4.5 ⭐️

I need to start by saying I really loved this book, but you can't go into this expecting a typical Emily Henry romance. The romance element definitely took a back seat here to the greater biography story. It felt like it took some cues from Patti Hearst's story & was a brilliant element to centre the book around. This felt like the easy to get lost in writing of Emily Henry meets a little bit of TJR.

I loved Margaret & would have liked more from some of the side characters (& less from others). Alice & Hayden were cute & this book did make me smile & there was an eye welling moment too. For me the ending was the weakest element & it felt a little rushed & left me with some questions which was a shame.

Definitely a good choice for a beach read this summer, but not if you want a romantic escape.

4.25 stars

I want to start by saying I love Emily’s writing. I will seriously read anything she writes. This book was no different, I really enjoyed it.

It definitely is on the line of romance though. Not completely a romance in my eyes, but the romance it did have I loved. Emily is just so good at building chemistry and tension! Hayden and Alice have it in spades! I absolutely adored them together, how their relationship develops and the bumps along the way! I could not get enough of them!

Then you have the other portion of the book when Alice is interviewing Margaret, in which you get her life tale. It’s very captivating! The way the two parts come together is so well done! And then there were some twists that had my jaw dropping! It was so good! And the way it ends is beautiful.

Where do I begin, this book was exactly what its title promised. And out of all the other "famous person biography" fictional stories, this one is my favourite. (I have read a few recently)
All the characters were likeable - for the most part, sometimes I didn't like her mother, for her lack of interest in her daughter, but she did improve and make effort.
I loved the small town vibe of Little Crescent Island in Georgia and I want to visit it, I don't even care that it's fictional. Hayden and Alice were the most imperfectly perfect couple and I adored their competitive, yet supportive dynamic.
Margaret Ives was a delightful, spicy character and her story of her life was fascinating and heartbreaking. The few twists thrown in were perfect and I did play "I bet it's this person" a few times. lol.
It was a mostly low spice book which I appreciated - just one or two not overly descriptive scenes.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed it, it got me out of a reading slump so that's a great big win!

4.5 stars

“And they said,
There goes the last great American dynasty…”

Great Big Beautiful Life, Emily’s 5th adult book, is a tale unlike any of her previous novels. More litfic than her typical romance, it explores the life of a famous woman - Margaret Ives - who has gone into hiding years ago. Alice Scott, a journalist looking for a breakthrough in her career, and Hayden Anderson, an award winning writer, team up to write Margaret’s memoir. Neither of them know the full story, which is being given to them in half truths over several months. And neither of them could predict the ending.

Reading GBBL and being back in EmHen world felt so comforting, like putting on your favourite cardigan. Her style is so light, almost whimsical, yet explores every single story in enough depth to make you feel deeply for the characters.

This was the case with Margaret Ives’ story. The tale of, as the great poet Taylor Swift has said, “the last great American dynasty”. The “story”, as it’s called in the book, follows the Ives family through the decades, and these chapters felt like reading Evelyn Hugo. It’s historical fiction for half of the book, and contemporary for the remainder.

Now - Alice and Hayden are fantastic protagonists, though some may argue that Margaret leads the way in this book. I needed more from their relationship, I needed more of them in general. While I appreciate the format of this book and the way Emily chose to tell the story, I really just needed more Alice and Hayden. I would’ve read 50-100 more pages just to have more of their relationship. It got lost in between Margaret’s story, which emotional and heartbreaking as it was, overshadowed Alice and Hayden’s relationship. In the end, this is two stories in one book.

The ending has certainly wrapped things up nicely (and in a very emotional way) which has bumped up my rating for the book overall.

2.5stars , if this hadn't come with Henry's name on it I would have DNF at around 30%.

It was really long to get through for no reason, around 45% I was stuck I didn't want to pick it up at all, I just did not care about any of the characters.
The two love interests fell flat and were not explored at all like in other Henry's books- probably because the story of Margaret took way too much of the book up. The issue was that the book was trying to do too much of both things, but in my opinion failed in delivering either.

