Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Berkley
May 3, 2022

I’m not posting a blurb for this book. This isn’t going to be a conventional book review because it’s going to be more of a book gush, which is what happens when a book is everything you want it to be and the only bad thing is that no one served you tea and biscuits while you read. 😉

I’ve read two library books in the past three days. Why? Because the books were by Meg Cabot (Shadowlands was the book in this case) and Emily Henry (Book Lovers). In some ways I’m being a bad book blogger because I literally have over a hundred books to catch up on. I know. It’s bad. But the last ARC (advanced reader copy) I read, I really tried to finish but the main character was kind of bullying with a chip on her shoulder and I made it to 63% before I decided I just couldn’t go on. I’d already spent 4 days on it. Four days for me is a huge amount of time on a book–unless it’s an audiobook. So I felt I needed, deserved books I was assured would make me happy.

Meg Cabot’s writing is like talking to your very best friend. Welcoming, witty, a warm hug of familiar conversation. I’d recommended Shadowlands to the library because they didn’t have any of her Mediator series and I really wanted to read it. I loved it; a quick one-day read. I’ve decided to buy the rest (used because I’m a cheapskate 😉 .)

And then, finally, I received notification yesterday that my hold on Book Lovers was up and I was granted a copy. I devoured this book. Emily Henry writes the way I’d love to write. Her books are full of truths, observations, actual laugh-out-loud moments and warmth. I’m hard-pressed at the moment to think of a contemporary who is doing what she does. I would have said Christina Lauren, but I was not a fan of their last book because it felt more superficial. If you know of an author who is doing what Emily Henry is doing, please let me know. I’d love to read their work.

The thing is that despite the fact that I read so much, I seldom read writers who are able to tap into all emotions. Sure some are good at lust or melodrama or angst but comedy, warmth, or sincere love? Not so much. That’s because those emotions are harder to deal with well. A good rom-com is hard to come by because it’s hard to write comedy. A novel with well-developed warm relationships is hard to write without interjecting some type of angst or melodrama because a lot of writers don’t understand subtleties. So, I’m just going to say that Emily Henry is a queen among writers…or a princess…or a goddess. She is the one that I want to read because her books make me happy. And, seriously, heh, couldn’t we all just use a little more happy, thoughtfulness, and sincerity?

If you haven’t read Book Lovers, check it out. It’s women’s fiction, sisters’ fiction, romance, pop culture loving, family embracing, funny, warm-hearted, optimistic, and a helluva novel. Like I said, it made me happy. I hope it makes you happy too.

I borrowed my copy from the library. Visit yours. They do incredible stuff there and have incredible reads.