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changenotcoins 's review for:
Great Big Beautiful Life
by Emily Henry
Let’s get one thing straight: this is NOT a romance novel, and I am beyond tired of pretending Emily Henry’s recent works belong in that genre. Great Big Beautiful Life is clearly women’s fiction, and the mislabeling only sets up the wrong expectations, especially for readers like me who went in hoping for the kind of electric chemistry and emotional payoff that Beach Read and Book Lovers delivered so beautifully.
Unfortunately, this book just did not hit the mark.
Marketed as a sweeping, dazzling story with dual protagonists competing to tell the life story of a reclusive, larger than life woman, this novel instead gives us a bland, meandering tale that tries to emulate the interview style storytelling of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Daisy Jones & The Six, but falls short in both style and substance. The prose is fine (even good, maybe even great), but beautiful writing can’t compensate for a lackluster plot and underdeveloped emotional stakes.
The “story within a story” structure had potential, but Margaret’s narrative is drawn out and dull, lacking the intrigue or twisty momentum that could’ve made this exciting. And where was the romance? The supposed slow burn tension between Alice and Hayden is practically non existent. We’re told there’s a spark, but it never ignites. There’s zero chemistry, and what could’ve been a compelling dynamic ends up as flat background noise.
The focus is so heavily skewed toward Margaret that Alice and Hayden feel like props rather than fully realized characters. There’s no emotional journey, no satisfying arc, just a lot of literary posturing with little payoff. I finished the book feeling like I’d been promised an epic, tangled tale of love, ambition, and truth telling, and instead got a tepid character study that didn’t know what it wanted to be.
To say I’m disappointed would be an understatement. Emily Henry is capable of greatness; Beach Read and Book Lovers are masterclasses in modern romance. But this? This felt like a detour into a genre she doesn’t quite command yet. I’ll keep holding onto the gems she’s already given us, but Great Big Beautiful Life is one I’ll be quick to forget.
Unfortunately, this book just did not hit the mark.
Marketed as a sweeping, dazzling story with dual protagonists competing to tell the life story of a reclusive, larger than life woman, this novel instead gives us a bland, meandering tale that tries to emulate the interview style storytelling of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Daisy Jones & The Six, but falls short in both style and substance. The prose is fine (even good, maybe even great), but beautiful writing can’t compensate for a lackluster plot and underdeveloped emotional stakes.
The “story within a story” structure had potential, but Margaret’s narrative is drawn out and dull, lacking the intrigue or twisty momentum that could’ve made this exciting. And where was the romance? The supposed slow burn tension between Alice and Hayden is practically non existent. We’re told there’s a spark, but it never ignites. There’s zero chemistry, and what could’ve been a compelling dynamic ends up as flat background noise.
The focus is so heavily skewed toward Margaret that Alice and Hayden feel like props rather than fully realized characters. There’s no emotional journey, no satisfying arc, just a lot of literary posturing with little payoff. I finished the book feeling like I’d been promised an epic, tangled tale of love, ambition, and truth telling, and instead got a tepid character study that didn’t know what it wanted to be.
To say I’m disappointed would be an understatement. Emily Henry is capable of greatness; Beach Read and Book Lovers are masterclasses in modern romance. But this? This felt like a detour into a genre she doesn’t quite command yet. I’ll keep holding onto the gems she’s already given us, but Great Big Beautiful Life is one I’ll be quick to forget.