I’m not a big fan of small town, Hallmark -esque romances but when a friend recommended If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia, I decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did because this was a good story. This review will have slight spoilers.
I like to give a heat level rating for all books with romance. If you’re curious about my rating system, you can check it out here.
Synopsis:
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.
My Thoughts:
- Rating-
- Heat Level- 🔥🔥🔥🔥
I’ll be honest, this book was more of a 3.5 star read but I have decided to round up because the ending made me cry. It’s not that I thought this was bad in any way, it was just way too long. It’s 510 pages and I would have enjoyed it more if it was around 350 pages.
If you’re familiar with any holiday Hallmark movie, you’ll know exactly where this book is going from the beginning. A business woman from the city meets a hot single dad, who’s also a baker, in a small town… I mean, the storyline is obvious but I did really enjoy the journey to the happy ever after. The characters were all well written but I did get tired of the pointless, chapter filling banter. This is a slow burn romance and it is slow. They hang out, he bakes for her and then they just talk… and talk… and talk.
I would say the romance doesn’t get going until around the 50% point and then it doesn’t really get going until around 75%. However, once it does get going, it’s SO good. I loved the flirting, the spice and just them together. The ending was so sweet that I actually cried and that usually doesn’t happen.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, this was a really good read. If you’re wanting a romance that takes place in the ’90s with that cozy small town vibe, this one is worth reading. Let me know if you plan to check it out! Thanks for reading!
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