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Major spoilers for Great Big Beautiful Life ahead. Emily Henry isn’t afraid to deliver a major third act twist. But the question remains.
..are you ready for it? Throughout the author’s newest novel Great Big Beautiful Life (out now) , entertainment journalist Alice Scott is up against Pulitzer Prize-winning music writer-turned-biographer Hayden Anderson for the chance to write the definitive biographer of media heiress turned recluse Margaret Ives.
However, amid their monthlong auditions, during which the writers begin a summer romance, it becomes clear that Margaret is keeping a big secret. Namely, the real reason behind Margaret’s apparent biography: She wanted to get to know Hayden, her grandson who is unaware of their relation. In the explosive confrontation with Margaret, Alice learns her dream never existed (her involvement was simply to lend legitimacy to the ruse) and thanks to a nondisclosure agreement, her relationship with Hayden is over before it really began.
And for Henry, this sort of earth-shattering revelation was there from the start. “I knew that from the beginning,” the novelist revealed to E! News in an exclusive interview, “even before I fully understood why she kept Alice around.” Having this big reveal waiting in the wings was partially inspired by her 2024 novel Funny Story where, as Henry put it, “I wrote this book about two nice people who like each other, and I figured out it's really, really hard to sustain a romance novel about two nice people who like each other.
” So, when it came to Great Big Beautiful Life, a love story that felt “earned” was paramount. “Before I started writing, before I knew anything else about the book,” Henry explained, “I knew I wanted to be writing about two characters who absolutely could not be together. And I wanted ironclad reasons.
” Ultimately, the secret—Hayden’s mom is the biological daughter Margaret gave up after the death of her rocker husband Cosmo Sinclair—looms over the whole story like a ticking time bomb waiting for Alice’s nagging feelings about Margaret’s willful omissions to spiral into realization. “First off, we have the reason that they're competing for the same job," she explained. "But I knew that by the end of the book that that would go away and there would need to be, something bigger.
" As she explained, “By adding that final twist, I knew, ‘Okay, this is a situation where this person has already fallen in love with another person, and now she has this huge secret that she could not bear to keep from him and that she knows she also can't tell him.’ She can't tell him—it's not her story—and even legally, she can't tell him because of the NDA.” “Really, from the moment that I unlocked that twist, I felt like I knew what I was writing toward,” Henry shared.
“It informed every other thing that happened in the book. Every piece of history that I chose to share about Margaret's family came from this reveal at the end.” Indeed, much of the book seems to keep the two central narratives, Alice’s interview sessions with Margaret and her budding love story with Hayden, separate.
After all, Hayden and Alice agree to not discuss their work with the octogenarian, and knowing nobody else on the small Georgia island, save their possible boss, they forge their own bond. However, it’s only when the truth comes to light that the—as Taylor Swift aptly put it—invisible strings connecting the narratives turn opaque. The perplexing gaps in Margaret storytelling, the stories she chooses to tell about her life and loved ones (inspired by many IRL people like the Kennedys and the Hearsts ) find new meaning as Hayden confides in Alice—who is navigating her own familial obstacles—about his own anxieties about his family and where he fits in.
But amid this sweeping backdrop, Alice and Hayden’s sweet love story blossoms—and, ultimately, is able to bloom. “That was a really fun dynamic—to write someone who is unflappably positive and optimistic and somebody who is sort of implacable and inaccessible in so many ways, and how she could finally wear him down,” Henry noted. “And it made for really good opportunities for banter because he's also funny.
So, him shutting her down or parrying her eager attempts to get to know him was just a really fun dynamic to play in.” And the People We Meet on Vacation writer admitted that there are aspects of herself that she sees in her protagonist. “I loved writing someone who sees the best in people,” Henry explained, "and I think when I'm at my very best, that's how I am, When I'm not, I'm more cynical.
But I think it's better to move through life assuming the best of people. And I wanted to put a character out in the world who's like that.” Our writers and editors independently determine what we cover and recommend.
When you buy through our links, E! may earn a commission. Learn more . Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry This irresistible story blends mystery, romance, and razor-sharp wit as two writers compete to uncover a legendary heiress’s secrets—while fighting their own unexpected connection.
If you love sharp banter, slow-burn tension, and juicy family drama, you won’t want to miss this. Great Big Beautiful Life is out now. For more books to check out this spring, keep reading.
.. Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins Release: March 18 At long last, Collins is revealing what really when down when Haymitch Abernathy entered the Hunger Games for the Second Quarter Quell—and she doesn’t disappoint.
Harrowing and heartbreaking, Sunrise on the Reaping is possibly Collins’ most gruesome outing in Panem yet, though like its predecessors it offers glimmers of the hope to come. Plus, it is chock full of nods to both The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes as well as the original trilogy—including familiar faces popping up. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones Release: March 18 In 2012, the journal of a Lutheran pastor from 1912 is uncovered and, in it, he recounts his interactions with a Blackfeet man—and vampire—Good Stab.
