dreams. Also, the main character realizing that she needs therapy was a great touch. Normalizing therapy for character growth is how we should be writing books.

I never buy romance novels, especially the contemporary ones because the men are just scummy and the women somehow decide to overlook those flaws. However, I will be ordering this book for my own collection as soon as I finish this review. It was worth staying up until 3 am to finish. You definitely want to put your name on the hold list for this title, because it will go FAST!

By Erica