Emily Henry

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.

Great Big Beautiful Life

The good and bad, the magic and curses, all the blues and grays right alongside the reds and golds. I tell her the story about a love so powerful it remade the world for her. I welcome her to this great big beautiful life.

"When Iet myself dream," he murmurs against my ear, "or it all comes crashing down - it's Alice, Alice on my mind. Alice all the time"

"I feel like you're mine. Like you're mine in a way no one else ever has been."

She hoped. For the first time in a long time, she hoped. And that was everything.

"Your heart's broken without her, Peggy" he said, "and mine can't be whole until yours is."

He didn't understand how it worked-why he couldn't stop himself from driving off the people he loved most in the world, how he always ended up right back here, in this big, empty castle.

"I don't need you to protect me," she whispered, kissing him slowly. “I just need you to love me." 

She felt only joy, rightness, and some amount of shock that the universe would grant her something so beautiful and precious as this without her having done anything to earn it.

“I’d marry you, Peggy lves, if all you had to your name was a gunnysack and a can of corn."

“Tell me something no one knows about you” 

The truth was, Margaret wasn't sure she knew precisely what love was. Sometimes she lay awake late at night, thinking about the word until it came apart like little bits of alphabet soup, the letters drifting off in opposite directions and the meaning lost somewhere in the gaps.

Under his breath, nearly a whisper, he says, "I think if I get this job, you're going to break my fucking heart."

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.

It's not dissimilar to why I started writing, or why I still do it. Not just the pursuit of some clinical truth, but the need to understanda person, make sense of what's at their very core, closest to their heart. To present that, clearly, truthfully, and to preserve it.

“If either of us doesn't give this our all, we'll regret it. And then we'll resent each other for it. And I don't know if I can handle being the one person on the planet Alice Scott doesn't like."

He ran one hand over her mousy blond hair, and he looked at her closely for the first time and saw that she could be beautiful. That all it took was looking long enough, close enough, and he was ashamed that he hadn't. 

He tried so many points in his life, he tried to codify what it was that made his father detest him. Or what exactly about Gigi and his mother drew out that small, soft smile on his father's lips.

“even if I didn't get mine as long as I wish I could have, I still feel lucky." "You're not obligated to," he says quietly. "You can feel cheated, Alice." 

julie reads

sadly not my fave emily henry book :<< was still beautifully written and vv entertaining but i just felt like there were so many plot lines that could have been explored and i was left kind of disappointed and wanting more at the end

still a solid read tho and the tension between the characters is just perfect 💯 

Nicole Grace

sadly not my fave emily henry book :<< was still beautifully written and vv entertaining but i just felt like there were so many plot lines that could have been explored and i was left kind of disappointed and wanting more at the end

still a solid read tho and the tension between the characters is just perfect 💯 

Wonderful book, loved it with my whole heart! Sometimes it reminded my of "seven husbands of evelyn hugo" in the way margarets story unraveled. While I had my suspicions about the end, I was truly surprised by the real end. I smiled, I gasped and I cried

Marie

Loved Henry’s “departure” (as she calls it in her acknowledgments) from her typical summer read. Still romance but with a great big beautiful twist and deviation from her norm. Loved the characters with sharper edges and the story-within-a-story concept.

Sarah Wilson

lots of comparisons here to taylor jenkins read which is not a bad thing but i do wish it differentiated itself a bit more. but this is probably my 2nd favorite romance of eh by far, and hayden is such a goofball. 

shaye

if we are comparing this to the seven lives of evelyn hugo, which i feel like may be a bit inevitable, then i prefer this one. to me, the twist feels more shocking and plausible and important than the one in evelyn hugo, and i did find margaret’s life interesting — and especially alice and hayden’s efforts to uncover the half truths and outright lies they are being told. i thought the hints leading up to the reveal were very effective in that they were very small and all come together and click in just the right way by the end. however, i felt like alice was a bit less developed than henry’s other heroines. we establish her personality early on, but to me, her chirpiness and optimism didn’t really come through as drastically different from other henry heroines, and her issues with her mother kind of arose out of nowhere to me. i did find myself somewhat surprised that alice was 33, bc i felt like some of her slip ups felt like a 20s kind of thing haha. still, i liked hayden! um. idk the more i think abt this book, the more i feel like the characters are all kind of flat; alice just has friends at opportune moments, and her sister hardly matters at all despite being a primary hint to the darkness under alice’s pink exterior. i also felt like hayden and alice fell fast for each other without earning it in a way? it felt like they jumped to love even tho they were both just like. normal ppl to each other except that they were cooped up in a small town together lol. 

friends in the past have criticized henry’s books for wrapping up the ending too fast. i haven’t felt it for her previous works, but i did feel it for this one, maybe in part because i still had questions. i would have loved to see hayden and margaret’s interactions, particularly near the end, and seen more of that relationship fleshed out. 

