Book Review: Beach Read

 

I do not usually read romance novels. This was recommended to me because the premise- the distinction between literary fiction and women's fiction- is endlessly fascinating to me. I think they're the same thing, with the latter undervalued as women's work often is, getting less respect in elite book spaces but making up for it in sales because more book buyers are women.

In Emily Henry's Beach Read, two writers make a bet to trade genres in order to prove their merits. Because the book itself is a romance, the writers fall in love  and the story becomes largely focused on that.

I think of the romance genre as a subgenre of women's fiction, and if that's what you read, you will find these characters smart and complicated and entertaining.If you're a literary/women's fiction reader, you may find the will-they-won't-they takes up too much of the story. I was much more interested in the  main character's struggle to come to terms with the recent death of her father.