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A review by xvicesx
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Another strong Emily Henry performance, this time weaving past and present, glamour and the ordinary, and a whole bunch more small things that make up life.
I made the mistake during my reading to check the reviews of this book. I was equally confused by the readers' obsession with this being a "poor man's Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" and the claims that this isn't a romance.
I suppose I'm lucky in so far that my contrarian nature keeps me away from things that are generally popular, so I've not the faintest clue whether there is any resemblance to this other book. I will say that having read the blurb, it just sounds like a recurring motif, and I'm not entirely sure one can copyright a motif. But I haven't read the book, so I have no clue. Maybe don't read them in the same year if you're committed to reading both.
With respect to the claim that this isn't a romance, my only guess is that the other readers were looking for something more smutty and less complex. What I like about Emily Henry's books are the many layers to people, the individual lives they live outside of their romantic pursuits, their baggage and their dramas. When I read her Funny Story, I was stolen away by the way it dealt with grief for a life that the heroine had been hoping for.
Here, we've got Alice who's trying to live her best life, but then she stumbles upon something she shared with her father and because he's no longer there, it's a dream to pursue answers they had bought sought in the past. But her dream come true isn't within easy reach because there's another author in the running and although he's a rival, Alice can't help being herself. Bubbly and sweet and unfailingly polite, and Hayden's her completely opposite, but they work anyway.
I can't see how there would be no romance, when Alice and Hayden experience a slow simmering attraction that slowly turns into a wild love despite the boundaries that they try to keep between them. How?!
We get real friendships strewn in, the kind of family dynamics that are memorable and realistic, and a happily ever after that's just perfect. It's not a rom com, but why would it need to be? Emily Henry writes something just a little bit deeper, and that's A-OK, it's still a fantastic story.
I made the mistake during my reading to check the reviews of this book. I was equally confused by the readers' obsession with this being a "poor man's Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" and the claims that this isn't a romance.
I suppose I'm lucky in so far that my contrarian nature keeps me away from things that are generally popular, so I've not the faintest clue whether there is any resemblance to this other book. I will say that having read the blurb, it just sounds like a recurring motif, and I'm not entirely sure one can copyright a motif. But I haven't read the book, so I have no clue. Maybe don't read them in the same year if you're committed to reading both.
With respect to the claim that this isn't a romance, my only guess is that the other readers were looking for something more smutty and less complex. What I like about Emily Henry's books are the many layers to people, the individual lives they live outside of their romantic pursuits, their baggage and their dramas. When I read her Funny Story, I was stolen away by the way it dealt with grief for a life that the heroine had been hoping for.
Here, we've got Alice who's trying to live her best life, but then she stumbles upon something she shared with her father and because he's no longer there, it's a dream to pursue answers they had bought sought in the past. But her dream come true isn't within easy reach because there's another author in the running and although he's a rival, Alice can't help being herself. Bubbly and sweet and unfailingly polite, and Hayden's her completely opposite, but they work anyway.
I can't see how there would be no romance, when Alice and Hayden experience a slow simmering attraction that slowly turns into a wild love despite the boundaries that they try to keep between them. How?!
We get real friendships strewn in, the kind of family dynamics that are memorable and realistic, and a happily ever after that's just perfect. It's not a rom com, but why would it need to be? Emily Henry writes something just a little bit deeper, and that's A-OK, it's still a fantastic story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Infidelity, Dementia, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy