Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
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: Loved the leap Emily Henry is going for from her usual with this book that blends her traditional romance story with alternating timeline of famous heiress Margaret Ives. Slowly uncovering Margaret's story nicely dovetailed with the budding love story between Alice and Hayden as they are rivals competing for the job to write her life story. The alternate storyline, that just happens to jump back in time and slowly reveal an old mystery, reminded me of a novel by Beatriz Williams or Kate Morton.
Early on, Hayden makes it clear that he is uncomfortable because of the professional competition between them, where they are both auditioning for the same writing job. Not only did I appreciate his integrity in not wanting to get serious with Alice before the job was sorted out, but it helped create great tension between them. They have undeniable chemistry, but this sense that the other is off limits for the time being was electric.
Like with virtually every dual timeline book I have ever read, I enjoyed one storyline more than the other. In this case, I liked Alice and Henry and their emerging relationship more than the chapters on Margaret's past. I was interested in learning about her story! But it dragged and it seemed like it was trying to make it more mysterious than it was. I liked how the author tied it all together in the end, but getting to that point (i.e. stringing along these two writers and meeting with them separately on alternating days) felt strained and dragged for me.
Stars: 4
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