Reviews with content warning for Racism - Like Happiness

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Like Happiness by Ursula Villarreal-Moura

7 reviews

thecriticalreader's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

The Run-Down: Like Happiness by Ursula Villarreal-Moura uncovers the insidious nature of power imbalance in relationships through a story that steadfastly champions the voice of its Latina main character.

Review:

In the years since the #MeToo movement started, fiction and nonfiction literature about women who grow to recognize the abusive power dynamics of past relationships has grown in popularity; recent books in this category include My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell and I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeannette McCurdy. The relationship between protagonist Tatum Vega and famous author M. Domínguez in Like Happiness lacks many of the obvious trademarks of abuse as many people conceive it. Tatum is of legal age when she strikes up a friendship with Domínguez, who is eight years her senior. They bond over their Latinx identities and love of literature. Domínguez never pressures Tatum into a physical relationship, nor does he verbally or physically harass her. Tatum pursues relationships and careers outside of her relationship with the author. Yet, a decade later, when a reporter contacts Tatum after a woman accuses Domínguez of assault, Tatum retrospectively grapples with the currents of power and control that flowed underneath their outwardly innocuous relationship dynamic.

The effectiveness of Like Happiness lies not in its flashy revelations or dramatic plot points, but in its deliberate character-building and quiet details. Villarreal-Moura paints a full and rich portrait of her protagonist, and thus the reader is able to comprehend how, despite her natural intelligence and tendency toward skepticism, Tatum’s naïveté and particular vulnerabilities make her susceptible to manipulation by M. Domínguez. “Manipulative men draped themselves draped themselves in bling and collected Rolls-Royces,” Tatum muses upon visiting Domínguez’s surprisingly humble apartment for the first time; “They didn’t sleep on futons.” By portraying Tatum as both precocious and flawed, Villarreal-Moura underscores that victims of abuse need be neither helpless nor perfect to receive empathy.

The plot of this book moves slowly but steadily through the years of their relationship, allowing the author to capture the nearly imperceptible ways a power imbalance can be leveraged to benefit the person with power at the expense of the person without. The timeline can get a bit fuzzy at times—the characters use cell phones and email in ways that seem a bit anachronistic for the early 2000s—but it reflects the way their relationship gradually shifts as Tatum ages from an aimless college student to a restless professional. The book thus doubles as bildungsroman as it portrays the progression of a relationship.

Like Happiness reflects on the ways stories and our understandings of them can be used for oppression and liberation; Villarreal-Moura acts in the service of the latter as she delivers a quietly cathartic resolution that reminds us that everyone deserves to pursue their dreams and have their voice heard.

Content Warnings

moodreaderhan's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan audio for the arc in exchange for an honest review! I am incredibly grateful!

I wish I had more to say, but I started this book immersed and ended it staring into space while feeling like it was incomplete. It felt has if this story has missing parts or pages that I didn't get experience. Tatum's story is one I stand behind, felt for and still enjoyed overall, but I just was waiting for some moments that never came.

Content Warnings

kelly_e's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Title: Like Happiness
Author: Ursula Villarreal-Moura
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: March 26, 2024

I received a complimentary eARC from Celadon Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted #Ad

T H R E E • W O R D S

Fluid • Obsessive • Introspective

📖 S Y N O P S I S

It's 2015, and Tatum Vega feels that her life is finally falling into place. Living in sunny Chile with her partner Vera, she spends her days surrounded by art at the museum where she works. She loves this new life, but more than anything, she loves it for helping her forget the decade she spent in New York City; the years she spent orbiting the brilliant and famous author M. Domínguez.

But when a reporter calls from the US asking for an interview, the careful separation Tatum has constructed between her past and present begins to crumble. Domínguez has been accused of assault by another woman, and the reporter is looking for corroboration. Tatum agrees to tell her story, but she begins with a clarification: while there are similarities, what happened to the other woman is not what happened to her.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Like Happiness came onto my radar earlier in the year while I was browsing NetGalley for upcoming spring releases. I love discovering new authors, was intrigued by the premise, and am on the lookout for dual timeline narrative. With this one, I was invested from the very first line.

Told in a unique epistolary format - a slow retelling of their relationship - this debut is a quick and accessible read that remind me of a lighter My Dark Vanessa. It's a quiet story exploring an imbalance of power in relationships and the toxicity these relationships can have on our lives. It also explores Latinx, gender and sexual identities but to a lesser degree. I could have easily used a little more character development.

From the beginning, the reader is privy to knowing there will be some sort of reveal. I was able to predict the what it would be about a third of the way through and my rating likely would have been a little higher if not for that. Regardless, the writing style helped build the suspense until everything is revealed near the end. With all of the slow build, I did find the ending felt a little rushed but it didn't bother me that much.

