Great Big Beautiful Life: The new #1 Sunday Times bestselling romance from the author of Beach Read Paperback – 24 April 2025

Congratulations, Emily Henry! You’ve done it again!“‘I want to write about love,’ I say. Bianca nods. ‘So do that. Write about love.’”This book was a beautiful love story, and not just the story between Hayden and Alice, but the unexpected love stories. Between sisters, parents, relatives, and friends. The love flows out of every word, every sentence, and every action! I was genuinely blown away and grateful that I received this arc!Hayden and Alice are adorable. They find each other unexpectedly and are drawn together, experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime love. I swooned at every single moment. I expected nothing less from Ms. Henry.“‘It’s yours,’ he offers.I laugh. ‘Oh, I can have the world?’‘Mine,’ he says, ‘yeah. You can have mine.’”The intertwined story and mystery of Ms. Ives, the love between Laura and Margaret, really steals the show for me. When everything clicked, my jaw was on the floor! Overall, amazing book, amazing story, and amazing characters! I just bought the physical copy, after receiving an ARC from NetGallery. Thank you so much, and I’m obsessed!Also, the end! Wink to the title. I cheered.

Emily Henry is an instant buy for me. All of her books make me laugh, kick my feet and shed some tears. I loved the story of Margaret and how it runs alongside Alice and Hayden's. It reminded me of Beach Read in the best way, which was the first book of hers I read and still my favourite. I loved Hayden and how he represented a universal issue where someone is judged without being known. It was also a great representation of how the media can manipulate a version of a story that in most cases, is not the true one. I deducted a star as there was a level of insta love that I don't always enjoy but I liked the characters so much I still rooted for them.Thank you to Netgalley and to Penguin for the arc!

I saved this to read on holiday as a treat and I'm so glad I did. Emily Henry always delivers. I loved this.Alice is a journalist. Obsessed by celebrity and Hollywood, she dreams of writing something that will sit up and make people take notice. When she manages to hunt down the reclusive Margaret Ives, once known for courting her celebrity and now, hidden from view, she knows this story could be the one to change gears career wise. The only trouble is that she is pitching against a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who has the chops and all the plaudits Alice needs. As time goes by, the two are thrown together and realise that Alice isn't all that she seems. This enemies to lovers plot is given depth, sublety and undeniable sparkle by Henry's confident story telling.

I’ve read all of Emily Henry’s other books, but this was my least favorite, by some margin. Something in it just didn’t click, and I was rather bored. I don’t know if it was the 2 stories for 1 concept allowed two less-than-fantastic stories to be packaged as enough, or the difficulty of putting up with the idea of 2 professionals being brought into a single autobiography tell for a month without massively questioning it….I know why this was set up like this, but it stretched my credulity and respect for the characters for putting up with in the first place, and that’s no atmosphere to inspire reading to the end with any relish

Two writers battle it out to get the biography scoop of a lifetime: the infamous story of Margaret Ives. An heiress the media loved to hate.Split in two timelines, this novel follows journalist Alice as she spends time in Georgia getting to understand the life and story of Margaret, and then Alice telling Margaret’s story.Both storylines are about more than just romance, but the love of family and security of (or lack thereof) of just trying to be yourself.Fans of Evelyn Hugo or Daisy Jones and the six will enjoy this. It has very TJR vibes.Personally, I would’ve like more Alice and Hayden as they were my faves and their romance was just classic EH!This book will make perfect summer beach reading!

Another emotional roller coaster of a novel, Emily Henry at her best! A big story, a big romance and a great big thumbs up, couldn’t have loved it more. Emily Henry is a writing magician transporting you head first to the heart of her stories, bringing the characters springing to life in your imagination and giving the reader the feeling they’ve lived through and felt every word. Perfect for of Carley Fortune, Abbey Jimenez and Taylor Jenkins- Reid. Highly recommend

Can’t say too much without spoiling the experience of reading this book for yourself, but it’s fantastic! Really good characters and a fab story.

What it is like to live in the eye of the media. When your family is fêted by the great and glorious as well as the press.From humble beginnings 3 generations ago. Double crosses, fueds, affairs and love.Leaving the limelight behind 20years ago but tracked down by a determined journalist. Eventually asking 2 journalists to audition for the chance to write her life story, including family history.Is the choice as random as it first seems or is throwing them together a strategy.A book that will keep you guessing, feeling and turning the page as you are gripped by the story.