Did not want to put this book down, and I mainlined it on a Sunday after bingeing through 20% the previous night. The story just flowed, and it came to life so beautifully. Was it very realistic? Heck no, but that's also why we read - to escape reality and find a world of ordinary magic that sweeps you away. This book had this for me, from the many characters with their quirks (and may I point out how clearly defined they were, even the little side characters that just pop in now and again, like Umbrella Woman and her fragile-looking Greyhound). I'm not a dog person (cat person here, but dogs are cute and loyal, I reckon that) but this made me smile at the animals' antics, at their descriptions, their distinct personalities.
The only thing I did scoff at a bit was that the ending/last 10% felt a bit rushed...but then again, I loved spending time in this world, so seeing it come to an end was bittersweet for me.
Laughs, smiles, chills, tears (I cried buckets in a scene, and the tear-jerker moment was less than 10 lines long, I swear!) - loved, loved, loved the feels in this story.
My first read by Stewart Lewis - definitely not going to be my last!

This book is exactly what we all needed!.
A light-hearted romance, filled with a cast of unique, quirky characters and a truly gorgeous storyline.
I loved following the leading ladies story as she began to piece her life back together, and in turn, the things she learnt about herself along the way.
A lovely, enjoyable book that I would happily recommend to others.

Happily Whatever After is EXACTLY the kind of book that got me through 2020 relatively unscathed. Light, fluffy, cute romance, quirky cast of character, cute dogs. In a tale as old as time, our MC Paige loses her job and boyfriend in the same day, and has to relocate and put her life back together and the ripe old age of 34. I enjoyed reading her figure things out, meet all these people, and life happily ever after. I do take issue with the marketing of this book as a "dark comedy", which it is decidedly not. It's fun, and sometimes kind of silly, but I wouldn't classify this as a comedy whatsoever.

Fast paced book and I really enjoyed it. Good story line and I think people are gonna love it. I would definitely read again and recommend

Considering the blurb had romantic comedy and dogs in it, I was totally excited about this book.
Fabulous imagery like "We lived above a bakery so our apartment smelled like butter and hope" are peppered through the story of a woman who's life has literally gone to the dogs.

Once she begins the journey of starting over, she discovers how much of herself she let go and how good it is to regain.

Lovely journey of what happens when life rips the rug out from underneath you and how amazing you can become when you decide to stand up and try again.

Such a great book! It wasn’t exactly what I expected but turned out to be delightful. Great comedy, some romance sprinkled in and then removed and sprinkled back in. New friendships forming and a lot of self discovery. Tragedy hits and then makes everyone put their lives into perspective. It’s a really feel good book that you finish with a smile. Great writing, doesn’t start to slow in the middle and it ends perfectly. Great read!

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read a free advance copy of this book. Unfortunately I hadn't found time during the year to read this book, and so I will be picking up a paid copy in 2021 to support the author instead as an apology.

I'll be honest, I had been reading this book for months before finishing it. The blurb is simple and honestly, had me expecting a lot from this book. I was looking forward to a well-established, consistent, even turbulent romance, solid friendships, and - getting a little into the book - some cutesy family time. Instead what I got was a lot of potential and missed opportunities.

Starting with the main character: Page, a thirty-something woman who recently lost her job and her partner is now staying with her super-rich brother. She finds refuge in a dog park, where she meets many people who will dictate the course of her life and will help her achieve her dreams.
Page started off as an extremely judgemental, privileged, focused person - though her focus for about half the book was just falling in love and ending up with someone.
By the end, though she did grow out of the judging-everyone-before-they-open-their-mouth habit, she still did not feel different. I was unable to connect with her, not just because I'm way younger but also because the writing did not allow for me to form an emotional connection with her.

The writing was good, but I felt that in many places, there was inconsistency on part of the author; they neglected to carry over certain desires or emotions or even people - everything felt very temporary and two-dimensional. As if once I was done reading that chapter, I had to move on and not carry anything in it with me because I would not see or hear of a certain thing or person until their next appearance.
This just did not give me enough motivation to continue reading; there was no flow to the book.

The characters also felt very "i'm just existing" and did not seem like they had a life of their own. It is somewhat difficult to portray this but I think there was a lot of potential lurking behind the lines; it was just not taken,

Now, onto what I did like about this book:
I quite liked the writing. It was not cumbersome or overwhelming and was easy to get into. If it had been coupled with a little more care for the plot and characters, I think this book really could have shone through.

The next thing I quite liked was the relationship between Page and Brady. I could see that there was real love and companionship with them, like the mature sibling pair they are.

I loved all the scenes with dogs in it, which are everywhere, thankfully. I like how the author gave the dogs lines such as agreeing with what people said, or even seem to be expressing concern. It's a very human thing to see one's emotions reflected in animals, and I think they nailed it with this book.

TL;DR: A book with a lot of missed potential; an average read with some things to look forward to.

Another one I wanted to love but just didn’t. This is my first romance by a man and it just missed the mark for me. Maybe I’m to picky about my romances now

This book didn't hook me the way I had hoped. It didn't draw me in and have me investing in the storyline.

Thank you for the copy of Happily Whatever After. I was intrigued by the cover and synopsis for this one. I tried to pick it up a few times, but I was not able to connect with the story line and characters.

