I usually connect with Emily Henry’s heroines, but in Great Big Beautiful Life, Alice Scott felt completely different from me. Still, I was hooked from the first page, and by the end, I was a mess of emotions, actually crying as I finished.

Alice, an ambitious journalist, lands on Little Crescent Island hoping to write the biography of the elusive heiress, Margaret Ives. But she’s not the only one—Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Hayden Anderson is also after the job. Margaret challenges them to a month-long competition to prove who deserves to tell her story, and what unfolds is a layered, emotional journey.

The book weaves together Alice and Hayden’s tense rivalry with Margaret’s glamorous yet complicated past, stretching from Hollywood’s golden era to modern celebrity culture. As Alice digs deeper, she unearths long-buried family secrets and starts questioning everything she thought she knew about truth, legacy, and storytelling.

Alice’s transformation—from chasing validation to truly finding her voice—felt raw and real. Hayden, guarded and sharp at first, slowly reveals a softer side, making their dynamic even more compelling. And Margaret? She’s larger-than-life, yet deeply human, her past shaping the entire novel in a way that lingers.

Henry’s writing is as brilliant as ever—witty, heartfelt, and effortlessly immersive. The island setting, the tension, the emotions—it all felt so vivid. Even though I didn’t see myself in Alice, her story pulled me in completely. By the final page, I was overwhelmed, reminded once again why Emily Henry’s books always leave a mark.

I love Emily Henry. I've said it before and I will say it again, I love Emily Henry but I now also love Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry.

I could not put this book down. I want to speak about my experience reading the book rather than the plot itself as I think I may unintentionally spoil in my excitement to shout about this book.

I feel like this is completely different to the previous EmHen books I've read before. It's essentially a story within a story (I guess that stuff about not talking about plot has gone out the window), with Alice and Hayden our main characters competing for the opportunity to write a book on Margaret Ives are reclusive former socialite, and undertake a month long job interview. I loved reading about Margaret's story, and I loved watching Alice and Hayden fall in love on paper.

Henry time and time again writes complex, well thought out characters that feel tangible and GBBL is no exception. At times, I could imagine sitting with Alice as she questioned Margaret and was coming up with theories on the side with my little notebook. There's just so much substance and so much to cling to in an EmHen read.

It's rivals to lovers, it's he falls first, there's mystery, tension but most of a perfect read. I'm having the worst time of my life trying to convey how much I loved this book and how in tears but happy tears I was at the end of it.

Thanks you to Netgalley and Viking Books for the eArc in exchange for my honest review.

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry releases in the UK, April 24th 2025.

She did it again! I truly don’t know how she writes these masterpieces but holy moly, I can’t stop thinking about Alice and Hayden, two authors who are on a one month trial to write the memoir of Margaret Ives, the catch…only one will win!

I devoured this book in one sitting

Can’t wait to see what we get next!

"So where were you thinking we start?"

Nobody has seen or heard from former socialite-turned-recluse Margaret Ives in many, many years. When writer Alice Scott follows a lead to Little Crescent Island, she can't believe her luck - an interview with the now 80-something year old was already an incredible opportunity, but an official biography would make Alice's career.

Unfortunately for Alice, she's not the only author on the island - Hayden Anderson, Pulitzer prize winner, and the grump to Alice's sunshine. As both get to know Margaret's story, they soon begin to realise she may not be telling the truth - or the full story. Margaret will only choose one of them to write the tale of how she went from tabloid princess to island hermit...but can they trust her? Or each other?

Every time I read an EmHen book, I say it's my favourite and her best yet. So I understand that people probably won't believe me when I say that this is my favourite, and it's her best yet.

I loved the dual story timeline, it's not something I've seen from Emily Henry before. I enjoyed finding out about Margaret's life, and I enjoyed the banter between Alice and Hayden. I really loved the side storyline involving Alice's family, and I liked how all the different stories weaved together.

As bookish couples go, Alice and Hayden were both likeable and I was rooting for them immediately. I don't know if anyone will topple Daphne & Miles from their spot as my all-time favourite EmHen couple, but Alice and Hayden come a close second.

Fans will enjoy this, the writing is solid and everything we've come to expect from Emily is there in spades. Good character development, great setting, solid storyline, likeable leads, interesting side characters, and a satisfying ending.

If you've never read anything by this author before, I'd absolutely recommend this one (then Funny Story, then Book Lovers).

Thank you to #TeamEmHen for sending me a digital copy of the book.