Alice was very annoying from the beginning she came off WAY too strong- she could not leave Hayden alone- the interactions were so forced. He made it abundantly clear that he did not want to be friends and yet she was always forcing her way in his life, putting herself in situations to make sure she was with him. You don't have to buy him a green tea (and this is a personal ick but she bought an iced tea THEN SAT AT THE CAFE WORKING AND THEN BROUGHT IT TO HIM. Girl that's water. He had every right to be ungrateful, you don't have to ALWAYS say 'hi' when you see him at any restaurants etc. Just nod and move along. But it became very clear in the beginning that these interactions were so forced because the romance only made up about 10% of the book and they had to fall in love quick without the usual Henry's romance, with depth with emotional exploration and slow burning.

The rest of the book was this dry listing of events that effected/happened to Margaret in her life and her family history, at the beginning I was intrigued but it really dragged itself after about 30% of the book- this is not what I wanted to read about.
The pacing was uneven and could not keep me going, I paused reading it for so long because I just could not go through another chapter of basically bullet points on Margaret's life.Again the romance felt forced and the falling in love was...not believable? When did it happen?? The fifth time their knees bumped under the table Alice realised this was the love of her life? (yes she mentions quite a few times how tall they are and how much their knees bump)

I am sorry to give it such a harsh review but truly this felt so flat for me- it gave me absolutely nothing. It was not women's fiction, it was not romance it was just an incomplete mixture of the two that lead nowhere, the climax was boring, the story was boring and I wished they had marketed this for what it was, took the romance out of it and made it into a literary fiction book. Emily Henry does not have to be stuck in the romance box. If she wants to write literary, let her. I would have enjoyed that much more but this felt like she was forcing herself to put something, anything romantic related in another book she had wanted to write because her name has to go with romance which is unfair to her too.

This is just the second book I have read from Emily Henry. Having absolutely loved her last book, Funny Story, I was interested to see how this one compared. Like the last book, this one certainly has an eye-catching cover that depicts the characters and setting of the story within.


The story involves rich heiress and artist Margaret Ives, now in her eighties, who mysteriously disappeared from public life twenty years ago. She has contacted journalist Alice Scott with a view to writing her memoirs. Alice, keen to prove to her family that she is a serious writer, turns up at Margaret’s house in Little Crescent Island in Georgia, only to find that she is to compete with another writer for the job. To her dismay, Alice finds that not only is Hayden Anderson a writer, he is a Pulitzer Prize winning writer. Margaret sets the pair the task of learning about her history during the course of a month of meetings with her and then presenting her with their plans for a book. She also makes each of them sign a non-disclosure agreement so they can’t even compare notes. While learning about Margaret’s family’s rise to fame and scandalous past, Alice and Hayden, at first unhappy about the situation, gradually become closer and aware of a growing romantic attraction. They can’t discuss what Margaret is telling each of them individually, but are unprepared for what is eventually unearthed.

I thought that this was a very different kind of story from the last book I read from this author and not quite what I was expecting. Again, it is a romance, but the interactions between Alice and Hayden are almost lost amongst the details of Margaret’s family history from the early 1800s onwards, which took up most of the pages. Interesting though Margaret’s story is, and it does fit the title of the book, I don’t think the book itself can be called a romance, especially given the nature of the Ives family’s past. However, the writing is top notch and the Ives family story is well told; shocking in all the right places with a good twist near the end. There are also details of Alice’s and Hayden’s backgrounds which emerge as they get to know each other. Alice also turned out to be quite a detective, cracking open a big secret being hidden by Margaret. I think a reader just looking for a romance might be disappointed in this book, although I can recommend the Ives family saga for those seeking a dramatic story.

Thank you so so much to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this arc, forever grateful.

Reading this during my final few months of uni and with deadlines looming was a bad idea because ALL I wanted to do was sit and read this beautiful book, but I have finished it and oh my goodness.
Emily Henry, you have done it once again. I was a MESS by the end of this book.

When two writers, Alice and Hayden, are pit against each other to compete to tell the story of the infamous Margaret Ives, they learn that there is a lot more to this woman, her family, and each other, than they ever could have known.

