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Alice Scott is thrilled when she tracks down a once-famous heiress no one has seen or heard from in two decades. As a writer, she has found a golden opportunity. She’s amazed when former tabloid-favorite Margaret Ives then invites her to come visit her home on a small island in Georgia where she’s been hiding all that time.
She’s not so happy to learn that Margaret is also allowing Pulitzer Prize winner Hayden Anderson to interview her. But she’ll make the best of it; Alice always looks on the sunny side of things.
Hayden, for his part, is gruff, grumpy and definitely not a smiley optimist like Alice. But the two of them have to at least get along for the moments they interact. Because Margaret announces that she’ll talk to both of them for a monthlong trial period, and at the end of that time, she’ll decide who will get to write her story.
Alice and Hayden agree on an alternating-days schedule to get to know Margaret, ask her questions, and prove their trustworthiness and value as writers. Alice is nervous because Hayden has already written a best-selling, award-winning, honestly amazing biography. But she does feel she can win over the reclusive octogenarian with her personality and warmth.
While Alice and Hayden don’t see each other at Margaret’s home, they keep running into each other on the island. And their chemistry is palpable. They slowly get to know each other, but as they develop feelings, they also realize that the stakes are high for their careers.
They agree not to talk about what they’re learning from Margaret each visit, but each also admits that they feel they’re not getting the full truth from her. So why are they there?
I wasn’t expecting Great Big Beautiful Life to be more about Margaret than it was about Alice and Hayden, so it felt different from Emily Henry’s previous adult romance novels. And she does mention that in her acknowledgments: that this book is a “departure” from her others in many ways. Honestly, the story is so much Margaret’s that I felt not quite the attachment I normally would to the “main” romance characters, Alice and Hayden. All the elements were ostensibly there, but I didn’t quite fall into their love story. I did, however, grow attached to Margaret. What a lady!
That being said, the threads all fit together in the end, and when that happens, the story packs a punch. I loved the conclusion.
So thanks again to Emily Henry. I know most “typical” readers out there want the sexual content, but I’d have preferred the book without, of course. It’s interesting that Margaret’s story had hardly any profanity and sexual content was completely “closed-door.” So the past was “clean,” and then the present was definitely not, and it made the steamy parts that much more jarring/unwanted for me. (I did just skip over them when I saw the scenes get going.)
Rated: High. Profanity includes 13 uses of strong language, around 30 instances of moderate profanity, 10 uses of mild language, and about 20 instances of the name of Deity in vain. Sexual content includes kissing and at least five or six scenes with “spicy,” “steamy,” “open-door” detail.
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