THAT BEING SAID, i think i ended up feeling more favorably toward the book because of the ending and the way the plot tied together by the last page. despite all its flaws, i still felt quite satisfied and emotional by the end. [SPOILER] i really don’t think alice had to have a kid, esp since she didn’t necessarily talk a lot abt wanting one throughout the book…. BUT i did think it was a nice tribute and a bow tie way to close the loop of the story. [/SPOILER]

lucia

if we are comparing this to the seven lives of evelyn hugo, which i feel like may be a bit inevitable, then i prefer this one. to me, the twist feels more shocking and plausible and important than the one in evelyn hugo, and i did find margaret’s life interesting — and especially alice and hayden’s efforts to uncover the half truths and outright lies they are being told. i thought the hints leading up to the reveal were very effective in that they were very small and all come together and click in just the right way by the end. however, i felt like alice was a bit less developed than henry’s other heroines. we establish her personality early on, but to me, her chirpiness and optimism didn’t really come through as drastically different from other henry heroines, and her issues with her mother kind of arose out of nowhere to me. i did find myself somewhat surprised that alice was 33, bc i felt like some of her slip ups felt like a 20s kind of thing haha. still, i liked hayden! um. idk the more i think abt this book, the more i feel like the characters are all kind of flat; alice just has friends at opportune moments, and her sister hardly matters at all despite being a primary hint to the darkness under alice’s pink exterior. i also felt like hayden and alice fell fast for each other without earning it in a way? it felt like they jumped to love even tho they were both just like. normal ppl to each other except that they were cooped up in a small town together lol. 

friends in the past have criticized henry’s books for wrapping up the ending too fast. i haven’t felt it for her previous works, but i did feel it for this one, maybe in part because i still had questions. i would have loved to see hayden and margaret’s interactions, particularly near the end, and seen more of that relationship fleshed out. 

THAT BEING SAID, i think i ended up feeling more favorably toward the book because of the ending and the way the plot tied together by the last page. despite all its flaws, i still felt quite satisfied and emotional by the end. [SPOILER] i really don’t think alice had to have a kid, esp since she didn’t necessarily talk a lot abt wanting one throughout the book…. BUT i did think it was a nice tribute and a bow tie way to close the loop of the story. [/SPOILER]

this felt similar to other books i’ve read and i really didn’t care much about margaret’s story until the end 

taylor

this is morbid but i’m going to miss my grandparents so much once they’re gone.. i think they’ll take my childhood with them, and i think when my parents pass, i’m going to miss how safe the world feels with them around 

Chit

NGL - It started slow. But the ending had me in TEARS. Beautiful work as always from EmHen <3

Naomi Kemph

I loved this book. I know lots of people had mixed feeling about this book but i loved it. This book gave me everything i wanted from the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo and then more. 

Stella 💫

EMILY HENRY THE WOMAN YOU ARE. Honestly everything about this book was incredible i was in love the moment i picked it up, Hayden is FIGHTING w Charlie for no1 Emily Henry mmc rn. THE END THEIR DAUGHTER? IM GOING TO CRY

can’t stop imagining merryl streep’s face whenever they mention margaret

Saffy

I didn’t really like Margaret’s story

Elizabeth Denny

This wasn’t my favourite Emily Henry book, but it still had her signature charm. I absolutely loved the ending, and how this was so much more than simply a love story. This woman could write anything and I would eat it up.

Keira

This book reminded me kind of a cross over between Something Wilder (less life endangerment) and Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Low stakes, retelling a story of the past, piecing things together. Paired with  dynamic FMC and MMC duo. I loved their antics and way they treat each other. 

A fine enough beach read. Entertaining, but lacked real depth. I was genuinely shocked when I read that Alice was 33 because she acted unbearably immature the entire book. 

