Bestselling author Emily Henry has returned with Great Big Beautiful Life, a novel that is already stirring conversation among critics and fans alike. The romance, now a 2025 Reese’s Book Club pick, blends emotional intrigue with a layered love story, further cementing Henry’s reputation as one of today’s leading voices in contemporary romantic fiction.
Known for her breakout adult debut Beach Read (2020), Henry has since built a loyal fan base eagerly anticipating each new release. Her latest novel continues that tradition, but with a twist: it’s a character-driven, dual-narrative story that’s being praised for its complexity—and scrutinized for its ambitious structure.
Great Big Beautiful Life centers on rival biographers Alice Scott and Hayden Anderson as they compete for a career-defining opportunity: the rights to write the authorized biography of reclusive heiress Margaret Ives. Once a tabloid fixture and the widow of rock star Cosmo Sinclair, Ives vanished from public life after Sinclair’s sudden death. Two decades later, Alice finds her living in seclusion on Little Crescent Island, Georgia—and surprisingly willing to talk.
But Ives hasn’t invited just one writer. Hayden, a Pulitzer Prize-winning music journalist, has also been summoned. Both writers are subjected to a trial period on the island, with Ives deciding who will ultimately earn her trust.
What follows is a slow-burning romance and a layered mystery, with Alice and Hayden initially clashing before developing a tentative bond. Alice, the ever-optimistic journalist, is determined to prove herself against Hayden’s intimidating credentials and aloof demeanor.
Henry, who frequently revisits familiar romance tropes, leans into the grumpy/sunshine dynamic, casting Hayden as the “human thunderstorm” to Alice’s effervescent warmth. Their chemistry unfolds gradually, with emotionally charged scenes punctuated by “transcripts” of Alice’s interviews with Ives.
This braided storytelling technique—interweaving present action with snippets of oral history—gives the novel its distinctive rhythm. Margaret Ives often withholds key details during interviews, leaving Alice to piece together the truth using a mix of intuition, memory, and deduction. Bound by non-disclosure agreements, Alice and Hayden cannot share what they’ve learned, raising the narrative stakes as both try to unearth the real story of Ives’ withdrawal from fame.
The novel explores deeper themes of public perception, media sensationalism, and identity. Henry questions how the media constructs celebrity personas and how truth becomes fragmented in the face of personal and public narratives.
Parallel to the unfolding mystery is a secondary arc: can Alice and Hayden find love despite being rivals? Henry walks a careful line, maintaining romantic tension without sacrificing the central mystery. Critics note the chemistry is effective, though some readers may find Hayden’s emotional pivot too swift to feel entirely earned.
True to form, Henry includes meta-commentary on literature itself. Like Beach Read, which paired romance with reflections on literary genres, Great Big Beautiful Life offers subtle critiques of how romance novels are dismissed as trivial, despite their emotional richness and cultural reach.
The novel also draws comparisons to Taylor Jenkins Reid’s work—particularly The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six—a connection made explicit by Reid’s endorsement on the cover. Like Reid, Henry examines fame, storytelling, and the intersection of private and public life.
Despite mixed critical reception, Henry’s sixth adult novel has struck a chord with many readers. Some wished for a more expanded look into Ives’ backstory, which is revealed primarily through transcribed dialogue. Others praise the novel’s balance of emotional depth and narrative suspense.
Ultimately, Great Big Beautiful Life reinforces Henry’s strengths: witty, warm storytelling anchored in character-driven drama. As she continues to explore the evolving possibilities of romantic fiction, Henry shows no signs of slowing down.
