“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.”

left this believing life was neither great nor big nor beautiful.

this is the most conflicted I've ever felt about an Emily Henry book and I'm still not entirely sure how to put my thoughts into words. I'm not saying this is a bad book. Emily Henry's writing style is still incredibly comforting and after months of not being able to read books as fast as normal, I read this in two sittings.

however! this is undoubtedly my least favorite Emily Henry book and may take the spot as my biggest disappointment for the year.

I want to clarify: this is not because the romance isn't as prevalent in this book as her previous works. In fact, it's sort of the opposite.

first: the things that worked for me.

I loved the old money storyline. I loved the setting and Margaret's home. I loved the brief glimpses of Alice's friend group (there was text that Cillian sent that actually made me laugh.) I was the most invested in the pieces of Margaret's past we got, in seeing how she got to where she was now and hearing about this larger than life family.

from there... everything becomes kind of a mess. this book felt incomplete. I don't know how else to say it, but I felt like I was looking at an apparition of a book instead of a fully-fleshed out novel. certain aspects felt more like first draft ideas than a well-crafted, meaningful plot-point. some things seemed brought up as if they were important, only to be discarded and never spoken of again. there was also a certain level of predictability that bummed me out.

now... the romance, if it can even be called that when it's between Poppy's underdeveloped younger sister and an Adam Driver cardboard cut-out. I really, really disliked every single romantic scene in this book. They either felt entirely out of place or like they'd simply been added to fulfill a checklist of Things to Make Your Readers Swoon which I never feel with Emily Henry. All of the banter felt cheap or recycled from other lines, the tension was just not there, and

he says I love you after two weeks of knowing her??? what?

to briefly summarize my thoughts and feelings: did I enjoy the Margaret and the House of Ives plot? yes. do I think it was well-written? not really. did I enjoy Alice & Hayden's relationship? no. do I think it was well-written? absolutely not.

overall, this review makes it sound like I hated this book and I swear I didn't. It was fine, verging on enjoyable. It was also just an incredibly big let-down. I wanted to be someone that love this book and I'm really bummed I wasn't.


updated Emily Henry ranking:

1. Book Lovers
2. Funny Story
3. Beach Read
4. Happy Place
5. People We Meet on Vacation
6. Great Big Beautiful Life