Reviews

Like Happiness by Ursula Villarreal-Moura

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notimeto_read's review

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emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

avalydia's review

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4.0

This is tough to rate. I really enjoyed it while I was reading it (hence the four stars), but upon reflection, I think it the book ultimately fell short of where it needed to go; this review says it a lot better than I could: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6191000290

I also wish we had gotten to know more about Vera, Tatum's current partner, because she barely exists as a character.

But I did find myself speeding through the pages to find out what happened next, and I thought the writing was very strong, so a four-star review it is!

cholton427's review against another edition

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4.0

There is so much of this book and story that I really like. One - I adore books that reference a lot of other books. Because we are focused on two people who love literature in this book, there are so many titles thrown around that I added to my TBR. Two - There was so much in this book that I could relate to. Our main character is finding who she is throughout the span on 10+ years and the decisions she made felt so real and often devastating in a way that I know I made similar decisions.
My only critique of the book is that I felt like there were moments when the narrative was contradicted itself. We would hear a detail in one section of the story that then wouldn't really make sense for something that would happen later. They were small things but it left me confused at points. Like her relationship with Hiroshi... I felt like things were going good but she never introduced him to her parents? And then his downfall was so fast and didn't seem to add up to me.
Overall I really do recommend this book and will pick up more by this author.
Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the audiobook ARC.

iz_is_reading123's review

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3.5

Like Happiness follows Tatum, who lives in Chile with her current partner. She hears from a reporter that an accomplished author who she had a decade-long relation ship with has been accused of assault. She reflects on this relationship that defined much of her young adult life and grapples with the ways in which it affected her.

I liked the way this book grappled with the power dynamics between Tatum and Mateo without being too heavy handed. The reader knows that the story will not end well and Villarreal-Moura builds that tension well as the relationship that was built on shaky foundations falls apart. The book did end a little abruptly, and I wish we saw Tatum grapple with the events at the end of the book more fully than she did. Otherwise, this was a promising debut that explores its themes well, while still allowing the reader to come to their own conclusions.

thecriticalreader's review

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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

lizalovereads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✨”So much of my life was spent fixated on you.”✨

As soon as I started this book I knew it would be 5 stars and books are rarely 5 star for me. I immediately wanted to start annotating every line and just savoring it. Villareal-Moura truly doesn’t waste a single line. This is not only my favorite of the year, but a new favorite of all time.

✨”What better way to stay spellbound than to orbit the magician.”✨

This story centers around a woman who developed a relationship with a (much older) famous author while she was still in college. Their relationship continues up until her 30th birthday. It isn’t until a journalist contacts her saying that another young woman has reported allegations against him that she realizes just how toxic their relationship had been. The story is mostly written in a letter to him recounting their time together.

✨”I doubted you would be capable of feeling genuine joy for me in any scenario where you weren’t the recipient of my adoration.”✨

This book centers on being in a one-sided relationship. She spent her youth waiting to be seen and appreciated by him, which was never going to happen. She wastes the best years of her life waiting for him while he is off living a full, beautiful life. The book delves into power dynamics, race, sexism. She basically exists to stroke his ego and fill the void in him. She is there to serve him and for him to see himself reflected back. So many women have dated men like this and the author captures his every nuance so well.

✨”People are drawn to optimism, so I projected hope as often as possible since that’s what we both needed.”✨

If you’re a fan of Taylor Swift’s Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve or All Too Well (10 min version) you’ll love this.

✨”Everything about me was a colossal mistake.”✨

Thank you to @celadonbooks for the ARC and to the author for writing this one 😭

✨“My young life simply wasn’t that valuable, a realization both reassuring and devastating.”✨