This book started slow but, in the end, it made me cry. I wanted to read it because it’s set in Fiji, my favorite place in the world.

After her husband’s death, Kat invites four of her high school friends to come join her in Fiji and make a new life as a group. For one reason or another, their lives were worth casting aside and taking Kat up on her invitation and they all came.

Kat owns and operates a cocoa farm and, eventually and with great excitement, the ladies decide they should produce chocolate. They are all able to contribute to the enterprise including Maya who is spiraling deeper into Alzheimer’s.

Secrets are shared, bonds are strengthened, and there is plenty of love to go around. Including my love of these characters and this book.

Five Norwegian high school friends find themselves on a cocoa plantation on the beautiful island of Fiji after the widowed Kat invites them to leave behind the disappointments in their old lives and start anew. This book is filled with beautiful, lush descriptions of the tropical paradise and populated with charming, eccentric characters. I thought Ostby was particularly skillful in creating five separate female characters. Sometimes with such a large cast of characters there is danger of them all blending together, but that wasn't the case here. Each woman had a distinct voice and personality. The plot never lagged, even in the middle, and the two twists at the end served to keep things interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will recommend to lovers of women's fiction told from multiple points of view.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

What initially drew me to this book was that the central characters are women in their late 60s, almost my age group (note: I said almost). By the end of the book, age is irrelevant as the message is clearly for all.

Kat, recently widowed, sends this letter to her four high school friends in Norway: “I've planted my feet on Fijian earth and I intend to stay here until the last sunset. Why don't you join me? Leave behind everything that didn't work out!” Who could resist? What would I do?

At Kat’s cocoa plantation, they start a gourmet cocoa business, struggle to renew their friendship, eventually become a sisterhood and discover pieces of happiness along the way. ach of the chapters is narrated by one of the six central characters, giving the reader an intimate glimpse into very different lives:

Kat, the volunteer who spent her life traveling around the world and trying to leave it a better place now faces life alone.

Sina, a single mom with an ungrateful child who finally decides to put herself first.

Ingrid, the spinster bookkeeper who lets her alter ego, Wildrid shine.

Lisbeth, the materialistic one whose marriage provided only material things now finds other things to make her happy.

Maya, the retired schoolteacher, so full of knowledge that is now slipping away due to Alzheimer’s.

Ateca, Kat’s Fijian housekeeper who watches, sees, worries and prays over all the women.

To sum up the book, this quote from Ateca says it all:

“The ladies in the house are like a necklace made of shells: from the same beach, but all of them a little different. Each one worries for the next one on the string.”

This was a thoroughly enjoyable book with occasionally poetic writing, great character development and a glimpse into another culture. There was also a point to make for women of all ages, that life is short so enjoy it while you can, we should be kinder to each other and second chances are allowed.

Pieces of Happiness was attractive to me for several reasons - for one, the cover is simply lovely; also I've never read a book by a Norwegian author, especially one that is translated to English from its' original language, which was an exciting prospect; and finally, the story itself sounded like it would draw me in and not let go.

This was a wonderful story about friendship and life as experienced by a group of old friends. Things aren't perfect. People have made mistakes and poor choices, but what comes through in the end is the respect, support and love these people have for each other. We could all hope to have this in our lives. Well done.

I was given an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received an electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Anne Ostby, and Doubleday in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for sharing your hard work with me.

Anne Ostby sets up this novel in the way of many - looking back from middle age to the five or six people who were friends in high school. That is the last of the ordinary in this tale. Their high school is in Norway, at the top of the world. Kat was, then as now, the centering force of the group. She drops all previous life plans to elope into the world with a chance encountered world peace worker and travels with him the hot spots year after year, from global pandemic or environmental crisis to setting up refugee camps, aid stations, digging wells; no time or money for babies until it is too late. And then barely settled into their retirement on Fiji, Niklas dies. Lisbeth is the beauty - not much effort extended to schooling but she knows how to highlight her finer points. And she is willing to trade her finer points for a life of plenty with Harald, not a 'nice' boy at school, but only heir to a building materials fortune. Maya who with her love Hamar enrolls in Teacher's College and follows their planned life together, teaching and raising one daughter, only to lose Hamar to illness and find herself diagnosed with early onset alzheimer's. Sina, sullen, poor, and isolated, raised by a bitter single mother but who inexplicably turns up pregnant senior year and faces a life of single parenthood with limited chances of advancement and a son, Armand, who is still unsuccessfully finding himself at 50. And Ingrid, size 12 feet, solidly single and making no waves, a bookkeeper for the metro bus system in her home town her entire adult life with no changes in sight.

And then the postal letter from Kat, from Korototoka, Fiji, inviting her high school girlfriends to join her on her cocoa plantation in Fiji, see if they can offer each other comfort and support through the last stages of adulthood. Maybe make some chocolate. Can it work? Who will respond?

