Book Lovers: Why I Do Not Recommend Reading It

Posted On July 4, 2022

Hi Readers! My complete loathing for Emily Henry books continues with her latest novel Book Lovers. I despise romance genre as a whole, but with these books, it’s a whole other level of suffering when I read them. Predictable story, bland characters, pretentious & dull dialogues & the complete absence of romance or heat or sexual tension. This is how I define Emily Henry books. Because this was titled ‘Book Lovers’, I had some hope, but alas! Here is the review. I hope you enjoy reading it more than I enjoyed reading the book.

~~GOODREADS DESCRIPTION~~

One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn’t see coming….

Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.

Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.

If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.

~~THOUGHTS~~

Other than the obvious over-exaggeration of tropes, I think this novel also failed for me because of several other factors. Let’s start with the dialogues. The conversations between Nora & Charlie were so dull. There was no wit in them, no one with an upper hand trying to win the discussion. It was just sheer boredom.

Moving on to the characters. Initially, I liked Nora’s character. I love a female lead who is a savage boss. But soon she became just another character with her charmless demeanor. As for Charlie, I never liked him. He had a ‘I-am-superior-than-you’ vibe which I didn’t care for.

Moving on to the title of the book. I expected more relatable dialogues in reference to books. Some quotes that would have me shouting, “THAT IS SO ME!” There are a few, but they are not nearly enough for a book titled ‘Book Lovers.

And lastly, the story. I am glad about a few things. That Libby did not have cancer. That she & Brendan were not filing for a divorce. That’s it. Those would have been way too obvious for the reader.

~~Enemies to Lovers Trope~~

The most used & (God only know why but) also the most loved ‘Enemies to Lovers’ trope! Nora Stephens is a shark of a book agent, always protecting her clients & willing to go overboard for her job. Charlie Lastra is an intimidating book editor, always straight with the facts without considering others’ feelings.

Both are book lovers, because of which the story easily moves from enemies to lovers. Their supposedly witty banter soon led to some smutty scenes, but I felt like the chemistry was all off because the words always read like there was a competition between them & nothing resembling love or even lust.

If I were to read romance again, I would prefer friends to lovers rather than enemies to lovers. So, this was another extremely common trope. And there you have, the first overused enemies to lovers trope.

~~The Sisters Trope~~

Libby and Nora feel like the ideal sister pair mostly throughout the book vacationing in a small town with a checklist of unachievable adventurous things to do. Undeniably there are secrets between them, but mostly it’s all wholesome. But when it’s all so perfect, something has got to give, right?

Because Libby & Nora lost their parents at a young age, they only had each other. So, the elder sister Nora takes on the quintessential mother role, sacrifices her own career so that her younger sister Libby could get an education & you know the like. And then, of course, we find out that Libby had hidden some truths about her health from Nora so that she wouldn’t worry. The younger sister just wanted Nora to be her sister & not a mother trying to fix everything. Typical, isn’t it? So, there goes the second overused sister trope.

~~Childhood Trauma Trope~~

How would any romance novel with main characters having trust issues & commitment issues ever be complete without some sort of childhood trauma? Nora’s dad up & leaving when her mom was pregnant with Libby. So original. And then, Charlie’s parents always wanting someone who would stay with them in the small town to take care of family business but Charlie moving away leading to the whole resentment & ‘not-good-enough-for-them’ build up only to realise they all just wanted each other to be happy! So, there you have it. The fourth indispensable childhood trauma leading to relationship anxiety trope.

~~Small Town Charm Trope~~

Not that that wasn’t already more than enough, we have another small-town charm trope. All of Nora’s ex-boyfriends break up with her because they found a woman in a small town & decided to ditch the hustle of their NYC life to live in a quaint happy small town. Because this was already called out at the start of the novel, I would have flipped out if the same had happened to Nora. She didn’t end up in Sunshine Falls but she as good as did. With the small town being Libby’s new home & Charlie’s hometown, of course it happened. Well, I am disappointed but not surprised. So, that I hope is the last trope of this really trope-y novel.

So, that is all, folks. I listened to this on audiobook, which is why I was not totally bored. I have rated Book Lovers by Emily Henry at 2/5 stars!

Until next time,