Great Big Beautiful Life

September 22, 2026 /

Great Big Beautiful Life ~ Emily Henry

Alice Scott travels to an island off the Georgia coast, hoping to write a biography of the famous and reclusive heiress, Margaret Ives. She soon discovered that she is in competition for the job, as a Pulitzer Prize Winning biographer, Hayden Anderson, is also vying for the job. Alice is a sunshiny type who always has a smile on her face. Hayden is a grouch. Margaret gives them a month to work separately…once she sees what they have come up with, she will decide who gets the gig.

Great Big Beautiful Life alternates between Alice and Hayden’s competition in the present day, and Margaret’s telling of her life story, which begins a few generations earlier, and includes her marriage to a famous, Elvis Presley type musician.

I liked this book fine, but it felt very similar to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, which I liked more. Still, I enjoyed it and recommend it for fans of romance literature.

12 Comments

  • Margaret

    September 22, 2026 at 9:04 am Reply

    I had heard so much about Emily Henry that I picked up a book by her. (don’t remember the title) I didn’t like it or her writing. Are some of her books way better than others?

    • J

      September 22, 2026 at 10:26 am Reply

      No idea, this is my first of her books. I read some online reviews of people who said it was light on the romance compared to her other books, which makes me think I might not want to read others, I liked the other parts of this one.

  • Stubblejumpers Cafe

    September 22, 2026 at 9:08 am Reply

    Julie,
    DB mentioned you in his most recent post so I came for a visit. As for some reason I can’t comment on your About Me post, I’ll say it here (by the way, the Michael J Fox quote about acceptance and resignation -on your sidebar- is helpful to me right now):
    I can relate to a lot of your approach to blogging. I’m careful what I write, especially when others are a big part of my life, and even so I’ve run into trouble sometimes when I didn’t think I was saying too much and someone else did.
    I find it uncomfortable at times to edit myself, but on the other hand it hones my diplomatic consideration-of-others skill. So there’s that.
    Like you, I don’t want to write to order. Then it becomes work. Blogging as I do remains a pleasure and a relaxation even after doing it pretty much daily for some 20 years. It’s good writing practice too, although I don’t know if it’s made any improvements. If nothing else, it flows easily.
    My mother died in 2005 and I’m still not over it either and don’t expect to be, ever. I live with it, as one must.
    I think that’s it. I just wanted to say hello and will be back.
    -Kate

  • DB Stewart

    September 22, 2026 at 9:11 am Reply

    Just yesterday I heard a sound bite…the context was a book vlogger…I can’t recall which, but the statement stuck with me: “romance fiction might just be the antidote to social media.” Although I rarely read romance, I say yes to healthy practices that dispell the psychic weight of modern times.

  • Lisa's Yarns

    September 22, 2026 at 9:24 am Reply

    This was a DNF for me. The male character was rude to the MFC and then she brings him a green tea? And then their first kiss felt like it came out of nowhere. I didn’t like Emily Henry’s previous book as much as her earlier work so I might be done with her books… But it’s tough to keep up with her book/year pace of writing!

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