Like Happiness is one of those quiet stories that is thought-provoking and will be lingering in the back of my mind for months to come. I cannot finish my review without mentioning it being an ode to booklovers and the incredible power a book can have on our lives. It would make for lively and interesting discussion among book clubs. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for future works from Ursula Villarreal-Moura.

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• My Dark Vanessa
• coming-of-age stories
• debuts

⚠️ CW: toxic relationship, gaslighting, grooming, sexual content, classism, racism, infidelity, cursing, religious bigotry, child abuse, physical abuse, alcohol, sexual assault, drug use, drug abuse, addiction, overdose, body shaming, fatphobia

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"What I’ve shared with you is proof that I still remember, but in writing this, I find that my memories are releasing their hold on me."

Content Warnings

arrowsartsandbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This book was amazing, but hard to read. It took me a while to read because of how heavy the subject matter and the main themes of racism, grooming, and sexuality were. This book is about a Latina girl who reads a book and falls in love with it. She reaches out to the author and to her surprise, he responds to her and they form a personal connection. During this time, she is still in school, and he is much older with a steady career ahead of him, which led to a huge power imbalance. She gets groomed by him and eventually tells her story to a reporter which is told through a dual timeline. All of Tatum's relationships in this book are so messy. I loved the bisexual representation in this book. If you liked My Dark Vanessa, you'll like this book too because of the similar themes. I can't believe this is a debut, it's so well written and such a heartbreaking story that too many woman experience.

4.5 Stars

Content Warnings

bookishmillennial's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

What’s important is he had never engaged with me.. He had better boundaries than you, the writer who apparently befriended all his female fans. I wonder who I would have been if you had tossed my letter in the trash can, if you had let me be.

Thank you to Libro FM for the ALC! The narrator, Marisa Blake, did a wonderful job, and since the novel is posited as a long email/letter to Mateo from the main character Tatum told in second-person POV, it really just felt like Tatum was talking to me. It was so easy to listen to, and I finished it in one day!

To be frank, this novel pissed me the fuck off and this is exactly what I mean when I say "Every man is just some guy." Mateo is just another dusty, crusty dude who profits off of the emotional labor of femmes everywhere. He's the worst kind of villain, because people like him are so common - selfish, abusive, and gaslighting everyone around him. Fuck him!

Tatum is living in Chile with her partner Vera, working at a museum, and finally feels free from the decade she spent in New York City pining after Puerto Rican author Mateo Domínguez. A reporter from the U.S. calls her to ask about her relationship with Mateo, and she recalls the way he manipulated and gaslit her for years. I had to remind myself that this is essentially a long, final letter to him telling him how much her eyes have opened up and how big her world has gotten since he's no longer clouding it. If I ever received a letter like that, I would need at least 30 business days minimum to recover from the way Tatum rips him to shreds.

The final few pages, where Tatum uncovers what finally prompted her to say goodbye to this selfish man were wild. They made me see red. I was furious for Tatum. The lack of credit and acknowledgement would feel like the rug was pulled out from under you! All of her emotional labor erased, as he profited off of her. I was so glad that this was basically a way for her to say her peace and know that he would reap what he sowed.

I would absolutely read another book by Ursula Villarreal-Moura!

Content Warnings

pomoevareads's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

For fans of My Dark Vanessa and The Other Black Girl, Like Happiness is written in an epistolary style. Tatum has always loved books and writing and finds herself enamoured by an author who goes by the initial M after reading his book Happiness and feeling seen. She sends him a fan letter and he replies striking up a conversation and soon a relationship that will see them for the most part in a platonic relationship for the next ten years. M is writing his second novel and it is a slow go. The story is interspersed with chapters when Tatum is living in Chile with her partner and speaking to a reporter from New York who is investigating sexual abuse allegations against the writer. The book in letter format is her way of parsing her own feelings and in holding M accountable.

Like Happiness tackles questions about toxic relationships and power imbalances in a very nuanced and creative way. The reader can see the layers of toxicity forming over time and the final reveal to both the protagonist and the antagonist. Running parallel to the relationship is Tatum’s questions about her own gender identity.

Thank you to @celadonbooks for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. Another great selection from a favourite publisher. Like Happiness publishes March 26, 2024.

Content Warnings

skudiklier's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I was super engaged in this--I wanted to know what happened, I cared about the characters, I loved the way it went back and forth between time periods. I read most of this in one day. The ending made me so mad on behalf of the protagonist and I feel like the book balanced things really well. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone interested based on the premise/genre.

Thank you to Celadon Books and Netgalley for the chance to read and review this ARC.

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