This was a funny entertaining book. I was not expecting the twist at all with the moms. It made for an entertaining read.

laura hankin gives us a wonderful summer read that gives us a glimpse of the lives of new york city mommy groups, and influencers as seen through the eyes of a struggling artist, claire. things aren't always as they seem.

Super fun and frothy and I loved it. To begin, if you haven't seen Laura Hankin's video about postponing her book tour, go online and see it. It's a great introduction to her personality and you can tell she's probably really funny in real life. The moms in this novel are larger than life, but I felt, in situations that are very relatable to young mothers. The underlying comparison of who has the smartest kid, or the more Instagram worthy life. I liked the story line of the playgroup and Claire's take on the "mommies of the Upper East Side," but the back stories of the characters are what drew me in. It was a fast read and probably a great choice for a lighthearted read during these trying times.

Oh man, this was so much fun, the drama, the tea, the twists! This book becomes darker and darker with every chapter, mysteries and secrets unraveling seamlessly with the plot and you won't see what's coming. I was not prepared and I bet you're not either, but ahhh was it fun! Honestly I was gripped from the start, and the masterfully crafted chaos of the plot was handled perfectly. Everything comes together by the end of the book and I truly enjoyed it.

Hankin’s novel 'Happy and You Know It' was not one I was sure I wanted to read. But my friend wanted to read it, so I decided to do a buddy read with her. I am a mom, but not a wealthy one by any means. And I tend to get a bit jealous of moms who seem to have it all. I have a lot of feelings about this book, I liked the characters, but where this book ended up was not what I was prepared for or thought would happen.

In this book we follow Claire, a 28-year-old trying to find her path in her adult life in New York City. She finds a job as a musician to a mommy playgroup, which consists of six wealthy stay-at-home moms. Claire soon finds out, that not all is as it seems and they aren't as perfect as they seem on the surface. I wanted more good things to happen for Claire and to see her excel and really advance in her music. I felt the ending was a bit rushed especially for her story.

I loved the narration of the story from multiple women’s point of view. It gives a look into the difficulties of motherhood in a realistic way and the struggle to always be the best mom possible.
But wow was I not ready for these twists! I really liked Amara, I get what it's like to be unsure if your child is behind in their developmental stages. But I felt that I wanted more to happen for her and to see more of her moving on and growing, especially with her relationship with her husband.
Whitney I really liked in the beginning and I could see where I thought it was going to go, and it really kind of hurt my opinion of her.

I think often we as mothers compare ourselves to each other and I saw how this book could be for those of us that need to know that they aren't alone. Many people put on a facade and often there's a secret behind those that look like they've got it all figured out. I didn't feel as alone as a mother after reading this book, but I am glad I don't have anything as crazy going on in my life as these mothers' did. I don't think this book is for everyone though. Some really crazy stuff happens in it, that not all mothers can relate to. But I think if you want an escape from your daily life of motherhood and want to say "well damn, I'm glad my life isn't full of that much craziness." Then this might be the book for you.

I really liked the characters in the beginning, I just wanted a lot more from the ending.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

This is ultimately a book about identity. It's for moms and non-moms alike. I love books that take place in the strange and magical world of NYC, and this one did not disappoint.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

This was the book I needed after I finished binge watching Workin’ Moms! Happy and You Know It filled the loss of the funny, quirky, kinda privileged mom’s group that you are obsessed with. In Hankin’s book, musician Claire finds herself in such a spot providing music for the kids in this mom’s group. She’s dazzled by them but also stumbles upon a few secrets. This book is fun with enough twists to keep the reader guessing. I highly recommended it for a great summer read!

●●● TRIGGER WARNING : Substance abuse, adultery.

My thoughts on the book :

Reading Happy and You Know it was such a gripping ride, filled with unexpected twists and turns!

This book showed quite a different side of motherhood during the time where social media and public expectations rule our lives. I’m really young, so I don’t know much about motherhood myself, but boy did I enjoy reading this book! It was extremely bingable and kept me at the edge of my seat with how dark the story got at times.

I really loved how the author didn’t sugarcoat the way in which women have to deal with the changes that motherhood throws over them. The characters are flawed but realistic, you cannot help but connect to them.

The friendships (specially the relationship that Amara and Claire shared) were my favorite part of the book without a doubt. The comedic timings and humor added an extra star to my rating for the book too. 😁

Overall, this book was a really enjoyable read, and an eye-opener about the life of mothers. If you have no problem reading books with the trigger warnings stated, definitely pick it up!

Claire was already spiraling after being kicked out of her band, but things got even worse after they hired a new lead singer and went to the top of the charts with a song Claire helped write. Accepting a job playing music for babies in a playgroup of wealthy moms felt like hitting rock bottom. But as Claire gets to know the moms, she learns she's not the only one hiding some dark secrets.

