{"id":2142,"date":"2022-07-04T14:17:41","date_gmt":"2022-07-04T14:17:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=2142"},"modified":"2022-07-04T14:17:45","modified_gmt":"2022-07-04T14:17:45","slug":"book-lovers-why-i-do-not-recommend-reading-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=2142","title":{"rendered":"Book Lovers: Why I Do Not Recommend Reading It"},"content":{"rendered":"
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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\u2019s 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.<\/strong><\/mark> Because this was titled \u2018Book Lovers\u2019, I had some hope, but alas! Here is the review. I hope you enjoy reading it more than I enjoyed reading the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~GOODREADS DESCRIPTION~~<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn’t see coming….<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nora Stephens\u2019 life is books\u2014she\u2019s read them all\u2014and 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters\u2019 trip away\u2014with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she\u2019s 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\u2019ve met many times and it\u2019s never been cute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Nora knows she\u2019s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he\u2019s nobody\u2019s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again\u2014in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow\u2014what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they\u2019ve written about themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n

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~~THOUGHTS~~<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Other than the obvious over-exaggeration of tropes, I think this novel also failed for me because of several other factors. Let\u2019s start with the dialogues.<\/strong><\/mark> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving on to the characters.<\/strong><\/mark> Initially, I liked Nora\u2019s 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 \u2018I-am-superior-than-you\u2019 vibe which I didn\u2019t care for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving on to the title of the book. <\/strong><\/mark>I expected more relatable dialogues in reference to books. Some quotes that would have me shouting, \u201cTHAT IS SO ME!\u201d There are a few, but they are not nearly enough for a book titled \u2018Book Lovers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And lastly, the story.<\/strong><\/mark> I am glad about a few things. That Libby did not have cancer. That she & Brendan were not filing for a divorce. That\u2019s it. Those would have been way too obvious for the reader.<\/p>\n\n\n

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~~Enemies to Lovers Trope~~<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The most used & (God only know why but) also the most loved \u2018Enemies to Lovers\u2019 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\u2019 feelings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n

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~~The Sisters Trope~~<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s all wholesome. But when it\u2019s all so perfect, something has got to give, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019t worry. The younger sister just wanted Nora to be her sister & not a mother trying to fix everything. Typical, isn\u2019t it? So, there goes the second overused sister trope.<\/p>\n\n\n

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~~Childhood Trauma Trope~~<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How would any romance novel with main characters having trust issues & commitment issues ever be complete without some sort of childhood trauma? Nora\u2019s dad up & leaving when her mom was pregnant with Libby. So original. And then, Charlie\u2019s 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 & \u2018not-good-enough-for-them\u2019 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~Small Town Charm Trope~~<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Not that that wasn\u2019t already more than enough, we have another small-town charm trope. All of Nora\u2019s 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\u2019t end up in Sunshine Falls but she as good as did. With the small town being Libby\u2019s new home & Charlie\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n

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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!<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until next time,<\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u2019s 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,23,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-review","category-books","category-book-reviews","category-mindscape-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Picsart_22-07-04_18-41-04-495-01-01.jpeg?fit=1100%2C1100&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2413,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=2413","url_meta":{"origin":2142,"position":0},"title":"Top Posts of 2022 \u2013 Year in Review (Part 4)","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"December 30, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! Welcome back for the fourth part of Year in Review! This one is all about Mindscape in Words! Which posts did really well.. which posts had the highest clicks.. which posts had the highest impressions.. which posts have been consistent throughout the years. Accompanied with\u2026 you guessed it!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mindscape Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Mindscape Reviews","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/PSX_20221218_100212-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/PSX_20221218_100212-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/PSX_20221218_100212-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/PSX_20221218_100212-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/PSX_20221218_100212-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3451,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=3451","url_meta":{"origin":2142,"position":1},"title":"Funny Story: My First Emily Henry Favorite!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"May 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! It has been a while since the last review, because guess what? I have not really been reading a lot of books worth reviewing. And the ones which are worth reviewing take some processing time which eventually reaches the 'Now I cannot remember anything to review this book'\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picsart_24-05-13_09-08-53-864-01-02-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picsart_24-05-13_09-08-53-864-01-02-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picsart_24-05-13_09-08-53-864-01-02-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picsart_24-05-13_09-08-53-864-01-02-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picsart_24-05-13_09-08-53-864-01-02-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4179,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=4179","url_meta":{"origin":2142,"position":2},"title":"Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry Book Review","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"May 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! It\u2019s been over two weeks since I read Emily Henry\u2019s latest novel. I just had zero motivation to write the review these past weekends, but here it is finally! A day at home with no plans. In a good mood as I just finished painting while listening to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Picsart_25-05-17_20-00-44-387-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Picsart_25-05-17_20-00-44-387-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Picsart_25-05-17_20-00-44-387-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Picsart_25-05-17_20-00-44-387-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Picsart_25-05-17_20-00-44-387-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2764,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=2764","url_meta":{"origin":2142,"position":3},"title":"Happy Place by Emily Henry: My Unhappy Place","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"May 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! May has been a tricky month so far. I am reading just as much, but not really been able to review anything I have read. Most times, I knew exactly what to write but did not find the will to write. 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Work from office has started with full swing, which I don\u2019t prefer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "books"","block_context":{"text":"books","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/PSX_20220630_173214-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/PSX_20220630_173214-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/PSX_20220630_173214-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/PSX_20220630_173214-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/PSX_20220630_173214-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3462,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=3462","url_meta":{"origin":2142,"position":5},"title":"May 2024 Wrap-Up!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"May 31, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! May has been the highlight of 2024! It was the month of my first international trip to the US! I had the time of my life. Never had 20 days felt so ridiculously short! I was in Virginia, Washington DC, Philadelphia & New York City! Of course, I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picsart_24-05-31_10-38-48-460-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picsart_24-05-31_10-38-48-460-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picsart_24-05-31_10-38-48-460-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picsart_24-05-31_10-38-48-460-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picsart_24-05-31_10-38-48-460-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2142"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2151,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2142\/revisions\/2151"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}