Book Lovers

February 21, 2022
A summer trip spurs unexpected self-discovery in bestseller Henry’s latest rom-com (after People We Meet on Vacation), a moving examination of love, belonging, and family. Since childhood, literary agent Nora Stephens has structured her life around taking care of her sister, Libby, four years her junior, so when an exhausted and—Nora fears—increasingly distant Libby suggests a monthlong trip to small-town Sunshine Falls, N.C., Nora eagerly agrees. As she wrestles with Libby’s irritability and strives to make her happy while trying to find her own equilibrium—including making a surprising connection with her professional nemesis, editor Charlie Lastra, a Sunshine Falls native—Nora must turn fresh eyes on old problems. Meanwhile, things heat up between Charlie and Nora, but the demands of their professional lives may keep them apart. Henry expertly captures the complexities of close but unbalanced familial relationships along with the distance between the dreams of youth and the realities of adulthood. As usual, her sharp eye for detail in establishing setting and creating empathetic characters engages the reader, and Nora’s well-shaded emotional struggles complement the steamy enemies-to-lovers plot and lovely scenery. This introspective romance is sure to please. Agent: Taylor Haggerty, Root Literary.

Starred review from March 1, 2022

Literary agent Nora is tired of always playing the ambitious big-city ice queen whose boyfriends leave her for new lives (and new relationships) in small-town America. That's why, when Nora's sister insists on taking her on a trip to a little town that's straight out of one of her authors' novels, and imposes a list of romance tropes to experience, Nora is doubtful she can find her happily-ever-after. Cue Charlie, an editor and Nora's nemesis from New York, who mysteriously shows up in town and slowly reveals that there's a lot more to him than his surly exterior. Will Nora finally break out of her doomed pattern and find true love? Henry (Beach Read; People We Meet on Vacation) has written another sweet and swoon-worthy novel with plenty of witty dialogue, an evocative setting, and strong characters. VERDICT Truly a book for book lovers and a romance for romance lovers, this novel will delight Henry's fans, as well as readers of smart, sexy, and funny romances with emotional depth and storylines featuring family dynamics.--Migdalia Jimenez

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2022
Henry's latest is a witty, rapidly unfolding novel set in New York's publishing world, where literary agent Nora Stephens is known as a shark. Scary, precise, and organized, she works tirelessly. She is someone people can count on, whether they're her clients, her colleagues, or her sister, with whom she's spending August in Sunshine Falls, North Carolina. Charlie Lastra is a talented editor with a reputation for brusqueness, broodiness, and acerbic editorial comments. He craves complete honesty at all times. While wanting to understand how things work in the world, he has learned not to trust it. They meet over Nora's client's book, which Charlie badly wants to edit after rejecting her former book. He, too, is in Sunshine Falls, and as they work together, their initial hostility sparks romance. They are both true big-city workaholics who appreciate each other's ethics and brilliance, but both struggle with insecurities and the sense that they will always be watching life from the outside. Like Henry's two previous runaway bestsellers, People We Meet on Vacation (2021) and Beach Read (2020), Book Lovers is poised to capture readers' hearts and minds.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.