Emily Henry Does Not Miss | Book Lovers by Emily Henry [REVIEW]

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. [From Goodreads]

I was a little wary going into this one. I absolutely adored both Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation, but it’s been a while. I was worried that Henry’s writing wouldn’t live up to the hype I created for her in my head. I forgot about the actual magic that exists in her writing.

There was so much to love about this book. Henry said she wrote this one as a response to the common Hallmark romance trope where the main character escapes the work-obsessed partner back home in the city in small-town America. She says, “what’s wrong with being that partner back home who loves her job and the city?” This premise meant a lot to me. Before my grandma passed, we would go to her house and watch Hallmarks all night. I love Hallmark movies, but this trope is a commonly discussed and made-fun-of one in my family. This book honestly felt like home, and I loved seeing the ways Henry plays with these tropes to subvert them.

One thing that I think sets Henry apart from other romance authors is the humor she injects into her books. Characters in romances often have a very quirky sense of humor that is hard to relate to. Henry’s heroines have a little edgier and smarter sense of humor. They seem like real people that I know and am friends with. Actually, the humor kind of reminded me of the humor in Gilmore Girls which I watched over and over with my mom as a kid. The dialogue is just smart and really makes the characters come alive.

I think this is why, in the end, the romance works so well. Nora and Charlie feel like people you could bump into at any moment in the city because you get to know them so well through their dialogue. Like I said, Emily Henry has literal magic in her writing to make you feel for these characters at every turn.

Not to mention, she provides just the right amount of angst balanced with some give to make an insanely satisfying romantic ending. If you haven’t read any of Emily Henry’s romances, they are not hyped up this much for nothing–go read them!