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kritikanarula's reviews
631 reviews
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
Emily Henry has done it again. I have JUST finished the book, and the last couple of chapters were so Emily-Henryesque that I have to write this all down RIGHT AWAY.
First of all, to answer the long-awaited question: yes, this book is different from the other EH books. There are two parallel stories to follow, with a solid mix of mystery and romance, and often the stories are literary fiction-adjacent. The good news is that it's all delightful. This quality of EH books doesn't change: it's a pageturner, endearing characters you immediately root for, and the payoff for the reader is enormous towards the end, with callbacks aplenty.
In many ways, I also think Great Big Beautiful Life had the most realistic characters. And that these characters drive the plot so beautifully. Their dilemmas were realistic, too. Hayden and Alice are very likeable MCs...their quirks and idiosyncrasies believable, their life trajectories sensible. (Did I smell a Grumpy x Sunshine trope? Maybe)
On the parallel, we had the story of Margaret Ives, former Tabloid Princess who is now living a life of obscurity. We are taken through her story in her own words — which begs the question, is she an unreliable narrator? — and the story spans at least 3 generations before her. (It was reminiscent of Nathan Hill's Wellness and the history of Elizabeth's family we were told there, except this was a celebrity in the public eye, similar to Taylor Jenkins Reid's Evelyn Hugo)
When you're reading the last act, go with an open mind: the romance genre tropes make things slightly predictable, but the literary and celebrity fabric demands you to read between the lines. I am glad EH ventured into this form of writing; it is a very heartwarming story, even when there's a certain chance that the reader's guesses and the easter eggs decryption land in the vicinity of — if not on — the big reveal).
If you enjoy Taylor Jenkins Reid's novels and Taylor Swift's music, you are in for a treat. If you've been an Emily Henry fan (without these two other things added to the mix) be a good egg and join in as she takes us on a multi-genre journey, adding a dash of mystery to her romance outfit.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Review Copy (ARC). This is a short review, and I intend to pitch a more analytical piece for a magazine/publication upon the book's release.
5.0
First of all, to answer the long-awaited question: yes, this book is different from the other EH books. There are two parallel stories to follow, with a solid mix of mystery and romance, and often the stories are literary fiction-adjacent. The good news is that it's all delightful. This quality of EH books doesn't change: it's a pageturner, endearing characters you immediately root for, and the payoff for the reader is enormous towards the end, with callbacks aplenty.
In many ways, I also think Great Big Beautiful Life had the most realistic characters. And that these characters drive the plot so beautifully. Their dilemmas were realistic, too. Hayden and Alice are very likeable MCs...their quirks and idiosyncrasies believable, their life trajectories sensible. (Did I smell a Grumpy x Sunshine trope? Maybe)
On the parallel, we had the story of Margaret Ives, former Tabloid Princess who is now living a life of obscurity. We are taken through her story in her own words — which begs the question, is she an unreliable narrator? — and the story spans at least 3 generations before her. (It was reminiscent of Nathan Hill's Wellness and the history of Elizabeth's family we were told there, except this was a celebrity in the public eye, similar to Taylor Jenkins Reid's Evelyn Hugo)
When you're reading the last act, go with an open mind: the romance genre tropes make things slightly predictable, but the literary and celebrity fabric demands you to read between the lines. I am glad EH ventured into this form of writing; it is a very heartwarming story, even when there's a certain chance that the reader's guesses and the easter eggs decryption land in the vicinity of — if not on — the big reveal).
If you enjoy Taylor Jenkins Reid's novels and Taylor Swift's music, you are in for a treat. If you've been an Emily Henry fan (without these two other things added to the mix) be a good egg and join in as she takes us on a multi-genre journey, adding a dash of mystery to her romance outfit.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Review Copy (ARC). This is a short review, and I intend to pitch a more analytical piece for a magazine/publication upon the book's release.