Ruby's Updates

"ARC provided by the publisher via Libro.fm

i hate comparing books with similar stories, because no author owns a concept, but my true, very basic thoughts upon finishing this book is that this is a not as good version of evelyn hugo. and i really hate saying that, i really do, like it pains me to type it, but it’s the truth.

this is a story of an old hollywood heiress, named margaret, who disappeared from the spotlight many years ago, and who is now ready to tell her story. yet, she has two authors to pick from. alice, who was able to track down margaret thanks to an anonymous tip, and who feels like this opportunity would mean so much to her because her late father really loved margaret’s late husband's band. and then there is hayden, who has won a pulitzer prize for another memoir that he wrote, and knows this would be an amazing opportunity to write another book celebrating someone’s life.

margaret wants to figure out who would be the best author to tell her story on her terms, so she makes an agreement with both of them to stay on the small island she has been hiding away on, and alice and hayden will split up the days interviewing her and hearing her story. yet, again, this is a very small island, so alice and hayden are able to begrudgingly get to know each other as well, even though they are both vying for the position to write this book.

margaret’s flashback chapters were truly what kept bringing this book down for me. and this will be my only comparison discussion on evely hugo (with a caveat that i do feel different about that book in 2025, even though it meant a lot to 2017 melanie) - but reading about a queer biracial mc who came from nothing was a lot more enjoyable to read than a white nepo baby, i am so sorry! not that i didn’t have empathy for margaret and her life! so not only were these chapters boring, but they just always felt lacking. and there is another twist that i just knew would happen, because i have read evelyn hugo lol! ahhhh, if i could have stayed on this little island with alice and hayden and their romance, and even all the other residents, i would have at least given this book three stars!

i will say that there is a beautiful message about cherishing life and the ones you love in it, every single day you are lucky enough to be able to. there is an immense amount of the feeling of grief throughout this book, but there is also a great feeling of all the love that comes with navigating through it. i will also say, one thing about emily henry is that she will make me cry when she drops the title of her book and great big beautiful life was no different. i am very curious about how this book will be received upon publication, and i do want you to take this review with a grain of salt, because i do think that i was my own worst enemy constantly comparing it to another book while reading.

trigger + content warnings: talk of bad parenting / parents not being good to their kids, talk of cults, talk of dementia, a scene of an unwanted advance + touching, a lot of talk of loss of loved ones, grief, bullying and abuse in past from a mentor, abuse of power and manipulation from a mentor, a lot of talk of body image involving weight, extortion / blackmail, talk of infidelity in past (in a negative light), anxiety, paparazzi, talk of plane crash in past, one sentence mention of cancer in past, talk of car crash in past, a lot of talk of child illness in past (they are a healthy adult now), mention of health anxiety and/including ocd, crowd crush, blood, sexual content, pregnancy

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