This is an excellent read, and an author to watch.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Doubleday Books and Anne Ostby for the opportunity to read this wonderful book!

The subtitle of this book says it all - a novel of friendship, hope and chocolate! I really enjoyed this book and a visit to the island of Fiji, which I knew nothing about. Kat is recently widowed and lives on a cocoa farm in Fiji. She gets in touch with 4 of her high school friends and invites them to Fiji. Her plan is to surround herself with her sisterhood of women friends so they can leave behind all that didn't work and challenge each other as they move into their more elderly years (they are all mid-60s).

They all take the challenge and arrive to Fiji with all their accumulated baggage too. Sian has an adult son who expects his mom to bail him out of every misadventure and latest scheme he comes up with. Ingrid has always been happiest alone while Lisbeth has always had the perfect life but is terribly lonely. Maya is having memory issues and her daughter is scared of letting her go to Fiji.

The best part of this book is Ateca, Kat's housekeeper, who prays for her son and each of the women. Her prayers mark the change in chapters and narration from each of the women. I love the way she prays for God to watch over everyone.

At heart, this is just a great story of friendship, the family we make, and of learning about ourselves and each other. And on a chocolate farm no less! Sign me up!

Interesting book about friends reconnecting in their 60’s and living in Fiji. Makes me want to travel

As a story about aging gracefully and figuring out what's really important in life this was a remarkable story. I felt like I was in Fiji with the ladies and living theirs lives with them. I would like to see more from Anne.

It’s not just her feet that are experiencing a new spring in Fiji. Her thoughts, her shoulders, her smile- Ingrid can feel everything becoming looser and smoother.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Sina, Maya, Ingrid, and Lisbeth take up the challenge to live with Kat on her cocoa farm in Fiji! Make chocolate in paradise, feel young and free again, shuck the old weight of their frigid lives and live out what time remains together, once again a sisterhood. Kat was always the one they all wanted to be, felt ‘inadequate’ around, were jealous and proud of. In their sixties, it certainly isn’t golden for all the women. Sina is weighted down by her middle aged son Armand whose middle name could be broke, who bleeds her of money and life. She has up and left it all, for once it is she who will be traveling, not her son! Maya is struggling with dementia, but wouldn’t this be just the thing, to get her engaged mind and body, living again and in such a beautiful place? Maya was my favorite character, with the relationship she forms with a sweet little girl named Maraia, whose name means “star of the sea”. The author takes the fragility of dementia and gives voice to it’s sufferers through Maya. “The scary thing isn’t not remembering. It’s when she remembers that she hasn’t remembered that the dizziness turns into terrified nausea.” Ingrid has been indoors too much, her entire life, all the years, swallowed up by work. Ingrid, solid, and wise. The one who saw, all those years ago, the moment Kat’s leaving ruptured their sisterhood, each flying off in separate directions. She is itching now, the inner Ingrid, to free herself, to grab some adventure and life while the grabbing is good no matter that her brother thinks she’s too old. There will be no whiling away the years for her, sitting around waiting for her pension. Lisbeth’s place in life with Harald and the children had been well established, to be a homemaker. Great when the children were young, but once the nest was empty Harald wouldn’t allow her to help in the store, found it laughable. After all, what did she know of running a business? No, she was best at home, or volunteering, the places her ideas went to die. She won’t be held back now, passionate ideas for chocolate is growing in her. Only her older daughter takes her seriously. She must go, will Harald bother to come bring her back? For Kat, the head of the circle, offering paradise, this was a dream both she and her beloved Niklas birthed together after years spent wandering, traveling, helping others. He loved her, this cocoa farm is proof of that. She is lost without her true mate, but this is the time after Niklas. She doesn’t want it to be just an experiment with her friends. She wants them to be family in their final years.

Ateca is such a wonderful character in this novel, watching and praying over the women. She was saved by Kat and Niklas, given a job when she lost her husband long ago. She knows it is time to look after Kat. She sees things, far more clearly than the women. She knows the women need each other desperately. “Sisters aren’t necessarily born of the same mother.” Ateca is the wisdom throughout the novel, the touch of magic. She has had her own struggles, a native to the land. The island is a gorgeous setting, from working the cocoa to feasting on strange sea creatures, it is more than just a story about sisterhood.

Often novels about women in their later years is stuffy, so of course young people scoff at them. This novel isn’t like that, it has so much heart and beauty. I ached for the women and their regrets, illnesses, as much as cheered on their successes. It was genuine, believable. I would’t say it is women’s fiction only for women of a certain age. I enjoyed this as much as I think my own mother would. What a lovely escape, a reality check in how we can be taken for granted and worse, deny our own selves happiness, but it’s never too late.

