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emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
What does it take to love someone enough to walk away?
I’ve seen some folks disputing whether this book is a capital R Romance because it doesn’t focus that much on the relationship between the main couple. I would argue that this it is, and more than that it’s a love story.
Love and loving relationships come in many forms. The love between a parent and child, between siblings, and friends. These relationships shape us as much if not more than romantic ones.
Great Big Beautiful Life explores those many kinds of love through the story of a tragic family history and two people trying to navigate their careers, grief, and love in a world heavily impacted by the choices of the people in their past.
Time and again we see people making mistakes, hurting each other, but also showing hidden depths of love and devotion. We are shown how grief is an aspect of love not its antithesis.
But most of all, it’s about learning from the mistakes and lost chances of the past. From the tragedies of our families’ stories. Doing the hard work and to repair what can was broken, and build something better. That sometimes loving someone means fighting to stay with them.
I would recommend this book to fans of stories about famous people’s tragic lives, anyone who’s ready to think about the lost of a loved one to age and/or mental degradation, and love. Yeah, fans of love.
I’ve seen some folks disputing whether this book is a capital R Romance because it doesn’t focus that much on the relationship between the main couple. I would argue that this it is, and more than that it’s a love story.
Love and loving relationships come in many forms. The love between a parent and child, between siblings, and friends. These relationships shape us as much if not more than romantic ones.
Great Big Beautiful Life explores those many kinds of love through the story of a tragic family history and two people trying to navigate their careers, grief, and love in a world heavily impacted by the choices of the people in their past.
Time and again we see people making mistakes, hurting each other, but also showing hidden depths of love and devotion. We are shown how grief is an aspect of love not its antithesis.
But most of all, it’s about learning from the mistakes and lost chances of the past. From the tragedies of our families’ stories. Doing the hard work and to repair what can was broken, and build something better. That sometimes loving someone means fighting to stay with them.
I would recommend this book to fans of stories about famous people’s tragic lives, anyone who’s ready to think about the lost of a loved one to age and/or mental degradation, and love. Yeah, fans of love.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Abandonment
Minor: Drug use, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder
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
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Enjoyable but not my favourite of hers. I don’t feel like it flowed as well as it could have, and the balance between Alice’s story and Margaret’s/the interviews was a bit off for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol