This is perfect. From the competitive premise to the story they’re writing, and then the present time story they’re unpicking without realising it, it’s got everything, and I fell in love with the community at the motel and all the little twists and turns to get to everything coming together beautifully.

I really loved this story which drew me in immediately. I always enjoy Emily's books and this one was just as good as her others. It was so interesting and I loved the characters. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

first thing I noticed is that this book is really a mix between The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (by Taylor Jenkins Reid) and Book Lovers (by Emily Henry). With everything surrounding the biography of Margaret Ives, the way the tension is slowly built up and the beautiful, compelling writing style of Emily Henry, this has really become a beautiful story. I enjoyed the mystery and the intrigue and regularly had to swallow a lump in my throat.

Okay, the middle part felt a bit slow. Although I found Margaret Ives' story interesting and I certainly appreciated the plot twist towards the end, I found her parts, the flashbacks to the past, a bit less interesting. I enjoyed the parts between Alice and Hayden more. I found especially those parts very emotional, and their all-encompassing and all-consuming love is beautifully portrayed. I did find Hayden an almost standard MMC of Emily Henry? He was very similar to Charlie from Book Lovers or Gus from Beach Diary. Not necessarily bad, because he's a fantastic, intriguing guy, but a bit corny.

I once again really enjoyed Emily Henry's beautiful, almost poetic writing style. Great big beautiful life is a gem, although for me it couldn't quite match Book lovers. But fans of her books? They will happily close this book!

I have received an E-arc through NetGalley, this has not affected my opinion whatsoever.

This was my first Emily Henry novel and my expectations were high. Possibly too high. I knew she was a bestseller and shortly after I requested this book it was revealed as a Reece’s book club pick.
Great Big Beautiful Life follows Alice and Hayden, two journalists competing for the same job – the chance to write the biography of aging socialite, Margaret Ives, who dropped out of public life decades ago.
I enjoyed the book, especially the flashback chapters showing Margaret’s glamorous, gilded youth, but I expected… more. I thought the romance would be heart-stoppingly, achingly beautiful, and that the mystery would be gripping and unputdownable. It didn’t quite live up to the hype for me, but I’d still recommend it. 3.5 stars rounded up.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.

In this light-hearted romance, two journalists try to resist their growing attraction to each other as they compete to win the right to publish an official biography of former socialite, Margaret Ives. Overall, this was an enjoyable read. The romance between Hayden and Alice is sweet and I enjoyed reading about their relationship blossom. Their story is interspersed with Alice's interviews with Margaret ('Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo' vibes) and this part of the story is also interesting; however, I felt like switching between Margaret's story and Alice/Hayden's story made it harder to fully engage with either so the impact of each was lost. The two story lines do tie together well at the end, but it took too long to see the relevance of this and it didn't feel like there was sufficient else (e.g. mystery, learning journey, etc.) to make this structure work for most of the novel. It was still an easy and fairly compelling read but I was a little disappointed with this one, in comparison to Emily Henry's other titles.

I read and listened to this book simultaneously because I simply couldn’t stop—it was that good. Sorry to my buddy Danielle for speeding ahead, but once I started, I was hooked.

What I adored most is that while it’s a romantic comedy on the surface, it has so much emotional depth, which is exactly what I’ve come to love and expect from this author. The story masterfully weaves in a touch of history, and every thread, every line, beautifully comes full circle.

The two main characters—both authors, hilariously and competitively attempting to write a memoir—are just so well written. Their chemistry, banter, vulnerability, and growth pulled me right in. I loved them both so much.

This book made me laugh, tear up, and think deeply—all while rooting hard for the characters. It’s more than a romcom; it’s a brilliant, heartfelt story that stays with you.

I can't stop thinking about the story! I love everything Emily Henry writes, she's an instant favourite author. Would recommend 'Great Big Beautiful Life' and will definitely read it again. 5 Stars.

I wanted to love this soooo much but it just wasn't for me. Emily always falls flat for me in the last third of every book but clersly I'm in the minority.

Loved the premise of this and honestly enjoyed the two stories separately but I feel like they didn’t work the best together. The flashbacks and historical elements almost dragged the story down at times and seemed a bit bland in comparison to the present day story.

I enjoyed the characters of Alice and Hayden but insta-love isn’t my cup of tea and then Hayden was so hot and cold it was frustrating.

The ending moved into a mystery with twists and intrigue thrown in but then it felt like it was a whole different genre to the rest of the book and was disconnected.

Emily Henry’s writing is excellent and I sped through it, there were moments I thoroughly enjoyed but overall I didn’t love this one.

This did take me a hot second to get into. I did slightly struggle to get into the flashbacks but it started to pick up about 40% of the way through and I couldn’t put it down!

You can’t go wrong with an Emily Henry book, she just keeps getting better and better. Thoroughly enjoyable, engaging read, quirky characters, cozy small town vibes, with a nice little unexpected twist at the end.

In Emily Henry's newest novel, a journalist and a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer compete for a chance to write the biography of a famous heiress now in her 80s and living as a recluse.

Alice works for a pop-culture website and hopes that writing this book will earn her more respect from her family. She has spent months tracking Margaret Ives down to small island off the coast of Georgia. Hayden seems the ideal choice for the job, having already published a best-selling biography. When the two meet Margaret, they must sign iron-clad NDAs and remain on the island for a month, working with her until she decides who's going to take the reigns with her story. Of course, it's a small island, so these new rivals are going to keep bumping into each other, and eventually sparks fly.

