Reviews

Like Happiness was a quick, captivating read! Tatum, our MC, recounts her experience in a relationship with Mateo, an older man and renowned author whose book was monumental in her life.

After he replies to her fan letter, they begin to develop an increasingly unhealthy relationship. The power differentials between them are glaring, and your heart reels as you watch Tatum develop genuine emotions for a man who is certainly manipulating her. I appreciated the reflection on being a woman of color in a predominantly white institution, specifically calling out how certain authors are tokenized to represent entire communities and questioning whose voices are continuously left out. I also appreciate how the author portrays the insidious nature of manipulation, revealing the ways in which someone has multiple sides to them and how they can leverage things like money, culture, and more to target vulnerable people. Mateo’s manipulation is hard to read, but important for the story. On a lighter note, I loved the queer nun subplot. I also loved how Tatum was ultimately able to gain clarity and perspective on her relationship with Mateo, developing a sense of agency in defining her own narrative. I wish we had gotten to spend more time with this part of the story, particularly after Mateo published his novel. The story also circled a fair bit around the news article, so it felt weird to never actually read it. At one time, Tatum considered writing the story herself, and I wish this had actually happened.

This book was slow for me to get into, and the end felt a bit rushed, but I still quite enjoyed it overall.

zenzi2read's review

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emotional hopeful reflective slow-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

4.25

This book is engaging, but the pace is very slow. It focuses on Tatum‘s internal life which itself is very quiet. She’s filled with self-doubt. She makes a small decision early in life that decides her path. She’s chosen a safe life. Her willingness to mitigate risk also lessons, her chance of true happiness. She feels more connected to books than people because she is unable to risk gaining friendship and showing her true character. It’s a good decision to show how much her life has changed when the reporter reaches out to her about him’s indiscretions. The characters were striking and complex , the book just lacked tension or pacing. The betrayals were realistic as were the character defects. The way M uses powers is unethical but realistic.

kateland85's review

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adventurous 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? It's complicated

4.0

anna_xu's review

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I love books about books, so this one was hard to resist.

“Toxic relationships are like ticking bombs. Once I pulled the pin and acknowledged your disregard, your disingenuousness, your betrayal, we could never rewind and begin again.”

This unique coming-of-age story covers themes of identity, self-actualization, isolation, toxic relationships, and power dynamics, which often go hand in hand. It follows Tatum’s life over ten years, from her college years to her early thirties, and her relationship with older renowned writer, M. Domínguez, whom she idolizes (or more precisely – whose writing she’s obsessed with). I loved that it was written in the form of a letter. It felt very personal, and it made it easy to understand Tatum’s perspective and emotions. Even though I couldn’t connect to her character personality-wise, some of her experiences felt relatable.

Overall, this was a solid debut! The writing style was beautiful, and the story was engaging. The outcome of their relationship was predictable, but there was also a twist I didn’t see coming.

Thank you, NetGalley, the publisher Celadon Books, and author Ursula Villarreal-Moura for the ARC copy! My review is based on an uncorrected text. I received a free copy of this book, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

kelseysreads's review

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4.0

I enjoyed this one. I think some reviewers were disappointed it didn't go somewhere with a clear moral or resolution, but the relationship and the book are both messy and I don't think I was expecting something easy. Villarreal-Moura does a great job of showing us the multi-layered power dynamics at play, how it isn't abusive but certainly isn't equal, how Mateo is a man child in need of constant reassurance but only on his terms. All of this makes for a very complicated and sympathetic story. I was frustrated with Tatum, but I think that was the point. She gives Mateo too much credit, and even as an adult when she is settled with her partner, there is still that aspect of hero worship. Exploring the relationship from the start shows us how and why she still feels that way, even to the extent of not believing Mateo's accuser at first. I think this is an excellent addition to the "me too" canon of novels, as it shows how grey life is, how we want so badly to be loved and to think the best of those we idolize. Is it right? Villarreal-Moura isn't passing judgment, so it's up to you.

ains_reads's review against another edition

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challenging 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

3.25

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