Romance Bookseller Picks
Give audiobooks, support local bookstores!
Start gifting
Bookseller pick
Send as gift
Add to Wish List
Almost ready!
In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.
Log in Create account
Shop small, give big!
With credit bundles, you choose the number of credits and your recipient picks their audiobooks—all in support of local bookstores.
Start gifting
Limited-time offer
Get two free audiobooks!
Now’s a great time to shop indie. When you start a new one credit per month membership supporting local bookstores with promo code SWITCH, we’ll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.
Sign up todayBeach Read
Narrator
Julia Whelan
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
Learn more
Length
10 hours 12 minutes
Language
English
Bookseller recommendation
“Two vastly different authors, one summer in close proximity, and a challenge issued to write in each other’s style, and do it better. Is that the set up for a perfect romance? Yes. The answer is absolutely, positively, 100% yes. Equal parts witty banter, real-world issues, and incredible character dynamics, this should be the go to for anyone looking for something fun, but undeniably full of heart.”
— Kendall • Brilliant Books Audio
Bookseller recommendation
“This was so much fun, both in story, and also to listen to. January is a romance writer, Gus a dark, literary fiction author, and in a fit of rivalry, they make a bet to write a book in each other's genre for the summer. Packed with emotional depth and plenty of hi-jinks, this is the perfect novel to lighten your heart while challenging your preconceived notions. I wanted to reread it right away!”
— Tildy • Belmont Books
Bookseller recommendation
“ Full of wit and heart I fell hard for BEACH READ. A romance author seeks solace in a lakeside resort town to grieve the loss of her father, only to find her college nemesis and publishing's current literary darling is her next-door neighbor. The heroine is so funny and relatable (I too would like to keep a bottle of wine in purse for fortification). I loved it so much I read the physical book, and listened to the audiobook. ”
— Jessica • Country Bookshelf
Bookseller recommendation
“This title says it all - Beach Read is the perfect romantic beach read book and not just because of the romance. Emily Henry has given us complex characters in a solid story line while keeping the sexual tension at a perfect, steamy temperature. Beach Read IS the perfect beach read; but it is also the perfect vacation read, staycation read, quarantine read, and escape read. Queue it up, pop in your ear buds, and the hours will disappear.”
— Mary • Anderson's Bookshop
Bookseller recommendation
“So enjoying listening to the audio book of Beach Read by Emily Henry. The story revolves around two writers. January who writes romance and Gus who writes fiction. Over one summer they come up with a challenge: January challenges Gus to write romance and Gus challenges January to write a fiction novel. What happens next makes for a great story, a perfect summer book. Beach Read is a must-listen-to on Libro.FM.”
— Karen • Anderson's Bookshop
Bookseller recommendation
“What do you get when you cross a disillusioned romance author with a Hemingway wannabe? A compulsively readable book where you kind of hope for your train to be delayed so you can spend a few more minutes with January and Gus. These two, saddled with writer’s block, make a pact to write the other’s genre. Literary snobbery is (rightfully) called out, and the two begin to navigate a friendship outside of writing as they explore the other’s process. Reader, I loved it.”
— Audrey • Belmont Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Looking for the perfect blend of romance and humor? Beach Read by Emily Henry is an absolute gem! This charming story brings together two writers with completely different styles who challenge each other in ways they never expected. Packed with wit, warmth, and a dash of heartfelt emotion, Beach Read will have you laughing, swooning, and maybe even shedding a tear. It’s the perfect feel-good book to cozy up with.”
— In Bloom Books • In Bloom Books
FROM THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION AND BOOK LOVERS!
A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters.
Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.
They’re polar opposites.
In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block.
Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She’ll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he’ll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.
Emily Henry is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of People We Meet on Vacation and Beach Read. She studied creative writing at Hope College, and now spends most of her time in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the part of Kentucky just beneath it. Find her on Instagram @emilyhenrywrites.
Reviews
“Once I started Beach Read I legit did not put it down.”—BetchesOne of...
The New York Times Book Review's Summer Romance Reads
Entertainment Weekly’s Hottest Summer Reads of 2020
Oprah Magazine's Best Beach Reads of Summer 2020
Betches’ 20 Books to Read in 2020
SheReads’ Most Anticipated Books of Summer 2020
Goodreads' Big Books of Spring
Popsugar's 25 Exciting New Books Coming Out in May
Bustle's Most Anticipated May Titles
Shondaland's Five Books to Read in May
TheSkimm's 11 Buzzy Books for Your Imaginary Beach Bag
Good Morning America's 25 Novels You'll Want to Read this Summer
The New York Post's Required Reading
Good Housekeeping's 25 Best Beach Reads
Huffington Post's Best Books to Read during Quarantine
CNN's Perfect Summer Reads
LitHub's Ultimate Summer 2020 Reading List
BookRiot's 6 Captivating New Books
“Reader, I swooned! Beach Read is a breath of fresh air. My heart ached for January, and Gus is to die for—a steamy, smart and perceptive romance. I was engrossed!”—Josie Silver, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One Day in December
“This is a touching and heartfelt book about love, betrayal, grief, failure, and learning how to love again. I adored going along on Gus and January’s journey, and I closed this book with a satisfied sigh.”—Jasmine Guillory, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Proposal
“Beach Read is original, sparkling bright, and layered with feeling. Has trying to see the world through your long time crush/rival’s eyes ever been this potent and poignant? If whipcrack banter and foggy sexual tension is your catnip, you’ll adore this book.”—Sally Thorne, USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game and 99 Percent Mine
“Beach Read is exactly the witty, charming, and swoony novel we always want; it also happens to be the unexpected wallop of emotional wisdom and sly social commentary we need right now. I adored it.”—Julia Whelan, author of My Oxford Year
“[It] has everything the title promises—a romping plot, family secrets, and the thrill of falling in love, all set on the sweeping shores of eastern Lake Michigan. I cannot wait to read what Henry writes next.”—Amy E. Reichert, author The Coincidence of Coconut Cake and The Optimist’s Guide to Letting Go
“Delightfully romantic and slyly poignant, Beach Read is brimming with crackling banter and engrossing prose. It has every flavor of booklover catnip: rivalry, creative struggle, family secrets, and the sweet head-over-heels tumble into love. Emily Henry's Beach Read is 2020's perfect anywhere read.”—Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners
“If you liked Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game and Linda Holmes’s Evvie Drake Starts Over, you will definitely be into this, which feels like their spawn. (No one asked me to say this, by the way. I’m just high on that happy-sad feeling of finishing a book I enjoyed, that I wish wasn’t over.) Well played.”—Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, bestselling authors of The Royal We
“Readers are sure to fall hard for this meta, heartfelt take on the romance genre.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A heartfelt look at taking second chances, in life and in love.”—Kirkus Reviews
“This will still sweep readers off their feet. January’s first-person narration is suitably poetic and effervescent, the small-town beach setting is charming, and the romance is achingly swoony.”—Booklist
“That Henry can manage to both pack a fierce emotional wallop and spear literary posturing in one go is a testament to her immense skill.”—Entertainment Weekly Expand reviews
Give audiobooks, support local bookstores! 
Libro.fm for Business
Start a membership, get two free audiobooks