My Honest Opinions on #Booktok Romance Favorites
Beach Read by Emily Henry
My Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.5)
Goodreads Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.3)
“I’ve never met someone who is so perfectly my favorite person.”
“And that was the moment I realized: when the world felt dark and scary, love could whisk you off to go dancing; laughter could take some of the pain away; beauty could punch holes in your fear. I decided then that my life would be full of all three.”
“When I watch you sleep," he said shakily, "I feel overwhelmed that you exist.”
I picked up this book expecting a fluffy and light beach romance, as the cover implies. I was surprised when this wasn’t the stereotypical chick-lit; the characters were not cardboard, and what I mean by that is that Emily Henry did give a great attempt at creating deep backgrounds for the characters that gave reasons for how they acted. However, I could never get super deeply into either January or Gus’ past; I felt as if the past version of each character was a different person completely and I just could not put them together. I believe Henry was attempting to create psychological trauma to create conflict in January and Gus’ relationship but was unsuccessful. The way the characters handled their conflicts was super frustrating, and not in a good rom-com-where-both-characters-have-their-faults way. The plot consisted of a lot of repetition, (they have a moment together, he leaves, she gets sad, he explains himself by using his tragic past) and I began to get annoyed at the characters because of how they kept letting this happen. Henry is one of the most talented romance writers I’ve read in a while, I just think that the characterization was a bit flat at some points in the story.
Nevertheless, the book wasn’t bad, and I was rooting for January and Gus! I wanted to keep reading because I longed to know the rest of their story. The tenderness they kept while discussing their past, their addicting banter, and crackling humor are what kept me hooked on this story. I was hoping this could be one of the rare romance books that I fall head over heels for, (ex. Red White and Royal Blue) but it was not.
If you’re looking for a heavier rom-com with two characters that always know what to say, Beach Read is for you.
Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
My Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.3)
Goodreads Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.19)
“Thinking about history makes me wonder how I’ll fit into it one day, I guess. And you too. I kinda wish people still wrote like that. History, huh? Bet we could make some.”
“I thought, this is the most incredible thing I have ever seen, and I had better keep it a safe distance away from me. I thought, if someone like that ever loved me, it would set me on fire. And then I was a careless fool, and I fell in love with you anyway. When you rang me at truly shocking hours of the night, I loved you. When you kissed me in disgusting public toilets and pouted in hotel bars and made me happy in ways in which it had never even occurred to me that a mangled-up, locked-up person like me could be happy, I loved you. And then, inexplicably, you had the absolute audacity to love me back. Can you believe it?”
This book is rated a little lower than Beach Read on Goodreads, but I enjoyed it so much more. The banter is addicting and the romance is… also very addicting. Not only did I love every exchange between Alex and Henry, but the side characters are enjoyable as well. The text strings between Alex, Henry, and Nora and Alex’s trips to England have to fight to be my favorite part because I smiled so hard reading them. However, in all of its glory, this book has one downside: politics. I feel like many politicians in this story are idolized and seem to be put in a place that the reader should admire no matter what. It just makes me hope that no impressionable minds read this and think that politicians are people to be idolized, but I understand completely that the politics in this story were light and fluffy because of the plot. If the politics were realisisric, the story would have to be much different, but it just makes me wonder. This is definitely my favorite #Booktok book I have read. If you’re looking for enemies to lovers, this would be number one or two on my list.
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
My Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.0)
Goodreads Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.01)
““Love is exhausting.”
“I like the idea of saving to buy a place of my own or having some extra in the bank for an adventure once I figure out what kind of adventure I want to have. I see all these choices unrolling in front of me - career, travel, friends, geography - and despite things being insane and hard and messy, I don't think I've ever liked myself more than I do now. It's the strangest feeling to be proud simply because I'm taking care of me and mine. Is this what it's like to grow up?”
I had high expectations for this book as well, because I’ve liked other Christina Lauren novels, but this was one average at best. It does not come close to her other novels, and feels like a reread of other books I’ve read before. Of course, the main character is pretty in a “I-don’t-Know-I’m-Pretty” way, and the love interest, Ethan, seems to give the impression that he essentially only falls in love with her for her “sexiness.” Sometimes, I did not feel the chemistry between the two and some plot points were just downright awkward. The ending was also a bit rushed although the last scene was cute. However, this novel was not all-around terrible, as there were some complex subplots that centered around other relationships and family issues. I will pay homage to those, as sometimes subplots in romance novels get neglected. If you are looking for an enemies to lovers romance novel, this is not the first one I would pick, but it might be fourth or fifth down the line.
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
My Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.0)
Goodreads Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.1)
“I don't think I knew I was lonely until I met you.”
“I'm on vacation. Vacations always end. It's the very fact that it's finite that makes traveling special. You could move to any one of those destinations you loved in small doses, and it wouldn't be the spellbinding, life-altering seven days you spend there as a guest, letting a place into your heart fully, letting it change you.”
“Sometimes it feels like I didn't even exist before that. Like you invented me.”
Goodreads and I agree and disagree on this one. We both will give it four stars, but I hold the controversial opinion that this book was better than Beach Read and is one of Emily Henry’s best. I liked this book because of how upfront it is, you almost know from the beginning how it will end. This, to me, makes it more attention-grabbing, as every tense moment I think will be “the one.” Henry kept me on a hook the entire time, teasing the romance until one amazingly climactic scene. However, the one reason I will rate this four stars instead of five is because of the flashback scenes, which I think are a little boring. I even found myself skipping some of them, but that kind of thing does not bother me. Also, unlike the honeymooners, this book didn’t have many subplots, so when I got bored of the two main characters I would just have to put down the book and read it later. Although, the one surprise it did have was worth it. There are many fantastic quotes in this book as well.