Dollycas’s Thoughts

Happiness guru Dr. Cooper Hunziker should be beyond happy with the job she has strived for, the “perfect man”, and a self-help book, The Happiness Connection, soon to be released. Being an assistant psychology professor at Yale University is more ruthless than she imagined as 3 then 4 people are fighting for one tenured position. Add to that, Cooper has been accused of plagiarism for a quiz she published in a magazine. A quiz that launched her into writing her book.

A good thing about her job is that Cooper was assigned to co-lead a happiness group at the New Haven Library. It starts out a little rocky but soon friendships bloom with the woman in the group. She may learn more from them than they learn from her. It’s time to reevaluate her life. She deserves to be happy and wisdom is received from an unusual source.

Ms. Burdette steps into alter ego shoes as a clinical psychologist and away from her cozy mystery chops to deliver a novel that makes you think about your own life as we follow Cooper through hers. Each chapter begins with a quote from Cooper’s book, The Happiness Connection, attributed to a real-life expert.

Dr. Laurie Santos like to say there are two things in life, the stuff you can control and the stuff you can’t.

Cooper Hunziker is a conundrum – she writes about happiness but she isn’t happy. The focus of her research is mother-infant attachment but she lost her student assistant and appears to be in no hurry to replace them. She also has a class to teach but doesn’t prepare. She is nervous about doing a book tour with interviews and signings but her anxieties are off the charts. She needs to take the advice in her book.

I was so happy that Cooper was assigned to the library happiness group. She met women who were also unhappy with their lives for different reasons. Antimony, Betty, and Linda were struggling as was Cooper’s co-leader, Judd. The meetings took Cooper’s focus off herself and opened her up to some true friendships. The members of the group were complex with complicated lives like most people in real life. Cooper’s life has not been easy either, her father “bailed” on her and her mother but left her with family legacy pressure. We also met her half-sister and her stepmother who were not what I expected. I enjoyed how everyone grew throughout the story.

Ms. Burdette doesn’t completely leave her mystery roots behind as there are mysteries to solve in this story. Why did her department chair and his assistant treat her so poorly? His assistant was the worst. And how did she plagiarize a magazine she had never heard of?

The author touches on several different issues in this book – mental illness, divorce, big-time betrayal, loss of a loved one, self-sabotage, and more. As I said, the people in the story are dealing with real-life everyday things and they can run the gambit.

The Ingredients of Happiness is a book the author says has “percolated for fifteen years”. It is a book that challenges the reader to take in Cooper’s journey to find happiness but to examine our own lives for ways to strengthen our happiness. Many of the chapter quotes resonated with me. With so many stresses in our lives today sometimes something as simple as:

“Gratitude can do a lot to boost happiness.” Sonya Lyubomirski study shows “people who actively expressed optimism and gratitude felt happier and less depressed than those who didn’t.”

I know it can be hard to find things to be grateful for or optimistic about with all that is happening these days, but reading Cooper’s story I see that gratitude for some simple things or people in your life can “reset your stress button”. There is another quote about that too.

I was unable to read this book when it was released but while reading and after I finished I realized I read it at a perfect time for me.

I picked this up thinking it was something else but was pleasantly surprised by what I found. This book appeals to both my own work background and my love of fiction.

While psychologists may be specialized in human behaviour, they can be blind to the toxic behaviour of those closest to them. I really enjoyed how Cooper started using her own book to start finding happiness in her own life. I wish there had been more romance,maybe an epilogue to wrap up the various background plot points with Cooper's new friends, I would have liked to see their journeys.

I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wonderfully entertaining book with great character development. Also quite thought provoking in a way that it makes you think of what actually makes you happy.
Following Dr Cooper, who’s just landed her dream job in the psychology department at Yale but also wrote a book about happiness. Now she’s got to decide what is actually making her happy.
A story about self awareness and self improvement, but written in a lighthearted fun way! I really enjoyed this one and I read it at the perfect time in my life!

Noted for her very successful Key West Food Critic Mystery series, Burdette has written her second standalone.

The novel, a contemporary women's fiction, is set in the academic world of Yale University. Similar to her firsthand knowledge of Key West, Burdette is also quite familiar with Yale.

Many readers know Lucy Burdette is the pen name for Roberta Isleib. Isleib is a clinical psychologist who spent time at Yale during her internship and postgraduate training. The book’s genesis happened when Burdette wondered what if an expert on happiness was herself unhappy?

On first glance, our protagonist, Cooper Hunziker, should be filled with happiness. She has a massive social online presence, has published a self-help book on happiness, and is now in line to be a tenured assistant professor at Yale. But she is not. Instead, Cooper feels anxious, slightly insignificant, and has fully bought into imposter syndrome. Relying on her relationship with Daniel, she looks forward to his joining her for a brief visit. He cancels, and her mood plummets. The icing on the anxiety cake is she has been given an assignment that looks like a nonstarter in the world of academia. Whew! If I were Cooper, I would give up on happiness and settle for sitting quietly.

Burdette is known for writing realistic women who grow through challenging times. Cooper, like Hayley, has an analytical mind, which she applies to the study of human psychology. Both women own their vulnerabilities, face tremendous challenges, and are capable of transformation. While both are living authentic lives, Cooper’s is quite a bit darker than Hayley’s. Even rereading the book recently, I still stayed up late hoping Cooper would be all right. Burdette has said this is a standalone. Her characters are so vivid, I do hope a secondary character might have a voice in another Yale tale.

What a charming romance with MC Cooper you grow to love and cheer on from miserable Yale psychologist to contented best-selling author. I almost got bogged down by the emotional drains in Cooper's life, yet the author writes such real characters -- especially the women in the happiness group she co-leads with hunky Judd -- that I could not help but plow through, knowing there was good stuff ahead. And boy was there! One of my fave books this year, a delight that uplifted my spirits.

