Great Big Beautiful Life

De: Emily Henry

Narrado por: Julia Whelan

A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK ∙ 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 Cut ∙ USA Today ∙ Harper's Bazaar ∙ Marie Claire ∙ 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.

©2025 Emily Henry (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Readers can count on Em-Hen to transport them to a kinder, sunnier, and funnier galaxy where happy endings can be counted on . . . Henry’s magic elixir, it seems, is to return again and again to a simple boy-meets-girl formula while writing textured novels populated with vivid characters that never feel formulaic: she takes us back to a time when we believed, with all our being, that love conquers all.”—The Boston Globe

“A sweeping love story about the choices we make and the threads that knit us together. Thoughtful, moving, and deliciously tender. Emily Henry is as captivating as ever. I love everything she does.”—B.K. Borison, New York Times bestselling author of First Time Caller

“A true joy. Playful, fun, and virtuosically plotted, Great Big Beautiful Life is a novel about life's winding paths and dangerous dead-ends—and the way that love can lead us out of the labyrinth.”—Kaliane Bradley, New York Times bestselling author of The Ministry of Time

Just, wow.

Absolutely loved it. The story within a story had me just as hooked. I felt so protective of Hayden and Alice. The fully fleshed out characters that they are, had me moving through their days like I was a friend along for the ride. I fully intend to read this book as I pre-ordered a physical copy. However, the narration by Julia Whelan had to take precedence. She is so talented. Her Margaret was awesome. Emily Henry always does a beautiful job of weaving in complex themes of grief, love, loss, joy and making them so balanced. I am never toyed with as a reader. Truly her best work to date. Though, Beach Read is right behind this for me.

Gripping from beginning to end

I devoured this audiobook. Loved the depth of characters, its setting, and the performance of the narrators.

Another treasure from our girl

What wasn’t to love? I’m here for not only Emily but also for Julia. These two are a power team that is unmatched. I sobbed (I don’t cry with many books) about a handful of times… and idk… maybe it’s where I am in my own life timeline, but this story struck a goddamned nerve. It was a perfect balance of everything that makes a great story. At the core, it’s a love story…. Covering different forms of love. But is was so much more. I love all EH books, but this one… THIS ONE HIT DIFFERENT. I was ill prepared. I’ll be thinning about this one for a long time.

A story within a story

This is by far my favorite Emily Henry book. The story within a story added a level of complexity and mystery. I can’t wait for her next book.

And Julia Whalen, the perfect voice actor for this one.

An emotional story about more than just romantic love

5⭐️ Listen i dont make the rules but this is a 5⭐️ 🫶🏻

Edit after reading the last 25% of the book again: One thing that attracts me to Emily Henry’s books is that they are so much more than just a romantic love story. It is a book about emotions and letting yourself feel them. It is a book about learning to let others love you the way you deserve to be loved. It is about family and friendship. It is always a beautiful story that deserves to be read.

Beautiful!

I loved every minute of this! Well done Emily Henry! &&& The narration was totally FAB!

It’s the love story within the love story for me

I feel like you just cannot go wrong with anything Emily Henry writes. I’m a devoted fan. This book does not disappoint!

A Great Big Beautiful Book

This book was incredible! Emily Henry has the ability to write with such emotional depth and she did an incredible job with this book❣️ Julia Whelan did an incredible job narrating the book and together they absolutely nailed it❣️

Beautiful weave.

What a beautiful weave of relatable storytelling. Very few books bring tears to my eyes as I’m reading last page. This one did.

So delicious!

I fell in love with this book within the first paragraph and revelled in every big, beautiful paragraph all the way to the end (which I'm embarrassed to say made me cry for an hour). its a happy, celebratory book and I could not recommend it more.