Reviews - If It Makes You Happy

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1.68k reviews for:

If It Makes You Happy

Julie Olivia

4.36 AVERAGE

velmad's review against another edition

3.5

medium-paced

katiekat9513's review against another edition

5.0

lighthearted

Cozy. Fall. No third act break up!

allielaurenn's review against another edition

3.5

slow-paced

sarahjanespeedreading's review against another edition

4.5

funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

priscillj's review against another edition

4.0

So cozy

lindsaymck's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

The ink on her divorce papers is not yet dry when Michelle Cadell must also face the death of her mom, with whom she has a complicated relationship. Taking a break from her job as a corner-office marketing pro in Seattle to manage/operate her mom’s small-town Vermont bed and breakfast means smoothening her rough edges, learning hospitality (until her sister can take over after graduating form art school), and trying not to fall for the hot single-dad next door. Cliff Burke is a 33 year-old divorced dad who owns the town bakery and hasn’t dated in two years (despite the entire town wanting to set him up). He was a teen father with his ex-wife, who moved to NYC and gave him primary custody of their 16 and 6 year-old daughters. Over Michelle’s few months in Copper Run, he becomes her best friend and helps her fall in love with the community, the idea of living a small-town life with a beautiful family, (him!) and the version of herself she became in this new chapter as she heals from her heartaches.

Spoilers ahead…

This slow-burn definitely took its time, but it was easy to enjoy the 90’s nostalgia, a cinnamon roll MMC (who is relentless in his pursuit of Michelle’s favorite dessert), and an opposites-attract romance with such a satisfying ending. I was curious about the high page count, but found the pacing to be pretty steady with lots of character development and time spent exploring the parenting dynamic of the MCs with Emily and Brit Brit. The parallels between Michelle and Emily’s experience with their moms was definitely a highlight of the book.

I liked the exploration of the sisterly bond between Michelle and Sarah. The juxtaposition of Michelle and Sarah to Emily and Brit Brit was really poignant. Sarah allowing Michelle to read the letter from her mom AND then Michelle finding her own hidden letter later on was emotional to read, but I would’ve liked a bit more development to Michelle’s relationship with her mother.

In their lives, Cliff has been made to feel like he was too much, while Michelle felt like not enough. Finding exactly what they didn’t know they needed in each other made for such a sweet read. The way Cliff treats Michelle - “It’s respect accented with adoration” is a beautiful way to describe love. 🥰

Special shoutout to Rocket - I’ve never read an epilogue from a dog’s POV before but it was such a special, silly, and original way to give updates on their lives years later. The extra New Year’s chapter from Brittany was also super cute.