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January's idea of marriage has been shaken to the core after discovering at her father's funeral that he had another life. All she thought was precious and safe shattered in front of her.
She feels the man she thought she knew and thought loved her and her mother unequivocally never existed. Between this and the failure of her own relationship, she has developed a fear of giving out her heart but still wants to believe that love and successful marriage are possible.
Broke and with nowhere to live, after breaking up with her boyfriend Jacques, she retreats to the only place available to her; the beach house where her dad and the other woman, Sonya, lived together.
Here she discovers her next-door neighbour is none other than fellow writer Augustus Everett who was her biggest rival back in College and her enemy. Gus is also troubled by his past and feels he is not capable of holding on to love or being loved. They soon discover that they are both stuck in a creative rut. After a few too many drinks one night they decide to swap comfort zones as a bet. Gus will write a romantic, happy ending story and January will write the next Great American Novel. Whoever sells their book first will promote the other person's book everywhere they go whilst promoting their own. Research has to be done so on Friday Gus will bring her on his research trips, interviews with real people who have suffered a loss and on Saturday, January will bring him on romantic trips out.
Will this restore her faith in love or prove Gus right, that love is too hard and that he could never be the romantic guy January desires?
This wasn't my first dip into Emily Henry's work. I read You and Me on Vacation which I loved so I was hoping for this novel to be as good which, it was. I loved the banter back and forth between January and Gus, the handwritten notes and especially the steamy flirtations. The characters were all very likeable, the chapters were short and I found it a warm, hug in a mug, rainy day easy read. I did find the ending a bit cheesy but who doesn't love a bit of cheese every now and again?
If I had one criticism it would be about their respective novels which I found both ridiculous. I would have preferred not to know the details as they didn't correlate with the book at all or add anything to it. However, it is still a wonderful read which I will be recommending to all my friends to pack in their summer holiday suitcase.
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