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emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So different from Emily Henry’s other works but she’s still writing about love— but it’s generational love and the way it makes us who we are, and we live for/because of the people who get us that far. The pathways were very carefully woven between Margaret’s story and Alice’s and Hayden’s, and I really liked the parallels. I only wish Emily’s publishers gave her more time so it could have even more. Anyway, I’m going to be thinking about unicursal, labyrinthian life pathways for a long time. Loved that ending. Overall it felt like a big hug, which was really nice and needed. Speaking of, I want a Hayden hug fr bc wow
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Sexual content, Car accident, Death of parent, Alcohol
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Gaslighting, Abandonment
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
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So, this is a tricky one. There was a lot I loved about this book. Emily Henry did say that this book would be a little different from her previous ones, and she was certainly right—and while I think she wrote a fantastic story here, I don't think it came together perfectly as a romance.
In the story, Alice and Hayden are competing to get to write the biography of the eccentric and elusive Margaret Ives. Over the course of the book, they fall in love, as would happen in any romance novel, and that part of the story felt very much like any other EmHen romance.
However, that was not actually the main story. At least half the book is Margaret's story—not just in interview format, but directly telling her story and her family's story in narration. Even parts that weren't in narration were still Alice interviewing Margaret, and as a result, Margaret felt much more like the main character than Alice, and MUCH more central to the story than Hayden.
Because we had so little time with Hayden, it really didn't feel earned for her to be falling in love with him. Their time together is definitely cute, but I kept sort of forgetting about him and Alice during the fully half of the book that was just Margaret's story. It doesn't feel like a romance novel. I think I would have absolutely loved it if Emily Henry hadn't pushed in the falling in love part.
The sex scenes actually really didn't work for me, because they felt forced in when I actually just wanted more of Margaret's story and to figure out the underlying mystery that made this particular book so fun.
Also, because we had so little time with him, his whole "mayor's son" thing felt extremely unimportant. It becomes slightly more important at the end, but during the story, it felt like a bit of a random add-in. A lot of his and Alice's childhood baggage felt forced in to make them more complete characters, rather than focusing on what's going on for them in the moment while they're together.
We got way more about Margaret's little sister Laura and her time in a cult than we ever did about Hayden, ostensibly a main character, or about Alice's sister Audrey and her childhood illness and heart surgeries. Again, these things all do tie in at the end, but it felt like pretty much all of the character development for Alice (and the tiny bit we get for Hayden) happen at the very end of the story.
I did really love the way she handled the third-act conflict in this one, and I thought the Margaret arc tied together so well. The themes of family and motherhood were unexpected and well done, even if they mostly came together all at the end of the story.
On the whole, I thought that too much of the character work of the story happened in the last quarter. Alice and Hayden's personal arcs felt very contained in the end of the book, which meant that their love story earlier felt somewhat unearned beyond a few sweet moments.
Ultimately, this was Margaret's story. I loved Margaret and her fascinating life, and when I think back on this book, Margaret is who I'll remember. I would still highly recommend this book, but I'd suggest going into it as a drama rather than a romance, because on this occasion, I think the romance let Emily Henry down.
In the story, Alice and Hayden are competing to get to write the biography of the eccentric and elusive Margaret Ives. Over the course of the book, they fall in love, as would happen in any romance novel, and that part of the story felt very much like any other EmHen romance.
However, that was not actually the main story. At least half the book is Margaret's story—not just in interview format, but directly telling her story and her family's story in narration. Even parts that weren't in narration were still Alice interviewing Margaret, and as a result, Margaret felt much more like the main character than Alice, and MUCH more central to the story than Hayden.
Because we had so little time with Hayden, it really didn't feel earned for her to be falling in love with him. Their time together is definitely cute, but I kept sort of forgetting about him and Alice during the fully half of the book that was just Margaret's story. It doesn't feel like a romance novel. I think I would have absolutely loved it if Emily Henry hadn't pushed in the falling in love part.
The sex scenes actually really didn't work for me, because they felt forced in when I actually just wanted more of Margaret's story and to figure out the underlying mystery that made this particular book so fun.
Also, because we had so little time with him, his whole "mayor's son" thing felt extremely unimportant. It becomes slightly more important at the end, but during the story, it felt like a bit of a random add-in. A lot of his and Alice's childhood baggage felt forced in to make them more complete characters, rather than focusing on what's going on for them in the moment while they're together.
We got way more about Margaret's little sister Laura and her time in a cult than we ever did about Hayden, ostensibly a main character, or about Alice's sister Audrey and her childhood illness and heart surgeries. Again, these things all do tie in at the end, but it felt like pretty much all of the character development for Alice (and the tiny bit we get for Hayden) happen at the very end of the story.
I did really love the way she handled the third-act conflict in this one, and I thought the Margaret arc tied together so well. The themes of family and motherhood were unexpected and well done, even if they mostly came together all at the end of the story.
On the whole, I thought that too much of the character work of the story happened in the last quarter. Alice and Hayden's personal arcs felt very contained in the end of the book, which meant that their love story earlier felt somewhat unearned beyond a few sweet moments.
Ultimately, this was Margaret's story. I loved Margaret and her fascinating life, and when I think back on this book, Margaret is who I'll remember. I would still highly recommend this book, but I'd suggest going into it as a drama rather than a romance, because on this occasion, I think the romance let Emily Henry down.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting