Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

Great Big Beautiful Life is a story about love, grief, resilience, and the strange, winding paths we take toward healing. At its heart is Margret, a former tabloid princess from one of the most scandalous families of the twentieth century. After decades of solitude and living off the grid, Margret invites two biographers into her world to compete for the chance to tell the real story. Her story. However, the deeper Alice and Hayden dig, the cloudier Margret’s truth becomes.

Despite their fierce competition to be the first to unravel Margret’s mysteries, Alice Scott is determined to soften the hard exterior of her counterpart, Hayden Anderson. He’s a tough one to crack but watching how Alice’s genuine kindness and love of people slowly reveal Hayden’s ooey-gooey center was really sweet.

Emily Henry has definitely done it again; but this time, she’s taken us somewhere entirely new. I was struck by how different this book feels from her previous work. While her signature warmth, wit, and knack for crafting imperfect characters are still very much present, Great Big Beautiful Life carries a kind of quiet gravity that feels like a weighted blanket: heavy but comforting. It’s more introspective, more patient, and ultimately more powerful.

I’ll admit, some of the chapters that explore Margret’s early life felt like a bit of a slog. But trust me, the emotional payoff at the end is worth every page. The way Henry weaves the past and present into a story of love, loss, and rebuilding is both refreshing and impactful.

This is Emily Henry at her most vulnerable and her most mature. Two thumbs up from me.

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