Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Stora vackra liv by Emily Henry

136 reviews

katharina90's review against another edition

2.0

emotional lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

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My least favorite Emily Henry to date. It wasn't terrible, just boring. 

The lead couple and their romance was pretty unconvincing and Margaret's story just wasn't interesting to me. The big reveal was predictable and not worth slogging through all this family history for.

The overall vibe was different enough from previous books that I forgot I was reading a Emily Henry novel.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Grief

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Dementia, Car accident, Suicide attempt

lrray26's review against another edition

3.75

emotional funny hopeful 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

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While I enjoyed the parallel unfolding stories of Alice-Hayden and Margaret, this is not my favorite EmHen book. I think the parallel stories might’ve split some of the attention, leaving the main couple without as much depth. Captain Cecil forever though!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent

dhrutibc's review against another edition

3.5

emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Alcohol

Minor: Confinement, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Gaslighting

madelinemarquit's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I will always love and EmHen book and this was no exception. I do find myself yearning for something more, though. The big plot reveal towards the end was wonderful, and leaving the story open-ended (somewhat) definitely gives us room to play with our imaginations. Maybe what bothers me is I was DYING for us to get a Hayden POV, or for us to learn literally anything about what he’d been hearing during interviews. I’m bummed that there was so much left unsaid, but appreciate the reason nonetheless. Wonderful book, I definitely cried at the depth of this relationship between sisters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Mental illness, Death of parent, Gaslighting

pazzz's review against another edition

5.0

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Death of parent

sexyvirgorising's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful 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

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My favorite of Emily Henry’s thus far. Couldn’t see things coming as easily and the build up was so great. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexism, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy

jbaymowmow's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, Death of parent

Minor: Pregnancy

kflemingh's review against another edition

5.0

emotional funny hopeful mysterious fast-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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Abandonment

Minor: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Car accident, Pregnancy

takarakeireads's review against another edition

4.25

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

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Everyone out here giving this book 1-2 stars is kwazyyyy! Even if this isn't your favorite of Emily's books, or it wasn't as romance-focused as her past books, or it wasn't what you were expecting - IT IS STILL OBJECTIVELY A WELL WRITTEN BOOK! I actually cannot with people giving it such low ratings just because she deviated a bit from what she's written in the past.

I personally was eating up the main plot of the story, the interviews etc - I was fascinated by Margaret's family and her life, and that's what kept me reading. At it's core it is still very much an Emily Henry book - and I personally would love for Emily to write more literary/general fiction books! Her ability to tell a deep and complex story is clearly showcased in GBBL!!

Is insta-love/attraction my personal favorite trope? no. Did I wish there was a bit more development of the romance? Yes. The present day romance (cause let's be honest Margaret has a romance story being told here too!) between Alice and Hayden could've been more developed, and honestly I would've even read a longer book to allow for this. But the core of this book is the mystery of Margaret's life being unraveled as it's told to Alice. I was near-tears at the ending with Alice's own family development. Lots of parallels to be drawn to Taylor Swift songs (which we all know Emily is a stan) here.

Margaret did make me mad at the ending when she wrote off Hayden saying 'he doesn't like her' but I mostly forgave her for righting it in the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Death of parent

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Dementia, Medical trauma, Car accident, Alcohol, Classism

Minor: Eating disorder, Terminal illness, Pregnancy

Margaret's sister becomes involved with a cult and it's definitely an emotional manipulative relationship/situation

kdailyreads's review against another edition

5.0

emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment

Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, Medical content, Pregnancy, Alcohol

Minor: Miscarriage