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Emily Henry

May 2022 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Julia Whelan

About this audiobook

“One of my favorite authors.”—Colleen Hoover

An insightful, delightful, instant #1 New York Times bestseller from the author of Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation.

Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by Oprah Daily ∙ Today ∙ Parade ∙ Marie Claire ∙ Bustle ∙ PopSugar ∙ Katie Couric Media ∙ Book Bub ∙ SheReads ∙ Medium ∙ The Washington Post ∙ and more!

One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn't see coming...

Nora Stephens' life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.

Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.

If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.

Ratings and reviews

This book was a delight to listen to. I enjoyed the witty comebacks from Charlie and Nora and their chemistry was on point. The relationship between the sisters and its complexity was an aspect that I especially loved as they were each other's supporters and who doesn’t want someone to always have your back? I loved the mocking of small town romance tropes and all the reading/book references were fun. But I especially loved the depth and character growth within this book. Nora’s, Charlie’s and even Libby’s character arc was well developed and I loved growing with them. Emily Henry’s writing is so smart and has a way of enveloping you making it difficult to press pause on her book. Thank you Penguin Random House Audio and Libro.fm for the alc. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

4.5 stars — So here’s the thing. A lot of this book was 4 stars, or 4.5 rounded down maybe. But when I got to the end, there were just so many things that HIT with me, that I’m rounding up and I don’t even care. Here’s another thing: I’m not sure I would have loved this book to the same degree if I hadn’t listened to it. There is something truly remarkable about Ms. Whelan’s performance, at least for me. The emotion is freaking outstanding. I could fall into her Charlie voice and live ther

I once read a review that this book felt like it was written for her. Anyone who challenges the typical Hallmark movie trope speaks to me 110%. Another great book from this Author.

About the author

Emily Henry is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of People We Meet on Vacation and Beach Read. She studied creative writing at Hope College, and now spends most of her time in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the part of Kentucky just beneath it. Find her on Instagram @emilyhenrywrites.