If It Makes You Happy
4.4 | 7,808 ratings
Price: 10.99
Last update: 12-03-2025
Product details
- ASIN : B0F6ZZQ1M5
- Publisher : Berkley
- Accessibility :
- Publication date : September 19, 2024
- Language : English
- File size : 9.2 MB
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 501 pages
- ISBN-13 : 979-8217187089
- Page Flip : Enabled
- Best Sellers Rank:#93 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Small Town & Rural Fiction (Books)
- Small Town & Rural Fiction (Kindle Store)
- Romantic Comedy (Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:4.44.4 out of 5 stars(7,848)
Top reviews from the United States
- ChristiReadsALotPerfect fall romance! Vermont 90s, Gilmore Girl vibes!If It Makes You Happy was so so good! I had heard the best things about this book and I wanted to save it to get to in the fall, which was the perfect time to put it up truly. I loved this book! It’s set in 1997, cozy small town Vermont, and the playlist alone at the start of the book had me sold (as someone who grew up then listening to all of those).
I especially love when current contemporary romance authors write backs set in the 90s, it gives me all those comforting nostalgic vibes! In this one we have a single dad hero (to 2 daughters) who is also a baker in town, and then we have a grumpier heroine who has recently moved to town to take over her late mother’s inn. Her sister tells her she should start talking to the guests, become a part of the community, and make a friend and the hero is there at the right time! They had met previously because of her dog and his daughter, and of course him baking for the inn (he had when her mother was alive too).
If you want a very cozy, fall, slow burn, friends to lovers romance that gives Gilmore Girls vibes, this book is so that. I loved it so much. The slow burn, opposites attract, his daughters, her dog Rocket, the town having festivals for every holiday, ahh I just loved it all. So very glad I got to this one! I had read this author before but this book definitely blew me away and is my fav from this author so far. Perfect for fall, and even goes into winter. - Bridget SheppardA great fall/winter romance with excellent 90s nostalgia4.25 stars rounded down to 4 for the purposes of this review.
This was a really good fall/winter romance with excellent 90s nostalgia! I spent a bit of time researching a seasonal romance that people had given high ratings, and this was the one that the most people seemed to like, and I would say it lived up to the hype!
One of my favorite things about this book was the fact that it was set in 1997. I grew up in the 80s and 90s, and I loved reading about so many things I remember from my childhood. I also really loved how quickly the residents of Copper Run accepted Michelle when she moved there, especially the Burke family. The banter between Cliff and Michelle and Cliff and his daughters was fantastic. The character of Rocket, Michelle’s dog, was also so much fun. I loved how Michelle talked to him and how close he was with Brittany. The epilogue from his point of view was so sweet.
I think the only things that kept me from giving this book five stars was that it was a little long, and the miscommunication (or lack of communication) trope got a little old after a while. I found myself really wishing Cliff and Michelle would just talk to each other and try to work through their problematic situation.
If you’re looking for a really fun, spicy, and sweet romance perfect for the fall and winter (although you could read it anytime), I recommend checking this one out! - Georgia McWattersThe absolute best small-town romance to exist!“I love this woman. I don’t know when it happened. It slipped over me so softly, like the changing of seasons. The seeping scent of baked bread first thing in the morning. A wistful sigh on a perfect fall day. I love Michelle. I’ve loved her for far too long.”
➵ I’m so glad I get to live in the same lifetime as this cozy, small-town, single dad, reverse grumpyxsunshine romance ????????????️????☕️☁️✨
I don’t know how else to start this aside from saying that this book has changed me for the better + I absolutely cannot live my life without this book.
I can’t say I’ve read any of Julie Olivia’s books before, but after this one, I gladly read them all!! I don’t know what called to me most about this book - the cover, the tropes, or the fact that it took place during the autumn of 1997 and just needed those cozy vibes and break from reality but it’s the best decision I ever made to pick up this book, and it’s without a doubt one of my favorite books of 2024, and probably on the list of my all-time favorite reads (this book made me (happy)sob for at least 20 minutes so it’s an instant winner in my library).
I thought this was only just gonna be a cutesy little autumn rom-com type of read but it was so much more than that — there was so much emotion, depth, growth, tension, laughter, tears, and everything in between with this book and it’s everything to me. The romance wasn’t just the focal point of the story, although it was pretty amazing with its slow burn + the building tension, but also with like learning as an individual, but sometimes life goes in unexpected directions, and you find happiness in unexpected places with unexpected people you never thought would fall right into your life. In simpler terms, Cliff and Michelle are just absolutely perfect. Books like these make me believe in true love and that there is someone meant for me out there waiting in the most unexpected of places.
Regarding the storytelling, I felt like everything just felt so clear and concise and flowed well. The slow burn was slow burning, and it was perfect. Friends still lovers is usually a hit or miss for me and this was a hit. I liked that everything was a slow buildup instead of more like an instant love and that there was an attraction between Cliff and Michelle, but they’re so different as characters they had to sort out their feelings and just take the long, scenic, way home to each other (even though I was constantly screaming at my Kindle the whole time for them to just kiss and get together, but they took their time and I’m here for it.) I’ve seen some other reviews that say that this is a story about two people finding their person in the most unexpected and unlikely of places and I 100% agree with that.
Michelle’s relationship with Cliff’s daughters Emily and Brittany felt so special, heartwarming, and wholesome. I can’t imagine that it’s easy for either side to welcome someone new into their life in that way, but this story made it feel so real, so full of hope, and you can feel the love these girls found each other in their chosen families with one another through the pages. Girlhood is so precious and special and I just can’t express how much I loved that it was a huge presence in this book.
Also, Rocket is the true main character of the story, don’t be fooled.
While fall is still in full swing, I need everyone I know who loves a good small-town romance that has the most cozy & wholesome vibes with some added emotional & relational depth to the characters + overall storyline, to read this book!
What to expect in If It Makes You Happy:
???? cozy autumn romance
???? Gilmore Girls x When Harry Met Sally vibes
???? small town in Vermont during the late 90s
???? black cat x golden retriever
???? single dad
???? friends to lovers
???? the dog is the main character
???? opposites attract
???? slow burn
???? innkeeper x local baker
???? emotional, wholesome with some spicy
“I wonder if it’s true. If I’m the only woman who sees him for the man that he is. Funny and sarcastic, but selfless and good. And I wonder if he was made for me, if he’s the only man who will ever see me. I don’t believe in destiny or stars, but I have to believe Cliff’s constellation would align right beside mine.” - Johnny Yim (Johnnysbookreviews)hallmarky but betterPretty straightforward plot. I was engaged the entire way. Honestly, I would love a movie, but this type of plot already has been in several different versions.
Weird to go back in time in the 1990’s when I was born. Kind of nostalgic tbh. - Lisa Eisenbergcute but super predictableI liked it! It was an easy light read. I must go visit Vermont now in the winter time! Also, wish there were some recipes for the baked goods!