Overall, it’s a fun book to read in a day but didn’t blow me away. 

Elyse 

A fine enough beach read. Entertaining, but lacked real depth. I was genuinely shocked when I read that Alice was 33 because she acted unbearably immature the entire book. 

Overall, it’s a fun book to read in a day but didn’t blow me away. 

I have always loved Emily’s writing and when I heard that she had a new book coming out I know that it had to be on my TBR as I have really enjoyed getting lost into her worlds and characters and A Great Big Beautiful Life is no different and this one is rather different and took a new direction for Emily. This one is not just about Life but it’s about the beautiful moments as well as the flawed and the chaotic and just everything in-between.

We follow Alice and Hayden, two writers competing for the chance to tell the life story of Margaret Ives, a reclusive former star with a scandalous past. As they unravel her secrets, their rivalry turns into something deeper. The romance is secondary to how Alice and Hayden grow through their journey, both uncovering not just Margaret’s life but their own.

Both Characters had a lot of history, and I found myself connecting more towards Alice. She is the bright and bubbly one but from her past she is carrying some baggage and a strained relationship with her mother which felt real. Hayden on the other hand is the grumpy standoffish character but as the story develops you start to unravel him more and more. As the romance blooms it’s all becomes rather fast paced but there are lots of little moments seeing the characters grow

Margaret is full of secrets but her life from its glittering beginnings to its lonely end is crucial to the book’s deeper meaning. I wasn’t immediately hooked by her story. The first half felt slow, and I found myself more engaged with the romance between Alice and Hayden. But once the focus shifted to her family dynamics, her father, mother, and sister, Margaret’s story clicked into place.

This is exactly what the title promises, a celebration of life in all its messy, unpredictable ways. t’s not perfect, and it doesn’t offer neat answers or happily-ever-afters. But it leaves you with something deeper — a richer understanding of what it means to truly live and love.

Ian Brakspear

I have always loved Emily’s writing and when I heard that she had a new book coming out I know that it had to be on my TBR as I have really enjoyed getting lost into her worlds and characters and A Great Big Beautiful Life is no different and this one is rather different and took a new direction for Emily. This one is not just about Life but it’s about the beautiful moments as well as the flawed and the chaotic and just everything in-between.

 

We follow Alice and Hayden, two writers competing for the chance to tell the life story of Margaret Ives, a reclusive former star with a scandalous past. As they unravel her secrets, their rivalry turns into something deeper. The romance is secondary to how Alice and Hayden grow through their journey, both uncovering not just Margaret’s life but their own.

 

Both Characters had a lot of history, and I found myself connecting more towards Alice. She is the bright and bubbly one but from her past she is carrying some baggage and a strained relationship with her mother which felt real. Hayden on the other hand is the grumpy standoffish character but as the story develops you start to unravel him more and more. As the romance blooms it’s all becomes rather fast paced but there are lots of little moments seeing the characters grow

 

Margaret is full of secrets but her life from its glittering beginnings to its lonely end is crucial to the book’s deeper meaning. I wasn’t immediately hooked by her story. The first half felt slow, and I found myself more engaged with the romance between Alice and Hayden. But once the focus shifted to her family dynamics, her father, mother, and sister, Margaret’s story clicked into place.

 

This is exactly what the title promises, a celebration of life in all its messy, unpredictable ways. t’s not perfect, and it doesn’t offer neat answers or happily-ever-afters. But it leaves you with something deeper — a richer understanding of what it means to truly live and love.

So I want to preface this by saying I didn’t think I would be into this book because even though my degree is journalism, this feels off-beat. We spend most of this book with Margaret than with Hayden and Alice and I was wondering whether the love story on this book would hit. 

It took me a second to realize this was a love story but not in the sense where it’s mostly about Hayden and Alice. But various generations of love stories. That’s when this became a 5 star. 

Emily Henry is incredibly talented. And this was an absolute smash. 

Keira 💫

So I want to preface this by saying I didn’t think I would be into this book because even though my degree is journalism, this feels off-beat. We spend most of this book with Margaret than with Hayden and Alice and I was wondering whether the love story on this book would hit. 

It took me a second to realize this was a love story but not in the sense where it’s mostly about Hayden and Alice. But various generations of love stories. That’s when this became a 5 star. 

