A review by fangirljeanne
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

What does it take to love someone enough to walk away?

I’ve seen some folks disputing whether this book is a capital R Romance because it doesn’t focus that much on the relationship between the main couple. I would argue that this it is, and more than that it’s a love story.

Love and loving relationships come in many forms. The love between a parent and child, between siblings, and friends. These relationships shape us as much if not more than romantic ones.

Great Big Beautiful Life explores those many kinds of love through the story of a tragic family history and two people trying to navigate their careers, grief, and love in a world heavily impacted by the choices of the people in their past.

Time and again we see people making mistakes, hurting each other, but also showing hidden depths of love and devotion. We are shown how grief is an aspect of love not its antithesis.

But most of all, it’s about learning from the mistakes and lost chances of the past. From the tragedies of our families’ stories. Doing the hard work and to repair what can was broken, and build something better. That sometimes loving someone means fighting to stay with them. 

I would recommend this book to fans of stories about famous people’s tragic lives, anyone who’s ready to think about the lost of a loved one to age and/or mental degradation, and love. Yeah, fans of love.
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