Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

 Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry-416 pages (B & N Exclusive Edition)

⭐⭐⭐1/2

Goodreads synopsis: Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: To write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years—or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the 20th Century.

When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice’s head in the game.

One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice—and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over.

Two: She’s ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication.

Three: Hayden Anderson, who should have no reason to be concerned about losing this book, is glowering at her in a shaken-to-the core way that suggests he sees her as competition.

But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can’t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.

And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story—just like the tale Margaret’s spinning—could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad…depending on who’s telling it.

Verdict: I liked this one okay, but not as much as Funny Story or Happy Place. The pacing was the biggest issue for me. The first 350+ pages were a slow burn and I didn't care about the characters. The last 50+ pages were fast paced and I found that I cared a little bit about the characters. I like Emily Henry, but this one didn't quite do it for me. It has good ratings on Goodreads and The Storygraph, though, so it definitely has its fans. 

Funny Story

Funny Story by Emily Henry | 400 pages | 2025

Daphne always loved the way her fiancé, Peter, told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it... right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.

Which is how Daphne begins her new story: stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.

Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned-up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?

But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex... right?

(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

It took me a long time to get into this one, and I was worried that Emily Henry is just not for me. There were still parts of it that I struggled with, especially some of the pacing, but overall it was a cute story with great banter and a sweet romance.

(I just really shouldn't read books about librarians. I get too caught up in the details.)

Funny Story by Emily Henry

 Funny Story by Emily Henry-387 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Daphne is all set to marry Peter or, at least, she thinks she is. But after going out to his bachelor party with his best friend since childhood, Petra, he decides he's in love with her instead after she confesses that she's in love with him. Obviously, Daphne is devastated and now must move out of the house Peter seemingly bought for them to live in. Now, Petra is moving into the house with Peter and Daphne ends up moving in with Petra's ex-boyfriend, Miles. I enjoyed the pop culture references and snark. Both made me chuckle quite a few times. I found myself really rooting for Daphne and Miles and both are likeable characters. I really liked the ending. 

Overall, I enjoyed this as I did Happy Place, also by Emily Henry. 

Happy Place by Emily Henry

 

                                                          

                                                  Happy Place by Emily Henry-388 pages

Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college. They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.

Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.

Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who know you best?
I found this cute, but boring and predictable.  Maybe 3 out of 5 stars!

 

Book Lovers by Emily Henry | 377 pages | 2022

Nora Stephens’ life is books, and she is not the typical type of heroine. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.

Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.

If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.

(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

This was my first taste of the wildly popular Emily Henry. The story featured a lot of conflict based on keeping secrets and unresolved past traumas, which is not my favorite trope, but there were several laugh-out-loud moments which made this an entertaining read!

Happy Place by Emily Henry

 Happy Place by Emily Henry-385 pages

Harriet is looking forward to going to her Happy Place (which is a cottage on the coast of Maine) and seeing her college friends (Sabrina, Cleo, Parth, and Kimmy). However, she doesn't expect to see her ex-fiance, Wyn. She and Wyn haven't told their friends about their break-up yet and decide to wait until the end of the week when Sabrina and Parth announce that they're getting married while they're all together. Also, the cottage is being sold by Sabrina's father, so this could be their last week together in Maine. As you can imagine, this makes for a very awkward start to the week for Wyn and Harriet. However, so much happens during the week and it's a very emotional ride for all of the friends. Will Wyn and Harriet get back together and can they make each other happy? Will Sabrina and Parth go through with the wedding? Will the friends still be together after this week? This is a really good exploration of what it means to be happy and dealing with depression, pressure, and expectations. I really enjoyed reading this book and I especially like the ending. I didn't know what to expect going into reading this because I don't usually read romance. Emily Henry has been a popular author recently, though, so I thought I'd try out her latest. I am glad that I did. 

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

 

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

364 pages

★★★★

Lifelong friends but complete opposites, Poppy and Alex have taken vacations together every year since college. Until two years ago when their vacation went awry and they haven’t spoken since.

Poppy feels like her life and job are in a rut so she reaches out to Alex and they decide to plan another vacation together. Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

377 pages

★★★★★

This romance novel by popular author Emily Henry pokes fun at its own genre by making the characters work in publishing and self-aware of all the common romance tropes. Nora Stephens is a literary agent who lives in the Big Apple and is your stereotypical New York business woman, and Charlie Lastra is a big-shot editor who is your stereotypical cold businessman. When Nora’s sister, Libby, drags them to small town Sunshine Falls for a month-long getaway and to push Nora to have a small-town romance like in the books, Nora wants to do nothing but work and go home. That is, until she runs into Charlie working at the local bookstore. 

As someone who doesn’t normally read or enjoy romance, I was surprised how much I loved this book but it hit all the right marks by making it funny, about books, and not too cheesy.

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry -- 364 pages

Two best friends. Ten summer trips. One last chance to fall in love.

Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together. Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since.

Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.

Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?

A Million Junes by Emily Henry

A Million Junes by Emily Henry - 391 pages

For as long as Jack “June” O’Donnell has been alive, her parents have had only one rule: stay away from the Angert family. But when June collides—quite literally—with Saul Angert, sparks fly, and everything June has known is thrown into chaos.

Who exactly is this gruff, sarcastic, but seemingly harmless boy who has returned to their hometown of Five Fingers, Michigan, after three mysterious years away? And why has June—an O’Donnell to her core—never questioned her late father’s deep hatred of the Angert family? After all, the O’Donnells and the Angerts may have mythic legacies, but for all the tall tales they weave, both founding families are tight-lipped about what caused the century-old rift between them.

As Saul and June’s connection grows deeper, they find that the magic, ghosts, and coywolves of Five Fingers seem to be conspiring to reveal the truth about the harrowing curse that has plagued their bloodlines for generations. Now June must question everything she knows about her family and the father she adored, and she must decide whether it’s finally time for her—and all the O’Donnells before her—to let go.