Book 22/30.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Me 🤝 reading an EmHen book on Book Lover’s Day 🤩🤓
Great Big Beautiful Life is the third Emily Henry I read on Book Lover’s Day, the first being Book Lovers in 2023 and the second Funny Story in 2025, and I love that for me 🤩
I went into Great Big Beautiful Life without having looked at the Goodreads reviews, but it did not surprise me to learn that they are quite mixed. The main issue most readers have with this story is, well, Margaret. Romance takes a backseat in this book about two writers competing for the chance to tell the story of Margaret Ives, a tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied families of the 20th century. Almost all of the reviewers that did not appreciate the inclusion of Margaret’s story seem to have the same reason: they found it unoriginal and devoid of tension or scandal. And I would not say they are wrong, but they are also not not wrong.
One reviewer succinctly summed this book up as “reheating evelyn hugo’s nachos” and I have to agree with them. Great Big Beautiful Life is very much The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo meets Beach Read, which did not make for a particularly original read. That said, the concept of a story within a story, along with having an EmHen book that is not solely focused on the main characters, was a welcome change for me. Because her main characters, with the exception of Poppy and Alex, do not quite make my heart sing.
I have read all of EmHen’s other releases, and my favourites are easily You and Me on Vacation and Book Lovers, both of which I rated 4 stars. The other four (including this one) were all 3-star reads because, for one reason or another, they did not quite live up to my expectations.
PS: I bought this on my last day in Rome and I love that for me 🥰
** A guide to ratings **
1 star – did not like it
2 stars – it was okay
3 stars – liked it
4 stars – really liked it
5 stars – it was amazing