I didn't fully finish this book.
It was confusing. A mix between a self help book and a novel that didn't have a real clear path. I didn't really feel connected to any of the characters and it just felt like it was confused.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of The Ingredients of Happiness by Lucy Burdette in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I loved the bright yellow cover and just seeing that made me happy and excited to read this. This is one of those books that will make you stop and think about how to be happy! This is definitely a feel good story and I'm so glad I read it (It made me so happy!).

I really enjoyed The Ingredients of Happiness.
It’s a thought-provoking book which although centres around some excellent character development it actually also inspires you to think about what makes you happy.
The book centres on main character Dr Cooper Hunziker who has just landed her dream job of working in the psychology department and continuing her research at Yale University.
She’s just written a book about happiness and is on the book selling promo campaign at the same time as starting her new role, settling into a new town and juggling her long-distance relationship.
The story follows her journey of self-awareness and self-improvement.
Cooper feels that her boss and others in the department are out to get her – hiding her mail, stealing her research assistant, leaving her out and so on.
And she soon starts to question whether Yale and her research is actually making her feel happy and fulfilled.
There were some breadcrumbs that I picked up that all was not quite as it seemed around the plagiarism and lack of support from her boyfriend.
The happiness group sounds wonderful – I’d love to be a member!
I really loved some of the supporting characters and the friendships that Cooper started to make.
I also enjoyed the little happiness quotes at the start of each chapter.
The ending left me wanting to know what happens next not just for Cooper but for her friends too – this could easily make a series!
With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an interesting take on happiness. I like that it is a novel written by a psychologist. The conclusion is one of those things that sounds simple but is so hard to do in real life.

This started out with a cool concept but the characters were really unlikeable.

I had a hard time wanting to finish, so I eventually put it down.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

A beautifully written book that explores the relationships with not only oneself, but with a whole variety of people too; bosses, colleagues, friends, family, strangers etc.

I felt a lot of feelings throughout this book; I was often hopeful, happy and inspired. But on occasion I was also shocked, outraged around downright miserable. I definitely felt how the characters felt on their journeys.

One specific moment gave me actual goosebumps as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.


I absolutely adore the inclusion of the chocolate cake recipe; never have I been more jealous of a fictional character as when all of the delightful cakes were talked about in great detail.

I would have loved an epilogue to see exactly what happened with everyone's situations. Vague questions to avoid spoilers but...

Was the romance a success? Did the sister trip go well? How was the birthday cake? Did the app work? Did the group continue? Was the quiz truth admitted to? Who got tenure? Did Stella hide more than the letters? Did the shady couple make long distance work? And many more.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and of course the author for gifting me this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The story is about Cooper Hunziker, a 32 year old who accepts a position as an assistant psychology professor at Yale University whilst she is also on the verge of publishing her book "The Happiness Connection", however despite writing this book Cooper isn't happy and some people at Yale University have it in for her making it tough for her to fit in. Cooper has had a hard time and is suffering from some childhood trauma which is brought to light in the story, whilst she deals with different issues in her life whilst trying to find out what it really is that will make her happy.

Quite a lot of content with some highs and lows and covers some difficult topics but overall an enjoyable read that I would recommend.

This one was a tough one for me, I had a really hard time staying invested in Cooper's story. I am glad that I stuck it out because the last third of the book was worth the wait. If there was a sequel to this book, I would read it because I think the story would move along at a faster pace now that Cooper knows what she wants from her own life.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive this book for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I have to say I was a little disappointed. I expected this book to be completely different.
I found it disturbing about how unhappy Cooper. I also felt like it was hard to keep up and a bit slow.
I kept wondering if Cooper will ever be happy.

I think Lucy Burdette is a better mystery writer and look foward to reading her mystery novels.

This is my first book by Lucy Burdette. I found it good, but had a hard time liking the main character. I loved the setting at Yale.

I’ve read several mysteries by Lucy Burdette so I mistakenly thought this was a mystery as well but was pleasantly surprised when no one died (though there were several people who would have been perfect to be the victim). I enjoyed getting to know Cooper and her new friends in Connecticut but found the story predictable. I also found it troubling that she let her legal issues sit without any action on them whatsoever for so long. Despite that, the writing flowed well and the story was engaging. Still kinda wishing there was a dead body, though.

I really thought I’d like this book but I found it boring and very predictable. I’d already guessed each twist so it really felt like I was just waiting for it to end.

The main character in this novel is supposed to be an expert on Happiness. But Cooper was a very negative person which was not at all what I was expecting in this one as this made for difficult reading.

What a charming romance with an MC Cooper you grow to love and cheer on from miserable Yale psychologist to contented best-selling author. I almost got bogged down by the emotional drains in Cooper's life, yet the author writes such real characters -- especially the women in the happiness group she co-leads with hunky Judd -- that I could not help but plow through, knowing there was good stuff ahead. And boy was there! One of my fave books this year, a delight that uplifted my spirits. Highly recommended for romance fans who love intelligent stories with endearing characters.

This book tells the story of Dr Cooper Hunziker who becomes a media sensation after her self help book on happiness is a hit. Everything seems to be going well - she is in with a shot of getting a tenure at Yale, her book is a success and she has a great boyfriend.
We soon find that all is not what it seems, someone is out to get her and the happiness guru is not happy at all.
Cooper takes on an advisory role in a friendship group and while she helps the women, she finds they help her in ways she never thought possible.
I really enjoyed the book, loved the elements of friendship and family relationships and especially loved the foodie element.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.