Great Big Beautiful Life

De: Emily Henry

Narrado por: Julia Whelan

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.

Perfect

Emily Henry always breaks my heart and opens my world. Like all her stories, her characters unfold, exposing their imperfections, misunderstandings, beauty and humanity. It’s a love story, inside a love story, inside another love story. Beautiful.

Excellent Julia Whelan performance again!

Julia Whelan’s exceptional narration carries this book. I’d rate the story 4/5 overall. This book focuses heavily on the third main character, which at times made the pacing feel slow. While I’ve enjoyed all of Emily Henry’s books (and have listened to them all), this wasn’t my favorite. I felt the romance between the two main characters developed too quickly that initially lacked the depth needed to feel truly believable.

Story within a story

I’m not gonna lie, I was confused at the beginning. But once everything started to click, it was amazing. Emily Henry, the woman you are.

So good!

The voice actress was perfect for this book. And amazing writing by the Queen herself!

Charming and heartfelt

Really good book for a weekend get away! A love story with a twist. The relationships between the parents and children, mother and daughter, things left unsaid, realities presumed. A enjoyable listen overall. Charming!