Emily Henry went and did it again. I should not be surprised and yet, somehow, I am. What even? How is that possible that she can pull at a reader's heartstrings in so many different, unique ways?

This felt inspired by Taylor Jenkins Reid's writing. In the best way possible! I won't be surprised if some readers go into this expecting a typically summery romance book and end up disappointed. It has romance, it does, but it is not the main focus of the story. Please be mindful of that picking it up. I won't repeat the synopsis as it is there for everyone to familiarize themselves with. Rather, the book focuses on one Margaret Ives's life story and the way her choices shaped the future our main characters are now unexpectedly privy to, trying to help her come clean about the reasons for her disappearance and sharing 'her truth', her side of the melodrama that was her illustrous family. But is it truly everything they are there for? As it is with mysterious personas, there's so much more to the story than meets the eye. Way more than they'd anticipate.
I adored it. It was one of those books that builds up on itself and instead of dropping you deeply into love from its first page, rather eases you into it steadily and meticulously. So much so that when you do finish it, you can't imagine ever not being obsessed with it but it was all a process. The writing style was wonderfully Henry's but it also molded itself to suit the historical fiction parts and I was just so taken by it. The relationship between the main characters Alice and Hayden was true rivals-to-lovers and I adored their tiptoeing around each other despite being totally smitten for longer than they'd willingly admit to. I also loved the uneasy topic of parental love that was discussed on the pages of this book and how weirdly it can manifest. I could relate to Alice's feelings a lot. What took the crown and was the absolute cherry on top for me personally was the historical fiction (major) part of this book. The recounting of the history of House of Ives -- the mysterious, uneasy parts, the heartbreaking bits, the secrets that seemed never-ending, the trying to get to the bottom of it while the recounter herself was not exactly all that enthusiastic sharing everything. I loved it most of all and was often reading with bated breath through all the tragedy and awfulness but also through the terrific, love-at-first-sight beauty of it (someone please drop Cosmo Sinclair's album, I am a woman OBSESSED).

If 'Happy Place' was your favourite Emily Henry's book, this may top it for you. Enjoy!

This review is for Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry which releases in the UK on the 24th April! Thanks so much to Netgalley and Viking Books for giving me an eArc copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I’m a massive Emily Henry fan, so as soon as I saw I’d been sent this early??? It was on my TBR as soon as I could fit it in.

This was a little different to her usual romance books, but I think that’s what made me like it so much. There is obviously still romance, but a lot of the book focuses on Margaret and her life story, with the two main characters fighting to write her story themselves. It gives a lot of vibes of Seven Husbands, especially with the interview style we see throughout the book, but done in such an Emily way.

I loved our main characters, I felt their connection came across as really genuine and heartfelt. The tension too???? *chefs kiss* it did feel like they fell a bit quick, however we have to remember half the book was filled with Margaret’s story so we probably don’t see half of what they did together behind the scenes.

The pacing was super great and the setting was well written. I loved the little mystery element to the book especially near the end, and was blasting through the chapters hoping to find out what happened as soon as possible. I also loved reading about Margaret’s back story and was actually really excited to read those chapters and find out what happened within her family.

Again, it’s another great book by Henry although not my favourite. It’s a different direction for her which I loved and can’t wait to see what she does next!

This book just contains everything I love about a good romance : love interests, interactions between the two main characters, but also another story in parallel.
Alice and Hayden are two journalist who come to a remote island to get the right to write the most waited biography : Margaret Ives' lifestory.
And when Alice is all smile and sunshine, Hayden is more like grumpy and stormy. But they are both great writers, in their own way. And they have one month to convince Margaret to let them write her story.
Of course, there is competition. But there is also romantism. And when they begin to know each other, writing this book isn't suddendly the most important thing of their life.
Secrets, lies, insta-love, grumpy-sunshine, once again, the recipe works for me, and I loved this book !

what do you get if you cross a classic emily henry with a classic taylor jenkins reid? a great big beautiful life.

i really enjoyed this - the balance between the present day romance & the story of margaret ives' family was delicate but well done. that shift of focus cleverly allowed both stories to keep a good pace and complement one another. the pacing is generally v strong and consistent, though i did think the ending felt quite rushed.

this is her strongest book yet in my opinion.

There’s something about an Emily Henry book that is so much more than just a romance. The way she explores and navigates every type of relationship from parents, friends, siblings, the platonic and romantic, is always so raw and utterly human. I would argue that the way EmHen portrays relationships is unrivalled. I’ve found myself profoundly moved by her character’s interactions on more than one occasion - the imperfect, fervent scenes being close to home.

