C Reviews: The Theory of Happily Ever After by Kristin Billerbeck

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Revell
Releases: May 1, 2018
288 pages

About the Book:

According to Dr. Maggie Maguire, happiness is serious science, as serious as Maggie takes herself. But science can't always account for life's anomalies--for instance, why her fiancé dumped her for a silk-scarf acrobat and how the breakup sent Maggie spiraling into an extended ice cream-fueled chick flick binge.

Concerned that she might never pull herself out of this nosedive, Maggie's friends book her as a speaker on a "New Year, New You" cruise in the Gulf of Mexico. Maggie wonders if she's qualified to teach others about happiness when she can't muster up any for herself. But when a handsome stranger on board insists that smart women can't ever be happy, Maggie sets out to prove him wrong. Along the way she may discover that happiness has far less to do with the head than with the heart.

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Kristin Billerbeck's Website

My Rating & Thoughts:    🌟 🌟 🌟    (3 stars)   

I enjoyed this book, however it was not my favorite.  Kristin Billerbeck has been one of my favorite authors for a long time – it was one of her books many years ago that really got me into reading and I have always enjoyed her witty writing, so I was very excited to see a new book by her.  There were several things that I really enjoyed about the book, however there were a couple of things that made this not one of my favorites.  This is written in first person, which I loved.  There were lots of fun moments that had me laughing, and I enjoyed the cruise setting.  The story was an interesting concept, a scientist who is studying happiness; however she is not truly happy herself.

I did enjoy that this was a light easy read, and I liked that there was some depth to the issues that the characters were dealing with.   At first glance, it may seem that Maggie is thrown for a loop due to a breakup with her fiancé.  However her issues went deeper to dealing with unresolved grief from her childhood.  As the story unfolds, we see Maggie starting to deal with her grief, and recognizing that some of the issues that seem to be on the surface are really deeper seated than what they appear.  I found myself not fully connecting with Maggie’s character.  I enjoyed a lot about her – especially her love for Hallmark movies, but at times she felt annoying and repetitive.

I also struggled with the characters of Maggie's best friends. At first it seemed like they had her best interest at heart and were genuinely trying to help her, however as we got further into the story they were more annoying and not very supportive of her, being too critical and just looking out for their own interests.  This didn’t seem to me like how her true adult friends would act towards her.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell through NetGalley.
Opinions expressed in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.