https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52867387-beach-read
By: Marcella
“Here’s the thing about writing Happily Ever Afters: it helps if you believe in them.”
Non spoiler: Wow, this book was a rollercoaster of emotions! I knew very little going into this, except that it was a romance story set in summer and I figured it would be a light and fun book. This book was so much more than that. It follows hopeless romantic and author, January, who after her father’s death moves into his beach house. She meets neighbor Gus, who happens to be an author as well, although their writing styles are stark opposites. They end up striking a deal to write like one another, he will write a “happily ever after” romance, and she will write a darker, cult like story. This aspect of the book was so much because they agree to do “research” together as a part of this process, which basically meant they went on dates and spent time together.
In my opinion, the cover and name is a little misleading. Although there were fun, romantic and swoon worthy moments during the book, it is packed with depth. It deals with family secrets, lies, and heavy, traumatic issues from the past. I really related to January in the sense that she is one of those people who believe in happily ever after. As an avid romance reader, I love this. She had this idea of what that was in her head, but that soon changes for her and she struggles to find what that means to her again. Both her and Gus were going through a lot of internal struggles and I think they balanced another out nicely. I really enjoyed watching Gus and January help one another grow throughout the book. I highly recommend it. 5 stars!