Emily Henry is incredibly talented. And this was an absolute smash. 

i enjooyyyyyy this book! i liked the two plots, the romance and family history, i liked that they were disconnected until they weren’t which i wasnt expecting so it was fun to read. i like the romance and the 3 act break up was a bit fair but i still hate it but good came out of it too so fine. idk where i would rank it but its next to happy place. 

debbie <3

treena

Although not an Emily Henry super fan, I enjoy her books to a reasonable degree. But if I could give this one negative stats, I would. I think it tried to do too much (like be Evelyn Hugo, but straight), and nothing hit the mark. The two plot lines were consistently disconnected, until the last few chapters where it just all happened at once. I found that the romance had built no chemistry, and I wasn’t even rooting for them to work out because I didn’t see the substance of their connection.

Emma Hak-Kovacs

 is classic Emily Henry in all the best ways — vibrant, emotional, and laced with the kind of witty writing that makes you laugh out loud. I loved the characters and the rich, magnetic world of old money and fame. I loved the setting and the town she built for us. The slowburn between Hayden and Alice was beautifully done, just the right amount of tension and heart.

But while the book is ambitious and complex, the pacing felt a little off to me. After such a careful build-up, the ending comes so fast that it left me feeling like we didn’t get enough time with some of the most compelling threads — particularly Cosmo and his relationship with Margret. I found myself wishing we could’ve spent more time with them, really gotten to know them. And honestly, the same goes for Hayden and Alice … their back-and-forth felt so constant that by the end, I was still hoping to see more of how they actually made it work and really solidify their relationship.

Still overall well worth the read! I just can’t bring myself to give it more stars because of the disappointment of the slow build to an abrupt ending. 

mikaela

MINOR SPOILERS: Great Big Beautiful Life is classic Emily Henry in all the best ways — vibrant, emotional, and laced with the kind of witty writing that makes you laugh out loud. I loved the characters and the rich, magnetic world of old money and fame. I loved the setting and the town she built for us. The slowburn between Hayden and Alice was beautifully done, just the right amount of tension and heart.

But while the book is ambitious and complex, the pacing felt a little off to me. After such a careful build-up, the ending comes so fast that it left me feeling like we didn’t get enough time with some of the most compelling threads — particularly Cosmo and his relationship with Margret. I found myself wishing we could’ve spent more time with them, really gotten to know them. And honestly, the same goes for Hayden and Alice … their back-and-forth felt so constant that by the end, I was still hoping to see more of how they actually made it work and really solidify their relationship.

Still overall well worth the read! I just can’t bring myself to give it more stars because of the disappointment of the slow build to an abrupt ending. 

took me awhile to finish reading this, but i loved every bit of it. :( a bit different compared to her usual writing since this focuses on the history of the family the protagonists are writing about! but it was still really good & i’m glad that emily henry is trying to switch up her writing. 

will be rereading before this year ends tho so i might edit this review after 

took me awhile to finish reading this, but i loved every bit of it. :( a bit different compared to her usual writing since this focuses on the history of the family the protagonists are writing about! but it was still really good & i’m glad that emily henry is trying to switch up her writing. 

will be rereading before this year ends tho so i might edit this review after 

This was quite a departure from Emily Henry’s other books, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was written in the poetic yet humorous style I’ve come to expect from the author, but this time with an added layer of suspense. The second half especially leaned into the mystery rather than focusing on the romance (which readers have come to expect from Henry). I think this was a bold but ultimately successful choice.

Overall the book had cozy vibes, and a bit of a slower pace at the start. Around the mid-point the pace picks up and we find ourselves racing towards a satisfying conclusion. It explores themes of love, loss, secrecy, and the complexity of familial relationships. After reading this, I look forward to seeing what direction Emily Henry’s work moves in the future.

Alissa 

This was quite a departure from Emily Henry’s other books, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was written in the poetic yet humorous style I’ve come to expect from the author, but this time with an added layer of suspense. The second half especially leaned into the mystery rather than focusing on the romance (which readers have come to expect from Henry). I think this was a bold but ultimately successful choice.

Overall the book had cozy vibes, and a bit of a slower pace at the start. Around the mid-point the pace picks up and we find ourselves racing towards a satisfying conclusion. It explores themes of love, loss, secrecy, and the complexity of familial relationships. After reading this, I look forward to seeing what direction Emily Henry’s work moves in the future.

Great Big Beautiful Life

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