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Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

32 reviews

emotional slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Borrowed this from Libby twice before actually trying to finish it.  I like most of Emily Henry’s books but I could not get into this one at all.  The romance lacked and I don’t think the plot was interesting enough on its own.  It really gave off similar vibes to “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” and it was just disappointing.

Read For
✓ Slow Burn
✓ Summer Read
✓ Contemporary
✓ Rivals to Lovers 
✓ Reporter Interview

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

Spice Level: 🌶️
Sad Level: 💧

Plot: 2/10
Pace: 2/10
Ending: 4/10
Characters: 3/10
Enjoyability: 2/10
Writing Style: 2/10
Would I Recommend? No
Favorite Character: n/a

Favorite Quote: ❝Just because something doesn’t make money or win awards doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value.❞

POV: Duel, First Person
Pages: 432
Format: Audiobook
Language: English
Release Date: 22, April 2025

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional hopeful 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

The books tranforms in the final quarter. I found the romance secondary in this book. Margaret's story was all I wanted to know. The
twist
at the end was wonderful and change the book up a star rating but
I wish we had gotten to know more about Margaret and Hayden's relationship.  Did Nadine ever forgive her bio mother and let her in? The book build up Margaret's story and I wanted to know this key part.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous emotional hopeful 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional hopeful lighthearted tense 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: Yes

This book is just The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo but straight and written by Emily Henry. That's not to say it's a bad book, it's just unoriginal. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional lighthearted medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I had seen so many mixed reviews of this book before reading it, so I was quite nervous to get into it. I am glad to report that for the most part I did enjoy this book, although I do completely understand why this book is so incredibly devisive.
I personally really loved the Margaret storyline. I truly wish this book was more of that. I thought her life was so incredibly interesting, and the chapters focussing on it had me so gripped. I just had a blast reading those parts. On top of that I also just liked Alice's personal journey as well throughout this book.The parallels between that and Margaret's life were also so interesting, and I loved the dynamic these two women developed as well. I could have read a book that was fully just them because this book was just so strong during those parts, in my opinion.
However, this book is a romance (let's stop those discussions because this definitely is romance, the relationship between Hayden and Alice is easily the main thread of this book) and I really wish it wasn't because that part of this book was so BORING. This is easily the worst case of insta-love I've ever read. On top of that I thought Hayden was just a really hard to read character, and he just was who he needed to be in that particular scene rather than a full character, in my opinion. I also just didn't see the chemistry between the two of them, and I just did not care for any of their scenes together. It felt a bit half assed to me, which is especially a shame because I could see glimpses of Emily Henry's fantastic romance writing whenever Margaret was talking about her late husband. So there is an epic romance in this book, it is just so hidden in the background but it makes the actual main romance feel so much more lame in comparison. 
So yeah, my own opinions on this book are pretty devisive so it totally makes sense to me that the general reception to this book has been as well. I just think Emily Henry should have just taken the full leap into litfic rather than forcing this to be a romance.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional hopeful mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious 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: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional hopeful 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: Complicated

               This book felt like it was trying to be two books at once. It was trying to be a bit of both a literary mystery and a contemporary romance book. The two didn’t weave that well together, however. 

              I hated all the edging the author did with the MC’s sexual relationship. I think she was trying to keep it from being “too spicy” for her readers, but still spicy enough. However, it just got frustrating. I get the building anticipation of them having intercourse, but it just took too long! 

              I liked most of the characters, all the townspeople, Cecil and Margaret especially, though others not as much, looking at you, Alice, and especially her mom, and Theo. 

              Overall, it was a decent book. Mostly, the structure just didn’t work for me. As well as the drawn-out nature of the MCs’ relationship, and their admitting their feelings and desires. 


  
​Narrator Rating:​ 4.75 stars
             I wish they’d gotten someone else to narrate the section of the book that was supposed to be part of the biography. Julia Whelan is wonderful and did an amazing job, however, I feel like having dual narration would have been better for the two intertwined sections of the book. 



Elements 
Heartfelt-💔💔💔 
Horror- N/A
Love aka Romance- 💋 💋 💋 💋 & 1/2
Predictability-🔮 🔮 🔮 
Spice-  🌶  🌶  🌶 
Tear- 😭 & 1/2
Thrill- N/A
Humor- 😜 😜 & 1/2

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