Debriefing GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL LIFE by Emily Henry

Emily Henry published Great Big Beautiful Life & we're here to publish our thoughts & feelings for y'all! Unlike any of her past novels, this book delved into mystery, childhood baggage, & that crinkle feeling (as Madeline describes to be the feeling you get before a full crush - a perfect use of the word crinkle tbh). If you have sentiments about this unique, unexpected change in Emily's writing style, tune in to hear what we liked & disliked!   🤍 CTB Links!: https://linktr.ee/checkthisbookout   📖 Books Mentioned: Great Big Beautiful Life - Emily Henry Book Lovers - Emily Henry Happy Place - Emily Henry Funny Story - Emily Henry People We Meet on Vacation - Emily Henry Beach Read - Emily Henry This Summer Will Be Different - Carley Fortune Problematic Summer Romance - Ali Hazelwood The Book of Azrael - Amber V. Nicole The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid Daisy Jones & the Six - Taylor Jenkins Reid Red Rising - Pierce Brown   Great Big Beautiful Life Synopsis: "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 new novel from Emily Henry. 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 20th 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."   🕑 Timestamps: 00:00:00 - intro 00:00:24 - fear of natural disasters 00:01:10 - deep sea is terrifying 00:02:24 - great big beautiful life by em hen 00:03:37 - our ratings 00:03:45 - thoughts on decimal ratings 00:05:15 - initial reactions 00:06:07 - high level plot 00:07:40 - what was the crossover? 00:08:53 - we're tired lol 00:09:30 - did we like alice? 00:11:37 - thoughts on hayden 00:13:10 - insta love? 00:13:40 - A CRINKLE! 00:14:34 - did they really know each other? 00:16:20 - relationship screen time 00:18:45 - side character relationships 00:20:10 - trying something different 00:20:50 - books about books 00:22:25 - the pacing & repetition 00:23:25 - margaret's story... 00:25:20 - 2 different plot lines 00:27:10 - impossible to predict 00:28:40 - satisfying or confusing? 00:29:25 - biographies & writing style 00:31:45 - the boring and random parts 00:36:06 - margaret's value 00:37:08 - ambitious book 00:39:00 - realistic conflict & tension 00:41:40 - alice's parents 00:44:45 - wanted to love it 00:46:31 - 2 love stories 00:48:40 - ranking emily henry books 00:49:00 - madeline cried 00:51:00 - the book title & theme 00:54:00 - first kiss 00:54:35 - thoughts on the ending 00:55:30 - closed door 00:58:50 - next week teaser 00:59:35 - today's book releases