Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry - Review
Review Snapshot:
What mood is this right for: mystery with a side of romance
Length: 418 Pages
Source: Self Purchased—Pre-ordered
Where to Buy: Great Big Beautiful Life - Affiliate Link -
Or Free with Audible Membership
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
1 Sentence Summary: Two rival journalists battle to tell the untold story of an iconic heiress—and uncover far more than they bargained for, including each other.
My Thoughts:
My favorite types of books are the ones that as soon as I’m done reading them, I want to write. As a self-proclaimed procrastinator, if a book is good enough to flip the switch in my brain to actually sit down and work on my own pages, that is a book worth reading. Emily Henry always does that for me and Great Big Beautiful Life was no different. This was Emily Henry meets Taylor Jenkins Reid in this Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo esq story.
We follow the Alice Scott as she competes with Hayden Anderson for the chance to tell the story of acclaimed heiress Margret Ives (think Princess Dianna). We’re on a journey with them as they compete for the oopportunity of a life time. Will it be the brooding pulitzer-prize winner or the young, cheery but determined journalist? What exactly is Margrett Ives lying about? Will their budding romance survive the competition?
Before I get into the in-depth rating let me give you a quick spoiler free recommendation:
This is a solid yes from me. If you love Emily Henry, you will love this. However, this isn’t your traditional romance. If you’re looking for romance to be the main driver of the plot, you may feel a bit off kilter with this book. Now, I still think this is absolutely worth the read but, you should go in with the right expectations.
⚠️ Spoilers Below ⚠️
Oh my gosh that ending. Talk about one I didn’t see coming.
I do think we need to move this one out of the Romance category. I don’t think this is Emily Henry’s fault, I think it’s the fault of publishing and marketing in general but this was Literary Fiction with a heavy side of romance not the other way around. What sticks with you about this ending is the revelation of Margret’s grandchild, not the romance.
The next star goes to the characters. Oh my gosh. I somehow loved everyone in this book, which happens so rarely. I was literally kicking my feet over tthe dynamic between Hayden and Alice. Give me a brooding silent type with a chipper outgoing girl literally any day. I want to eat that up. It left me constantly wanting more of the interaction between them.
The ending again. If you read my review of the Part of Your World series, you’re likely thinking that I am going to knock a star for the pregnancy ending as you know by now that is not my favorite. However, in this case, I am fine with it. It’s a new ending for Emily Henry, she writes characters with a breadth of desires and it is realistic that some of them are going to want a child in the end.
What really knocked it down from a 5 star was just the pacing of the romance tripped me up. It was somewhere between fast and slow burn and it felt diluted when intertwined with the story line of margrett and the competition. I found myself wanting more and more of the Alice and Hayden scenes. With that in mind, the book was a bit long. A tightening of storylines to really to really let the main story shine would have knocked this out of the park.
If you’re ready to dive into a layered story, with characters that will make you blush, then don’t wait to pick this up.
Great Big Beautiful Life - Affiliate Link
