Stephanie Sullivan: Review - Great Big Beautiful Life

TITLE: Great Big Beautiful Life (audiobook)

RATING: ★★★

Summary (from Goodreads): Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: To write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years--or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the 20th Century.

When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice’s head in the game.

One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice—and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over.

Two: She’s ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication

Three: Hayden Anderson, who should have no reason to be concerned about losing this book, is glowering at her in a shaken-to-the core way that suggests he sees her as competition.

But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can’t swap to 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: I don't know why, but Emily Henry's books have always been a hit or miss with me. Great Big Beautiful Life is a good book, but it took me awhile to get through it because it dragged quite a bit. Margaret was my favorite character, and I loved learning about her back story, but the present day romance with the main characters, Alice and Hayden, didn't really pique my interest. They are a cute couple, and I liked their competitiveness with each other, but I wouldn't list them among my favorite of Emily Henry's book couples. The star of the show is the narrator, Julia Whelan, who I love listening to. She did an amazing job giving each character their own unique voice, as always. Diehard fans of Emily's will probably love Great Big Beautiful Life, but I can only give this one three stars. Fingers crossed I'll love her next release.