Review by elenikin - Great Big Beautiful Life

elenikin 's review for:

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

4.5

emotional funny lighthearted mysterious 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

Although this was a bit of a genre change for Emily (not just completely contemporary romance, but also historical fiction), I really enjoyed this book. I liked Alice and her optimistic view of the world, and I liked Hayden's quiet and pensive vibes. However, I think I liked following the story of Margaret Ives and her family's history a bit more than Alice and Hayden's plot line. I found myself gasping out loud when finally hearing the "truth" from Margaret, and I appreciated how detailed Emily got with the Ives family. It was clearly well thought out and I liked how it was told to us over the course of the book, and had parallels with Alice. I did still enjoy Alice and Hayden's interactions, but I didn't like it as much as some of the other romances in the other Emily Henry books

lol they were kissing by page 20 but not going fully all the way til page 357, and then seriously everything wrapped up in the last 10 pages. Talk about some pacing differences! Also, it still felt a little fast for them to fall in love; even though it was a month, it felt fast.

I kind of wish that we'd had a dual POV with Alice and Hayden both, as I would have enjoyed seeing things thru his perspective. Regardless, I really enjoyed the story of both Alice and Margaret. I also really enjoyed reading this book as a buddy read with my bestie, which I think made it that much more special!

Content Warnings