Book Review: Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
Title: Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
Release Date: 23rd April 2025
Publisher: Penguin
RRP: $34.99
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Synopsis:
When Margaret Ives, the famously reclusive heiress, invites eternal optimist Alice Scott to the balmy Little Crescent Island, Alice knows this is it: her big break. And even more rare: a chance to impress her family with a Serious Publication.
The catch? Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud, Hayden Anderson, is sure of the same thing.
The proposal? A one-month trial period to unearth the truth behind one of the most scandalous families of the 20th Century, after which she’ll choose who’ll tell her story.
The problem? Margaret is only giving each of them tantalising pieces. Pieces they can’t 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.
Review:
This is my very first Emily Henry novel and it’s safe to say that she's gained a new fan!!! I LOVE her writing! She has this punchy, charming, and witty lilt that makes you want to keep reading into the night :’)
The story is very reminiscent of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, where the story shifts from the present (following Alice) to the past (in the POV of the Ives family). There is also a mystery element to the story and you pick up subtle hints as we get to know more about the Ives. It feels very refreshing for a romance-centred book!
While I think this shift in POV makes a lot of sense, I feel like I grew out of the Ives family story after a while. It actually overshadowed Alice and Hayden’s relationship a little, which is what I was more interested in. As a result, we don’t get to see a whole lot of growth or build up in their romance, and it felt very rushed (i.e. they were already getting physically involved not even a month after getting to know each other, and I would’ve loved to get learn more about Hayden before any of that happened)!
There is so much life to this story. So much pain and love and grief ready to come at you but were not fleshed out enough to really hook you in. I was waiting for the impact to come but some of the “shocking” moments fell a little flat for me!
My favorite part of the story was the dynamic between Alice and her mom. I related to their relationship SO much. THIS is the kind of development I needed for the romance elements! <3
Overall, while I had a few issues with the romance and concept execution, the paternal relationship growth + writing really made up for it and I enjoyed it immensely. Emily Henry is an incredibly talented writer and I am stoked to go through her backlog of books that I’ve heard amazing things about! <3
Thank you so much to Penguin for sending over an early copy in exchange for an honest review :)
