Great Big Beautiful Life cover art

Great Big Beautiful Life

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Great Big Beautiful Life

By: Emily Henry
Narrated by: Julia Whelan
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

A REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR & GLOBAL TIK TOK SENSATION, EMILY HENRY

Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of an heiress with more than a few plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping new novel from Emily Henry.

When Margaret Ives, the famously reclusive heiress, invites eternal optimist Alice Scott to the balmy Little Crescent Island, Alice knows this is it: her big break. And even more rare: a chance to impress her family with a Serious Publication.

The catch? Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud, Hayden Anderson, is sure of the same thing.

The proposal? A one-month trial period to unearth the truth behind one of the most scandalous families of the 20th Century, after which she’ll choose who’ll tell her story.

The problem? Margaret is only giving each of them tantalising pieces. Pieces they can’t 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.

'Emily Knows how to craft a love story like the all time greats' - Taylor Jenkins Reid

'I've loved every single one of her books more than the previous' - Ali Hazelwood

'Great Big Beautiful Life has everything you love in a classic Emily Henry novel, plus so much more. Nobody writes chemistry like Emily Henry, and you're guaranteed to fall head over heels for Alice and Hayden.' - Beth O'Leary

© Emily Henry 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

 Editors Select Family Life Friendship Genre Fiction Literature & Fiction Romantic Comedy Island

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Stuck Up & Stupid cover art
Heiress Takes All cover art
Mile High cover art
One Perfect Summer cover art
Two Can Play cover art
Passion Project cover art
The Tenant cover art
The Fall Risk cover art

Editorial Review

It's a wonderful life
Emily Henry is always going to give you more than your typical “boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love in an idyllic location, boy and girl live happily ever after” type of romance. That’s never been more apparent than in her new release, Great Big Beautiful Life. There is, of course, a love story and a dreamy locale—a quaint island off the coast of Georgia—but there’s also so much more: complicated relationships, painful pasts and even a bit of mystery. This heart-wrenching novel follows two competing journalists—my favourite grumpy-sunshine duo Henry has written yet—vying to write the coveted memoir of an aging Hollywood heiress with a scandal-ridden family history. As Henry’s go-to narrator Julia Whelan smoothly takes us from the present to the past and back again, using her abundant vocal range to give a distinct voice to each new character we encounter, this genre-bending masterpiece unfolds in the most gorgeous way. —Margaret H., Audible Editor

Critic reviews

Emily knows how to craft a love story like the all time greats (Taylor Jenkins Reid)
One of my favourite authors (Colleen Hoover)
I've loved every single one of her books more than the previous (Ali Hazelwood)
My happy place is an Emily Henry book (Carley Fortune)
An expansive, sweeping love story that also feels so intimately tender...it enveloped me from start to finish. Beautiful. (Bolu Babalola)
Great Big Beautiful Life has everything you love in a classic Emily Henry novel, plus so much more. Nobody writes chemistry like Emily Henry, and you're guaranteed to fall head over heels for Alice and Hayden. (Beth O'Leary)
All stars
Most relevant  
My first Emily Henry audiobook and baby, it was a gut punch wrapped in glamour. The banter? Snappy and addictive. The connection? Simmering. But beneath the surface is a heartbreakingly layered story that left me clinging to every word. Not as spicy as people tell you it is, but emotionally? Scorching.

Sharp tongues & soft hearts

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Emily Henry writes well, we know that. I believe Julia Whelan makes the books she narrates that much better. I loved it!

I love Julia Whelan's narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Absolutely loved it! My new favourite of Emily Henry! She is a writing queen! The narrator was fantastic too!

SUBLIME

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A great story and really well narrated. I was really captivated by the characters and Alice and Haydens’s story.

Sad to have finished it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I'm in mourning :(
You know when you finish a book that is so good you dread starting another one, well, this is one of those books.
When Alice Scott and Hayden Anderson pitch for the same job, to write a memoir, walnuts and all, neither one can begin to imagine the journey that socialite Margaret Ives is about to take them on.
Both have a month to impress the famous recluse, but with a tight-knit no-disclaimer, neither one can discuss their work. Besides working on alternative days so they can concentrate entirely on Margaret's request, they both start to notice that she's lying. But why?

I thoroughly enjoyed every page; it was a brilliant read.

5/5

Buy this book - now!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Another amazing Emily Henry book. Couldn’t stop listening and the ending! Tears! Where is my Hayden!? 😭

I cried and I cried and I cried

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You can’t help but compare this to the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, clearly the author was aiming for a similar story, this one isn’t nearly as good or as gripping.

This story is perfectly fine. Just very basic, fluffy and predictable. I appreciate it’s a love story, but surely we can have some more depth and storyline. The story of Margaret and her life is the most interesting part of this book.

The snake scene…. Groan!

Perfect for a beach, a classic chit lit listen!

Narration SUPERB!

Predictable and fluffy

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Not up to her usual standard of storytelling at all did not feel fresh or particularly original nor was it very engaging.

Great narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I love listening to Emily Henry the writing is just beautiful. This sorry is no different. The crossing of love story and biography is winning.

Great big beautiful story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
not terrible and entertaining in large part, but too obvious and neat for my taste.

not for me

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews