genre: contemporary romance
When Alice arrives at the tiny, picturesque island off the coast of Georgia, her focus is so clear: convince heiress and recluse Margaret Ives that she wants to have Alice write her biography, finally telling the world her true story. But when she finally meets Margaret, a giant wrench is thrown into her beloved plan - she is forced to deal with Hayden Anderson, a Pulitzer Prize Winner who apparently has also been given a chance to prove he can write Margaret's book. The story of Hayden and Alice, two very different but very capable writers, is told in the present tense while we also have the secondary storyline of Margaret's life both from her own point of view and from common memory. Whoever ends up being Margaret's biographer will be given a true shot at a literary blockbuster, if only they can convince her they'll do the best job.
This one is a bit different than the usual Emily Henry fare - not that it's a bad thing! It had a distinct The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibe, which also, isn't a bad thing. I like stories with two time periods, although it did take a while for me to keep all the people in Margaret's early life straight. I had to work pretty hard at first to keep names with generations but it wasn't annoying. I believed in the romantic chemistry and the twist at the end actually caught me by surprise AND I believed it, which was awesome. I like that Emily Henry's characters are complex and that throughout the story we get to understand why they behave the way they do and make the choices they make. Fair warning, this may be the steamiest of hers that I've read so far, and Julia Whelan always does a fantastic job narrating. Emily kept me engaged and entertained again. I'm already ready for whatever she has next.
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