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A review by lisibee815
Happy After All by Maisey Yates

emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 Amelia is a former scriptwriter and current romance author, and the new owner of the Pink Flamingo Hotel (home to a large number of elderly, long-term residents). She is estranged from her distant parents, and is reinventing herself in the California desert after leaving Los Angeles. Nathan is a distractingly handsome and standoffish hotel guest at the Pink Flamingo, he is stoic and tries to keep to himself despite the other residents' best efforts. Both are hiding pain and past secrets, but are reluctantly drawn to one another. (I get a Crusie/Mayer vibe from these two, albeit with softened edges.) I liked it, I thought this was going to be a quicker read but it was a more complex story than I expected. The book is written in a singular 1st-person POV from Amelia's perspective, which limits our ability to fully see Nathan's viewpoint. The story was written well but was a little dense and overall a little lighter on the dialogue for my liking. Sometimes it felt like two different books: one a little lighter and rom-commy, and the other a more somber literary fiction story. But I think that's reflective of Amelia's personal journey, so it works. And Nathan sometimes felt like a secondary character, but again I think that ties into this being Amelia's story as she's truly the main character here. There were points in the book that I wasn't sure how much I actually liked Nathan, as the moodiness without explanation was starting to get to me. That said, it was representative of his mindset at the time, and I did eventually warm up to him.

There are deeper themes of sadness and grief (definitely pay attention to content warnings), but there's a sweetness there too along with some humor. It's actually a nice change of pace to read a romance where so little is easy for the main characters, and it was rewarding to watch Nathan and Amelia open up to one another. It always feels a little meta when a main character is a writer, but the author weaves this very well into Amelia's identity and observations on life. The trope chapter headings were a nice touch and acted as guideposts for upcoming events in the story. There is a great cast of supporting characters, and the writing is both witty and thoughtful. If you're a fan of slow-burn, open-door romances with deeper themes and touches of humor, then this is the book for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake Romance for an ARC of this story, this was my objective review. 
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