“Love was always a gift. The only thing that couldn’t be bought or sold or bartered for.” (Emily Henry, Great Big Beautiful Life)

Emily Henry’s 2025 release, Great Big Beautiful Life, is a little different from her usual new adult romances. While there’s still a love story where we get to see the romance unfold, this novel definitely does not follow the typical rom-com. It explores several themes, such as generational love, the complexities of public exposure, and how every story can look different depending on who’s telling it. The quote I chose captures the idea of love being this extraordinary and rare thing that can’t be earned in a world where everything seems easily attainable. This book explores how our story was written way before we were born, and how love can be unconditional, or tough, and even tragic. Great Big Beautiful Life gives us the story of a woman who was raised in the spotlight and her journey of discovering what a once-in-a-lifetime love is. In the end, love is, and always will be, the one thing in your story that never stops existing.

Summary:

This story follows two journalists, Alice Scott and Hayden Anderson, who are both spending a month on a small island in Georgia competing for the chance to write the biography of an heiress and former tabloid princess who disappeared over a decade ago, Margaret Ives. Alice is an eternal optimist, struggling to earn her mom’s respect for her career, while also grieving her late father. Hayden Anderson is the definition of a grump. He is introverted and hard to read, coming from a family that was always in the public eye in the small town where he grew up, which helps explain why he’s so closed off. Throughout the story, Alice and Hayden both try to earn Margaret’s trust in order to get her to share pieces of her story and convince her to choose them to write it. Even with their differences, Alice and Hayden may have more in common than expected. They share an undeniable chemistry and emotional bond that gets tested when they’re placed in a tough and competitive situation. The story explores the battle between love and career, and in the end, it is revealed whether they choose to explore their connection or prioritize their pride in their work. 

Review:

Great Big Beautiful Life is definitely in my top 3 Emily Henry books. I really loved the way Emily Henry experimented with this novel. I would say it leans more toward literary fiction with elements of mystery and women’s fiction while still containing a love story. It’s really different from her other books, but still the same in the feelings it left me with. It was emotional (tears were shed) and really put into perspective for me the true meaning of love, the sacrifices that come with it, and how the media can shape the way a relationship unfolds.

Margaret Ives’s story reminded me a lot of the British royal family and really any famous Hollywood stars whose lives we know so much about and that are so publicized that it sometimes feels illegal to know this much about people we don’t even know in real life. I loved how Emily dove into the reality and harm of this. It definitely opened my eyes to the reality of being in the media. Alice Scott is absolutely my favorite Emily Henry girl. She’s such a likable FMC, and she’s honestly who I want to be when I’m older. Her outlook on life and mindset are so inspiring. I’m for sure the complete opposite of an optimist. I’m always expecting the worst, and reading Alice’s point of view really just made me fall in love with her character because she’s so different from me in the best way possible. On the other hand, Hayden Anderson wasn’t really my favorite love interest in the beginning. I understand his whole moody persona, but I felt like at some point he was pushing into rudeness, and I didn’t love it. I definitely liked Alice way more than Hayden, but then he’d say something right and I’d understand how he was written by Emily Henry. Overall, I had a great time reading about these characters, and they were pretty well-written. 

After reading this book, I had a better understanding of love. Love was a major theme throughout this story, and it was placed in the most unexpected places. At first glance, you might not notice it’s there, but it’s there and it’s beautiful. This entire book focuses on Margaret Ives’s story versus the public’s version of Margaret Ives’s story. The truth is what we’re focusing on, and it’s the whole theme: how your story can be different from someone else’s, but in the end, there’s only one version that’s the truth. It was really cool to read about, and my heart felt heavy throughout.

I went into Great Big Beautiful Life knowing that it’s not a traditional Emily Henry rom-com, but I personally felt like it was. It was really similar to my favorite Emily Henry book, Beach Read. There were certain scenes that reminded me so much of the main characters in Beach Read that it just made me really happy. Let me just say, Emily Henry knows how to write about two writers falling in love, and she’s amazing at it. Her writing is incredible, and I think everyone should at least read a book by her once in their life. I could clearly tell Alice and Hayden liked each other, so I didn’t really have a problem with the fact that this book is considered not only an adult romance but also women’s fiction.

This book has dual timelines, and it goes back and forth between the present and Margaret’s story of Alice interviewing her. I really thought I would be dreading the “The Story” chapters, but I honestly loved them. Margaret’s story was filled with so much emotion and was so heartbreaking that it felt real. I can confidently say that this is definitely one of Emily Henry’s realest books.

This story is unpredictable in many ways. There is a little mystery throughout the story, and I really couldn’t predict what was going to happen next. I found myself thinking I knew where the story was heading, but then it would just take a completely different turn I wouldn’t expect (in the best way possible). I really appreciate stories that let me figure things out as I’m reading. 

I didn’t love how quickly Alice’s and Hayden’s relationship escalated, but I think that’s just a given in a forced proximity romance. I can only hope that they had gotten to know each other more and shared more with each other off the pages. I also wished the ending wasn’t so rushed. I feel as though everything just happened so fast, and I personally hate fast-paced endings. Overall, the ending just didn’t make me feel fulfilled. 

What I loved most about Great Big Beautiful Life is how it let me discover and explore the romance genre more deeply. It allowed me to open up to new genres such as mystery and literary fiction while also still letting me stay in my comfort genre of romance.

Overall, I would recommend Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry to anyone who is looking for a book that makes their brain do its job and their heart hurt, but still ends with a happy ever after. I don’t think this book is for the people who want a romance that they can feel through the pages, because personally, I enjoyed reading about Margaret’s family history way more than Alice’s and Hayden’s love story (It was an added bonus though). 

The song I think is perfect for Margaret’s story is definitely The Lucky One by Taylor Swift. That song was made for Margaret. It describes her life growing up in the public’s eye so perfectly that I can never not think about her story whenever it’s on.

I would give this book: 📚📚📚📚 – a nice romance subplot that kept me on the edge of my seat! (4/5)

Love, Hailie

GFB Ambassador