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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.
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Community Reviews
Characters: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Writing: 10
Plot: 7
Intrigue: 10
Logic: 10
Enjoyment: 9
Characters:
I loved every character I met in this book - I’m not kidding! Main characters, secondary characters, tertiary - even the fictional ones written by an author in the story! As a long time avid reader, it’s hard not to fall in love with the two main characters being that one is a literary agent(Nora) and the other an editor.(Charlie) Nora’s sister is precious. Charlie’s family - also precious. The townspeople of Sunshine Falls - adorable!
Atmosphere:
I loved the small town setting of Sunshine Falls, North Carolina. I kept picturing it looking similar to Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls. As Nora and Libby explored the town and got to know its shops, people and their overuse of puns, so did I.
Writing:
AMAZING. Emily Henry put a spell on me with her writing. Not only was I in love with this story by the end of the prologue - of a contemporary romance - I couldn’t put it down. I wasn’t expecting to tab multiple quotes in a romance novel…but I did, several actually. This author was able to put into words feelings I’ve had about what books mean to me that I have never been able to articulate before. There were a couple times where I got emotional from reading this book because of how Nora described what her work meant to her.
Plot:
It’s a romance story. I’ve seen countless movies with this trope, read a couple other romance novels with it back in the day - no big deal. So freaking what - I loved it. Emily Henry had me eating out of her HAND. There were a few surprises she snuck in there too that delighted me. I don’t care if she writes 20 more like it, I’m going to read them…and probably love them. The ending really got me though - I cried and cried and cried and cried.
Intrigue:
I couldn’t put this book down. While I knew what was going to happen and how it would end, I didn’t know what it would take - or cost our characters - to get there. AND I WAS DETERMINED TO NOT STOP READING UNTIL I GOT MY ENDING! I honestly did not recognize myself..I read this book in two days! A romance novel! If I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about reading it.
Enjoyment:
I freaking loved every word on every page. I was so glad to finish it and see how it ended, but was so sad that it was over. I wasn’t ready to let go of these characters, their families and even the town of Sunshine Falls. I felt so invested in these people, they felt so real, so familiar to me. While it is over - I saw the fantastic news that it’s going to be adapted into a movie the day I finished it, so now I’m scouring social media for every update I can find - this girl plans to see it opening day!
This was my first Emily Henry read, and let me say... I loved every single page of this book! I really wanted to hate Charlie at the beginning of the book. I guess I am never the fan of stuck-up, self absorbed men. However, as I continued reading, new layers of Charlie continued to unravel, and he quickly became the one I was rooting for.
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