It is no surprise that I absolutely adored this book. Emily Henry has such a talent for writing such loveable characters and worlds that you cannot help delving into. This was slightly different to what I was used to when it comes to Emily Henry’s books, with her going back and forth between telling the story of Alice and Hayden, to telling the story of the House of Ives. Each part is told with such care and intricacy that it is so easy to fall in love with both; I was rooting for Alice and Hayden and desperate to see more of them, whilst also itching to know who Margaret Ives was and why she suddenly wanted to tell her story.

Alice and Hayden were perfect. I loved their tentative start. The way Alice was persistent in trying to be his friend, despite Hayden’s gruff exterior. Alice’s optimism and hopefulness was endearing and made her such a loveable character. I loved learning that, while Hayden appears arrogant and curt, he is actually shy and gentle and caring. The two together made my heart soar. The way they cared for one another and were there for each other throughout the book, knowing they were going for the same job, was so special. I need a love like theirs.

What made me love this book even more was the essence of mystery. I had so many questions about Margaret Ives and her life and family and the way Emily Henry drip fed the details to us was so intriguing. The twists and turns paired with the romance made for such a unique and beautiful story.

This is a book about love in every sense of the word. Not just the romance, but Alice’s relationship with her mother and how they were relearning each other, Margaret’s turbulent relationship with her sister and how she would do anything to protect her, Alice’s group of friends from home and their endless support.

Alice says towards the end of this book that she wants to write about love, and this shines through Emily Henry’s writing. This really is a great, big, beautiful book and I am so grateful to have received this arc and cannot wait for everyone to read it too.

Emily Henry, you never disappoint.

Emily Henry will never write a book I don't love.

Emily Henry will always deliver with a swoon worthy romance, full of hilarity but with a grounding in real-life emotion. This book does step away from Henry's usual formula, but the essence of the romance and emotion of the characters and story remains!

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.
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- Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the 20th Century.

Parts of the novel feel similar to TJR's writing, particularly Seven Husband's, but I loved this book, so I have no issues with that. Henry also puts enough of her fabulous romantic tension and emotional character backstory to make this distinctly her own.

Alice and Hayden are the perfect grumpy/sunshine dynamic! I loved their almost hate to love, rivals relationship, and especially connected with Alice's emotional backstory, having lost her Dad and still trying to make sense of herself and her life in the aftermath.

I definitely laughed, I absolutely cried, and I still can't find words to express how much I loved this book. It's not my favourite Emily Henry, but it's up there!

Emily Henry has done it again! I really appreciated how different this was to her others book, but how it still holds elements of all the things that make her books hers. I loved the interwoven stories and how everything connected at the end. The dynamic between Alice and Hayden was top tier and I found myself willing them to get together the whole book. I appreciate how family trauma was handled in this book and it was something I was able to connect to a lot.

Can not wait to see what Emily does next.

Another stunningly good read by Emily Henry, I loved the way the secrets gradually emerged and the way the different ‘truths’ are told. The love story is also beautifully told.

This is a stunning, life affirming book that made me laugh and cry, and I’m certain that when I reread it I’ll take something else from it.
While romance is a central part of this story, this felt to me like more of a literary fiction / women’s fiction book than previous Emily Henry books, and includes an element of mystery.
Similarly to previous Emily Henry books, her ability to craft and layer stories within a story is so impressive, and I thoroughly enjoyed not being able to fully predict how the story was going to pan out. As we’ve come to expect from Emily Henry, some of the prose is breathtakingly beautiful, and I always feel like she writes with so much tenderness and emotion, and captures the little details of so many things, particularly grief, so well. It’s so exciting to see an author try something new, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we get next!

I squealed when I saw that Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry was available to read. This book felt like drinking hot chocolate on a cold night, or getting a hug from someone who you care about - a warm, cozy feeling that makes you smile on the inside and out.

You'll meet Alice Scott, a writer who has unearthed the location of the famously reclusive heiress Margaret Ives. She's been invited to the Little Crescent Island to meet Margaret and convince her to let her write the story of her very rich and famous family. But she soon discovers there's a catch, another writer Hayden Anderson is also hoping to snag this story of a lifetime.

So when the two writers find themselves drawn to each other, they try to fight their feelings for as long as they can so as not to interfere with the one-month trial period or the signed NDAs in place. Alice is optimistic, bright and cheery while Hayden is serious, gruff and aloof, but slowly their relationship starts to peel away the layers to reveal heartfelt feelings.