Unfortunately, it did not work for me. I'm sure that others will like it and I have seen several favorable reviews for it. Thank you again for the opportunity to read Happily Whatever After.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. I will not be sharing my thoughts/reviews outside of Netgalley in a review

This book is a sweet story on second chances. It’s a fast and easy read with likable characters. I loved the chance encounters at the dog park. What could be better?! When reading this book you will laugh and cry. If you’re looking for a good romance to read, I recommend this one!

A lot of potential but I couldn't bring myself to like Page so didn't fit so well with me. I ended up DNFing about 50% in but this would be a great book for the right reader.

This was a fun witty read! Page was such an endearing protagonist and despite her being a little annoying, I still rooted for her throughout the story. As a dog-lover, I loved how dogs were also a central theme within the novel.
In terms of the plot, it was very fun and relatable. However, I expected something a bit more.

Overall, this was a solid read and I recommend if you're looking for a light, rom-com with interesting characters (and dogs)!

This book sounded like it would be right up my alley, however it's hitting a little close to home right now. I'm hoping to give it another shot in the future when things in my own life is looking up but for now I won't be continuing it for my own mental health.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own

1 Star
This book was not memorable at all. I was intrigued by the premise and went into this super excited but I was underwhelmed by all of it. I could not like Paige and frankly, I wasn't interested in her story at all because she was kind of wishy-washy in her choices and was so stubborn that I could not agree with anything that she did. about 60% into the book I was still not interested and I could not care less what happened to Paige.

This was a great book to read during lockdown. I felt transported to DC and loved the adventures and mishaps that kept happening throughout the story.

As long as it isnt me living it, I love a solid breakup story, rising from the ashes moment.

I loved everything about this novel: the snappy dialogue, the engaging characters and their personal and professional journeys, the vibrant backdrop of Washington, D.C.'s trendy neighborhoods, and a behind the scenes look at the art and dog park worlds. Stewart Lewis expertly brings all of this together to leave the reader both laughing out loud, reaching for a tissue and celebrating the large and small triumphs of Page, the woman at the center of this heartfelt journey

When I read a rom-com, I want something light-hearted, fast-paced, and easy to read. I want dialogue that doesn't make me cringe and characters that I can relate to (but not too much, it is fiction after all!) This book definitely fit that bill, for the most part - I liked the pacing and short chapters, I enjoyed the almost stream-of-consciousness writing style, and the dialogue was crisp. I liked the character development, and I found myself rooting for the main character, Page - but dangit if she didn't annoy me sometimes! I understand that light romances like this have to have some contrived situations, but Page sure did some shady stuff and never once suffered a consequence! I found myself waiting for the other shoe to drop and when it didn't, I kind of found it wishing that it would!

I will say, if you love dogs, this book is for you! I loved the insight into the "dog world." And as a former DC resident, I absolutely loved the setting of this book - it was so wonderful and nostalgic.

If you are looking for a dynamic read, if you love big cities and big dogs, and if you're not afraid to be a bit exasperated with a character or two, you should give this book a try.

Page arrives at her brothers’ apartment in Washington exhausted, broke, newly dumped by her boyfriend of 4 years and newly fired from her art gallery job.

Single, somewhere in her mid-thirties and unemployed is not how Page envisioned her life. She spends most of her time at the local dog park even though she doesn’t have a dog. But, this is where she meets a plethora of colourful characters, each bringing a little light back into her life. With their help and the assistance of her beloved big brother, Page slowly starts to rebuild.

Some of the sassy humour in this book is brilliant. The way Page handles questions from elitist women about her job, romantic life, etc is fantastically funny.

The story is almost like a Rom-Com, but rather than the focus being on a romantic relationship with a man (although there is a good bit of that), it’s more of a ‘learning to love yourself’ type of journey. However, it also reads a bit like a patronising self-help book at times. We can’t all wander into a dog park, randomly make friends with the weirdly rich and friendly strangers within and have life just magically sort itself out for us. It was all just a bit too perfect at times. Although, I could also argue that because Page decides to say ‘why not’ to any opportunity that comes her way, she opens herself up to new experiences and chances in her life.

I spent the whole book swinging between the two opinions. One minute I’m loving the self-empowerment, step outside your normal routine and see what new and exciting opportunities present themselves – vs the next minute where I’m feeling ire because it doesn’t just magically work that way for normal, real-life people.

Does it???

Then, when reflecting back I wondered if my mixed feelings were due to a culture clash. What I mean by that is, this is a book about Americans set in America where a lot of the characters are endlessly, exhaustively optimistic.

If people in shops and cafes started smiling and genuinely wishing you a “great day” in England, the way TV, cinema and books, suggest that they do in America, I for one would be thinking “you too, you sarcastic shit”. I wouldn’t for one minute believe that they were being sincere.

So perhaps this is the reason why I struggled at times to find this book authentic.

What I found really impressive, is the fact that this book is written from a woman’s perspective, and I completely forgot that this book was written by a man while I was reading. Normally I find it quite obvious when someone is writing from the perspective of the opposite sex.

By and by I did enjoy the story. I liked the characters and it’s a feel-good, happy story. Which with the current climate is a little of what we all need.