Title: If it makes you happy
Author: Julie Olivia
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Genre: Romance
Pages: 513
My Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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If It Makes You Happy

Michelle Cadell is a businesswoman who loves her job in Seattle. She recently got divorced, and her mother Birdie passed away. Initially, Michelle’s sister Sara was going to take over the B&B, but she has to finish school first. So now Michelle is running the B&B for a few months. But it turns out to be harder than she expected. She isn’t good at small talk, and baking isn’t her best skill either. Luckily, her neighbor Cliff, also divorced and raising two daughters, steps in to help her.

Review

Obsessed!!! No, I am dead serious. This book was pure perfection. At first, I wasn’t sure. The cover looked very cute with perfect fall vibes and a cute dog, but it also had around 500 pages, which is a lot for a romance novel. Most romances are around 200–400 pages, so I was a little worried there would be too many boring parts.

The setting is different from other books I’ve read lately. It’s still a small-town romance, and I read a lot of those, but this one takes place in the 90s. I was born in the early 90s, so I basically grew up in those years, and this book brought back a lot of amazing memories, like taking photos with a disposable camera, renting movies, and all that. Those were some of my favorite things as a kid.

The characters are great. Michelle is a businesswoman, but she doesn’t know how to run a B&B and she isn’t great at baking or small talk. Cliff, on the other hand, is amazing at those things. I loved how everyone helped each other. Michelle is new, but people still want to support her with running the B&B, which is one of the things I love about small towns. Cliff’s daughters, Emily and Brittany, were adorable too. Emily is a teenager who just got her first boyfriend, and Brittany is a lot younger and loves Rocket, Michelle’s dog.

This book gave cozy fall vibes and nostalgic 90s vibes, which was pure perfection. My two favorite things in one book. And honestly, the 500 pages didn’t feel that long. It was such a cute love story. I loved how there was an epilogue from Rocket’s (the dog’s) point of view, which was both fun and adorable. And that extra chapter about New Year’s Eve 1999 was amazing. I was only seven at the time, but I still remember how big of a deal it was that we went from 1999 to 2000, and people were afraid computers were going to crash.

If you’re looking for a book with cozy fall vibes set in the 90s, you should definitely read this one. I know it’s only September and I still have a lot of fall romances on my list, but I already know this will be one of my favorites.

The post If It Makes You Happy – Julie Olivia | Book Review first appeared on A happy life.

There’s something magical about fall: the crisp air, the golden leaves, the cozy sweaters, and of course, curling up with a good book while sipping a hot drink. For me, fall is the ultimate reading season. It’s when I fill my shelves with cozy romances, magical adventures, and comforting stories that match the season’s vibe. This year, I’ve put together a list of books I can’t wait to dive into during autumn. From pumpkin-spice love stories to heartwarming romances and even a little magic, these are the stories that will keep me company on cozy fall nights.

Cozy Fall TBR: Books I want to Read This Fall

1. Falling Like Leaves – Misty Wilson
Goodreads describtion says: Gilmore Girls meets Jenny Han. I love both, so obviously I have to read this book. It has a beautiful cover that is giving us fall vibes, just like most of the books on this list. It is a teen rom-com about a city girl stuck in a quaint small town who must confront her future and her old flame while the town prepares for an annual fall festival.

2. People Watching – Hannah Bonam-Young
I absolutely love this cover and while I have never read a book by Hannah, I have heard many great stories about her books. In this sexy and emotional romance from the acclaimed author of Out of the Woods and Out on a Limb, a small-town woman’s journey to spread her wings intertwines with the arrival of an adventurous newcomer who brings out the best in her.

3. Soul Searching – Lyla Sage
I loved Lyla’s Rebel Blue Ranch series and now she is back with a different book, still small town vibes. Collins Cartwright does not want to go home. Sweetwater Peak, Wyoming, was supposed to be in her rearview mirror, but when she finds out a developer is trying to buy her parents’ antique shop out from under them, she doesn’t have a choice—at least, that’s what she tells her family. They don’t need to know she’s lost her job and is out of money. Or that the ghosts that have always been her companions have recently gone silent.

4. Rewitched – Lucy Jane Wood
When you say Fall, you also say Halloween and Witches. This book is about Lunar. Balancing work at her beloved Lunar Books with protecting it from her toxic boss, who’s running it into the ground, and all the while concealing her witchcraft from the non-witches around her – Belle is burnt out. Perfecting the potential of her magic is the last thing on her mind.

5. Fall at Once – Nora Everly
Another romance book, because most of the time I love to read romance. This time a book about a firefighter, I don’t think I ever have read a book about firefighter but I am so ready for it. Fall at Once is part of the Cozy Creek Collection of small-town standalones, it is a steamy, full-length romantic comedy. It is the third book in the series, so I might read the other books first.

6. Love and Lattes at Pumpkin Hollow – Victoria Walters
Willow Connor has one shot to save her family’s farm – turning it into Birchbrook’s first ever pumpkin patch. There’s just one she has exactly zero pumpkins and only six weeks to make it happen. Everyone in the close-knit town thinks she’s crazy, but she’s determined to prove them wrong. And apparently this is the perfect book for the fans of the Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore.

7. Cat Dragon – Samantha Birch
The cover is everything! The description on Goodreads says: Embrace the magic as this delightful tale weaves a cozy spell of adventure, self-discovery, friendship and romance. For fans of Studio Ghibli, Harry Potter, The Spellshop and cottagecore.

8. Fall I Want – Lyra Parish
The first book in the series. FALL I WANT is a spicy autumn-inspired small-town romantic comedy with a billionaire who falls first and harder. Grab a pumpkin spice latte, a warm fuzzy blanket, and make your way down to Cozy Creek. Each book in the series is a complete stand alone with a happily ever after.

9. If It Makes You Happy – Julie Olivia
I mean, this book has a dog on the cover. Michelle’s 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. Michelle, on the other hand, don’t–at all–have anything figured out.

10. A Love Like Pumpkin Spice – Hailey Frost
I swear, the cover for fall romances this year are so good. The tropes for this book are: Small-town romance ✨ Found family ✨ Friends to Lovers ✨ Emotional healing FMC ✨ Cinnamon roll MMC ✨ Cute pets ✨ Cozy Autumn vibes ✨ He falls first. Sounds pretty good to me.

11. Kindling – Bonnie Woods
When city-girl Harper arrives in the Caledonian Forest in Scotland, her hopes for her holiday are quickly dashed. She’d planned a whimsical, autumnal writing retreat, to finish her novel. But ghosted by her scammer rental host, she discovers that the cosy log cabin she’d booked for her solo getaway does not actually exist. Miles away from any hotel, she wanders through the woods until she finds the hot local woodcutter Fraser.

12. Death of a Kitchen Diva – Lee Hollis
The first book in a series with many books. Single mom Hayley Powell is barely keeping her leaking roof over her head when her boss at the Island Times gives her a new assignment–taking over the paper’s food column. When rival food writer Karen Appelbaum is found face-down dead in a bowl of Hayley’s creamy clam chowder, all signs point to Hayley. 

🍂 Final Thoughts

This list is my fall TBR, but it’s also an invitation. Maybe you’ll find a story here that calls to you too. There’s nothing better than welcoming autumn with books that warm your heart, spark your imagination, and make you feel the season even more deeply.

The post Cozy Fall TBR: Books I Want to Read This Fall 🍂📚 first appeared on A happy life.