What a beautiful book. It is a quiet book... not packed with action but that is appropriate. It takes you into the journey of Harley, a black gay man, as he deals with his anxiety and depression and begins to find self acceptance. This is not a gay romance story... it is an intimate journey through one man's mental health issues and the impact they have on his life. Topics touched on are family rejection, suicidal ideation, toxic relationships, identity and friendship. Through it all, we see Harley experience the Small Joys of life and how they impact his recovery. For a debut novel, it has great depth, vulnerability and heart. I look forward to more from this author.

Wow, I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did! There are not many things better (and more important) in this world than a friendship filled with comfort and love. The author did such a tremendous job portraying how a beautiful opening up and connecting to someone can literally transform a life. This book deals with many heavy topics, so read the content warnings before diving in. I felt so much hurt, so much love, and eventually so much hope for our main character, Harley. The friendship that develops between him and Muddy is nothing short of magic, and the writing style was so beautiful and portrayed every emotion in such a raw, heartfelt way. I felt all the feelings, cried (more like sobbed) all the tears, and finished the book feeling optimistic and looking at life and people through a new lens. This was a phenomenal debut and I'm excited to read the author's future works.

"I'd always felt like a weed growing among flowers, competing for light and water: too neglected to be picked, but somehow too weak to be a threat to anything. But, in the end, these flowers had given me something, they'd arranged themselves around me, and made me feel as if I were one of their own" (Mensah, 2023).

Mensah's Small Joys follows Harley as he moves back to rural England and comes face-to-face with the challenges he has desperately tried to leave behind. Harley finds that his current life is not worth living and makes a decision to end his life. However, he is ultimately saved - in more ways than one - by his fellow flatmate, Muddy. Muddy ends up showing Harley that life is worth living and worth second chances at happiness. Despite their differences, the two become fast friends. Small Joys is a heartwarming story about growth, acceptance, and finding your "people."

I'll be honest, I almost gave up on this about 30% of the way through. It was moving so slowly and did not seem to be going anywhere. I sympathized with Harley and felt his pain, but at times, it just felt whiny. However, once I hit the halfway point, I was fully invested in Harley and Muddy's journey. Their friendship is one that everyone needs to have in their life. There are quite a few sensitive topics in the novel (self-harm, mental illness, homophobia, abuse), so if those are an issue, I would pass on this one. Also, if you are not English and are not up-to-date on your slang, be prepared to be a little confused at times. It is very slang heavy - but only requires you to re-read a sentence once or twice to get a general idea.

Overall, this gets a 3/5 due to the pacing and heavy English slang. If you are looking for a good LGBTQIA+ book, give this one a try!

Honestly it was difficult for me to get into the book due to its slow start. I may not be the right audience for this book, however I do see it being successful and I know there will be readers who will love this book more than me. I do look forward to the author’s future works.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for e-arc.

This was an absolutely beautiful and touching story of friendship, the search for belonging, self-love and chosen family. I highly recommend this read to everyone. I will be buying this when it’s released widely! Thank you to NetGalley and Elvin James Mensah for this opportunity. Truly touched by this story.

#SmallJoys by #ElvinJamesMensah lives up to its description. It is a character- and emotion-driven story following Harley, who has dropped out of college and returned home to rural England. Harley moves back into a house with his friend, Chelsea and her new roommate Muddy with whom Harley has complicated feelings, while he starts working again. The layers here are that Chelsea, Muddy, and two other friends Noria and Finlay, have dated each other. There are multiple instances of harm in the book as well as homophobic violence toward two of the characters and difficult relationships between Harley and his father. So there are definitely trigger warnings throughout the entire book. That being said, I enjoyed the interplay between the characters--especially between Muddy and Harley. I did have trouble with Finlay although i realize he was supposed to be a "difficult" friend. Overall I have mixed feelings on the book, but I appreciate what the author was going for. This would be a good adult purchase for public libraries. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC. 3.5 stars rounded up.

