Disclaimer: Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing If It Makes you Happy by Julie Olivia for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia is a cozy, small town fall romance where Michelle, a divorced ads executive, finds herself running her late mom’s dream bed and breakfast inn. Michelle’s intentions are to run Bird & Breakfast until her little sister Sara graduates from college, but she finds herself very attracted to the town’s golden boy, single-dad Cliff who is a baker and Michelle’s next-door neighbor.
This book was the coziest, most wholesome love letter. It is full of charm, spice, pastries and a delicious slow burn romance. It felt like the perfect ode to fall with its depiction of friendship, being a single dad, and navigating love after divorce. It felt like a warm hug and was basically everything I’m looking for in a contemporary romance. Did I mention there is a dog in this book and it is basically one of the main characters?
Read my full ARC review of If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia in this post.
If It Makes You Happy
Description
Grab your favorite fall candle, cuddle into a comfy blanket, and travel back in time to 1997 autumn in Vermont in this cozy, slow-burn romance.
My new next-door neighbor seems to have everything figured out. Small town golden boy? Check. Single dad extraordinaire? Check. Hot baker forearms? I didn’t notice them, I swear.
I, on the other hand, don’t–at all–have anything figured out. Trust me, I didn’t think taking over my mom’s dream bed and breakfast in Copper Run Vermont was going to be easy. It should be a good place to heal after my divorce. But apparently my scones belong in the garbage with my small talk skills. As pointed out by none other than Cliff.
Cliff is inescapable. He knows exactly what people need–always. His charm, the way he wears flannel, and even his pastries, make not wanting to be friends with Cliff and his daughters pretty hard.
Friends? I can make friends. That’s safe. Except I’m leaving in three months to pass the inn off to my little sister and get the promotion in Seattle I’ve been working towards. So ask me why I’m thinking about kissing my hot neighbor.
Tropes
- Friends to Lovers
- Small Town
- Black Cat Girl x Sunshine Guy
- Single Dad
- Slow Burn
- Found Family
What kind of content would you like to see more of?
What kind of content would you like to see more of?
Overall Impressions 😊
I loved this so much. The entire story takes place in the fall of 1997 and it was such a refreshing change of pace from the world of phones and internet that we read so much about. I love reading hot single dad romances, and honestly, although I loved Cliff and Michelle’s story, I stayed for Michelle’s growing relationship with Brittany and Emily.
The book does a fantastic job of taking you to Copper Run Vermont, and every page is adorned with fall staples: scones and flannel-wearing nosy townspeople. It’s basically a holiday Hallmark movie complete with good banter and opinionated pets.
Perfect For Fans Of… 🌟
Did you want to go back to Stars Hollow after Gilmore Girls ended? Do you love watching holiday movies where the hotshot city woman falls in love with the local single dad extraordinaire?
If you’re an avid romance reader who loves cozy love stories and is always on the lookout for pure romcom magic set in the ultimate small town setting, this one is for you.
Characters 👥
So, the FMC and MMC are pretty cliché, but that’s kind of the trademark of a good Hallmark movie.
Michelle is the hot, brunette, ads executive from Seattle who’s left by her husband for being too old and serious. (She’s 30. Allen sucks anyway, he abandons their dog, ffs). She’s somehow has terrible small talk skills, is a certified rainy day enthusiast and has walls up.
Cliff is the hot neighbor who has no boundaries, is a great dad and a ball of sunshine, determined to break down Michelle’s walls. Cliff’s personality consists of being a good dad and having hot baker forearms.
Pretty standard characters, although a classic is a classic for a reason.
Emily and Brittany, Cliff’s daughters, are charming, Emily is the eldest daughter whom her mother resents and Brittany, Rocket’s new best friend from the get-go. Very cute.
The townspeople are charming as well, Lisa and George are the friends, Lars and Carol are comedic relief relatives. It has all the makings of a romantic comedy and the humor of a close friend groups you love to see in these types of books. Nothing new but the cozy familiarity is what this book is selling.
Plot 🗺️
This book is told like a slice of life small town romance set between September and December. I’m partial to this time frame because the Thanksgiving to Christmas stretch is my favorite time of the year.
So let’s cover what’s good. I loved seeing Michelle trying to find herself after her divorce and being labeled a promotion hungry business partner. Not to mention her mom basically being the town’s mom while she had a very different childhood, something I can deeply relate to. I don’t particularly love the serious robot business woman learns to people from hot nice guy trope, but I knew that going into this book so it didn’t bother me. I liked seeing the same storyline play out in Emily’s life.
The love story was expected. There’s pining, yearning and although it was advertised as “a lot of spice” the book is actually pretty tame compared to what else is out there. That being said, I wasn’t in this for the spice so I’m good with what I got.
What I didn’t love is how the main driver of the plot, Michelle’s relationship with her mom, never gets resolved, considering her presence in this small town is due to that relationship. I was looking for an emotional moment under the autumn glow of small-town Vermont but didn’t get that.
It’s also a bit long. Contemporary romance has should not be more than 350 pages in my opinion so I really want the authors to reel it in a bit.
Writing Style and Narration ✍️
The prose is great. It’s a love letter to fall full of cozy sentences, perfectly imperfect characters making small talk and their lives layered in the best parts of the autumn season. The tenderness and affection in the perfect cozy romance genre make you feel like you’re right in the middle of a nostalgic tale of love from the very first chapter. It’s like a cozy hug for your soul while you’re under a comfy blanket with the beautiful backdrop of the fall.
Every page of this brilliant book has the right amount of tension, and Julie’s characters come to life in this small town.
And the epilogue, my goodness, such a fun literary device and it had me happy sobbing by the end of the book. So great and full of warmth. It’s a big, fat giant, absolute perfection of a love letter to fall indeed.
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Spicy Chapters
How Spicy is If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia: 🌶️🌶️
Crunchy leaves, cozy love, your perfect fall read awaits. 🍁📖
If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia is a lovely contemporary romance, full of well-established clichés in the best way possible.
For fans of gentle love stories, nostalgic girlies, and those who find romance comfort while reading stories of the most endearing opposites, this delicious romance is a must-read. It’s basically a Christmas movie taking place over the fall.
It is one of my new favorite cozy romances, and I would read an entire series about Brittany and Rocket’s adventures.
Did you read any other cozy romances lately? Or single dad romances? Let me know your favorites in the comments!
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