Great Big Beautiful Life – Book Review

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.

I always make sure to read all of Emily Henry books. Great Big Beautiful Life is her latest release.

The story starts with Alice Scott, who by chance gets an opportunity to interview the long-lost heiress, Margaret Ives. However, when Alice reaches Margaret’s house, she realizes that has to compete with a Pulitzer winning journalist and grumpy Hayden Anderson for a chance to write the biography of Margaret Ives. As they try to work together, Alice gets a glimpse of Margaret Ives’ childhood life and at the same time she couldn’t help falling in love with Hayden Anderson…

First of all, I am not sure whether I liked the book or not. Most of the time, Emily Henry books are fast paced, intriguing and engaging. Which is the same for this book. However, I feel, this book wasn’t up to her potential. This is a romance genre book, but there is lack of romance written in the book. Hayden is a serious, grumpy, not falling in love at first sight type of guy, yet his character suddenly changes when he starts falling for Alice. It’s just I feel the romance between Hayden and Alice is too…sudden. Although I enjoyed the historical version and life of Margaret Ives, this shadowed off the romance genre in the book. This book is more like a historical fiction book than a romance book in my opinion. I also feel there is not much chemistry between Alice and Hayden and that the whole story kind of bogged down a little. The ending seems far fetched in my opinion.

Overall, this could have been better, but Emily Henry’s writing as usual always the keep the reader engaged into the story. Worth 3.5 stars.