Moving between three time periods (2012, 1912, and the time of the 1870 Marias Massacre, in which around 200 Blackfeet people were slaughtered by the U.S. army) the story is a chilling tale of murder and revenge, with supernatural elements that only heighten the narrative.
Saltwater by Kate Hays Release: March 25 Every year, the Lingates return to their luxurious villa in Capri, despite a 1992 tragedy that left family member Sarah dead at the bottom of a cliff. Though deemed a horrible accident, something isn’t quite right. And exactly 30 years later, the mystery intensifies as the necklace Sarah was wearing that fateful night turns up, setting off a deadly chain of events that uncovers the secrets from that night—including what actually happened to Sarah.
All That Life Can Afford by Emily Everett Release: April 1 American college graduate Anna arrives to start a new life in London, only for the reality of the city to dampen all she’d envisioned about her dream home. That is, until she gets caught up in the world of the elite when she’s hired as a tutor by a wealthy family and is soon befriended by her student’s older sister. But in keeping up with this life of luxury, may just come with a price.
Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez Release: April 1 For Samatha and Xavier, a bad first impression soon gives way to a life-changing first date—which was not what Samantha had in mind for her final night in Minnesota before moving nearly 2,000 miles away. But as she navigates a devastating family crisis and Xavier tries to keep his head down and build his budding vet practice, they can’t seem to forget their magical night together. It’s heartfelt, funny and utterly unputdownable.
Fearless by Lauren Roberts Release: April 8 Lauren Roberts is back with the epic conclusion to the Powerless series, which sees Paedyn and Kai both back in Ilya. But while they are reunited at last, a decision might break them forever—and destroy Ilya in the process. The Perfect Divorce by Jeneva Rose Release: April 15 Five years after The Perfect Divorce , Jeneva Rose is once more throwing Sarah Morgan for a loop, as she discovers her marriage to her second husband isn’t without its secrets, namely his infidelity.
However, as she seeks a divorce, new evidence surrounding the murder case involving her first husband pops up. Plus, husband no. 2’s mistress soon goes missing.
Suffice to say, Rose doles out an endless supply of juicy twists and turns in this exciting page-turner. Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry Release: April 22 Taking light inspiration from Taylor Swift’s “Last Great American Dynasty,” the latest from Henry follows writers Alice and Hayden who arrive on a small island off the coast of Georgia for the opportunity of a lifetime: The chance to write the definitive biography of the now-reclusive 20th century tabloid sensation Margaret Ives. But as they battle it out for the top prize—and try to piece together Margaret’s ever-elusive story—sparks can’t help but fly.
Matriarch by Tina Knowles Release: April 22 Knowles is laying her cards down down down down and telling her story—from the very beginning in Galveston, TX, as the youngest of seven to life to, as the title suggests, matriarch of one of the biggest families in pop culture. Prepare to get to know Ms. Tina Knowles like never before.
The Pretender by Jo Harkin Release: April 22 Chances are you’ve never heard of Lambert Simnel but back in the late 15th century, he nearly brought the rising Tudor rule to its knees when he emerged out of nowhere as a long thought-to-be-dead Plantagenet duke, who may just have a claim to the throne of England. This gripping story follows a young man, a puppet for the Tudor detractors, who is thrust into the world of aristocracy—and all the dangers and deceit that come with it. One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune Release: May 6 Fortune is back in Barry’s Bay, this time to see Charlie Florek meet his match in Alice Everly.
Set a few years after Every Summer After , a heartbroken Alice winds up at the lake—where she spent the summer that changed everything for her as a teen—for some time with her recently-injured grandmother. She quickly befriends Charlie, their neighbor and cottage’s caretaker for the summer and, we’ll, we’ll let Fortune take it from here. After all, fans have been begging her to give Charlie his happily ever after for years—and she’s fully delivered with a sweet, summer love story.
My Friends by Fredrik Backman Release: May 6 Backman is a can’t-miss author for a reason. Set in dual timelines, My Friends follows a pivotal summer for a group of teenagers and a budding artist who 25 years later is mesmerized by a painting depicting three of those friends—and she’s determine to learn more about the people, and the place, behind it. In true Backman fashion, it’s a beautiful, occasionally heartbreaking examination of life, loss, and the people who sustain us.
The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz Release: May 20 Looking for closure after her fiancée’s death, Abby goes to the island where the tragedy took place. There, she meets a man who says he knows what happened before her fiancée’s sudden death—only he goes missing soon after. Now trapped on an island with her fiancée’s possible killer on the loose, and a close-knit group of ex-pats who are more suspicious than ever, Abby goes on a quest to get to the truth before it’s too late.
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