STORY: The best laid plans didn’t work out for Helen Carpenter. But now she’s ready to face what’s next. Part of this in the aftermath of her marriage being over is going on a wilderness hike. The plan is for this to help Helen learn about herself and find the strength she’s let complications rob from her in recent years. happiness for beginners book review
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🌹🌄🌸‘HAPPINESS FOR BEGINNERS’ BOOK REVIEW: A SURPRISING READ🌸🌄🌹 Review of the novel by Katherine Center. #BookReview #Books #Review #BookReviews #ContemporaryFiction #ContemporaryNovel Click To TweetWith her pet secured at a vet’s office, and her travel plans set, the one thing Helen doesn’t want is a tag-along. This is what she gets in Jake. Irresponsible Jake, the best friend of her kid brother, Duncan, Jake is the kind of person she doesn’t need in her life. He’s years younger than her and the kind of mess she doesn’t want around her or her brother. As Helen embarks on this journey, she requests one thing: for Jake to act as though they’re strangers… but what she learns is perhaps what surprises her most.
HAPPINESS FOR BEGINNERS BOOK REVIEW
The first novel by this author I’ve read, I cannot describe this novel… at least not in a way that will do it justice. Based on the plots, cover and other lists, I had a suspicion I’d like her books, but I also didn’t know. It also could be reading this is a one-off and anything else by her I’d find rubbish. However, Happiness for Beginners is no such novel. Before I get into the why of this, we’re best first talk about the cons.
For some, the gap will not sit well. You’ll find it more “creepy” than romantic, and in some instances, I see where this can be a problem. I dislike, more so than anything, the attempts this novel makes at being a “sexy” read with bedroom sequences. It just doesn’t work well and I find them more silly than fitting, for this story. What I do like are the characters. This is one of those ensemble type reads with multiple characters though it’s Helen whose head we stay in.
The book is just one of those reads that I find refreshing. I didn’t know it was something I’d like, and I did wind up quite liking it. The novel flows nicely and I like that characters surprise us. There’s unexpected emotional upheaval and turmoil in the novel both for and because of these characters. It’s also a read that does live nicely up to its title. Additionally, while I adore that the novel has a nice and happy ending, it doesn’t promise to remain this way. We learn challenges lie ahead, but that it’s easier when you find your place and go into life with some sense of what that means and still find just as much to smile about despite the things life will inevitably challenge us with.
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ABOUT THE BOOK
Author: Katherine Center
Publisher: Griffin
Source: Bought
Publication Date: 2015
Genre: Fiction; Contemporary, Secular Fiction, Romance
Rating: ★★★★
Add the Book: Goodreads
Content: there’s 5-10 (through the whole of 300+ pages) uses of the f-word. There’s probably some other minor profanity uses as well. Much talk about kissing and kisses, and who kisses best (aka kissing lessons) or the women a guy kisses. There’s a word game where the participants use sexual terms. A couple passionately makes out in a bed (planning to have sex) before they are interrupted. There’s talk of death and the emotional impact a death had on someone.
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