When I found myself in a reading slump this summer, I walked into a bookstore and picked this book off the shelf. Book Lovers had me curled up in a little ball of laughter, tears, and smiles. I’ve had the opportunity to read many kinds of rom-coms, but never one centred around the publishing industry, so it was so fun to get inside Nora’s head and see what she was thinking. With books being her world, it was so refreshing to turn the ice-queen trope on its head—even sharks need love. Meld that together with a meddling sibling on a mission create a one-in-a-lifetime moment for Nora, and you’ve got yourself a winner. It certainly belongs on every romance shelf, if you haven’t picked it up already.
Book Lovers follows Nora Stephens, a literary agent who brokers book deals for her clients. She’s not a heroine in the traditional sense. She’s no one’s sweetheart, not laid-back, and definitely can’t be called plucky. However, she’s cut-throat when it comes to championing books, and her little sister, Libby. That same sister talks her into a trip to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina, with the mission of Nora becoming the heroine in her own story. However, rather than dashing country doctors or muscled bartenders, she keeps running into Charlie Lastra, an editor she’s not had fond interactions with in the past. When the coincidental meetings start to add up, they’re going to discover there are stories that might just be about them.
Can I just start with how much I ADORED Nora? Her entire world is about control and no-nonsense. She’s fierce and her straightforward, cut-throat attitude makes her seem untouchable, which unfortunately seems to be proven by the track record of her past relationships. One might even say she’s a little jaded, as each of her previous lovers left her for a more “traditional” romantic heroine. Those boyfriends all had once in a lifetime trips somewhere, which is a fitting curse for someone working in the publishing industry. So, whilst her love for relationships has dwindled, she still cares deeply for her family, especially her sister Libby.
While I don’t pick up romance titles for sibling dynamics, I found myself loving the back and forth between Libby and Nora for several reasons. Of course they love each other, but it was wonderful to see the complexity of their relationship. Nora has always been an anchor, while Libby has been more of a free spirit, as a result of the way that they grew up. Without spoiling anything, there’s definitely some shared trauma that is viewed differently by both women, and has had profound effects into their current lives (I think). Being the oldest sibling, I related a lot more to Nora, but also had the realization that perspectives mean everything. Without Libby, Nora would be unmoored. There’s just so much depth in this book that I wasn’t expecting, and by the end, it landed a spot as one of my favourite rom-coms.
Of course I’m not going to skip over the romance, which was both steamy and sweet. Charlie and Nora start off on the wrong foot, naturally. That said, Nora and Charlie share some of the funniest banter, it had me grinning like an idiot for the majority of the book. What I loved even more is that Charlie is a bit of a grump, but with just as much love for his family as Nora has for hers. However, love is something that they both have to work toward expressing. The chemistry is undeniable, and the journey that these two embark on is worth it. Emily Henry manages to weave together a story of romance, family, and publishing into a wonderful book that I already want to re-read.
The pacing of this book was great and I found myself finishing the book in one sitting. I absolutely recommend you add it to your shelf if you want something that’s sweet, but where the characters aren’t your traditional, dewy eyed lovers, but realists that know exactly what they want out of life.
Book Lovers is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
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.
