A review by deedireads
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

emotional funny 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

4.75

Great Big Beautiful Life is Book Lovers meets The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo in the best way imaginable, and y’all aren’t ready. Emily Henry has done it again.

I love Henry’s books for her round characters in deeply believable, seemingly unreconcilable circumstances. This delivers on that front, with journalists (sunshine) Alice Scott and (grumpy) Hayden Anderson competing for the chance to write the celebrity memoir of a woman named Margaret Ives who disappeared from the public eye years before. As we watch Alice and Hayden get to know each other better (and wonder what will happen to their budding attraction when one of them beats out the other for the dream job), we also get Margaret’s family story in bits and pieces — but why is Margaret still withholding information even though Alice is under a strict NDA?

I absolutely loved the structure and mystery of this one; I was totally sucked in. Alice and Hayden have a sizzling chemistry, and the way everything fell apart (and then came back together, since this IS a romance novel) in the end had me tearing up. As always, that’s largely thanks Julia Whelan’s excellent performance of the audiobook — she brings out the emotion in me every time.

I think Happy Place is still my favorite (as an OTP girlie, I’m a sucker for second chance), but this one is definitely up there toward the top! 

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