I could not finish this book even though I tried. It read like a series of ramblings that went nowhere. There was no real depth to the characters, only light glimpses of how they got to where they were in life. Some characters felt like page fillers.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Harley, having just dropped out of uni is back living with Chelsea, and a new roommate, Muddy. Harley has social anxiety and is depressed, but Muddy latches onto Harley and turns his world around. This book is about friendship, chosen family, and the daily struggles with anxiety and depression. It takes a village, even in adulthood. This book was written so well and moved at a decent pace. I didn't want it to end.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Harley is a young, gay, black man who is struggling with life. He drops out of university and moves in with a cast of diverse roommates—one of whom he has a particular connection with named Muddy.

The book is hard to read in terms of what Harley has faced, in particular with his father, but touching in all of the bonds he makes through his struggles with depression and his need for human connection and belonging.

The book is very slow—a lot of dialogue, and very British, but wonderful for its exploded moments and interactions where you really get to know the diverse characters.

Thank you to Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC.

Small Joys is a moving debut novel by Elvin James Mensah highlighting the importance of found family. In it, we meet Harley, a gay Black man who has just dropped out of college and moves back to his hometown in England. He returns to the shared apartment he used to live in with Chelsea, his friend who took him in after a fallout with his father, and a new roommate Muddy who could not be any different from Harley. He is a bird watcher, close with his grandfather, but also an athlete. His close group of friends also includes Finlay, a close friend of Muddy's who is now dating Chelsea, and Noria who is dating Muddy at the beginning of the novel.

Harley and Muddy develop an intense bond with one another, brought closer by Muddy's strong need to be there for Harley during his mental health struggles. All four friends support one another; though they are all different, their bond is strong and it is easy to root for all of them through their nuanced portrayals (they don't fit into stereotypes). Muddy and Harley become quite physically close as well and it is interesting to see the evolution of their relationship and I really appreciated (no spoilers) revelations on Muddy, which are not often highlighted in literature. This book does not shy away from issues around depression, trauma, and family struggles so readers should be aware.

This is a quiet gem of a debut novel that I hope others discover and appreciate as much as I did.

Thank you to Random House (Ballantine Books) via NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.

4.5 rounded to 5 stars

Small Joys is a quiet, contemplative, and ultimately joyful story of Harley’s journey with mental health issues. Harley is a young 20-year-old gay black man who has just dropped out of university, plagued with anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. He feels utterly alone, unloved, and worthless. Through taking a room in a rental house, Harley develops friendships with five very diverse individuals, including Muddy who takes a keen interest in looking out for Harley.

This book does not center around a gay romance as one might think because the protagonist is gay. It is a book about mental health and the difficulties involved in combating anxiety and depression. It addresses the powerful roles of friendship, therapy, and small joys in overcoming unhappiness, constant apprehension, and general misery. There is not a lot of action here; that was okay with me. I enjoyed the dialogue and introspection filling this novel. I felt I really got to know the characters, especially Harley and Muddy. There were many touching moments.

I strongly considered rounding my 4.5 rating down instead of up because I sorely missed having an epilogue. I really wanted to see how Harley was doing a couple of years down the road. Having said that, I can probably guess what happens, but I wanted to see it play out. Ultimately, I rounded up instead as this book deserves more than 4 stars.

Overall, I was very impressed with this debut novel, and I will be on the alert for a second novel by Mr. Mensah. If this review piques your interest, I would highly recommend it for you.

I want to thank Corina Diez from Ballantine books, Net Galley, and Elvin James Mensah for the opportunity to read an advanced copy. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

