★2026 British Book Award: Romantic Fiction WinnerAlice 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 twentieth 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 re
