Book Lovers

Book Lovers by Emily Henry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nora Stephens has been dumped not once, not twice, but FOUR times by men who leave New York City for a Hallmark-movie-ending in the country. If her life were a romance novel trope, she'd be the "Evil City Girlfriend." Nora adores NYC, though, and has zero desire to live anywhere else. She is a classic workaholic, devoted to her clients and dedicated to securing the best publishing deals she can in her role as a fierce literary agent. She is also devoted to her younger sister, nieces, and brother-in-law, so when Libby begs her to take a month-long sisters' vacation to the very small town that's the setting of a client's best-selling novel, she acquiesces. Little does she know her sister has ulterior motives for the trip and is on a mission to give Nora her very own Hallmark movie experience. Not long after the women arrive, it's not a handsome stranger they run into, though, but the very editor who once turned down the book that put this town on the map, so to speak, and Nora begins to learn that everyone has a backstory, and sometimes first impressions are dead wrong.

I absolutely adored this book! Yes, the solution the characters struggle to see was obvious to me from the moment we learn what Libby's secret is--and it crossed my mind even before that--but the journey they took to get there was necessary, heartwarming, and sometimes even heart wrenching. Plus the witty banter was perfect, like an R-rated Gilmore Girls, and had me laughing out loud or at least grinning 'til my face hurt though most of the story.

What I don't understand is why the official synopsis of this book says Nora and Charlie are rivals. They barely know each other until Nora & Libby arrive in Sunshine Falls. The only time they've ever interacted was 2 years prior at the meeting where Nora pitched Charlie the manuscript for Once in a Lifetime, and he turned it down because he hated the setting. In fact, when Nora does spot Charlie in the coffee shop, she isn't sure it's him and has to look up his address to send an email as a test to see if the man ahead of her in line responds. Which he does, because apparently they both have email notifications turned on--something I would never do because the constant pinging would make me insane, but I suppose it makes sense for their business email accounts. At any rate, they aren't rivals; they are acquaintances who become colleagues and friends with enough electricity sparking between them to start a wildfire.

For readers' advisors: character doorway is primary, language secondary (for the banter). There is no violence, but there are a few steamy sex scenes and some profanity sprinkled throughout.

Many many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the free eGalley copy in exchange for my honest review!

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