Take a photo of a barcode or cover
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think this is my favorite Emily Henry book to date! The story is so sweet and I love the dual timelines. It’s equal parts romance and historical fiction/mystery. It didn’t feel predictable or boring at all and I probably could’ve finished it in a sitting haha. Definitely want to reread this one again in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content, Car accident, Pregnancy
Minor: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Blood, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail
Normally I don’t like the pregnancy trope at the end of the book but I think it works here given the overall theme of the book.
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
🧡 Grumpy/Sunshine
🧡 Rivals to Lovers
🧡 Workplace (ish)
4/5 🌟
3/5 🌶
Not the typical romance, but it is a love story, through snd through; love for a child, a sibling, a parent, or a kindred spirit. It's about all kinds of love and that not everyone gets that love right.
The romance seemed unfounded to start, but was just as powerful in the end.
🧡 Rivals to Lovers
🧡 Workplace (ish)
4/5 🌟
3/5 🌶
Not the typical romance, but it is a love story, through snd through; love for a child, a sibling, a parent, or a kindred spirit. It's about all kinds of love and that not everyone gets that love right.
The romance seemed unfounded to start, but was just as powerful in the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident
Moderate: Death, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
no one talk to me for 3-5 work days I'm processing (also recovering from crying) (a lot)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Dementia, Car accident, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol
Minor: Confinement, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Forced institutionalization
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Great Big Beautiful Life is only the second Emily Henry book I’ve read—my first was Funny Story—and this one definitely feels like a departure from her usual style. It leans more into women’s fiction, and I absolutely enjoyed the shift.
Margaret’s story was both beautiful and heartbreaking, and I was completely drawn in. That twist at the end genuinely caught me off guard, even though some parts were a bit predictable. I liked not always knowing where the story would lead.
There is a romance plot which is between Alice and Hayden, who are competing to write Margaret’s story, but I felt like their chemistry could’ve been explored a bit more deeply. Still, the emotional weight of the book more than made up for it.
Overall, this was a emotionally rich read, and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in seeing a different, refreshing side of Emily Henry’s storytelling.
Margaret’s story was both beautiful and heartbreaking, and I was completely drawn in. That twist at the end genuinely caught me off guard, even though some parts were a bit predictable. I liked not always knowing where the story would lead.
There is a romance plot which is between Alice and Hayden, who are competing to write Margaret’s story, but I felt like their chemistry could’ve been explored a bit more deeply. Still, the emotional weight of the book more than made up for it.
Overall, this was a emotionally rich read, and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in seeing a different, refreshing side of Emily Henry’s storytelling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Dementia, Car accident, Pregnancy
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Car accident
Minor: Pregnancy
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Car accident
Minor: Pregnancy
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Death of parent
Alice Scott and Hayden Anderson have both been invited to potentially write the life story of Margaret Ives, the reclusive heiress to a media empire. Her life was always in the news until she dropped off the face of the Earth and wasn't seen again in public for years. Now Alice has tracked her down and is hearing her story whilst competing with Hayden to turn it into a book. Alice's late Dad was a massive fan of rockstar Cosmo Sinclair, to whom Margaret was famously married and so she is desperate to find out the true story that her journalist father would have wanted to know. Hayden, on the other hand, is fresh from winning a Pulitzer for his previous memoir and on paper is the better person for the job. Over several weeks, Margaret tells her tale while in the background Hayden and Alice get to know each other and of course the forced proximity helps sparks to fly.
Now, if you've read Emily Henry's novels before you'll know that she writes romances with a hint of spice. But this is more like an Emily Henry novel twinned with a Taylor Jenkins Reid. It has the mystery of Margaret's story and why she has chosen to speak now, the intrigue of what she's not telling Alice and the golden age of Hollywood and Elvis at the heart of it all. It's much more like Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo with a side of romance from 2 supporting characters than anything else, and it is honestly fabulous. I adored it!
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Death of parent
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Great Big Beautiful Life is Book Lovers meets The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo in the best way imaginable, and y’all aren’t ready. Emily Henry has done it again.
I love Henry’s books for her round characters in deeply believable, seemingly unreconcilable circumstances. This delivers on that front, with journalists (sunshine) Alice Scott and (grumpy) Hayden Anderson competing for the chance to write the celebrity memoir of a woman named Margaret Ives who disappeared from the public eye years before. As we watch Alice and Hayden get to know each other better (and wonder what will happen to their budding attraction when one of them beats out the other for the dream job), we also get Margaret’s family story in bits and pieces — but why is Margaret still withholding information even though Alice is under a strict NDA?
I absolutely loved the structure and mystery of this one; I was totally sucked in. Alice and Hayden have a sizzling chemistry, and the way everything fell apart (and then came back together, since this IS a romance novel) in the end had me tearing up. As always, that’s largely thanks Julia Whelan’s excellent performance of the audiobook — she brings out the emotion in me every time.
I think Happy Place is still my favorite (as an OTP girlie, I’m a sucker for second chance), but this one is definitely up there toward the top!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Kidnapping, Car accident
Minor: Pregnancy