Their story is of course entwined in the life and times of Margaret, whose memories are sometimes lavish but more often heartbreaking. Her love story is also so connected to Alice's life and indeed into Hayden's too, that it's a wonder to see how it all plays out and there are many plot twists along the way.

I adored reading this book; it did what a good book does best, let me escape for a little while and feel happy while doing so.

Every time I think I've read my favourite Emily Henry book, she releases a new one! What an incredible story - this felt like a slight departure from her previous more 'classic' romance books, with a larger focus on an old Hollywood plot line. Despite it not being a mystery, it read like one in the way that I was absolutely gripped and desperate to find out more about Margaret's backstory. It almost reminded me of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo in the best way possible, the interview format worked so well for the storyline and I loved every minute of it. Whether you're an EmHen lover, or haven't read one of her books in a while, I can confidently say that you will adore this!!

I have been an Emily Henry fan since Beach Read was published, and I heard that this one was quite the change from Emily Henry’s usual work. To begin with, I didn’t mind that one bit. Later on, I did. I was all for the rich fictional famous people vibe akin to Taylor Jenkins Reed, however, in the end it fell short for me, and rather than left me amazed and in awe, I felt like it was a bit of a cliche.

When it comes to the romance, I didn’t find it believable in this one and wished for it to be more fleshed out. Alice and Hayden have known each other for only one month when they 'break up' and I didn't feel that their relationship was developed enough for me to root for them when this occured. I wanted more moments with just them. The lore of the 'famous Ives family' was interesting and intriguing, but it left me wanting more. I felt like they lacked a bit of depth.

In the end, my reading journey with this one was varied. I went from loving it, to feeling ’meh’ about it, to loving it, to ultimately feeling ’meh’ again. It had potential, but for me it ultimately felt short due to the way it ended. It felt rushed and anticlimactic. I wanted to feel giddy and excited, like you get after reading a really good book where you feel for the characters and want them to be happy, but with this one I didn’t. There will definitely be people who love this one, I don't doubt that at all, but sadly I was not one of them.

I for one, will without doubt still read her books eagerly, even if this one wasn't for me.

I have only recently discovered Emily Henry but I have been slowly working my way through her backlist with Funny Story being my stand out favourite so I was looking forward to reading her new upcoming release Great Big Beautiful Life.

I have to admit this is the first one of this authors books that I actually found quite hard to get into. The first half of this book really didn't grip my attention and I nearly DNF the book but I am glad I persevered because the book definitely picked up in the second half.

As we have come to know with Emily Henry books they usually centre on two main characters, which in this case would be Alice and Hayden and I was really interested in these characters as they competed to win the contract of writing Margaret's book. The story kept pulling me away from them both to tell Margaret's story but in all honesty I wanted to spend more time with Alice and Hayden!

The second half of the book we not only get to spend more time with them both but I also found my interest in Margaret's story begin grow too as things began to tally up and make a little more sense.

There are many situations that are quite sensitive and many of the characters are all struggling with situations that have now shaped who they are today. What I did love was the unpredictable revelation that I didn't suspect at all. There are a few light spicy scenes but this fits well with the storyline so it had its place.

This felt very different to her other books and although it isn't a favourite of mine it was still a good read, just be patient while the story builds.

This is the first Em Hen I’ve rated below 5 stars, but I promise it is still great (I’m just being picky). As others have commented, this edges very much into The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo territory and away from her typical style. A large amount of the book tells the story of Margaret Ives and her famous family’s history, which has an intriguing quality to it and builds up a gentle mystery. It is refreshing to see Henry try something new, whilst still maintaining her wonderfully touching and vulnerable style of storytelling.

This step into telling more of a family saga does mean the romance between Alice and Hayden does take a back seat, which I think some readers will really enjoy (particularly those who enjoy romances where the romance isn’t the sole focus). The romance does develop rather quickly, given they are both stuck on an island for a month with nobody they know, but still has Henry’s trademark tender and emotional yet steamy style.

