First things first: if you’re expecting that Emily Henry’s newest book will be another fun and emotional rom-com, similar to her previous books, stop. While there are some similarities, in some ways, this book is very different than her others. (You’ll have to judge whether that’s good or bad.)
Alice is a writer, and she’s very happy with the career she’s been carving out for herself. Sure, it would be nice to land a “serious” gig that might finally impress her family, but she tries not to let them bother her. And when she scores a meeting with Margaret Ives, an octogenarian who was part of one of the most famous (and scandalous) families, she’s thrilled she might get the chance to write her biography.
When Alice travels to the island where Margaret has been living since disappearing from the public eye, she can’t wait to meet her. There’s a catch: Hayden, a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer, is also meeting with Margaret. How will Alice compete with him?
Margaret makes them a deal. Both will spend a month on the island working with her, and will give her a draft of their version of the biography. She’ll then pick who gets the job. Of course, Alice and Hayden couldn’t be more different—she’s a smiley optimist and he’s an intense grouch, not to mention he’s a household name and she’s not. And the more times they run into one another, the more their competitiveness turns to passion.
I loved the chemistry and banter between the two. But the book switches focus to Margaret’s life, which crowds out the love story. There’s even a bit of a mystery involved. It was just too many disparate pieces shoehorned together. I’m sure I’ll be an outlier here, but I definitely didn’t enjoy this as much as I hoped to.
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