Welcome to Curated & Saved, a personal collection of things I’m loving right now.
Currently Consuming
📖Reading: Great Big Beautiful Life, Emily Henry
I ticked off one of my most anticipated reads of the year this week! Emily Henry’s latest novel follows two writers, Alice and Hayden, as they compete for the job of a lifetime - to write the biography of the elusive and mysterious Margaret Ives. The tragic heiress of the scandalous Ives dynasty who lived the majority of her life under the lens of the tabloids, before disappearing, seemingly without a trace. As both Alice and Hayden spend their days attempting to unravel Margaret’s story, they’re also unravelling each other’s stories and falling hard for each other too.
I applaud Emily Henry for sticking her neck out to do something a little less romance leaning. And I think if you approach this novel in that vein you’ll have a great time. As a Taylor Jenkins Reid fan I did actually enjoy the mystery of this rich family at the heart of the novel and the flashback to Margaret's life. I do think this starts a lot slower than Henry’s other books, it certainly picks up the pace in its later half. What I do agree with from most of the reviews I’ve seen are the critiques of Alice and Hayden’s story somewhat falling by the wayside. Like I said I appreciate Emily Henry writing a story with less emphasis on the love story, but the approach for this novel did feel like she was flipping between two different novels.
📚 In Progress: Moderation, Elaine Castillo1
📕Book haul: Strange Pictures, Uketsu and The Ministry of Time, Kaliane Bradley
🎶Listening to: Down to be wrong, Haim
💻Watching: Bring back dark fantasy you cowards (Modern Girlz)
📱Scrolling through: Cowboy Carter Tour videos
Filling the Era’s Tour-shaped void in my life are videos from Beyonce’s first night of the Cowboy Carter tour. I sadly didn’t manage to get tickets to the London dates, so I’m living vicariously through the TikTok videos of Beyonce on a flying horseshoe singing Jolene, Blue Ivy coming into her own front and centre stage during Deja Vu, and a country-fied version of Freedom (which felt like a rallying cry).
🍽️Eating: The Red Lion and Sun, Highgate.
I had the pleasure of having a lovely birthday meal with a friend in Highgate this past week. we kicked off the night with frozen margarita’s in their cosy back terrace before both deciding to indulge in a bowl of mussels which were so tasty and fresh!
The Long Form
Met Gala prep
The first Monday of May is imminent my friends, and whilst I’m a far cry my my fashion blogging days I am always down to keep up to date with the Met Gala’s red carpet when it drops. And so you don’t fall into the trap of misunderstanding the why’s and who’s of what people are wearing, here’s some articles for you to skim through in preparation for the big night.
Vogue’s guide to the event, it’s hosts and theme
A writer’s honest thoughts on the 2025 Met Gala theme (Ayan Arta, Cosmopolitan)
Why fashion and the Met Gala are celebrating Black dandyism (Sasha Mistlin, The Guardian)
The 2025 Met Gala Theme Honors Black Dandyism. We’re Already Missing the Point (Time Magazine)
The Backlist
The sunk cost fallacy of your career (Emily J. Smith)
I’ve naturally been thinking a lot about my career path and future of my career recently and an existential thought that crossed my mind has definitely been ‘If I decide to go in a different direction, has the last 10 years of career been a waste?’. Using the sunk cost fallacy analogy, Emily speaks incredibly eloquently about these fears and ultimately how opening ourselves to different forms of value can be freeing.
On The Wish List
Picnic Paraphernalia
We don’t have a garden, unfortunately, but we do have a large communal lawn, so I’m on the lookout for a good picnic blanket and some outdoor gear. I don’t want to jinx it, but the gloriously sunny weather we’ve been enjoying here in the UK has me excited for summer. I’m looking forward to spending evenings and weekends in London’s green spaces, soaking up some vitamin D and making the most of the season.
Thanks for checking out this week’s Curated & Saved! I’d love to hear what resonated with you, or if you’ve got any hidden gems to share.
Thanks to Atlantic Books and NetGalley for my advanced reader copy of this book