This book is full of drama, twists, and dark humor. But it's also a really smart commentary on modern parenting and societal expectations for mothers. The characters are so messy and real, and just when I thought I understood them, they kept surprising me. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect when I started it, but I completely loved this book!

As a mother surviving in the midst of playgroups and influencers, this book instantly captured my attention and kept it throughout every page. We follow Claire, a struggling musician turned mommy group entertainer, as she navigates through the upper class NYC society. She is taken under the wing of the moms in her new gig and realizes, as all of us mothers know, that the perfect Instagram moms often have secrets behind the scenes. What follows are twists that are as addicting as the vitamins these moms promote to their adoring public!

This book has been on my radar for months and it’s also been all over my social media and of course it was a Book of the Month selection which made it all the more buzzy!

I really liked the premise of this one, especially as a stay at home mom myself, I thought there would be a lot to enjoy and relate to in this one even if it sounded a little on the darker side.

But the fact that it was getting so much hype kind of worried me, sometimes the hype is real and sometimes it’s just not, but either way I was definitely on board with reading this one!

Summary
A dark, witty page-turner about a struggling young musician who takes a job singing for a playgroup of overprivileged babies and their effortlessly cool moms, only to find herself pulled into their glamorous lives and dangerous secrets….

After her former band shot to superstardom without her, Claire reluctantly agrees to a gig as a playgroup musician for wealthy infants on New York’s Park Avenue. Claire is surprised to discover that she is smitten with her new employers, a welcoming clique of wellness addicts with impossibly shiny hair, who whirl from juice cleanse to overpriced miracle vitamins to spin class with limitless energy.

There is perfect hostess Whitney who is on the brink of social-media stardom and just needs to find a way to keep her flawless life from falling apart. Caustically funny, recent stay-at-home mom Amara who is struggling to embrace her new identity. And old money, veteran mom Gwen who never misses an opportunity to dole out parenting advice. But as Claire grows closer to the stylish women who pay her bills, she uncovers secrets and betrayals that no amount of activated charcoal can fix.

Filled with humor and shocking twists, Happy and You Know It is a brilliant take on motherhood – exposing it as yet another way for society to pass judgment on women – while also exploring the baffling magnetism of curated social-media lives that are designed to make us feel unworthy. But, ultimately, this dazzling novel celebrates the unlikely bonds that form, and the power that can be unlocked, when a group of very different women is thrown together when each is at her most vulnerable. (summary from Goodreads)

Review
While some might take a look at this book and think ‘how unrelateable’ others might take a look and realize they know some moms like this. I was in the ‘I know someone like this’ camp even before I started reading it. So many moms and small mom businesses made motherhood look so amazing and trust me, it’s not when it’s 2 am and you are scrolling through Insta and haven’t showered in 3 days.

The world of stay at home moms is full of those trying desperately to show they have their shit together and social media only exploits that so when I saw that this book was going to take a closer look at that perspective I was intrigued.

This one started out so great. It has a captivating opening and there was just so much promise in the first part of the book, but then toward the end it started to fizzle out for me. The disconnect in pace between the first half and second half is what kept me from giving this one a higher rating than 4 stars.

As I expected or hoped, as a stay at home mom, there was a lot for me to relate to and I loved so many of the scenes. I laughed a lot and some of the scenes and situations caught me right in the feels. This was a very well written story, but I just wish the pace stayed more solid rather than getting bogged down a bit toward the end. Overall I really enjoyed reading this one and it had a lot of substance and heart which is exactly what I was looking for and expecting from this one. Is the hype worth it—for me it absolutely was.

Book Info and Rating
Kindle Edition
Expected publication: May 19th 2020 by Berkley
ASIN B07X2BBFF4
Free review copy provided by publisher, Berkley, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.
Rating: 4 stars
Genre: women’s fiction

A really fun read about a woman trying to regain her identity while juggling her life responsibilities. A great journey towards self identity and self love.

Happy and You Know It is a cross between women's fiction and psychological thriller. It will have readers on the edge of their seats throughout.

Claire's band made it big without her, so she ends up taking a job as a playgroup musician for wealthy Park Avenue mothers and their babies. She gets pulled into the lives of the women paying her and as she gets closer, she learns they all have their own secrets.

The story is filled with plenty of twists while also maintaining this layer of humor. Highly recommended to readers who enjoy women's fiction.

This book was lovely. I’ve been reading so many heavy books lately and this was such a refreshing palate cleanser. And let’s be honest, that cute cover pulled me in, as they often do. 🙌🏼
-
It’s about a girl named Claire who just got kicked out of her band pretty much the day before they became famous. She’s looking for gigs and stumbles upon a weekly music playgroup gig for some fancy NYC moms. There are great characters, cute dialog, and even some intrigue and mystery.
-
The main thing I loved about this book is how it showed that women without kids can be friends with women with kids. As someone who doesn’t have kids that can sometimes feel like a barrier to getting closer to woman who do have them. The friendships among all the women were my favorite part.
-
I did get a bit nervous at first thinking this entire book was going to feel like a mom blog, but it didn’t. I have a major respect for new moms. You know how hard they work, but the mental side seems even tougher!
-
The entire time I was reading, I kept imagining this as a movie, which I don’t normally do. I think this book would be a perfect little flick. I’m already starting to cast it. 😂
-
Give this one a read, my friends if you’re looking for a fun and charming weekend sort of book.
-
A big thank you to @penguinrandomhouse and @netgalley for the opportunity to read the ARC and review this fantastic book!

