{"id":57084,"date":"2025-06-16T06:00:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T11:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/?p=57084"},"modified":"2025-05-17T13:26:24","modified_gmt":"2025-05-17T18:26:24","slug":"readalikes-for-great-big-beautiful-life-by-emily-henry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/readalikes-for-great-big-beautiful-life-by-emily-henry\/","title":{"rendered":"Readalikes for Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>If you’re anxiously awaiting a copy of Great Big Beautiful Life<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>by Emily Henry, you’re not alone! Henry’s latest was released on April 22nd, 2025 and was also selected as Reese’s Book Club pick for May 2025, driving up the popularity. We have gathered a list of readalikes to tide you over until you can get a copy of\u00a0Great Big Beautiful Life<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Curious what\u00a0Great Big Beautiful Life<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>is about? Check out the description below.<\/p>\n

Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they\u2019re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: to write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years\u2014or 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 twentieth century.<\/em><\/p>\n

When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she\u2019ll choose the person who\u2019ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice\u2019s head in the game.<\/em><\/p>\n

One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice\u2014and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over.<\/em><\/p>\n

Two: She\u2019s ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication.<\/em><\/p>\n

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.<\/em><\/p>\n

But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can\u2019t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they\u2019re in the same room.<\/em><\/p>\n

And it\u2019s becoming abundantly clear that their story\u2014just like the tale Margaret\u2019s spinning\u2014could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad . . . depending on who\u2019s telling it.<\/em> – Berkley<\/p>\n

If that description has piqued your interest but you don’t want to wait, try any of the below! The books below are all first in series or standalone titles that were published in 2025. As of this writing, all titles are owned by the Davenport Public Library. Descriptions are provided by the publishers.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>Any Trope But You<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Victoria Lavine<\/p>\n

Beloved romance author Margot Bradley has a dark secret: she doesn\u2019t believe in Happily Ever Afters. Not for herself, not for her readers, and not even for her characters, for whom she secretly writes alternate endings that swap weddings and babies for divorce papers and the occasional slashed tire. When her Happily Never After document is hacked and released to the public, she finds herself canceled by her readers and dropped by her publisher.<\/em><\/p>\n

Desperate to find a way to continue supporting her chronically ill sister, Savannah, Margot decides to trade meet-cutes for murder. The fictional kind. Probably. But when Savannah books Margot a six-week stay in a remote Alaskan resort to pen her first murder mystery, Margot finds herself running from a moose and leaping into the arms of the handsome proprietor, making her fear she\u2019s just landed in a romance novel instead.<\/em><\/p>\n

The last thing Dr. Forrest Wakefield ever expected was to leave his dream job as a cancer researcher to become a glorified bellhop. What he\u2019s really doing at his family\u2019s resort is caring for his stubborn, ailing father, and his puzzle-loving mind is slowly freezing over\u2014until Margot shows up. But Forrest doesn\u2019t have any room in his life for another person he could lose, especially one with a checkout date.<\/em><\/p>\n

As long snowy nights and one unlikely trope after another draw Margot and Forrest together, they\u2019ll each have to learn to overcome their fears and set their aside assumptions before Margot leaves\u2014or risk becoming a Happily Never After story themselves.<\/em> – Atria Books<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>First-Time Caller<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by B.K. Borison (book 1 in Heartstrings series)<\/p>\n

Aiden Valentine has a secret: he\u2019s fallen out of love with love. And as the host of Baltimore\u2019s romance hotline, that\u2019s a bit of a problem. But when a young girl calls in to the station asking for dating advice for her mom, the interview goes viral, thrusting Aiden and Heartstrings into the limelight.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lucie Stone thought she was doing just fine. She has a good job; an incredible family; and a smart, slightly devious kid. But when all of Baltimore is suddenly scrutinizing her love life\u2014or lack thereof\u2014she begins to question if she\u2019s as happy as she believed. Maybe a little more romance wouldn\u2019t be such a bad thing.<\/em><\/p>\n

Everyone wants Lucie to find her happy ending\u2026even the handsome, temperamental man calling the shots. But when sparks start to fly behind the scenes, Lucie must make the final decision between the radio-sponsored happily ever after or the man in the headphones next to her.<\/em> – Berkley<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Flirting with Disaster<\/a><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>by Naina Kumar<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been years since Meena separated from her husband, Nikhil . . . years since they first laid eyes on each other in their home state of Texas, years since they spontaneously wed in Las Vegas and she felt true happiness. Now a high-powered lawyer on Capitol Hill and ready to move on (at least, she thinks so) with another successful lawyer, Shake, Meena has returned to Texas. This time, finally to obtain a divorce.<\/em><\/p>\n

But there\u2019s one thing Meena didn\u2019t account for: a hurricane forming in the Gulf, veering right toward them and giving them no choice but to hunker down in the home they had built together. Suddenly, she finds herself trapped amid gale-force winds and pelting rain with the man she once loved.<\/em><\/p>\n

As they spend more time together, Meena begins to remember everything that drew her to Nikhil: his small-town charm, his thoughtful nature . . . his absurdly good looks. But being with Shake makes sense to her. He\u2019s steady, ambitious, and wants exactly what she wants. So she\u2019ll stick to her plan, come hell or high water. But will her windswept heart make the right choice, once the eye passes over and the storm settles?<\/em><\/p>\n

With sharp observations about second chances at love, ambition and Indian American identity, and with characters who share an undeniable chemistry, Flirting with Disaster is a modern romance with the sensibility of a classic.<\/em> – Dell<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>My Big Fat Fake Marriage<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Charlotte Stein<\/p>\n

