ALC Book Review: Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

GoodeyReads1 Comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Emily Henry
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: April 22nd, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping new novel from Emily Henry.

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.

Thank you to LibroFM for the gifted audiobook.

SO MANY THOUGHTS.

I am kind of all over the place on this one. I did end up enjoying it a lot more than I was expecting (I am a fan of Emily Henry but not a FANNNNN, if you know what I mean).

It did almost lose me in the first half. I am notably not a dual timeline/flashback kind of woman. I love one timeline an every time this went into the past I could feel myself slipping out of the book. I just didn’t feel invested in Margaret’s story. NOW. In the second half, this does finally come together and I am very thankful it did. Things started to click and made sense and I thought it brought the plot to a close beautifully…even if it took too long to get there.

And for the romance! I actually was smitten from the get-go with these two. This is the second book I have recently read that has an instant attraction vibe that I have found works really well??? Who am I? There’s something about the magnetic way EH wrote Alice and Hayden that was insanely dynamic and the perfect banter between a grump x sunshine. There were all of these incredibly soft moments, heated passion, and wanting to shake my book (aka phone) for the audacity. Gosh I love them.

I can absolutely see why this will probably be a more polarizing book for EH readers. It’s not her usual, but I do think it had many hallmark type of things that I have expected in her stories too. Maybe my lower expectations helped this succeed too????

Catch me with everyone else waiting on her next release information.

(and to gauge my feelings from all of her books, my favorites are still PWMOV and BR)

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: multiple open door
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content warnings: loss of loved ones, infidelity (side characters), eating disorders, miscarriage, grief

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

ARC Book Review: Brielle and Bear (Once Upon a Time Vol. 1) by Salomey Doku

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Magical Realism Romance
Length: 178 pages
Author: Salomey Doku
Publisher: Harper Fire
Release Date: April 22nd, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A stunningly illustrated and brilliantly told love story perfect for teen readers – the first in an exquisite full-colour graphic novel series

(This ebook is optimised for Kindle tablets and the Kindle App. It is not suitable for e-Ink kindle devices, such as the PaperWhite. We recommend you download a sample to your device before purchase if in doubt.)

Fairytale Rule No. 1: All the best fairytales start with ‘Once upon a time . . .’

First-year student Brielle, a daydreamy book lover, knows everything there is to know about fairytales. Returning to the city of Rosebridge four years after moving away, she attends Once Upon a Time University, with the intention of living her fairytale dream. And when she meets Bear, shy vice-captain of the Princes rugby team, at the bookshop where she works, Brielle’s dream is off to a good start.

Determined to forget the past, and with an unexpected new relationship blossoming, Brielle feels she’s finally living the dream. That is, until she discovers that she’s not the only one hiding something .

Thank you Get Underlined for the gifted ARC.

SO STINKIN’ CUTE.

I did not have plans to read this 5 months before release but when I picked it up, I inhaled it (my ARC copy had black/white print but the final will have full color). I can’t wait to see the full color version because I loved the artwork and set-up for this story.

It’s light-hearted and made me smile multiple times. I loved the cute flirtations and deep talks. You can see the essence of Beauty and the Beast without being a copycat. I loved the introductions to all of the characters that I hope to see in future volumes. This is an easy read and an utter delight. I can’t wait for more!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Graphic Novel
  • Language: none
  • Romance: flirting
  • Content Warnings: mentions of bullying (MMC has dyslexia)

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Lore of the Wilds (Lore of the Wilds #1) by Analeigh Sbrana

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 339 pages
Author: Analeigh Sbrana
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: February 27th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A stunning Romantasy debut about an enchanted library, two handsome Fae, and one human who brings them all together.

A library with a deadly enchantment.

A Fae lord who wants in.

A human woman willing to risk it all for a taste of power.

In a land ruled by ruthless Fae, twenty-one-year-old Lore Alemeyu’s village is trapped in a forested prison. Lore knows that any escape attempt is futile—her scars are a testament to her past failures. But when her village is threatened, Lore makes a desperate deal with a Fae lord. She will leave her home to catalog/organize an enchanted library that hasn’t been touched in a thousand years. No Fae may enter the library, but there is a chance a human might be able to breach the cursed doors.