Great Big Beautiful Life was one of my most anticipated releases for 2025 because I truly cannot fault EmHen’s writing. However, it felt a little more like a great, big, beautiful disappointment, and I’m so sad to say it, but I have to be honest. The book was a mash up of Hayden and Alice’s story (two ‘rival’ journalists competing for the same story) and a biopic of Margaret (a fictional celebrity lost to time who wants to tell her story). Sadly, the combination just didn’t work for me. I was invested in Hayden and Alice’s storyline, but found myself caring very little for Margret’s chapters, especially as she started her story way back when with her grandparents’ lives - characters who had very little relevance to the story.

Despite loving Hayden’s character, I felt his relationship with Alice was shallow and underdeveloped. Which pains me to say, as relationships is what EmHen does best, but it isn’t all that surprising really considering less than half the book is dedicated to exploring their relationship. Their chapters are few and far between, squeezed between Margaret’s as she recites her family’s history. There is a twist at the end that links the two stories together, but until then I just felt very jolted, going back and forth between the two stories and I did find myself sighing with predisposed boredom when I reached Margaret’s chapters.

I do have to point out though that the relationship between Alice and her Mum was very EmHen coded and I adored the depth to which that was explored. It was wholesome, imperfect and ardent. The majority of the stars I’m awarding this book are due to the raw exploration of this relationship.

I wanted to shout from the rooftops about this book because I truly am a huge EmHen fan, I recommend her books to everyone. But this left a lot to be desired and would not be a title I recommend to new readers who are yet to experience the joy of an EmHen book. I’d definitely direct new readers to one of her previous titles.

I feel my rating is a little more generous than I’d usually give, purely because it’s EmHen. The writing is smooth and the relationship between Alice and her Mum was beautiful, but the rest was not EmHen’s best so I have to award it a humble 3 stars.

I am exceptionally grateful to Penguin for the early review copy because I truly do adore Emily Henry and would recommend her other titles, but this one just wasn’t quite my cup of tea. I’m still very eager to discover her future titles as I’m sure they’ll be incredible!

4.5 stars

Another great read from Emily Henry, loved the secondary story line going through it and did not expect the little twist towards the end!

Strong 4☆

Whilst not my favourite of EmHen's, it's not my least favourite either. I loved the similarities to Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and also Beach Read to an extent - Greay Big Beautiful Life is a really engaging read which keeps you enthralled. I read it in two sittings, I just had to know how it was going to end.

I loved Alice and Hayden, Margaret was certainly an unreliable narrator but I couldn't help but love her too. A fantastic read that kept me gripped and guessing and one I'd highly recommend.

Dive into the family history of Margaret, and her quest to share her story...the truth behind the headlines. Full of secrets, jealously and love. A wonderful and different read following the story behind the headlines everyone believes true. Love Emily's books... this did not disappoint.

I have loved and followed Emily Henry since the beginning and this is her best work yet.
I loved the layers of stories that built in each timeline. The characters were all flawed yet loveable. The MC tied everything together with her hope - it's something we could all use more of.
I will be reccomending this to everyone I know.
Thank you so much.

WOW.An extraordinary read and everything I could ever want in a book!Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry has officially stolen my heart and is now one of my all-time favorite reads!

The writing itself is brilliant—fun and beautifully lyrical, yet grounded and full of raw honesty and her ability to craft such real, relatable characters is nothing short of extraordinary. Emily Henry knows how to make you laugh, cry, and experience a whirlwind of emotions all in one chapter. And the themes of self-discovery, love, and the beauty of living fully are woven through every page, making it impossible not to feel inspired.

This book is a true gem that blends laughter, heartache, hope, and beauty in such a way that I couldn’t stop reading until the very last page.It's one of those books that grabs you from the first page and doesn’t let go. It’s emotional and absolutely full of heart!

Emily Henry’s writing is pure magic. Her characters are so wonderfully fleshed out and real, and their journeys are full of warmth, humor, and vulnerability. From the very beginning, I felt connected to the protagonist—her struggles, dreams, and growth had me rooting for her through every twist and turn.

What I loved most about this book is how it makes you reflect on life, love, and everything in between. The way Emily Henry weaves these deep, meaningful themes into such a rich and entertaining narrative is absolutely incredible. Every chapter had me laughing, tearing up, and feeling a whirlwind of emotions in the best way possible.

This book is an absolute must-read for anyone who loves stories that stay with you long after you turn the last page. It’s a reminder that even in the messiest parts of life, there’s so much beauty to be found.Absolutely brilliant .Infinite stars!

