This also involves coaching on the finer aspects of their genres (interviewing people who have lost family to a cult and activities that result in meet-cutes). They start talking and set a bet – write a novel in the other’s genre and be the first to be sold/published. Gus writes literary fiction without happy endings because that’s how he sees the world (yes, he has Baggage). The last thing she expected is that her university nemesis Gus lives next door. January’s plan is to prepare the house for sale and hope that inspiration strikes to end her agent and publisher being on her tail. January is a writer who writes about true love and romance, but now her biggest inspiration (her parents) has turned out to be a big fat lie. He has left her behind a house by the lake in Michigan, but that is little comfort when she finds out that he was in a relationship with another woman despite being married to January’s mother. She’s broken up with her boyfriend, she has writer’s block and her father has died unexpectedly. For the most part it was exactly that, but does get bogged down occasionally in tying up some of the subplots introduced.

The not-so-good: I felt the writing premise got a bit buried towards the end under all the other plot threads coming together.īeach Read sounded like a great read for summer nights – light, fun and engaging. But they could actually start to become friends or more… When she ends up living next to former rival Gus, they form a bet – write a novel in each other’s genre and get it sold first. In brief: January’s happily ever after life has fallen apart.

Beach read book review