A review by stephsnextread
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

5.0

I loved this book! I think I benefited from seeing early reviews explaining that this book is different from other Emily Henry books. I went in prepared and was able to enjoy it for what it is instead of what it isn’t.

Great Big Beautiful Life is a clever mix of historical fiction and romance. There are two stories running simultaneously. The first is the competition between writers Alice Scott and Hayden Anderson for the chance to write the biography of Margaret Ives, of the infamous Ives family. Alice and Hayden have a rivalry that turns into friendship and possibly more as they live on Little Crescent Island for a month interviewing Margaret. The second story is that of the Ives family, starting with the birth of Margaret’s great-grandfather in the 1830s.

I was captivated by the Ives family story and found myself trying to solve the small mystery while I wasn’t reading. The romance was a smaller plot line, but it was sweet. I had a hard time telling if Alice and Hayden actually liked each other or if it was just the proximity forcing them together, but by the end of the book I was fully rooting for them. I really enjoyed how the two stories were intertwined, and I highly recommend this book!

Read if you like:
💕 Historical fiction and romance genres
💕 Scandalous celebrity families
💕 Forced proximity romance
💕 Opposites attract
💕 Books about writers
💕 Small town settings