An impossible task, TBH.
All 6 Emily Henry Books, Ranked
Chloe Williams serves as B+C’s Entertainment Editor and resident Taylor Swift expert. Whether she’s writing a movie review or interviewing the stars of the latest hit show, Chloe loves exploring why stories inspire us. You can see her work published in BuzzFeed, Coastal Review, and North Beach Sun. When she’s not writing, Chloe’s probably watching a Marvel movie with a cherry coke or texting her sister about the latest celebrity news. Say hi at @thechloewilliams on Insta and @popculturechlo on Twitter!
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Emily Henry is the queen of rom-coms and her latest book, Great Big Beautiful Life, proves it. The novel follows writers Alice and Hayden, who are competing for a chance to tell the story of Hollywood icon Margaret Ives...and might just catch feelings for each other against their better judgement. So of course, in addition to chatting about the new books, we had to do a ranking of Emily Henry's 6 romance books on our podcast this week!
Here's our ranking of Emily Henry's romance books.
1. Beach Read
I still think Emily Henry's first romance novel, Beach Read, is her best. Not only is it an emotional love story that also tackles serious family issues, but it's sensory and escapist in a way that sets it apart from the rest of her work. And despite the fact its leads, January and Gus, are working on other stories, they don't detract from the main plot.
2. Book Lovers
EmHen's 2022 novel Book Lovers balances multiple characters outside Nora and Charlie's main relationship in a wonderful way. Nora's sister Libby is a sweet and vivacious addition to the story, and Nora's literary one liners and stream of consciousness are fun for any book lover to read.
3. Great Big Beautiful Life
Great BBL (as the readers are calling it) is a very fun addition to Emily Henry's bibliography that balances multiple stories, multiple characters, and multiple settings. It feels less holistic than Beach Read, but keeping Margaret's story 3rd person keeps things from being too separate. I had a little trouble keeping up with all the character names, but my love for the stoic, considerate Hayden outweighs almost everything.
4. Funny Story
Funny Story has incredibly compelling characters you root for, and I love the library setting (plus all the lemons). But I'll admit while Daphne's role as a children's librarian makes me very nostalgic, it doesn't have the same summer vacation magic Emily infuses into her other work.
5. Happy Place
Happy Place — which follows Wyn and Harriet hiding their breakup from their friends — does have plenty of vacation vibes infused in it, but juggling so many different relationships detracted from the main love story. And I love the idea of exploring grief, regret, and all the other complicated emotions that come with a second chance romance, but it took away a lot of the electricity for me.
6. People We Meet On Vacation
I KNOW I KNOW, I'll explain. Ranking Emily Henry books is like ranking Taylor Swift songs. They're all lovable, but something has to come in last place. The fact People We Meet On Vacation goes back and forth between timelines weakens the emotional arc, and a lot of Poppy's decisions (not to mention the chaos of Poppy and Alex's final trip) kind of stress me out. But that's just one woman's opinion — and I am still more excited than anyone to see Tom Blyth and Emily Bader in the movie!
Let us know on Facebook if you agree with my ranking, or you think I'm totally wrong. And check out The Taylor Swift Album For Every Emily Henry Book for more.