I’m not really a romance reader but I tend to make an exception for Emily Henry as her books are so well written and make the perfect holiday reads. I was actually really excited for this one as I’d heard comparisons to Taylor Jenkins Reid, who is one of my favourite authors but unfortunately this fell a bit flat for me.

I really struggled to find any connection to the characters and the Margaret’s story, which is the main focus of the book just didn’t excite me in the way that Evelyn Hugo’s did and the premise is so similar that you can’t help but compare.

It was very readable, and as always with Henry’s exceptionally vivid writing I could see every scene happening around me but it’s not one I would read again.

I was veering towards a serious book slump but EmHen struck again and whisked me away into Alice, Hayden, and Margaret's story. I don't think this a new favourite, but I do really appreciate her trying new things and pushing herself to make her books interesting when it would be so easy to rely on the trusty old romance formula. It was cute, I found it engrossing and the hours slipped away whilst I was reading.

Few things in life are certain, but one is that if there's a new Emily Henry book coming out, I will be the first in line to buy it. So when I saw the announcement for Great Big Beautiful Life, I was extremely excited.

A romance between two rival writers set on an island? Sign me up.

The novel opens with writer Alice on the verge of her big break as she is invited to Crescent Island to interview reclusive heiress Margaret Ives for her upcoming memoir. There's just one problem; Alice isn't the only person in the running for the job.

Hayden, a Pulitzer-winning writer with one beloved memoir already under his belt, is also on the island, with Margaret pitching them against each other for the role. They each get a month to live on the island and take it on turns interviewing Margaret, before she picks her favourite to write her story.

Let me start by saying this is a good book, I enjoyed reading it and I would recommend it to other people. The problem for me was it didn't deliver the fundamental thing I look for in any romance book: romance.

Margaret's life was fascinating, even heart-breaking at times, but it came at the expense of the romantic element of the book. I was expecting to fall in love with Alice and Hayden, but I came away feeling rather lukewarm about them.

I think they just felt a little bland compared to the author's usual characters. When I think of Alice, all that comes to mind is her unfailing optimism and a preference for skirts over trousers. That's it.

Because of how much time is spent telling Margaret's story, there isn't much room for full love story between our main characters, and they ended up feeling more like secondary characters with more of a forced connection to me.

Speaking of secondary characters, one or two were memorable but, for the most part, they weren't of any consequence.

If you liked The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, this could be your next favourite read, but if, like me, you like Emily Henry's books for the romantic plot, it might not be the one for you.

Overall, I would give Great Big Beautiful Life 3/5 stars. I enjoyed the story, but it wasn't what I was after from this particular novel and Funny Story will remain on top as my current favourite Emily Henry read.

Great Big Beautiful Life will be released on April 24, 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books, who provided an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 rounded up.

Great Big Beautiful life was enjoyable in the sense that it is very different from Emily Henry's previous novels. It's very plot based instead of relationship, and although this is refreshing it wasn't what I expected.

The reason this book didn't get a five stars rating from me is because the first 30% was hard to get into, it was very slow to start unlike Emily Henry's other novels, and the story aspects throughout weren't incredibly interesting for me.

I was more interested in the brewing relationship between Alice and Hayden. Another reason would be that the relationship just felt so fast, yes this story is based over a month (give or take) but we don't really see that much interaction between the two MCs before they are professing love for each other.

Overall, a great read but I felt like it was lacking something somewhere.

I adored this book. Alice and Hayden are amazing characters and I really enjoyed seeing how Margaret's story intertwined with Alice's to help her to come to terms with herself.

This book was so enjoyable to read and almost impossible to put down, I already can't wait to read it again!

Emily Henry does it again! I try to make her books last me longer than 2 days but I just can't. Her novels are so enjoyable and compelling, I don't read a tonne of romance but I will always pick up the new Emily Henry because I know it will hit so good. I really enjoyed that this novel felt like a slight shift for Henry, the romance was obviously still there and still strong but what I fell in love with was the story of Margaret Ives. Her tragic but beautiful tale of love, heart-break and the perils of fame had me hooked. Yes it is reminiscent of Taylor Jenkins Reid's Seven Husbands, however I think this really plays to Henry's strong suits when it comes to the bonds between people. I loved that we got, not just Margaret Ives' story but also the people trying to interview her (and don't get me started on the twists, I adored trying to predicted those).

This was such an emotional roller coaster and definitely felt like Henry sidestepping into a new literary space. Not completely away from the romance, but just delving more into the complex relationships we have with each other and that we have with ourselves.