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Great Big Beautiful Life: Reese's Book Club
A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK ∙ AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ∙ Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping novel from Emily Henry.
As featured in The New York Times ∙ Rolling Stone ∙ People ∙ Good Morning America ∙ NPR ∙ Vogue ∙ The Los Angeles Times ∙ The Cut ∙ USA Today ∙ Cosmopolitan ∙ Harper's Bazaar ∙ Marie Claire ∙ Glamour ∙ ELLE ∙ E! Online ∙ The New York Post ∙ Bustle ∙ Reader's Digest ∙ BBC ∙ PopSugar ∙ SheReads ∙ Paste ∙ and more!
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 twentieth 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.
As featured in The New York Times ∙ Rolling Stone ∙ People ∙ Good Morning America ∙ NPR ∙ Vogue ∙ The Los Angeles Times ∙ The Cut ∙ USA Today ∙ Cosmopolitan ∙ Harper's Bazaar ∙ Marie Claire ∙ Glamour ∙ ELLE ∙ E! Online ∙ The New York Post ∙ Bustle ∙ Reader's Digest ∙ BBC ∙ PopSugar ∙ SheReads ∙ Paste ∙ and more!
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 twentieth 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.
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✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *Great Big Beautiful Life* by Emily Henry blends romance with a multi-generational family saga and mystery, offering a rich emotional jour...
This will 100% be something you could watch on Hallmark. If that is your thing, then it is a great book for you! If it’s not, then give it a pass. I fall somewhere in the middle, hence the 3 stat review.
I am a huge Emily Henry fan and unfortunately this was not my favorite! I totally get why she might want to get away from her “formula” and try something new, but this felt like half measures of both - a cute romance that we didn’t get enough time with (I honestly could not tell you what attracted these two characters to each other), and a generational saga/family mystery that felt cliched and surface level.
I liked it overall. I wasn’t thrilled with the story within a story. It’s hard for me to have a ton of empathy for the very rich. But as always, Emily Henry moved me to tears.
Now, Great Big Beautiful Life centers on Alice Scott, a peppy celebrity journalist who gets tasked with writing the biography of Margaret Ives, a former tabloid darling with a mysterious past. Alice travels to Margaret’s remote island in coastal Georgia and—plot twist—finds out she’s in a biographer battle with grumpy, brooding Pulitzer Prize winner Hayden Anderson. The catch? Margaret’s giving them both one month to crack her life’s story and decide who’s worthy of telling it. But here’s the kicker: Margaret’s version of events doesn’t quite match up with anyone else’s, and Alice and Hayden have to work together to figure out the truth.
Now, this book has all the Emily Henry vibes I love: small-town charm, hilarious dialogue, and a protagonist you can’t help but root for. But here’s where it gets fun—this one isn’t just about romance. Yes, there’s romance (trust me, there’s so much sexual tension you could cut it with a knife), but the heart of the story is about families, legacies, and... well, how dysfunctional every single family is in their own way. Alice and her mom have to work through some complicated grief after a parental death. Margaret spills some seriously juicy family drama. Hayden has his own emotional baggage (because of course, he does). And in between all of this, Alice and Hayden make googly eyes at each other.It was different. I mean, who wouldn’t want a story about two writers competing for a glamorous Hollywood heiress’s biography, right? But something about the way the book unfolded had me taking a minute to get into it. The romance is kind of a slow-burn, and at times, Alice and Hayden felt like a walking cliché: she’s the bubbly sunshine girl and he’s the emotionally unavailable brooding guy (yes, you’ve seen this before). But their chemistry? wowza
3.75 - a much better "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo"
We've been in this phase of changing definitions ever since 2020. This book proves as much because it's labeled "romance" when it should be labeled "horny." The two are not the same. There is so much more to romance than just wanting to get into someone's pants.
I've seen lots of mixed reviews about this book. Some are disappointed in the romance, others are irritated with the back and forth between the journalistic story and the main story, others have never read anything better from Emily Henry.
I was not disappointed in the book for the most part. I loved the unfolding story from Margaret, I loved the exploration of the little Georgian island. There were only two things I was a little less than thrilled with, the incorrect usage of "romance" being one of those things.
Number One: The two characters were basically stranded on this tiny island together and they both had something in common. The fact was that they were both horny, they weren't really "falling in love" with each other. I did like how the main character explained that it was thrilling having a crush, but ultimately, it was just horniness. They kissed waaaaay too soon for it to be anything more. They kissed waaaaay before we even saw any interest coming from Hayden's direction.
Number Two: This is so insignificant, but this is the second book in a row that I've seen a character like this and it's very irritating. I hate gay characters that are written the way Cillian is written, not because they're gay but because they make me cringe so much. Strange representation in my opinion.
We've been in this phase of changing definitions ever since 2020. This book proves as much because it's labeled "romance" when it should be labeled "horny." The two are not the same. There is so much more to romance than just wanting to get into someone's pants.
I've seen lots of mixed reviews about this book. Some are disappointed in the romance, others are irritated with the back and forth between the journalistic story and the main story, others have never read anything better from Emily Henry.
I was not disappointed in the book for the most part. I loved the unfolding story from Margaret, I loved the exploration of the little Georgian island. There were only two things I was a little less than thrilled with, the incorrect usage of "romance" being one of those things.
Number One: The two characters were basically stranded on this tiny island together and they both had something in common. The fact was that they were both horny, they weren't really "falling in love" with each other. I did like how the main character explained that it was thrilling having a crush, but ultimately, it was just horniness. They kissed waaaaay too soon for it to be anything more. They kissed waaaaay before we even saw any interest coming from Hayden's direction.
Number Two: This is so insignificant, but this is the second book in a row that I've seen a character like this and it's very irritating. I hate gay characters that are written the way Cillian is written, not because they're gay but because they make me cringe so much. Strange representation in my opinion.
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