e-Audio, 12:02:42
Narrated by: Julia Whelan
Release Date: April 22, 2025
Published by: Berkley
Read from: March 25-30, 2025
Stand-alone (Companion to People We Meet on Vacation)
Source: PRH Audio (I received a free e-ALC from the publisher and their app. This did nothing to influence my review.)
Content Warning: Grief, Death, Car Accident, Death of a parent, Sexual Content, Eating Disorder, Miscarriage, Terminal Illness, Pregnancy
For Readers Interested In: Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Mystery, Realistic Fiction, Most AnticipatedTwo 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.
*MY THOUGHTS*
This was one of my most anticipated this year. And I gotta say, it delivered. I know it did because y’all know I am NOT a slow burn fan and that’s what this was. And yet, I still liked it. This is what I wanted that one book to be like.
Ok so the best thing about this was the plot. It’s a slow burn and it takes forever to get real traction, but by the time it does you’re already sucked in to the “mystery.” I spent an ungodly amount of time trying to figure out why there was this competition and why in the world this whole thing was happening. And it was not at all what I was expecting. I REALLY need to start reading the synopsis because I had no idea where this one was going. But at the same time, this is also why I LOVED when things started happening because I had no idea. Everything was a surprise and man, it was SO MESSY. I found myself having to write notes and I actually figured out everything at the same time as Alice.
The main characters were ok, but I didn’t exactly feel the chemistry. Hayden was so weird and every time he told her no it annoyed me lol I thought Alice was brave too because I only need to be told no once and I won’t ask again. And of course there is also Margaret….. Yeah she was a hot mess. But I also can’t imagine the things she went through to get here either, so I guess I understood it? I didn’t like it, but I understood it.
I started reading this as an e-ARC, because I couldn’t wait for the audio, but I’m so glad I finished it via audio. Idk what kind of magic Julia Whelan has, but gah this was so good! All the different characters, from the home aid, to the love interest, to Hayden and Alice, they all sounded different and it was so amazing. Idk how she changes her voice like this, but it’s so good.
I do wish the ending was less abrupt. This is the one thing I didn’t care for. And then we get the epilogue that’s just an info dump and then it was done. Idk it felt weird to end it and then make it so dramatic like that. It was so dramtaic and tear filled and there was yelling etc, and then over. It felt like she ran out of words and then just said ok here’s what they’re doing now. It wasn’t my favorite. And then for this to be so dramatic, I didn’t even cry at all. I didn’t even have tear filled eyes lol It was just weird.
Regardless of this, I did enjoy it. It’s still my second least favorite, but it’s also still lightyears away from PWMOV. And yes, I caught that one egg. Let me know if you did too. (Were there more? I stopped trying to figure it out when questions started getting answered because I was so enthralled!) I hope the next one is another like Beach Read or Happy Place. But even still, this one will hold me over until then.
Overall, I give this
