great big beautiful life by emily henry — a review

Well, it is that time of year again… Emily Henry's new release season!

The first post I ever uploaded onto this website was my review of Funny Story ( a few months late) so it only seems right to continue this little tradition. Ever since Emily Henry announced Great Big Beautiful Life last year — and compared it to The Last Great American Dynasty by Taylor Swift — I have been in anticipation of it hitting our shelves. And I am happy to report that it did not disappoint.

For those of you who are unaware of the plot, GBBL follows two journalists, Alice and Hayden, as they compete for the job of writing the biography of a mysterious Socialite, Margaret. The book is therefore split into two distinct halves: the truth of what really happened in Margaret’s life, and the story of Alice and Hayden falling in love. While it is part mystery and part romance, it remains fully five stars.

I loved this book; in fact, it is in the running for my favourite Emily Henry title of all time (the jury is still out, but between you and me, it is looking good). To stay on brand and start with the romance, Alice and Hayden were a great match. Both their common and conflicting interests kept the story moving, their personal struggles were convicting, and the moments they shared possessed the classic Em Hen charm we all know and love. If you’re a fan of Beach Read, the relationship in Great Big Beautiful Life is most comparable to January and Gus’. It was great.

And then there’s Margaret’s story. It is pretty clear from the start that there is some kind of big secret at the centre of this book, one that will reveal itself as the story progresses. Therefore, each detail exposed about Margaret’s life was drenched with anticipation and left me itching to turn the page. I found this excitement complemented the romance perfectly and gave the reader something additional to root for. And how can that possibly be a bad thing!!??

I tend not to look at reviews of books before I read them; however, the noise surrounding Great Big Beautiful Life was rather hard to ignore online. And a lot of people were disappointed because this book had less romance than some of Henry’s other titles. While I agree with this, I didn’t find it disappointing in any way. Firstly, prior to the release of GBBL, this is something Emily Henry had stated. Secondly, this new take on contemporary romance was refreshing and engaging. It was like Beach Read meets Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and as a lover of both of those titles, I have no complaints. Obviously, reading is subjective, but I do think this opens up a wider conversation surrounding the need people feel to vocalise hateful opinions disguised as 1-star Goodreads reviews — something to think about.

However, as I have said, I loved Great Big Beautiful Life. It was clever, heart-warming, intriguing, and emotional in all the right places. If Emily Henry has no fans, then I am dead.

This review was written by Jess, who you can follow on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/thatromancebook for more bookish content.