I've seen this book marketed as a mystery/thriller, and I think it's important to point out that it's not, at least IMO. However, it is a departure for Henry, who combines her exceptional talent for contemporary romance with historical fiction. The story of Margaret and The House of Ives - the name given to her scandalous family - traces all the way back to the Gold Rush and the early days of Hollywood, exploring the family's history, their relationships, and the tragic love story that led Margaret to retreat from the public eye.

It has all the elements of Henry's earlier novels: steamy romance, witty banter, electric chemistry, and brilliant characters. Fans of the grumpy/sunshine and forced proximity tropes will squeal. But this story is also an emotional and thoughtful exploration of family ties, the power of truth, the fragility of trust, and, of course, love in its many forms.

I loved Alice and Hayden, and Alice's relationship with her mother was a highlight. A cosy, engaging, and gripping read with plenty of swoon, and a testament to the writer Henry is. Gorgeous!

I love reading emhen in the spring/summer and I really enjoyed this one.
I think comparisons that will be made to TJR’s seven husbands are not without cause as in places it does feel very similar (familiar connection to the researcher, enigmatic character) but that’s not to say that this is an identical copy.
As always, emhen writes believable and fully developed female mc and GBBL was no different. I would have liked to have known more about her relationship with her dad and more interaction with her sister- family plays a huge role in the plot of GBBL that it didn’t make sense to me for other family members to not be given more colour. I’d also say that the ending was perhaps too simple. I wasn’t sure how I wanted it to end - but this felt too easy. Then again- it’s a light hearted romance so it’s entirely in keeping.
I think Emily Henry has such a talent in weaving natural romance into her characters and GBBL is a a great example of this. I didn’t enjoy this as much as happy place but I enjoyed it far more than funny story. Emhen continues to be a favourite for me.

At this point, I don’t think I have anything new to say about Emily Henry’s books, so this review is going to be rather short. Personally, I think she must put some kind of drug in there because there’s something so compulsive about them when you’re reading them. Of course, once you’re done, you might decide you feel otherwise, but while you’re there, you’re sucked in entirely.

Which is pretty much what happened in Great Big Beautiful Lie. On my Emily Henry Rankings Chart, I think this one falls #4, after all the odd numbered adult books (Beach Read=Book Lovers>Funny Story), but before the remaining even numbered ones (Happy Place>You and Me on Vacation). So, pretty solid.

The big difference in this one is the romance. Where, in every other book, the main characters know each other somehow, be it from university, as old friends, or in the same field of work, here both are almost complete unknowns to one another. As such, you end up with what’s possibly Emily Henry’s most egregious instance of instalove. And somehow, when I was reading it, I never felt that way! They barely knew each other and yet, and yet, while I had the book open, I could barely remember that part. Of course, once I put it down and started to think, the instalove came looming large again, as is its wont.

My other (slight) gripe here actually relates to Emily Henry’s romances as a whole. Please, I am begging, would you stop putting your third act break ups 30 pages from the end! It’s just not remotely realistic that they can be “broken up” and then reconciled in that time to me! It feels rushed, sometimes even forced (coughcough PWMOV)! I will allow that, in this instance, the break up made sense for the characters and plot, but what is stopping you from making it happen earlier and drawing things out, so that the reconciliation feels more earned? 90% of the way through the book is just too late.

Anyway, overall, I liked this one a lot, particularly the way it was more plot-outside-of-romance driven than her previous books. Okay, so that made the romance come across quite instalove-y but she puts enough crack in there that I can overlook that.

Emily Henry has written yet another fun, thoughtful, engaging fictional story. I really enjoyed the characters of Alice and Hayden and the story woven through Margaret. This is the perfect weekend read and I will definitely recommend it to others.

This was a fun one! Classic Emily Henry meets The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Loved the setting and thought the romance was sweet. Emily Henry deals with grief so well in her books and I was happy to see it here, too.

This was a lovely read. The story of two journalists competing to write the biography of a reclusive socialite., Margaret Ives. As well as the burgeoning love story between Alice and Hayden, we are also treated to the stories that Margaret tells Alice about her life. But it soon becomes clear that Margaret is an unreliable narrator and Alice, and the reader, are left puzzling over what is fact and what is fiction. I loved that this wasn't just a straightforward love story. The whole puzzle around Margaret's life was compelling, and I sat up way past my bedtime to finish this. Until this month, I hadn't read an Emily Henry novel, despite many of my customers recommending her to me. So far in May I have read two, Book Lovers being the other, and I strongly suspect I won't be stopping there.

As always, this was such. gorgeous Henry book. I was hooked from the beginning and was so intrigued to know more about both Margaret and what the story that she felt like she had to share and that part of the story was so interesting and beautiful to read. Then there was the love story between Alice and Hayden that was so subtle and gorgeously done and I loved the way that it unfolded throughout. The twist at the end was both expected and unexpected and it felt like that came a bit later than I thought it would but the pay off was still great. Overall, a wonderful read that I would recommend.

I'm convinced that any reading slump can be abolished with an EH book and this book was no different. This book warms my heart and has set me up for a good reading summer. Did feel a bit hornier than her previous books but I'm not complaining - find me a man like Hayden PLEASE I beg.

Not my favourite of Emily Henry. Usually I am hooked from the start, but this took me a while to get into. I am a bit disappointed cause I was looking forward to it.