Finding happiness can be a constant uphill battle for some but for others it can be found in the simplest of things and when those two kinds of people meet there’s an opportunity for wonderful things, as in Small Joys by Elvin James Mensah.
Harley has dropped out of uni and moved back in with his best friend Chelsea who has helped him get his old job at the cinema back. Grappling with his anxiety and depression that drove him from his studies, coupled with his continued estrangement from his father who blames Harley for his mother’s death and can’t accept he’s gay, Harley ventures in the woods where his attempt to end his suffering is interrupted by Muddy, his new comfortable-with-himself, birding roommate. Muddy, and his appealing confident manner, soon becomes a fascination and lifeline for Harley, and the pair strike up a strong friendship, bonding over their shared appreciation of music, educating one another on their different tastes. Spending time with his friend group, comprised of Muddy, Chelsea, Finlay, and Noria, Harley finds moments of happiness, but the quintet’s dynamic has a complex romantic history, festering jealousies, and several secrets, which fuel his anxiety and cause him to backslide to seeking attention from an older, demeaning man from his past. As life becomes too overwhelming for Harley yet again, his friends support him, with Muddy leading the charge to help Harley find reasons why life is worth living and ways to cope when things get rough.
With a cast of characters with decent development and descriptive writing driving the narrative, this story moves slowly and mindfully through some rather dark days of Harley’s life that have small points of light and joy, fostering deep thought on mental health and the value of love and support coming from friends who are a powerful found family. The dynamic between Harley and Muddy is endearing and Muddy is a fascinating character to discover more about as the story progresses as there’s great depth to him; it’s likely driven by an inherent human need to label or categorize things, but the touched upon but not fully resolved or defined relationship between Harley and Muddy was frustrating despite knowing that leaving it undefined does serve a purpose to demonstrate that all the characters are still figuring themselves out and their place in the world and it’s not confined to just Harley. As the story focuses closely on Harley and his perspective, his emotional states are made clear through extensive introspection, which manages to emphasize overarching themes of being comfortable in your own skin, self-worth, and the value of friendship and having people who are there for you. Acceptance of help from others, and importantly of yourself as you are, is depicted throughout this novel as a gradual process riddled with setbacks amid progress, offering a realistic view of development, both in terms of character and dealing with life’s challenges.
Overall, I’d give it a 4 out of 5 stars.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the characters in this book. Loved them. And I think I’ll miss them now that I’ve finished the book. This is a book about your early 20s, sexuality, and mental health, but friendship most of all.
The dialog was fun to read, the honesty and depth didn’t feel contrived. I kind of hope for a sequel maybe, or at least an epilogue. There are good human beings on this earth. May we all be lucky enough to find a Muddy one.

This book itself is a small joy, a lovely and quiet love story. (So small though that it might be more like a 3.5 for me?) I enjoyed the tenderness of the story and the relationships at play, but it did seem to wander a bit and some of my big questions never got answered.

First the pluses. I think Harley is an amazing lead character and his relationships with his friends (and, of course, Muddy) is the biggest strength of his book. I found the Finlay/Harley relationship particularly fascinating and beautiful. You don't often get to see relationships between gay and straight men portrayed this way.

However it did kind of bug me that the relationship with Muddy was never defined (but maybe that's my hetero bias of wanting things to be neatly labeled?) Is Muddy Ace? Is he attracted to Harley or does he just love him? Ultimately does it matter?

I guess I was willing to go along with this just being unlabeled except there is a very strange scene toward the end of the book with a totally out of character proposition to which we never got a response. That annoyed me.

I also struggled with the mental health stuff, mostly because it continually leads Harley to make poor decisions and, as a reader, that's frustrating to repeatedly read. I too have depression and anxiety, and thought his bottoming out and slow road to recovery was handled well, I just had a hard time toward the end of the book when Harley was still keeping secrets and sabotaging relationships.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought the book got off to a somewhat slow start but by the end, I was really hooked. I’m glad that it had a happier ending, and I felt the characters were really lovable. I did at times find the progress of the story a bit hard to follow, especially with the British accents of the writing.

This book took me a bit to get into but once I did I was glad I committed. This is a new author for me and I had to give it some time, but I would recommend giving this one a chance.

"Small Joys" takes us back to 2005 in a quiet, nondescript town in England. Told from the perspective of 21 year-old Harley, he opens in the midst of a painful scene where he first encounters his new roommate, Muddy. As the novel goes on, we find out more about Harley - his difficulties as a gay black man, his difficult relationship with his father who refuses to accept him for who he is, and his tight circle of friends: Chelsea, Noria, Finlay, and now Muddy. Harley has dropped out of college and returned to his hometown, but is unable to tell his father the truth of his struggles and mental health.