Happy and You Know It by Laura Hankin is a Book of the Month pick so you know it’s good! This was an enjoyable read, entertaining, and thought-provoking. I always like a book that is set in New York City and I think a lot of us can relate to the motherhood issues in this story.

Synopsis:

After her former band shot to superstardom without her, Claire reluctantly agrees to a gig as a playgroup musician for wealthy infants on New York’s Park Avenue. Claire is surprised to discover that she is smitten with her new employers, a welcoming clique of wellness addicts with impossibly shiny hair, who whirl from juice cleanse to overpriced miracle vitamins to spin class with limitless energy.

There is perfect hostess Whitney who is on the brink of social-media stardom and just needs to find a way to keep her flawless life from falling apart. Caustically funny, recent stay-at-home mom Amara who is struggling to embrace her new identity. And old money, veteran mom Gwen who never misses an opportunity to dole out parenting advice. But as Claire grows closer to the stylish women who pay her bills, she uncovers secrets and betrayals that no amount of activated charcoal can fix.

There is also a little suspense here which I always appreciate in a book and some plots didn’t go as I expected which I always love!

Get it here!

Synopsis:
Musician Claire is recovering from a recent breakup with her band, who has just broken through and is now topping the charts with a mega-hit “Idaho Eyes.” And by recovering, she is avoiding the radio, sinking deeper into depression, alcohol, one-night stands and depleting her meager funds at a rapid pace. She finds a gig, demeaning as it is, to play music for babies for a wealthy playgroup. The playgroup is headed by the delightful Whitney- perfectly put together Manhattanite (think mom Barbie and husband corporate Ken) with a burgeoning Instagram account. The group of mothers is made up of six vastly different characters, but collectively make up a glamorous mom-group that all other moms would be envious of, put together, fit, and of course, fiercely competitive. Claire quickly finds herself being drawn into the group of women whom she admires. Mystery infiltrates in the background, which comes to a head when several shocking discoveries are made.

My thoughts:
I will be honest- I hated Claire. I didn’t like her or her woe-is-me attitude, her need to self-destruct or her desire to lose herself with one-night stands. It was almost too much. Despite that, I did happen to love many of the other characters- Whitney’s back story was fascinating, and I loved how the story revealed her past, lending new perspective to the “Barbie” we were introduced to. Amara’s story is also super relatable- not as wealthy as the others in the group, she was working and making a name for herself before motherhood put her on a different path. Even Vicki, the quiet, breastfeeding hippie of the group brings a little intrigue to the table. I loved the underlying mystery – which I don’t want to reveal, and though the wrap up on it was a bit farfetched, it was highly entertaining. I enjoyed this book for what it was, a semi satire on motherhood, wealth, becoming instafamous and finding your way in a world that is not always what it appears to be.

I'm of two minds about this book. In some ways, it's cute and funny and snarky. But in the other, more prominent way, it's a dark look at motherhood and what our quest as mothers to do everything and be everything and be perfect wives and mothers can lead us to do.
There are a lot of characters and I think for a while I got lost in them and had a difficult time keeping them separate. I don't know that the author needed to immerse us in the backgrounds of all of the members of the playgroup and of Claire, but in the end it was ok and didn't detract too much.
For a long time, I didn't really have any characters to root for. I liked Claire, but the others had their good and bad moments and didn't endear me to them at all. So much lying and some cheating, and everyone is just on the razor's edge of keeping it together which can be draining on the reader after a while with no one positive to root for.
I loved the premise--a musician to entertain the babies and toddlers of wealthy women. There's also a bit of a mystery and the ending is decent. Overall a worthwhile read.

I'm in a fan of anything involving rich New Yorkers, so I was in for this one right from the start. This book was snarky and fun, and super enjoyable. I flew through it.

I absolutely loved this book! It took an interesting look into the world of well-off NYC stay-at-home mom's. It was both funny and thrilling. I highly recommend!

This book is an absolute romp but written with a deft hand. Hankin has masterfully created multidimensional characters full of empathetic flaws to create an ensemble of personalities that truly shine. I was particularly fond of Amara and could certainly see her shine in a film or TV adaptation. The twist near the end is unexpected and Hankin has planted tiny seeds that are practically imperceptible to the reader and yet they all make sense in the end. Absolutely recommending to our audiences!

Podcast interview with Laura Hankin will go live on June 25 at feministbookclub.com/podcast