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adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Emily Henry has done it again. I was skeptical about this book bc it didn’t seem like her usual style, but I think this might actually be one of my favorites. I loved seeing the mystery of Margaret Ives unraveling with every chapter. And the plot twist completely shocked me. I will say that I was more interested in the mystery of the Ives family rather than the romance between Hayden and Alice.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
This book felt misgenred, it is not a rom com but more of a generational women's fiction with a romantic side plot. Those two genres felt like they were competing most of the time, even though they all came together in the end. I also had trouble keeping up with the Ives family tree and history.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Dementia, Grief, Car accident
Minor: Pregnancy
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment
Minor: Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Pregnancy
emotional
hopeful
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:
Complicated
What I love about Emily Henry is that she writes characters that feel very real. Their dialogue feels authentic, they react to situations in ways that feel genuine, and their backstories logically explain how they came to be the people they are. In Great Big Beautiful Life, our main character is a writer, and she realizes that everything she writes comes down to love, that that is all she's ever wanted to write. It felt like that was Henry peaking through in her character, that her stories are always about love. Not just romance, but love of various kinds -- sisters, parent-child, friends, etc. Alice and Hayden are definitely among my favorite of Henry's couples, and the story-within-the-story was interesting as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Mental illness, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Car accident, Death of parent
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
This was a beautiful book! While a slight departure from Emily Henry’s typical romance, I thought Alice and Hayden’s story was so sweet, and Margaret’s was fascinating. I think this is my favorite Emily Henry book yet!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Emotional abuse, Car accident, Gaslighting
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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: Emotional abuse, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent
Minor: Chronic illness
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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
The only complaint I have about this book is that I wanted more! More of Alice and Hayden, especially Hayden (I feel like we only got a glimpse of him) since he's probably one of my favorite of Emily Henry's love interests. I love how these two characters, in their own ways, were sincerely unapologetic with who they were. The little island, I feel became its own character in the end. In this book exploring the history of a once great family, is it weird that I wanted to find out more about the island?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
relaxing
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
Emily Henry is pretty hit or miss for me—honestly, I usually don’t love her books. And I’m not really a romance girlie to begin with, so take this with a grain of salt… but I actually liked this one!
Great Big Beautiful Life had more depth than I expected, and while a lot of people are comparing it to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, I don’t really think that’s a fair comparison. Yes, there’s a similar setup, but this is its own thing entirely.
What I appreciated most was that the story didn’t rely solely on the romance—it had plot, character development, and some real emotional weight. It’s not a five-star read for me, but it’s definitely one I’d recommend if you like books with a romance element that also give you something more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Sexual content, Grief, Car accident