Review | Beach Read by Emily Henry

Source: personal purchase. This is a review of my reading experience.

Beach Read is a romance novel by Emily Henry.

A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters.

Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.

They’re polar opposites.

In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block.

Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She’ll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he’ll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.

I'm so happy to be reading Emily Henry right now. I need more.

I'm not typically a romance reader, but I do enjoy romance in my genre books and in my movies.

I love Emily Henry's style of romance. I've only read two, but they fit the cozy vibe I'm seeking right now. I like all of the characters, and I like that they communicate with each other. Beach Read is an enemy to lovers romance, but not the kind that makes you hate the enemy before they fall in love.

Emily Henry makes me cry and her books aren't even heartbreakers. She just gets me right in the feels. I cried reading Book Lovers and Beach Read made me cry, too. Heaven help me if she ever writes a tearjerker.

I took Beach Read to the beach with me to read, but thankfully I knew it wasn't actually a "beach read". It was a great excuse to read it, though, and also the perfect escape while on vacay.

I feel like I'm probably the last person making my way through Emily Henry's books, but if you are a genre reader making a reach into spheres that are more cozy than your typical read, have a look into Emily Henry's books. You might just enjoy them, too!

⭐⭐⭐⭐★

4/5 stars

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Recent Updates and Currently Reading | July 9

I feel like I actively read this week, and I still didn't finish anything. I'm starting to feel terrible about my reading skills. I did manage to post some reviews this week, though!

My hubs and I watched a couple of documentaries yesterday - Free Solo and The Last Tepui.

Free Solo was a tough watch! I am afraid of heights and the literal opposite of a person to Alex Honnold (who free climbs without ropes). It was a fascinating documentary. They did an MRI on Honnold's brain and found his amygdala to be essentially non-responsive. My amygdala on the other hand... I had to sit on the floor to watch Free Solo if that tells you anything. 😆

I watched Free Solo because I was really interested in watching The Last Tepui and wanted the background story on Alex Honnold first. The Last Tepui is about an untouched area of rainforest in Guyana. A scientist was looking to prove a Galapagos type of evolution in the region in order to gain environmental protections for the area. Due to terrain, they needed a climber like Honnold to make it up into the mountain. Such a beautiful place to see.

While I would never have an interest in climbing a cliff face, I'd love to have a climbing gym here. Do you have one where you live? Have you/would you ever go?

Posted Last Week

Review | Below by Laurel Hightower ⭐⭐⭐⭐★

Review | At the End of Every Day by Arianna Reiche ⭐⭐★★★

Currently Reading

What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall - This is really great. I'm so impressed by Kate Alice Marshall's ability to change her voice for the genre she's writing in.

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield - This is such a strange book, but I think I'm going to love it.

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This post is being shared as part of The Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz, Book Date’s It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.

Review | At the End of Every Day by Arianna Reiche

Source: review copy provided by publisher. This is a review of my reading experience.

At the End of Every Day is Arianna Reiche's debut novel.

In this haunting debut novel—perfect for fans of Iain Reid, Jeff VanderMeer, and Julia Armfield—a loyal employee at a collapsing theme park questions the recent death of a celebrity visitor, the arrival of strange new guests, her boyfriend’s erratic behavior, and ultimately her own sanity.

Delphi has spent years working at a vast and iconic theme park in California after fleeing her childhood trauma in her rural hometown. But after the disturbing death of a beloved Hollywood starlet on the park grounds, Delphi is tasked with shuttering The Park for good.

Meanwhile, two siblings with ties to The Park exchange letters, trying to understand why people who work there have been disappearing. Before long, they learn that there’s a reason no one is meant to see behind The Park’s curtain.

What happens when The Park empties out? And what happens when Delphi, who seems remarkably at one with The Park, is finally forced to leave?

At once a novel about the uncanny valley, death cults, optical illusions, and the enduring power of fantasy, Reiche’s debut is a mind-bending teacup ride through an eerily familiar landscape, where the key to it all is what happens At the End of Every Day.

There were three main reasons that I was excited to read At the End of Every Day. 1) it's a debut novel 2) it's being billed as literary horror 3) it's being compared to books by Jeff VanderMeer and Ian Reed. I had hoped At the End of Every Day would be a new favorite addition to the "new weird" genre.

At the End of Every Day had a really great start. I was intrigued by the theme park setting and by the characters. I didn't realize until after I started reading At the End of Every Day that the spiral on the cover was a roller coaster!

