Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry Book Review

This spoiler-free book review of Great Big Beautiful Life goes into my reading experience and in-depth thoughts of this popcorn read, which was a blend of women’s fiction, mystery, and sweet romance. I share my book club discussion questions for Great Big Beautiful Life, favorite quotes, a brief synopsis, my criticisms, similar books, other books by Emily Henry, and more!

Content Warnings

Traumatic childhood, cults mentioned, dementia mentioned, loss of parent and loved one, grief, bullying, abuse of power, infidelity mentioned, plane crash mentioned, car crash mentioned, child illness, OCD mentioned, sexual content, pregnancy and infertility mentioned

Thank you to Libro.fm for gifting me this complimentary book. My review reflects my honest thoughts.

Great Big Beautiful Life Book Review / Summary

• #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry

In this forced-proximity, enemies-to-lovers mystery romance, two writers compete for the opportunity to write THE tell-all book about an elderly heiress who’s been out of the limelight for many years.

Alice shoot her shot when she finds out where the legendary Margaret Ives has been living (i.e., hiding) for all these years.

She’s a journalist who wants to be taken seriously, and this would be the most exciting work of her life to date—if she lands the job. It turns out Margaret is considering one other writer to tell her story.

She quickly realizes she’s got some pretty big competition when she meets Hayden Anderson, who, no big deal, is a Pulitzer-prize-winning author who seems to have a chip on his shoulder.

As Hayden and Alice get to know Margaret—and each other, it turns out—they start to piece together that Margaret isn’t sharing the whole story.

My Thoughts on Great Big Beautiful Life

Listen, I would call myself a pretty mellow EmHen fan. Not a die-hard fan, but I’ll read what she writes and most likely really enjoy it. I adored Book Lovers, Happy Place (full review!), Beach Read, Funny Story (full review!) . . . all feel-good stories for me that I think of fondly.

My hopes were high with Great Big Beautiful Life, and I have to say, I found the book to be just okay. There were moments I loved, and I definitely flew through the story, which is such a testament to Emily Henry’s writing.

The Premise and the Execution

The premise was amazing, and it kind of felt reminiscent of Beach Read with the cult reference and the writers romance. But it lacked something for me, and dare I say, it might be chemistry?!?

Something about the execution of the story didn’t quite land for me. The swooning romance, the yearning, wasn’t quite there. I didn’t feel like we got to see Hayden and Alice fall in love on the page.

And maybe that’s because the book was trying to accomplish a lot: A mystery, family drama, romance . . . there was a lot of emotional baggage and trauma bonding that didn’t quite feel . . . earned? By the characters? I don’t know. I wanted another layer with the character development.

Trauma Dumping in Romance Books

I think a fair criticism I’m noticing more and more with Emily Henry is that there’s a reliance on emotional trauma dumping instead of character development.

Most of the time, I don’t mind an emotional trauma dump. I actually don’t mind the overly saccharine scenes or the “manipulation” as some readers call it. I take it for what it is.

But I’m so sad to report that there was something missing between the characters, so I really had trouble connecting like I typically do. I will add that some of the criticism is that this book was too similar to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, but I’ve never read that book, so I can’t confirm.

My Verdict: Still Under the EmHen Spell

THAT SAID, I do recommend this book still. I do think it’s a worthwhile read, that it’s fun and intriguing throughout, and I did love what we learned about Alice and her general “sunshine” personality. I will, without hesitation, keep reading her books.

Emily has the best banter and realistic dialogue; there were passages that made me audibly gasp because they were so beautiful or laugh because they were so funny and cute.

Every EmHen fan should read for themselves to see what they think. I know so many readers who devoured this book and loved it! I also know readers who really, strongly disliked it. For me, it’s a solid 3.5/5 star.

Favorite Quotes from Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

“It’s yours,” he offers. I laugh. “Oh? I can have the world?” “Mine,” he says, “yeah. You can have mine.”

—Emily Henry, Great Big Beautiful Life

“And just as fast, I feel a breeze ripple over my back, and it’s hard not to believe or maybe just hope-that maybe I didn’t need to record it. That maybe he’s here, his atoms redistributed, the ashes we sprinkled in the river near our house now mixed with the sand all around me, his love permanent and intractable as ever. Love isn’t something you can cup in your hands, and I have to believe that means it’s something that can’t ever be lost.”

—Emily Henry, great big beautiful life

“For the one you love? Anything. You unmake the world and build a new one. You do anything to give them what they need.”

—Emily Henry, Great Big Beautiful life

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Book Club Discussion Questions for Great Big Beautiful Life

• Ice breaker question: If you could write the tell-all story of a once-famous person/celebrity, who would you choose?
• How did Alice’s background (her family dynamics, her childhood, her professional history) affect how she handled interviews and conversations with Margaret Ives?
• What did you think about reclusive heiress Margaret Ives’s first-hand account of everything that happened in her life? How did your view of her change throughout the book?
• What did you think of Hayden and Alice’s relationship? How did your opinions of Hayden change or grow throughout the book?
• How did the setting of the small coastal town in Georgia play a part in the story? What did you think about the setting?
• Alice talks a lot about how there’s different sides to every story. How did you interpret the truth throughout this book?
• Margaret’s story is untangled from the media’s coverage throughout the years. How did newspapers, paparazzi, and other forms of media coverage affect her decisions throughout her life and her view of herself and her family?
• Alice’s relationship with her mother changes by the end of the novel. What did you think about this particular relationship?
• Were there any side characters you wanted to see more of? If so, who and why?
• How did you feel about the final twist at the end of the book?

Other Books by Emily Henry

• Funny Story
• Happy Place
• Book Lovers
• People We Meet in Vacation
• Beach Read
• Hello Girls
• When the Sky Fell on Splendor
• A Million Junes

Similar Books to Great Big Beautiful Life

These books explore similar themes or are reminiscent of Great Big Beautiful Life in some way:

• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Beach Read by Emily Henry
• Is She Really Going Out With Him? by Sophie Cousens
• The Burnout by Sophie Kinesella
• Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

Buy the Book

I recommend Great Big Beautiful Life if you like romance books about books or publishing, especially if you enjoy the tropes of forced proximity, opposites attract, enemies-to-lovers, and the grump-sunshine dynamic.

If you’re already a fan of Emily Henry or if you like romance books with heavier themes that explore grief and past traumas, you may like this book.

But just keep in mind the reviews are pretty polarizing, and this one does have quite a different vibe with the mystery element.