Publication Date: August 1, 2017

Doubleday Books

One thing that really attracted me to this story, was that it was about a group of old time friends, who are my age, but age does not really matter to make it an interesting and relevant story.
This is a story about re-connections, about feeling useful and wanted, about finding out that life is still something that can be changed, and enjoyed.
Best friends Kat, Ingrid, Sina, Lisbeth and Maya, were school friends many years ago, in Norway but had not really seen each other in a long time. Now in their 60's, and all wishing something was different in their lives receive an invitation from Kat to leave all behind if they wanted and to come and start a new life with her at her home in Fiji. It was a way for them all to start fresh and re-connect for better or worse.
In Fiji, the women learn about themselves and about their past relationships with each other and coming to grips with their past lives and the lives they will soon create.
This has a great story-line and character development. I think that no matter what age you are, you can connect with the characters and the issues that they each are going through, there is a piece of truth for everyone. This story gives a fun view of some of the Fijian customs, which help these ladies see things in a different light; and the Fijian people depicted in the story are wonderful especially Ateca and Maraia both with such open hearts and the know how to care and embrace what is going on. This is a novel that will stay with me.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the ARC of this book.

Such a fun little trip to Fiji! This is a very unique story and I loved that it was a group of women in their sixties!

This book is a slow read. I was bored out of my mind. Also watching aka reading about Maya losing her mind, I can see daily as my mom had Alzheimer's.

Kat, a Scandinavian woman in her sixties living in Fiji, invites some of her old school friends to join her. I found them all annoyingly obnoxious, and these unlikable characters coupled with the scattered plot and the native cook’s chapters (which consisted of letters to God) reinforced my disappointment with this novel.

An excellent story... I found it to be a 'heavy' read. Probably because I could so readily relate to ladies of a particular age daring to adventure into the next act in the play of their life stories in a really big way. This book is a worthy candidate for a book club read/discussion.. Can you tell that I really liked this story, I hope so.

PIECES OF HAPPINESS was just that, a delightful read that was little pieces of happiness each day that I read chapters of it. The author slowly and methodically revealed the secrets of each character and what had happened in each woman's life in the intervening years before they decide to come together again in Fiji. What a charming idea Kat has to start a new business to make chocolate! And the lives of each woman I are so well intertwined in the story of the making of the chocolate and the life of the native woman Ateca who has a prayer at the end of every chapter or two that the reader waits to read who Ateca will pray for next. The characters are well-developed and varied, fro, Ingrid who has never known real love to Sina who hides from her selfish and greedy son. Then there is Kat who is newly widowed and has issued the invitation to come to Fiji and Lisbeth who just wants to be accepted valuable. And finally there is Maya, a character with health problems who brings the new "family" together in ways that are miraculous because she is a mystery herself. I fell in love with each character for a different reason and would love to have read a sequel about Kat's cocoa empire. The book is outstanding and should be read with a box of tissues handy and a friend that you can share a few laughs with. This is a book that you should definitively read with a book group!

Pieces of Happiness is a great read for the summer and fall!

A wonderful story that proves what I have always said- your best friends are your girlfriends. they are always there for you!!

Though I may pick this up again in the future, I have started it twice and stopped. The mood feels gray and dreary, and is not right for me at this time. As a 66 year old, I had high hopes of a good girlfriend adventure tale, but I can't get past the sad, gritty beginning.

This book is outside the genres I typically gravitate toward, but the description sounded so intriguing that I read it anyway. Its about five women in their late sixties who come together in Fiji to live on a cocoa plantation owned by one of them to start a chocolate business. I was very interested to see how these fictional women handled such a drastic change in their pursuit of happiness, and whether it panned out. Each of the woman has a very different personality and set of circumstances from the others, which made for a great exploration of this concept. However, the complete lack of common ground and real bonding between the women was odd. The women are not close at all in the beginning of the story, and barely more so by the end. This scenario would perhaps ring more true if they were in fact sisters, then they'd at least share that familial bond to explain how they'd all end up together. Nonetheless, it was an interesting, well written story that did shed some light into what it might feel like to be a woman approaching seventy who takes a drastic measure in the hopes of being a bit happier.

I received a copy of "Pieces of Happiness: A Novel of Friendship, Hope, and Chocolate" from NetGalley for an honest review. I wish to thank NetGalley, Transworld Digital, and Anne Ostby for the opportunity to read this book.

I would rate this book 4.5 stars, but I don't have the ability to give half stars in Goodreads. This book is wonderful from the front cover (beautifully done) to the very ending! It has beautiful writing (it was difficult to believe that it was translated from Norwegian), descriptive narratives, and deep character development. I love the different perspective and view by chapter which allowed the reader to really get into the meat of the main characters.

The real reason that I was really interested in this book was that it was about Fiji. Every since I was a little girl, I have ALWAYS wanted to go there. What I truly loved was that I loved the people and Fiji EVEN more after reading this book. It was if Fiji WAS the main character and that the country was the glue that made the story even more beautiful!

I hope that the writer has her writing and writings translated going forward - she has a beautiful style and tells a great story. I highly recommend this book for summer reading!! LOVE!