Something has to give… Could it be her heart?<\/em><\/p>\n

Connie has always distrusted nice guys. In her experience, they\u2019re just waiting to reveal some horrible secret. And then she meets big, adorable, Henry Samuel Beckett\u2014editor extraordinaire, lover of bow ties, sweet and so cheery she struggles to believe he\u2019s real.<\/em><\/p>\n

Until Henry Samuel Beckett\u2014or Beck, as he\u2019s known to most\u2014tells her the secret underneath his sunny surface: He\u2019s been single all his life. But in a moment of panic, he\u2019s told everyone at his publishing house that he\u2019s married. And when Connie, an aspiring writer herself, can\u2019t help defending him, she ends up being the fake wife he doesn\u2019t actually have.<\/em><\/p>\n

When they head off on a writing retreat, surrounded by people convinced this must be a ruse, both of them can’t help but agree. Until they share their first kiss, their first touch, their first time in only one bed. Side by side, every night, as the simmering tension builds\u2026Connie starts to wonder if this might be real after all.<\/em> – St. Martin’s Griffin<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Promise Me Sunshine<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Cara Bastone<\/p>\n

Lenny\u2019s a bit of a mess at the moment. Ever since cancer stole away her best friend, she has been completely lost. She\u2019s avoiding her concerned parents, the apartment she shared with her best friend, and the ever-laminated \u201clive again\u201d list of things she\u2019s promised to do to survive her grief. But maybe if she acts like she has it all together, no one will notice she\u2019s falling apart.<\/em><\/p>\n

The only gigs she can handle right now are temporary babysitting jobs, and she just landed a great one, helping overworked, single mom Reese and her precocious daughter, Ainsley. The only catch: Ainsley\u2019s uncle, Miles, always seems to be around, and is kind of. . . a walking version of the grumpy cat meme. Worse \u2013 he seems to be able to see right through her.<\/em><\/p>\n

Surprisingly, Miles knows a lot about grief and he offers Lenny a proposition. He\u2019ll help her complete everything on her \u201clive again\u201d list if she\u2019ll help him connect with Ainsley and overcome his complicated relationship with Reese. Lenny doubts anything can fill the void her best friend has left behind, but between late night ferry rides, midnight ramen, and a well-placed shoulder whenever she needs it, Miles just won\u2019t stop showing up for her. Turns out, sometimes your life has to end to find your new beginning.<\/em> – Dial Press Trade Paperback<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>Story of My Life<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Lucy Score (book 1 in Story Lake series)<\/p>\n

Hazel Hart was a successful romance novelist until a breakup drives her straight into writer’s block. Having failed (and failed some more) to deliver her new manuscript, she’s hiding from the world behind a wall of old takeout containers until her publisher lays down the law. If she misses her next deadline it’s The End.<\/em><\/p>\n

Desperate for inspiration, Hazel impulse-buys a historic home online and flees Manhattan to tiny Story Lake, PA. Upon her dramatic arrival\u2014involving an incident with a bald eagle\u2014she discovers the charm of her new home may have been slightly exaggerated.<\/em><\/p>\n

The house is a wreck and the town is struggling after their biggest employer shut down. Also, since her raccoon-infested home came with a seat on the town council our introverted heroine is stuck with a front row seat to all the small-town shenanigans.<\/em><\/p>\n

But Hazel isn’t worried. Not since all six-feet-three inches of grouchy contractor Campbell Bishop slapped a bandage on her forehead and unintentionally inspired the heck out of her. There’s only one thing to do: Hire Cam and his equally gorgeous brothers to renovate her new spider museum\u2026er\u2026house.<\/em><\/p>\n

Okay two things. A fake date for “research purposes” will really put her work-in-progress on track. Before Hazel knows it, she’s writing a romance novel and living one. At least until the drywall dust settles, the town she’s falling in love with faces bankruptcy, and growly Cam remembers why he can’t live happily ever after. <\/em>– Bloom Books<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>Unromance<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Erin Connor<\/p>\n

Sawyer Greene knows romance. She\u2019s a bestselling author of the genre\u2014or she was, until her ex left her with nothing but writer\u2019s block and a broken heart. When she gets stuck in the elevator with a handsome stranger, she sees their meet cute for what it is: just a one-night stand . . . but then they keep running into each other.<\/em><\/p>\n

Actor Mason West sees this as a sign. They\u2019re meant to help each other\u2014Sawyer with her writer\u2019s block, and Mason with his tabloid trainwrecks. So they strike up a simple deal to keep each other on track: no more sex, and absolutely no falling in love\u2014under any circumstances.<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a foolproof plan\u2013until Sawyer and Mason realize some plots can\u2019t be stopped\u2014and that they might be hurtling towards a happy ending\u2026<\/em> – Forever<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you’re anxiously awaiting a copy of Great Big Beautiful Life\u00a0by Emily Henry, you’re not alone! Henry’s latest was released on April 22nd, 2025 and was also selected as Reese’s Book Club pick for May 2025, driving up the popularity. We have gathered a list of readalikes to tide you[Read more]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10,5,1,8,5991],"tags":[10282,9512,10290,10288,6306,10294,10284,10285,10138,10292,10287,10286,10289,408,10291,10293,10283],"class_list":["post-57084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-read-a-likes","category-reference","category-staff-picks","category-straight-off-the-shelf","tag-any-trope-but-you","tag-b-k-borison","tag-cara-bastone","tag-charlotte-stein","tag-emily-henry","tag-erin-connor","tag-first-time-caller","tag-flirting-with-disaster","tag-great-big-beautiful-life","tag-lucy-score","tag-my-big-fat-fake-marriage","tag-naina-kumar","tag-promise-me-sunshine","tag-romance","tag-story-of-my-life","tag-unromance","tag-victoria-lavine"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pd0CXx-eQI","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57084"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57108,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57084\/revisions\/57108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}