This book leaves you with that warm feeling after reading characters that have been deeply explored in a setting that feels so homely. However, it didn’t keep me gripped in the way I typically am with Henry, and I found myself wanting to put it down more than usual. The romance is what I yearn for when I read her work and I wasn’t super obsessed with the Ives backdrop here - I got a little bored at times. I would’ve liked a lot more time with Alice and Hayden so their relationship could develop a bit more organically and so Alice could be even more multidimensional.

But, I did still cry at the end (what a gorgeous ending, wow) and think it was beautiful! So I think it’s still worth the read, even if the romance was not my favourite of hers. It was an ambitious novel, and still definitely a pleasurable read 💌

Emily Henry had done it again! I absolutely consumed this book and loved every second. Great Big Beautiful Life is a brilliant contemporary fiction with a touch of historical fiction and romance sprinkled throughout. This book has the classic Emily Henry writing style that always has me completely immersed in the book and giggling along with the characters and their brilliant charm and wit.
This book follows journalist Alice as she tracks down infamous heiress Margaret Ives in order to convince her to finally tell her story. The problem is Pulitzer prize winning biographer Hayden is also in the running for telling the story. Stuck in the same small town as the each get to know Margaret and compete for the job of Alice's dreams Alice and Hayden get to know each other and we unravel the events that led to Margaret hiding away from the public eye. I absolutely loved how these aspects are all weaved together flawlessly and built a realistic and emotional development of all the characters and storylines.
Absolutely loved this book and I'm already looking forward to a reread!

this filled a great big beautiful void i was missing in my heart! the perfect combination between romance and just something juicier? you come for romance and stay for the unravelling mystery that is margaret ives.

i actually wasn’t even too bothered about the romance in this book, i was totally wrapped up in learning about the ives dynasty and also cosmo ! icon who i could picture so clearly in my head. i’m on a huge mystery/thriller kick right now and this was teetering on the edge of it that made my heart so happy. if you’re here to read a teeth rottingly sweet romance with a last 3/4 breakup for good measure, this is NOT the book for you. but if you want something that has a plot you can attach yourself too and somehow fall in love on the side? yeah this is it.

i have to say - its important you don’t go into this expecting your usual em hen experience. this is like a different level (levelled UP if you ask me) of experience and so worth it. i loved this one so much.

once again thank you for the gorgeous team at penguin and team em hen for popping this in my inbox. it’s em hen all the time x

This book is magic. I feel as though I have been hit by a train, the depth of emotion that is packed into these pages is impossible to describe. The embedded narrative of Alice and Hayden surrounding the Ives family and Margaret has left me hollowed out in the best way. I honestly think the best part of this book was the growth and complexity of Margaret's story, chapters that were led with newspaper headlines and followed with Margaret's truth were my favourite to read. It really had the magic of feeling like two books with two different goals, until it didn't.
The culmination of the stories in the end, had the impact of a freight train. Emily Henry has a beautiful ability to create characters that I am so obsessed with, finishing her books and walking away from these characters feels like a loss. She makes them feel like your friend, in such a magical way, you want to spend the rest of your life knowing how they are.

There is not a bit of this story I would change, it absolutely delivered what was promised, a story about a great big beautiful life. I will reread this book forever.

Great Big Beautiful Life is somewhat of a departure for Henry; where previous books were straightforward romances, usually with a minor subplot for the heroine, here we have a major plot line about infamous heiress Margaret Ives woven into the 'enemies to lovers' plot involving the two writers competing to tell her story, Alice and Hayden, alongside a family subplot for Alice. For me, this led to too much being crammed into the narrative, with Margaret's plot in particular crowding out the other two, to the point where I actually didn't care about Alice and Hayden's will they-won't they. It felt like someone had taken The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and mashed it together with an Emily Henry book, with the resulting novel not really living up to either of the composite parts. Hayden, in particular, did not feel fully fleshed out as a character, which made it all the more confusing when Alice suddenly decided - on the basis of a handful of rude encounters, three shared meals, and two make-out sessions - that she was in love with him.

I have loved the previous books by Emily Henry but for me, this one didn't quite hit the spot. Judging by other reviews, though, I'm very much an outlier in this so I think it's probably a me problem.