Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry is an ambitious story that is fairly good overall. But a bit uneven in tone.
Emily Henry is one of those authors who don’t need much of an introduction now—her books are every where. Each of her books hit The NY Times Bestseller’s list, and several movie adaptations are in the works. She’s definitely one of the big writers of this era.
I like her novels overall. Typically, I find the stories charming and entertaining. She writes in a breezy, conversational tone that is quite appealing and fun to read. However, it’s not all lightness as usually her novels cover serious topics as well.
Great Big Beautiful Life is a departure from her other stories. This one is more a contemporary/historical fiction saga. The story idea is pretty engaging, but I did feel the tone didn’t always work. She was striving an epic and grand tale, but it just didn’t quite land. Even the romance was a bit off at times too.
Still, I did like it. I don’t think I’ll ever dislike a book of hers (at least I don’t anticipate that, ha). But I just wasn’t drawn into it like other stories in this genre. It even took me ages to finish. But again, it was fine. Just not fantastic.
What’s the Story About
Alice Scott is a journalist dreaming of her big break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human grump. And they’re both on 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 twentieth century.
Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story.
The Mystery
Margaret is promoted as a big mystery, what happened to her, the why behind the choices she made, etc. But I kept making comparisons to Evelyn Hugo in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and honestly, Margaret felt a little flat compared to Evelyn. Maybe it’s unfair to compare the two, but I believe if you’re going for a big, epic story, you have to completely bring it.
I don’t know if it’s just because Margaret is a person who came from wealth, or what it was, but I just didn’t think she was really that interesting. Don’t get me wrong, I thought she was fine, and I liked the banter between her and Alice. But I just kept waiting for something more with her, and even when twists are revealed, I kind of just shrugged my shoulders and thought, “okay, that’s it?”
Overall, I think Margaret needed more depth, and bigger events needed to take place. The story spent far too long on her grandfather and her parents—we needed more from Margaret to earn this story a spot as a big, epic tale.
Alice and Hayden
I did like Alice a lot. She’s extremely positive and optimistic. While it is a bit of a front and a mask she wears, she overall a really good person, and I liked her dedicated to storytelling.
Hayden was ok. But man, I’m really getting bored of the same grumpy but heart of gold guy. Not that I want him to be mean or cruel, but there has to be a way to present the love interest in another way. Maybe Alice is the Pulitzer-prize winner and Hayden is the one up-and-coming. That could have been a good dynamic.
Obviously, we know a romance will happen but it still felt random, even knowing it’s inevitable. It literally went from strangers to awkwardness to making out. Then they fall in love in a minute but can’t actually be together until Margaret decides who ‘won’ her story. So a bit clunky start but I did warm up to their romance eventually.
Verdict
I admire Emily Henry for trying something different but there is a feeling that this might have been rushed out, and could have used more time to develop. The epic style story felt like it was missing parts, and the romance came across as disingenuous (at first). But the novel does find more of its footing as the story plays out.
While I didn’t love it, I still find parts enjoyable and I liked the ending overall. But not my favorite of hers.
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