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Beach Read
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Humour & Satire
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Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.
Publisher's Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
Binge-watched Normal People and Love Is Blind and now looking to escape into another suitably steamy love story? Look no further....
Two writers, one holiday. A romcom waiting to happen....
January is a hopeless romantic who narrates her life like she's the lead in a blockbuster movie.
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 best sellers 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....
Set over one sizzling summer, Beach Read is a witty love story that will make you laugh a lot, cry a little and fall head over heels. For fans of The Flat Share and If I Never Met You.
Critic Reviews
"The hottest book of the summer." (Josie Silver, author of best-selling One Day in December)
"The perfect escapist romp." (Laura Jane Williams, author of Our Stop)
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What listeners say about Beach Read
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Chrystal
- 21-09-20
A good read
The book is wonderfully light and loving and has 2 great lead characters. It revolves around writers with writer's block and their means of coping/way of dealing with it. I loved the deeper meaning that Emily Henry tried to weave into the story and perhaps unintentionally guide a reader/listener out of their own creative block.
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- A K.
- 19-08-20
such a beautiful book
it took the idea of a writer's block and explored so many themes. i did find myself not caring about the characters at times, but the ending tied up very nicely. I found myself tearing up towards the end and feeling what our protagonists were feeling. A very good read.
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- Pragya Singhal
- 08-08-20
Fast and easy read
The author built up the two main characters well and the book started out with some laughs . story is about the struggle in their life (both having writer's block) and relationships they were out of (dumped by their partners). also it was enjoyable to read their younger year interaction (they were at loggerheads). gradually as they interact and learn about each other's trade, something develops between them. nothing out of the blue, but a quick read at pace 1.3x. the narrator was good with voice modulation.
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- Zinnia Mandrekar
- 08-07-20
A refreshing book
The author has the ability to draw you into her characters with her descriptive writing. A refreshing romantic novel.. great beach read indeed.
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- Amazon Customer
- 23-06-20
Not just a regular rom-com but so much more
loved this book, did not expected it to be this good. Totally worth reading 😊
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- Amazon Customer
- 23-06-20
Loved it ♥️
omg, I loved this book. I thought it would be a breezy romance chick-lit, but it was so much more than that. Loved the characters, so flawed and yet realistic. The friendship between January and Shorty/shawty was just pure heart. The narration was good, kept me completed transfixed to the story.
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- Anonymous User
- 02-09-20
Finished it in a day
On a nutshell: Great read Didn't feel like a typical romance Funny Depth in the characters In more detail: Going into this I had wanted a cosy escape and this book delivered while still having elements that brought depth to the story and characters. It's my first time reading this author. The book is funny and sweet which is exactly what I wanted but also had elements of family issues, dealing with struggles and exploring friendship that made the story interesting, but didn't dwell on them in a way that would get you down. These were the elements that gave you insight into the characters rather than being the focus point. I will say there is one single cringey line in the book. When you do read the book you will spot it (hint: something about a bunny). But other than that single line it was lovely!
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- Debs
- 29-11-20
Loved it
I enjoyed listening to the narrator, very nice tone to her voice. I listened as I read along with the physical book. Would listen to it again, one day!
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- Jacqueline Torr
- 18-08-20
Very enjoyable
I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy this when I first started listening - again I struggled a little with the American narrator. But was I got into it I found it an easy listen and a good story.
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-08-20
Awful stuff, brainless. Really predictable.
I thought it was really dull. Would be more suited to teenagers than adults.
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- Clare Tunilla
- 21-07-20
Believe the hype
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy. I volunteered to leave an unbiased review. I put this off a long time. But the hype just didn't die down. So I leapt into it. And I REALLY enjoyed it. The daddy issues were a both a bit much and a little on the nose for me (I have them and they are bad) but this was a whole lot of fun. My first read by this author and I'd recommend this for sure, especially to people who are dipping their toes into the woman's fiction/light romance genre. Gus and January were a lot of fun and at first I wished for a couple of chapters in Gus's POV, but now I've finished, I'm kinda glad I didn't get them.
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- Book addict
- 25-06-20
Nice read
The title and cover really put me off buying this because I can’t stand fluffy chick-lit beach reads, but I do love romances or romcoms with a bit more depth to them, or grit. Fortunately, after looking at the reviews, I gave this book a go, and I’m glad I did. It’s got nice characters, depth to them too, realistic messy life situations etc so the story is nicely filled out. However, by the end I only felt like it was “nice”, and it didn’t grip me by the heart. Some of the hurdles seemed like they were put in just for drama in the story, rather than feeling natural. It all got tied up in a neat bow at the end, but it didn’t sweep me with it on the way - instead I just watched it happen and I was very aware it was just a book, and I hadn’t dropped into the world like I do with a great story. The narrator was well suited to the story and I liked listening to her.
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- Jill Kirtley
- 25-06-20
I loved it!
This was the first book I've read by Emily Henry and I loved it. For the most part it’s a light read with lots of laugh out loud funny moments, mostly due to the hilarious witty banter between January and Gus. With the wonderful and well written storyline plus the amazing narrating talent of Julia Whelan this is one book that you won’t want to miss!
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- Anonymous User
- 20-06-20
Beach Read
Just read it. Seriously, buy it and listen to it and get past the first chapter or two and then dissolve in it. Give it a chance and in return it will give you more than you expected, as books should 🔆🧡
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- sarah marrie
- 11-06-20
Great book worth the hype
It’s a great book. It definitely lives up to all the hype it’s been getting. It’s a great story overall with great characters. Julia Wellan is perfect as a narrator; and I cant imagine anyone to narrates this great story.
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- Quidje-Bo Ludwig
- 07-06-20
Stunning
The story was fantastic! And could I possible give the narration six stars because she did such a fantastic job being all this wonderful characters to life. Definitely would recommend giving this a listen
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- JT
- 23-05-20
Great performance of all characters!
Audio books are SO dependent on the vocal performance of the reader and this one is a great one! I loved this book in Kindle do downloaded this to listen to it as well. It’s a great story, goes at a good pace and has a good ending!
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- Anonymous User
- 02-07-20
enjoyable book with flaws
I heavily enjoyed this book towards the last third. once the characters expand past their love/hate trope it becomes a thoroughly enjoyable novel. very well read too, characters and emotion are very believable. in my opinion if you can past the middle act it's well worth it in the end
2 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 14-12-20
Perfect beach read
I read this book while on holidays at the beach. Thoroughly enjoyed it! I found it to be a classic romantic comedy whilst at the same time it poked fun at the genre. While it didn’t take itself too seriously it was also deep, thoughtful, well written and very funny. Loved it :-)
1 person found this helpful
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- Rebecca
- 30-09-20
Didn't enjoy
I really didn't enjoy this book. The main character seemed to go through emotions and it was hard to keep up. It was not at all what I was expecting.
1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 12-01-21
Recommended
first time writing a review. Im a working mother of 3 kids. Listened to this book every chance I got and first book to make me cry. I loved the story.