Gus is a serious literary type who thinks true love is a fairy-tale.
But January and Gus have more in common than you'd think:
They're both broke.
They've got crippling writer's block.
And they need to write bestsellers before summer ends.
The result? A bet to swap genres and see who gets published first.
The risk? In telling each other's stories, their worlds might be changed entirely...
I'd like to thank Georgia at Viking/Penguin Books for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour and for my copy of Beach Read to review.
As soon as I read the blurb for Beach Read I knew that it was one that I definitely wanted to read but little did I know that my planned review date would be bang smack in the middle of lockdown which has had an adverse effect on me personally. You'd think that with all this free time and not being able to go anywhere I would have more time to read but sadly this has not been the case for me, I have been struggling with the isolation which has severely hampered my reading mojo.
As the blurb states this story features two authors who are both on a deadline but struggling with writers block. January has made a name for herself writing stories that focus on happy ever afters, whereas the same cannot be said for the type of stories that Gus writes as his stories normally focus on the darker side of human nature. Their paths cross when January moves next door into the beach house that she discovered her dad owned after his death.
Both January and Gus were interesting characters and it's only as we scratch beneath the surface do we discover that both have been holding onto their fair share of emotional baggage that is preventing them from moving forward. Will they be able to open up to one another and help each other heal? I have to confess that personally I much preferred January as a character to Gus, there was just that little something about him that prevented me from warming to him wholly.
What I loved most about this book was the exploration of genres, the concept of questioning why a book written by a male is typically classified as fiction and can be read by both men and women whereas a book written by a female is typically classified as women's fiction and deemed to appeal to women only. One night after a few drinks a bet is made for them both to try and write something outside of their normal style, Gus to write a Happily Ever After story and January to explore something a little darker.
The whole bet storyline was hilarious and I really enjoyed the intellectual sparring between the two of them when talking about their books and current writing progress. As for their research days, these certainly provided some interesting topics for discussion as well as some hilarious comedic moments and compromising situations. I loved their witty banter and the interactions between them although I was a little concerned that it might have been vering towards the corny at times but the author managed to cleverly avoid it going down that road.
My only minor gripe about this book was the title itself as it didn't really work for me, yes they both live in beachfront houses but other than that it didn't really fit with the whole concept/theme of the story that unfolds.
Overall I found Beach Read to be a heartwarming read that dealt with some emotional and sensitive topics such as relationship breakdowns, grief and infidelity.
If you like the sound of Beach Read then why not treat yourself to a copy as the eBook is currently on offer on Amazon for just 99p this month.
All book links in bold are Amazon UK Affiliate links which will earn me a few pence if anyone clicks through and makes a purchase - any money earned will go towards buying books or gifts for giveaways.
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