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thatswhatshanread 's review for:
Great Big Beautiful Life
by Emily Henry
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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:
Complicated
What makes a life? All the big moments, and all the little ones. All the beautiful things, and all the ugly things, too.
And that’s just what GBBL is, aptly named. Although not your typical EmHen romcom, I really loved this new foray into more of a solid contemporary fiction with romance elements. I don’t think it should really be considered a mystery, as some marketing suggested. Of course I would’ve been okay with more of said romance (I adored Alice and Hayden) but at the same time, I don’t think the story-within-the-story really took away from that, either. Margaret’s life story (and her family secrets) was really interesting to me and essentially, it did link everything in the book together. You couldn’t have Alice and Hayden’s romance without what brought them together on that little Georgia island. And come on—an EmHen book where one or both of the protagonists are writers? I’m sold before I’ve even finished reading the synopsis.
This book did remind me a lot of “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo”, which others have pointed out. I love both, independent of each other, though they do share some similarities. But at the end of the day, this still reads like an EmHen book, and, dare I say… that’s one of my favorite things to witness in this great big beautiful life.
And that’s just what GBBL is, aptly named. Although not your typical EmHen romcom, I really loved this new foray into more of a solid contemporary fiction with romance elements. I don’t think it should really be considered a mystery, as some marketing suggested. Of course I would’ve been okay with more of said romance (I adored Alice and Hayden) but at the same time, I don’t think the story-within-the-story really took away from that, either. Margaret’s life story (and her family secrets) was really interesting to me and essentially, it did link everything in the book together. You couldn’t have Alice and Hayden’s romance without what brought them together on that little Georgia island. And come on—an EmHen book where one or both of the protagonists are writers? I’m sold before I’ve even finished reading the synopsis.
This book did remind me a lot of “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo”, which others have pointed out. I love both, independent of each other, though they do share some similarities. But at the end of the day, this still reads like an EmHen book, and, dare I say… that’s one of my favorite things to witness in this great big beautiful life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Medical content, Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Abortion, Gaslighting