Henry’s latest gives us two writers who are competing for the chance to write a celebrity biography of Margaret Ives, an heiress from a wealthy dynasty family with a tragic history. The timeline switches back and forth from the romance between our two writers to the heart wrenching story of Margaret’s life. I was captivated by all of their stories and this turned out to be one of my favorite books of the year.

Alice came to the small town of Little Crescent Island in Georgia to meet Margaret, a famous recluse heiress, with hopes of writing her biography. Margaret was known as the Tabloid Princess because her family was the Ives media dynasty and the paparazzi followed her everywhere.

Alice has wanted to write Margaret’s story for years. She remembers when she was young and her father used to play Cosmo Sinclair’s famous love song about his wife, Margaret. Then Cosmo died in a tragic car accident and Margaret disappeared – no one has heard from her in decades. Alice writes human interest stories for a Los Angeles media outlet and ever since her father passed away, she’s been thinking about the music he loved, particularly Margaret and Cosmo’s love song. She digs deep and is able to track down Margaret, but when she does, Hayden, another writer, is already at her home. Hayden also wants to write her book and his last book won a Pulitzer Prize!

Margaret tells Alice and Hayden that she will choose who will write her book in a month and until then, they can interview her separately and then they can each present a proposal to her. They are both staying at the same hotel and run into each other often. Hayden is quiet, a little gruff and broody, but he can’t help but warm up to Alice – she sparkles. She’s snarky and such a fun people person. While they can’t discuss Margaret (they signed NDA’s) they still enjoy spending time together. As they get to know each other, there is fun banter and kisses. Hayden tells her they should wait until the month is up before taking things further (and making love). They wonder how they can be together if he lives in NYC and she lives in LA. This is a slow burn with a lot of sexual tension!

It was a little hard for me to follow the names and details of Margaret’s family history, especially the early years in the 1800’s. But as it moved forward in time, I was gripped by her stories, her loves and tragedies and the paparazzi that chased she and her family everywhere. It was sad and I could see why Margaret thought that her family was cursed. It was suspenseful and there were a couple of good plot twists that kept me on the edge of my seat!

The setting was beautiful on Little Crescent Island with the humidity, mosquitos and ocean breezes. Alice describes the colors in the sunrise as a promise of hope for the new day. Hayden tells her, I think you live in a world that’s more interesting than the one most people live in, and I wish I could live in it too. As a tropical storm starts brewing, the tension between Alice and Hayden builds with it.

This story is emotional and has so much heart and depth as we learn about the lives of our characters and root for their happiness. Alice and Hayden both have complicated relationships with their families. Then there is Margaret with her sorrow, who creates beautiful mosaics from sea glass. Alice reflects, I find myself thinking that maybe every bit of heartbreak in life can be rearranged and used for something beautiful.

I thought this was a treasure and other than the part where I felt lost in Margaret’s early family history, I think this will make a great beach read, especially for readers who enjoy stories with emotional depth. I can’t wait for the movie!