Reviews tagging 'Dementia'

Stora vackra liv by Emily Henry

93 reviews

mels_reading_log's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

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Alice and Hayden are rival authors competing for a job in a small coastal town in Georgia. He is the grumpy to her sunshine and she is the opposite that he is attracted to. As they try to win this dream job and figure out the true story to report on, they grow closer. I really enjoyed this book, all of the characters have so much depth and backstory. I also loved how the author was able to describe the setting and that sticky heat that comes with summers in the south. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment

Minor: Dementia

afrenette's review against another edition

3.0

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident

Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Dementia, Grief

Minor: Pregnancy

merlesstorys's review against another edition

4.5

emotional inspiring lighthearted mysterious 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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I feel a lot of feelings about this book. For once, I read it in German but for most of the book, I listened to the audiobook and that one I really disliked. It felt really slow and dragged a lot without any markings when a new chapter or a history part began.

As soon as I started reading it with my eyes though, I really enjoyed the book again as I always (so far) did with Henry‘s books. 

I really liked Margaret and the mystery surrounding Jodi, her mysterious housekeeper. Alice was a great narrator and main character, and her love story with Hayden was sweet and pretty convincing. 

The history parts were partly my favorites, especially when I started reading the book and started to notice how the names were actually spelled after listening to them (I thought Gerald was spelled Darren ups) and all the plot twists wooing into them were just chefs kiss.

And just for fun, bc the public was comparing them: all in all I like Great Big Beautiful Life a lot more than The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, even though the plot twist in the end was pretty similar. Also The Last Great American Dynasty is my favorite Folklore song, so I was ecstatic when getting to know Henry wrote a book inspired by it and it definitely didn’t disappoint.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Blood, Dementia, Stalking, Pregnancy

kateywaldhart's review against another edition

4.75

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual content

Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Pregnancy

Minor: Suicide attempt

davy_reads's review against another edition

3.5

medium-paced

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The author's writing style was distracting to me again (repetitive words), and the ending was too vague. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Dementia, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy

jessiecc's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Car accident

Moderate: Addiction, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Dementia

jls6283's review against another edition

4.25

emotional hopeful 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: Complicated

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Emily Henry just makes you feel all the feels… 🥺

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Sexual content, Car accident

Minor: Death, Terminal illness, Dementia, Death of parent, Pregnancy

nymaera's review against another edition

4.5

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Minor: Death, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy

jasperw's review against another edition

3.25

emotional lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: N/A

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This is my second Emily Henry book. The last one I read (Beach Read.. I think?) I thought was fine. I remember parts of it, but I didn't love it the way so many people seem to. I was excited about the premise for this one, and even when early reviews started coming in and people who usually love her work didn't like this one, I continued to be optimistic because I thought maybe what didn't work for them would make it work for me. I really like the story and the characters. I like Hayden and Alice as characters, and I liked their romantic dynamic as well. I liked the mystery in the plot, and I love the idea of exploring the past of someone in tandem with other character's present. What really fell flat for me was the pacing and the ending. I think the pacing of the plot points needed more work. Most of the book had a slow burn, but then when a specific mysterious element was added, it felt like it was rushed to be explained, which killed some of the buildup. Along with that, while I could have accepted the ending (although that itself also felt a tad rushed) the epilogue is what really through me off. We jump around in the future, with so much changing for these characters so quickly, but because it's the ending and we're jumping through time, it didn't feel like we really got to feel these changes happening for them. 

I liked this more than I liked the other Emily Henry I read, and I would pick her work up again if a book sticks out to me, but I don't feel a strong feeling about needing to pick up another of her work. 

*Edit: Apparently I gave Beach Read 4 stars ... that is wild to me. I do not think it would be a 4 star for me now, and at this point in time I do think this is a better book, but it's also a lower rated book compared to books I really enjoy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Dementia

Minor: Terminal illness

sunshinekmp's review against another edition

3.75

hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Car accident

Minor: Terminal illness, Dementia, Pregnancy, Classism