Blind Date →
Beach Read by Emily Henry book cover — buy on Amazon 🌶️ 3/5 Moderate Tap the cover. Start tonight. →
Book profile · reviewed 19 September 2026

Beach Read

by Emily Henry · 2020 · 361 pages · Contemporary Romance · standalone

Beach Read is Emily Henry at 3/5 Moderate: 361 pages of small-town forced proximity. Open-door heat that stays plot-aware — explicit enough, never gratuitous. HEA.

Feel-good contemporary with teeth: forced proximity, a small town, and 3/5 heat that leaves room for the story.

Mood · Feel Good HEA guaranteed
Forced proximity Small town Feel-good 3/5 Moderate Full spice guide →

Reader-supported: as an Amazon Associate, Sort By Cravings earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

I need this in my hands tonight → Don’t read it. Hear the first sentence →
15 seconds · then you will not stop
Feel-good contemporary with teeth: forced proximity, a small town, and 3/5 heat that leaves room for the story.
Emily Henry · Beach Read
0:00–0:15muted preview
3/5 small-town Henry · 361 pages, forced proximity, HEA Kindle before this tab cools Audible trial often $0
Feel-good contemporary with teeth: forced proximity, a small town, and 3/5 heat that leaves room for the story.
Feels like: Feel-good contemporary with teeth: forced proximity, a small town, and 3/5 heat that leaves room for the story.
TL;DR: 3/5 Moderate. Explicit enough to satisfy, never gratuitous. Plot-aware.
Mood
Feel Good
Spice
🌶️ 3/5 Moderate
Pacing
Fast
Length
361 pages
Ending
HEA guaranteed
Lane
Contemporary Romance
Series
Standalone

Beach Read bibliographic record

Title
Beach Read
Series / position
Standalone
Author
Emily Henry
Publisher
Berkley
First published
2020
ISBN-13
9781984806734
Pages
361 (this edition)
Language
English
Genre
Contemporary Romance
Spice (SBC)
3/5 Moderate · open-door

How Beach Read actually reads

Beach Read is Emily Henry in feel-good contemporary: forced proximity, small town, 361 pages, HEA.

3/5 Moderate — explicit enough to satisfy, never gratuitous. The story still gets to breathe.

Who should read Beach Read tonight

Swipe right if…

  • Forced Proximity is your kind of hook — this book builds around it
  • Small Town is your kind of hook — this book builds around it
  • Contemporary Romance is exactly the shelf you are reaching for right now
  • Feel Good energy sounds like a good reading mood tonight
Yes — see Kindle or Audible below

Swipe left if…

  • Contemporary Romance is not your current craving
  • Feel Good is the opposite of what you want tonight
  • You need a book with a totally different pace or emotional temperature
  • You would rather start a bigger series
Browse books instead →

Where the heat actually lands

3/5 Moderate. Explicit enough to satisfy, never gratuitous. Plot still gets the page count. Full breakdown: How spicy is Beach Read?

0–30%

Charged tension

Open attraction, loaded dialogue, the characters know what's coming.

30–60%

First payoff

Explicit scenes begin. Real, on-page heat that serves the relationship.

60–90%

Consistent heat

Multiple scenes, but the book still cares about plot.

90–100%

Emotional close

The last stretch is about feelings more than physicality.

How do you want this in your head in the next ten minutes?

If you already know

Search the edition

Do not panic-buy. Read twenty pages first.

See editions →

Content heads-up

Explicit sexual content on this 361-page small-town Henry 3/5 — no extra heads-up tags on the profile.

Tropes: Forced Proximity · Small Town

Books like Beach Read — pick the rail

Spice only

How spicy is Beach Read?

Beach Read is 3/5 Moderate — 3/5 Moderate. Explicit enough to satisfy, never gratuitous. Plot-aware..

Same craving

Books like Beach Read

Beach Read · 3/5 Moderate · Forced Proximity + Small Town · standalone · 361 pages · Feel Good · Contemporary Romance · CW: Explicit sexual content on this 361-page small-town Henry 3/5 — no extra heads-up tags on the profile.

Beach Read questions

How spicy is Beach Read?

3/5 Moderate. Open-door, plot-aware. Explicit enough, never gratuitous. Full spice guide →

Is Beach Read a series?

Beach Read is listed as standalone. 361-page; Standalone; Forced proximity; 3/5 Moderate; Feel-good contemporary with teeth: forced proximity, a small town, and 3/5 heat that leaves room for the story..

Is there an audiobook of Beach Read?

Yes. 361-page small-town 3/5. Search Audible for Beach Read by Emily Henry. 361-page; Standalone; Forced proximity; 3/5 Moderate; Feel-good contemporary with teeth: forced proximity, a small town, and 3/5 heat that leaves room for the story..

Does Beach Read have a happy ending?

HEA guaranteed. Beach Read is a standalone, 361 pages, 3/5 Moderate — the arc closes here.

Last chance to stop scrolling

Beach Read is ready when you are.

When you are ready, start with Kindle, paperback, or Audible.

As an Amazon Associate, Sort By Cravings earns from qualifying purchases. Ratings stay independent.

After this one

One Friday book. Mood and spice already checked.

Send Friday’s match →
Beach Read · 3/5 Moderate
3/5. Small-town HEA.
Buy now → Listen free →