Wooooo, Aprilllll! April was such a fun month for me. I went to Costa Rica??? I read ALL five-star books! I celebrated my boyfriend’s birthday. It was so great. And big. And… Beautiful?
I can’t wait to talk about GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL LIFE by Emily Henry! This was my first Emily Henry novel ever if you can believe it. I’m a big lover of romance and an even bigger lover of literary fiction, so to have those two combined into one great, big, beautiful novel felt really special. First, I want to share YOUR reviews and what YOU have to say about the book!
The reviews are in!
Though I enjoyed the book, it was not my favorite Emily Henry book. I found Hayden kinda annoying and feel like he had like 3 lines the whole book. Overall, I wanted MORE… more from Alice & Hayden’s story, more from Margaret’s story.. I wish the ending was a little more stretched out.. all that being said I still LOVED the book BUT its not top tier EmHen for me like BOOK LOVERS, FUNNY STORY, and HAPPY PLACE are.
— Anna Kate
So, at first, I was worried that this was going to be one of those books where you had to remember all the people that they talk about and describe in the beginning. It was almost a turn off from continuing, however, as the main characters evolved I found it to be very charming, if a little bit predictable, with the two main characters falling in love. I did like Hayden‘s character and love the way they ended up complementing each other‘s personalities. The twist at the end was a complete surprise and honestly, I feel like it’s saved the predictability of the book. I would recommend it to someone as an easy, feel good read!!
— Tanja
Great Big Beautiful Life really hit me in the feels—in the best way. Emily Henry has this way of writing that feels so real and personal, like she’s telling you a story over coffee. It’s heartfelt, funny, and just really comforting.
— Anna Marie
Here is my review:
I didn’t expect my first Emily Henry novel to be a romantic literary fiction, but here we are. Some people are confused when I say literary fiction, so by that, I mean an artistic attempt at a novel. Of course, all novels are the result of the author’s artistic mind and capabilities, but essentially, literary fiction, to me, is the exploration of depth, intricate prose, and complex themes– there’s something to be learned by, and certain emotions to be provoked from, the reader from reading the work. One of my favorite examples of literary fiction is THE WEDDING PEOPLE by Alison Espach. At surface level, THE WEDDING PEOPLE is about a girl who accidentally befriends a bride, falls for the husband, and reignites her spark for life. But hopefully readers can see beyond the surface level and grasp that THE WEDDING PEOPLE is actually about human connection and how we all crave and need it to survive.
This preface is important, because the literary fiction components in GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL LIFE happened to be some of my favorites. The romance between Alice and Hayden wasn’t necessarily the central focus of the novel, even though Henry has marketed herself thus far as a romance writer. And I loved it. The saga of Margaret Ives, the Hollywood socialite who has fallen from grace in the public eye, and the developing love story between Hayden and Alice are two arcs that don’t compete for the center stage, but rather reflect and illuminate each other. Each chapter of Margaret’s story becomes a reflection of Hayden and Alice’s own coming-of-age.
The opening of chapter 19 particularly stuck out to me; Margaret opens the chapter with, “What’s it like to be raised in a castle?” The chapter ends with her haunting conclusion, ““What do you do when you live in a world that was built around you, and so you find yourself trapped, like one sentence in a myth, one brick in a wall? When you’re woven into the fabric of a place built to keep everyone else out, what’s it like to feel utterly alone in the world?”
Chills. The literary fiction comes into play when I realized that this novel is not a romance– it’s an exploration of isolation and the weight of legacy.
As Margaret’s story unfolds before their eyes, Hayden and Alice both confront their own history with longing and loss. That’s what I mean when I say the two arcs reflect each other and one makes the other shine brighter.
I loved the characters. Hayden is guarded, awkward, and not your typical hero. Alice is the sunshine to his storm, and though her cheerful demeanor might not be everyone’s cup of tea, I couldn’t help but root for her. Margaret is a force. Her emotions are so human and her storytelling is the heartbeat of the novel.
Though some of my favorite quotes from the book are about love:
“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” and “Maybe love was always a gift. The only thing that couldn’t be bought or sold or bartered for,”
to classify this novel as just a romance would be doing it an immense disservice. I truly think that looking beyond the surface level will make this a five-star read for anyone. This was my first Emily Henry novel, but it definitely won’t be my last.
For fans of THE WEDDING PEOPLE, SLOW DANCE, and COLTON GENTRY’S THIRD ACT.
Rating: 5 / 5
Thank you all so much for being here. I’m having such a blast with this group and I can’t wait for the upcoming fun. More info to come in your emails about a book club ~gala~ I’m thinking of hosting to ring in the end of spring book club and the start of summer book club! Until then, please join me in reading our May book:
ORDINARY TIME: LESSONS LEARNED WHILE STAYING PUT by Annie B. Jones!
Happy reading!
— mal
Leave a comment