The story is a quiet, slow-paced exploration of Harley's life and lingers on the past and current friendship and relationships between this group of five friends. I personally loved how character-driven the novel is, giving us time to understand each individual and his or her backstory and changing relationship with everyone else. I think many readers will connect with Harley's emotions and difficulties finding his place in life, and just as many will appreciate the friends who support him and cheer him on in different ways. Muddy grows to become a large part in Harley's life, and while the two may appear to be polar opposites at first glance, their deepening friendship was one of the highlights of this novel for me.

Mensah's writing is beautifully developed, lyrical at times, and I appreciated the introspection into Harley's thoughts and emotions. There's exploration into a number of weighty topics - mental health and self-worth, aging and loss, sexuality and race, and how friendships can be of more weight than ties of blood. Very much a recommended read and one that I'm excited to see published in 2023!

Small Joys is debut fiction from Elvin James Mensah.

Harley Sekyer is a college dropout, black, gay, and needy. His friends, Chelsea, Finlay, Noria, and Muddy are a menagerie of gender and races.

This story is a first person perspective, a story of friendship and love. Unfortunately, the story drags but there are enough redeeming qualities, notably good characterization, to finish it and rate it 3 out of 5 stars. There is nothing wrong with the writing style; the story just didn’t grab my interest.
If you enjoy general or LGBTQIAP+ fiction Small Joys may be more your cup of tea, so give it a read.

My thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. However, the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.

You know those rare moments in life, when you meet up with a friend for coffee or a meal, and it ends up stretching out for hours and you just keep talking and feel so held and cared for and seen by another human, and then you go back to your house and you feel like you're floating and that you are a valuable human who is worthy of friendship and joy? That feeling is this book.

Harley, the gay son of a Ghanian-British man (his mother died in childbirth), has recently moved back into his old flat after dropping out of uni due to his mental health. Unfortunately, his old room has been taken by someone named Muddy, who runs into him in the woods when he's contemplating taking his own life. Muddy is from Manchester, loves Oasis and birding (not birdwatching, he is clear about this), and is overall a very masculine, rugby-playing northern lad. This relationship changes the trajectories of both of their lives for the better, as do their close friendships with Finlay (a straight white man who doesn't really mean to be a prejudiced jerk, he just is sometimes), Noria (a Nigerian-British woman who loves music and doing her friends' hair who is desperately trying to find a new job due to a racist manager), and Chelsea (Harley's coworker who took him in when his father kicked him out and is trying to get promoted while also figuring out what she wants in life).

There is so much to be said about this book. Harley's journey as a young Black man towards mental wellness is something so rarely seen in fiction. Another reviewer noted the diversity of depictions of Black men in this book and while it's sad that feels so refreshing, it really does, particularly a Black male therapist, who is so wonderful to Harley and really helps him on his path to healing.

Harley deserves so much happiness and joy, whether those joys are small or large. His relationship with Muddy was one of the purest things I've ever read, and I actually cried happy tears at Muddy's revelation towards the end of the book (I never feel so seen and it came out of NOWHERE and it was amazing and I cried real tears).

All the characters in this book have their own backstories, histories, struggles, conflicts. The writing is so raw and realistic and anyone who has struggled with mental health will relate. I highlighted SO many lines that I truly cannot wait to share on my ig stories once this comes out in April.

My only gripe is that Chelsea seemed slightly less fleshed out than the other characters, and I felt there was some foreshadowing throughout that never amounted to anything- maybe left over from a previous draft? But honestly, I don't even care. I read this book in one go, desperate to see what would happen to this found family.

I know I can't quote from an ARC, so instead, I will leave you with the epigraph to the book, which was the point that I said, "I will very much enjoy this book;" I was right:
"Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing." -Elie Wiesel, The Gates of the Forest

It was a slower story in the beginning but worth it as you get to know the main character and his struggles. It's a story of the power of friendship. Give it a go and you'll sink into it like a warm cup of cocoa on a cold day!