She convinces him that she will risk her life for wealth, but really she’s after the one thing the Fae covet above all: magic of her own.

As Lore navigates the hostile world outside, she’s forced to rely on two Fae males to survive. Two very different, very dangerous, very attractive Fae males. When undeniable chemistry ignites, she’s not just in danger of losing her life, but her heart to the very creatures she can never trust.

I LIKED IT.

I’ve been anxiously awaiting getting a chance to read this one. And it turned out pretty good. I’m excited to read the second book and see how the journey continues.

I enjoyed Lore a lot. She’s filled with strength and a sense of self I love to see. I liked her perseverance to accomplishing her tasks and figuring out ways to subvert the situation she had been forced into. I want to see those aspects grow even more as this series (or is it just a duology??) continue.

The romance is a bit meh. Things go from 0-100 quickly and I would have loved to have seen more development between Lore and Asher. There was initially a nice slow burn that I enjoyed. And then the love triangle was added in. I’m not mad about it though because when do I ever go for the first guy??

For the ending, I found it predictable based off of the fact that I’ve read multiple love triangles that essentially had the same scenario. It didn’t turn me off of the book but I didn’t have any jaw dropping moments either.

I loved the audio and recommend that format!

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 1-2 open door
  • Violence: moderate

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Never Planned on You by Lindsay Hameroff

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 304 pages
Author: Lindsay Hameroff
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Release Date: February 18th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A glittering, laugh-out-loud second chance romance that reminds us true love is sometimes the one thing you never planned on.

Ali Rubin has a reputation for spontaneity. Like that time she made a drunken bet in London that led to matching tattoos with a stranger. Her joie de vivre is one of her best qualities; she lives every day to the fullest and follows her dreams wherever they take her. And now, they’re taking her from her career as a chef in New York City back home to Baltimore, where she’s interning as a wedding planner.

Despite the occasional fantasy about her British tattoo twin, Ali never expected to see Graham again. So no one is more surprised than she is when he turns up in Baltimore, ordering a latte at her favorite cafe. When they reconnect during an enchanting evening together, Ali can’t help but wonder if Graham might be someone special.

At the same time, she’s desperate to succeed in her new career and prove that she isn’t the family flake. When she gets a job planning a high profile wedding at a historic hotel, it seems like things are finally falling into place. That is, until Graham turns out to be the groom.

Graham’s family owns the once-grand, now struggling Black-Eyed Susan, and he’s returned to Baltimore to help his grandmother get it back on its feet. He’s certain that hosting a wedding at the hotel is just the publicity boost it needs. Ali’s boss agrees, and promises Ali a full-time gig if the affair goes off without a hitch. Unfortunately, Ali and Graham can’t seem to ignore their rekindled chemistry, especially when it’s revealed that Graham and his fiancée are planning a marriage of convenience. Still, staying away from each other is the best thing they can do, since giving in to their growing feelings might cost them everything.

Because when it comes to love, all bets are off.

Thank you to You Hade Me at HEA for the gifted copy.

I WAS SORT OF CHARMED?

This was my first book by this author and I think I’d pick up another? There were plenty of good and solid moments throughout and I liked a lot of the base themes. There is a glaring issue though.

I don’t think I’d classify this as cheating because the “relationship” Graham was in wasn’t a true romantic situation (which is mentioned in the synopsis), but I do wish there had been less sneaking around and Graham had come clean sooner. It didn’t give it a good forbidden angle, just a frustrating one.

The chemistry between Graham and Ali was great though. I really loved them together and I thought the one night stand trope worked well enough for me (and I usually don’t enjoy that one). The setting was charming with a historic hotel and all of the wedding/event planning. I liked that there were many Graham and Ali proximity moments because I truly got to see their relationship unfold. They played off of each other well.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: mild – moderate
  • Romance: open door

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph