Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry: My Review

Check out my book review of Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry to see what I thought of her new romance release for 2025.

*Disclosure: This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Great Big Beautiful Life Summary:

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: My Review

I love it when authors explore outside their tried and true lanes. Yes, this book has a contemporary romance threaded throughout the story, which Henry has become widely known for, however, she really explored a different side to her writing with a dive into the fictional history of a world-famous family and the fallout that fame had on so many.

I think anyone who is going to love this book is going to have to love the story that unfolds about the Ives family as Margaret tells it. That is what is at the heart of this book. An epic tale that starts with great grandparents and finds its way to the present, many generations and many players later. Henry must have had a blast creating this family and their saga.

For me, I was pulled into it from the beginning but admit that my luster for the story began to wane as it continued on. Sure, I was intrigued by Margaret and what she was or wasn’t hiding but at the same time the family story felt like it took over at times and I was trying so hard to keep everyone straight.

The current love story between Hayden and Alice was a sweet, slow burn. I liked that they were apparent opposites despite their similar profession. Was I intrigued by each of their backstories, not particularly, and did their romance seem to stall when they kept pushing things off until Margaret’s decision, yes, but overall, I found this to be a unique story that brought wonderful writing and a mystery that was fun to unearth.

*Thank you for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

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