Takeaways from ‘Book Lovers’ by Emily Henry
This is Emily Henry’s third book and I agree with the rave reviews that this is her best work yet. I read her two other books — ‘Beach Read’ and ‘Friends we meet on vacation’ and have absolutely loved those two books as well; I was immersed in those books and couldn’t put them down. As much as I loved those other books by Emily Henry, I can confidently say that this book was my favorite! She is a romance comedy powerhouse and I will ALWAYS say ‘yes’ to her new books. This was a kind of book that I wanted to take my time to read slowly to make sure I savor every word… I didn’t want this book to end. I ended up reading this book two times!
No spoiler alert in this essay; I wanted to jot down some beautiful excerpts in the book that rang a bell in me. How the author explains the protagonist(Nora)’s magnetic attraction towards Charlie is so telling and on-point. Though Nora knows it’s not going to work with Charlie given the city person she is (Charlie has to stay in North Carolina, and Nora will be living at half volume when she is not in NYC; both experienced long-distance relationships firshand and learned how grueling it can be).
When her beloved sister faints during her pregnancy and Nora is on pins and needles waiting for her sister in the ER, she says to herself… ‘The ache won’t always be so bad. People like me aren’t broken beyond repair. No ice ever freezes too thick to thaw and no thorns ever grow too dense to be cut away.’
Nora has restrained her true feelings multiple times in the past, enumerating a myriad of reasons why she and Charlie are incompatible. After a break-through incident, she gives in and lets herself live the present moment with Charlie — loving him and not being afraid of expressing her true feelings for him.
‘Hope thrashing around in my belly like a very determined baby bird with a broken wing.’
‘Geyser of affection erupts in my chest upon the sight of Charlie.’
When it’s time for Nora to leave Sunshine Falls, NC and Charlie, she recites about what she learned during her stay in Sunshine Falls about true love.
‘Maybe love shouldn’t be built on a foundation of compromises, but maybe it can’t exist without them either.
Not the kind that forces two people into shapes they don’t fit in, but the kind that loosens their grips, always leaves room to grow. Compromises that say, there will be a you-shaped space in my heart, and if your shape changes, I will adapt.
No matter where we go, our love will stretch out to hold us, and that makes me feel like… like everything will be okay.’
This is a great read and I know I will come back to ‘Book Lovers’ again whenever I am in the mood for a romance comedy (in all honesty, I kind of always am, being a romance-fiction aficionado I am).
Looking forward to more of Emily Henry’s unstoppable, heart-achingly beautiful novels!