What to read next
10 books like Great Big Beautiful Life
Competing writers, a guarded subject, old public stories, and private testimony make authorship and intimacy parallel questions of trust. The picks below take that appeal in different directions.
Read our review of Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry.
Best matches
Three strong places to start
If you only want three picks, start here.
Best overall
Fastest read
Best alternative
Choose by reading mood
Where to start
For the fastest read
Alchemy of Secrets
BriskFor the gentlest option
Funny Story
GentleFor the strongest romance
Love on the Brain
CentralFor the easiest entry
Check & Mate
AccessibleThe full shortlist
Why each book belongs here
See what each pick shares with Great Big Beautiful Life, and where it goes in a different direction.
1
Funny Story
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Central
- Difficulty
- Accessible
Why this matches
- Different because
- Funny Story is more grounded, comic, and community-centered, with a cleaner contemporary setup.
2
People We Meet on Vacation
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Central
- Difficulty
- Accessible
Why this matches
- Different because
- People We Meet on Vacation develops romantic history through years of travel and friendship.
3
The Great Gatsby
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Moderate
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Why this matches
- Similar because
- The Great Gatsby also depends on a witness trying to understand a public identity that has been carefully invented for other people.
- Different because
- The Great Gatsby offers a much shorter, darker meditation on public image, private desire, and narrated legend.
4
Alchemy of Secrets
- Pace
- Brisk
- Darkness
- Moderate
- Romance
- Central
- Difficulty
- Accessible
5
Promise Me Sunshine
- Pace
- Measured
- Darkness
- Moderate
- Romance
- Central
- Difficulty
- Accessible
6
Check & Mate
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Central
- Difficulty
- Accessible
7
Deep End
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Central
- Difficulty
- Accessible
8
Pride and Prejudice
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Central
- Difficulty
- Moderate
9
Jane Eyre
- Pace
- Measured
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Central
- Difficulty
- Moderate
10
Love on the Brain
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Central
- Difficulty
- Accessible
Side-by-side
Pace, darkness, romance, and difficulty
| Book | Pace | Darkness | Romance | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Big Beautiful Life | Balanced | Gentle | Central | Accessible |
| Funny Story | Balanced | Gentle | Central | Accessible |
| People We Meet on Vacation | Balanced | Gentle | Central | Accessible |
| The Great Gatsby | Balanced | Moderate | Minimal | Moderate |
| Alchemy of Secrets | Brisk | Moderate | Central | Accessible |
| Promise Me Sunshine | Measured | Moderate | Central | Accessible |
| Check & Mate | Balanced | Gentle | Central | Accessible |
| Deep End | Balanced | Gentle | Central | Accessible |
| Pride and Prejudice | Balanced | Gentle | Central | Moderate |
| Jane Eyre | Measured | Gentle | Central | Moderate |
| Love on the Brain | Balanced | Gentle | Central | Accessible |
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