I became less and less interested as the book progressed and by the end I was just confused. I was confused about what was happening, and I was confused about what kind of book it was supposed to be.

I felt the Ian Reed comparison briefly, and I guess I haven't read enough Jeff VanderMeer to get the comparison here. I'm not sure who I would recommend this book to. The main characters work at a large theme park that is being disassembled. The synopsis says "the key to it all is what happens at the end of every day". Frankly I'm confused why this was even a reveal. Maybe this book just went over my head.

⭐⭐★★★
2/5 stars

Review | Below by Laurel Hightower

Source: personal purchase. This is a review of my reading experience.

Below is a horror novella by Laurel Hightower.

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO HELP A STRANGER?

While driving through the mountains of West Virginia during a late-night snowstorm, a recently divorced woman experiences bizarre electrical problems, leaving her with little choice but to place her trust with a charismatic truck driver. But when an unexplainable creature with haunting red eyes gets between them, she is forced to make one of the toughest decisions of her life. Will she abandon the stranger who kept her safe—or will she climb down below, where reality has shapeshifted into a living nightmare?

I love horror novellas. They are such a great length.

Below was a quick, fun read. Addy is traveling alone at night on a mountain road when she meets a stranger and decides against her better judgement to drive with him through the winter storm.

Below was such an unexpected read. It's part creature feature, part psychological thriller. There were a lot of twists and turns packed into this novella. I will say a lot goes unanswered in this one as well. The reader is meant to follow Addy's adventure and know what she knows which leaves a lot of questions so just enjoy the ride with this one and hope to make it off the mountain alive.

⭐⭐⭐⭐★
4/5 stars

Recent Updates and Currently Reading | July 2

Hi, friends! I am having such a lazy Sunday that I almost forgot to post! Having three kids, we are always on the go or up to something, but we've had a pretty relaxing weekend. It's SO HOT OUT.

We started a marathon of Indiana Jones yesterday to prepare the kids for the last movie that just came out. We watched Raiders of the Lost Ark and will continue with Temple of Doom today. 

My husband and I finished the first season of Silo yesterday as well. It's been 7 years since I read Wool so I can't say how much has been changed from the book. Thankfully I've forgotten enough that I was still surprised by a lot in the show.

We started trying to watch From which was a mistake! My husband isn't into horror and I cannot handle kids in peril and that show is extreme. If you want full on horror in your TV, definitely watch From.

Have you watched any great series lately? We need something new to start. It can be any genre.

Posted Last Week

Most Anticipated Books for the 2nd Half of 2023

2023 Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag

Currently Reading

What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall - I'm halfway through this and loving it.

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield - This is the July pick for the Horror Spotlight discord group. I'm only a few chapters in but it has promise.

Added to the TBR

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield - Mentioned above, this is the July selection for the Horror Spotlight discord group. This was a Goodreads nominee last year for best horror and best debut. It's literary horror that deals with loss so it will probably break my heart, but it checks a lot of boxes for me.

Be Sure by Seanan McGuire - Thank you SO MUCH to the amazing folks at TorDotCom for sending this to me. You guys know how much I love the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire. This collects the first three volumes, and it looks absolutely perfect.

The Only One Left by Riley Sager - I picked up the new Riley Sager. I hope to read it before I start seeing too many negative reviews because people tend to bring down the excitement for me when it comes to Riley Sager's books.

The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler - There are so many amazing covers for this book. I have been pulled into wanting this book from many different angles. Firstly - the cover. Then it won the Locus Award and it was a Nebula Award finalist. It's also a debut that falls in both the scifi and fantasy genres... I hope I love it because it just feels like a book that is made for me.

Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison - I've been eyeing this one as my holiday read for this year. I'd like to read a Christmasy book each year but I don't tend to enjoy the ones I've selected in the past. Hopefully I'll enjoy this one. It was on sale at Target for $10 so I'm OK with risking it. I'm also keeping an eye on Sam's reviews because she has some upcoming Christmas book reviews later in the year that look promising.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo - The Mountain in the Sea was buy one, get one 50% off at Barnes and Noble so I obviously needed to get another book half off! My youngest son loved Edward Tulane and recommended it to me so I had to grab it when I saw it qualified for the sale.

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This post is being shared as part of The Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz, Book Date’s It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.