é um bom livro que trata de alguns assuntos bem interessantes, não tem grandes plots,

trata sobre o fato de que as vezes a gente só vai tentando dar certo na vida e quando ve se perde totalmente num personagem que nem era a gente

viu como é importante um psico tanto pra bad como pra quando tudo tá parecendo ir bem

definitivamente é sobre crescimento pessoal, do que romance

opiniao sincera em troca do arc disponibilizado pela autora/editora no netgalley

Honestly, this book irked me in the exact same way that Queenie by Carty-Williams Candice did. The main character just seems self-absorbed and selfish. She is so incredibly awful to read about that I find it difficult to sympathise or even want to support her. She was simply so unlikeable - and for that reason alone I really struggled to enjoy this book.

Lots of great moments but overall not really cohesive storytelling (I think). The fat and queer rep were great and trying to navigate COVID were the standouts but overall I'm not sure if I thought the ending did the book justice.

Eden Appiah-Kubi did it again. Leave it to her to deliver a socially-conscious, well written, deep yet lighthearted story that talks about friendship, family, love and being black and successful and, most importantly, "happy".

I loved the characters, loved the queer rep. I wasn't quite convinced by the whole dynamic with the rich lady and the "beauty-transformation" process (it seemed to me a bit too out of character from the MC) and I wished the friendship had stayed a beautiful friendship instead of turning into a love story to better honor asexuality but I loved it nonetheless and will keep on reading and loudly sharing my love for anything and everything that Eden Appiah Kubi does!

I was initially drawn in by the cover and pleasantly surprised by the blurb. Having now finished the entire novel, I can confidently say it was a refreshing departure from my usual reading material. Not only does it explore themes of self-discovery and acceptance, but it also navigates the challenging backdrop of the pandemic years without being solely about that difficult period.

The main character's personal crisis, affecting both their professional life and wavering faith, felt authentic and delicately handled. The dual point of view was expertly executed; I never felt rushed between Maya and Ant's perspectives, enjoying how each contributed to a well-defined narrative arc.

The ending, which doesn't conclude so much as continue the characters' lives vividly on the page, though somewhat compressed into the final chapters, suited the novel perfectly.

This was a great book. I connected with the characters. I felt engrossed with the plot. I would read another book by this author.

Eden Appiah-Kubi's "Her Own Happiness" follows the journey of two queer, Black friends navigating life in their early 30s amidst the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Maya, a plus-sized woman, finds herself overwhelmed by the chaos of lockdown, so she decides to return to her hometown of DC. Her close friend Ant, unwilling to lose their bond, accompanies her, leaving behind his home in Hawaii for the first time. Set firmly in the tumultuous year of 2021, the novel vividly captures the anxieties, isolation, and mental fatigue brought on by the pandemic, including the prevalence of Zoom calls. While some may find it too soon to revisit this period, others may discover solace in relating to the struggles faced by young millennials during this period. Beyond the challenges of rebuilding their lives during such uncertain times, the story delves into the evolving dynamics of Maya and Ant's friendship. As Ant begins to develop romantic feelings for Maya, they explore the complexities of transitioning from a platonic friendship to an allo/ace relationship.

This was my introduction to Eden Appiah-Kubi's work, and I found this to be an enjoyable and captivating story. I loved the exploration of the relationship between these characters and the challenges they face along the way. The immersive writing style and engaging prose work perfectly, allowing the reader to absorb the story fully. I'm eager to read more from this author in the future.

Unfortunately DNF. I just couldn’t get into this book. It started too slow and couldn’t keep my attention. I also found the main character unlikeable in the chapters I did read. I’ve been trying to read this for so long but I just can’t get through it.

I really wished that I liked this book more than I did. It is always important for me to support plus size authors and characters. However, I feel like this one missed the mark. There just wasn't all that much to the plot for me. The whole thing felt anticlimactic and I was left with "oh okay that's how it ended". I think if you have ever had to move all the way across the country back to your family after a perceived failure you will definitely connect with the main character. I certainly did. On the other hand, I did not connect with the love interest or the love story in general. It was great representation for the aro ace community. It was interesting to read how that community can struggle when it comes to life partners and navigating that field. So while this book had great multicultural and gender/romance representation, it just didn't do it for me with the plot. I just feel like nothing ever happened and there was never a real climax or problem to work thorugh.

DNF. This started off too slow and did not intrigue me or keep my attention, which was a little disappointing because I liked the premise and read and liked this author's previous book. The hinted at romance did not interest me. and kind of confused me because I thought it'd be about "her own happiness" not finding love

This book was okay. It wasn't life-changing or what I'd qualify as a page-turner, but the writing was solid. I was disappointed to learn that the author doesn't identify with the LGBTQ+ community since the book is heavily centered around that, so I probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone off that fact alone. But craft wise, I have no complaints other than, overall, the book just probably wasn't for me.

This story was well written, beautiful, and a representation for not only black people but queer people as well was top notch.

Her Own Happiness is a heartwarming story about starting over, friendship and life during the pandemic. I enjoyed the fat and queer rep and the fact that it was a character-driven story. I loved Ant's character. His personality was refreshing, and his journey to becoming less co-dependent was nice to see but I wish it was not prompted by his confession. I struggled with Maya because she was a little ungrateful and selfish at times, and made it seem like the fire was more of an inconvenience to her than to her boss who lost her home.

The general premise was nice, but I did not enjoy the romance. I did not feel any romantic chemistry between Ant and Maya, so the romance felt a little forced. If they remained friends and the romantic subplot was dropped, I would’ve enjoyed it more. Maya meeting Emme and allowing her to change her made sense because Maya experienced decision fatigue, but the resolution after Maya decided to take back her life was unsatisfactory. I had issues with the formatting of texts and chat exchanges, some were in bubbles and some were not, which impacted my reading experience as there are many of them. I wish some of the events were told through narration and not texts because they seemed important.

Thank you so much for the ARC!

Her Own Happiness is smart, insightful, funny, and deeply poignant. The emotions of trying to find your own place in the world are universal.

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for this read. The book was quite good. I love a good coming of age and this book got better as it went on. It was a bit slow to start but had a strong ending. Thanks!!!

I was excited to read this book but sadly I do not think this was a book for me. The writing style was not for me, it was a bit too many pop culture references and astrology heavy throughout the whole book. Which was fine in the beginning but then made me a bit annoyed because they just kept coming and it was getting frustrating to read.

Something I did really enjoy in the book was the queer representation and having chubby BIPOC main characters. It's always nice reading about someone who has the same body type as me, since we rarely see it in novels unfortunately. Furthermore, at first I thought the main characters were maybe in their early twenties, so I was really shocked to read they were in their early thirties/late twenties. They read really young and I would say behaved very young as well to be in their early thirties.

Overall, I was really excited going in to this, but it sadly did not meet my expectations and was not for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for this E-Arc.

This book was so so great! With a main character named Maya, my name, I knew I was bound to like this novel. I loved it so much that I even had my mom read it after I finished it. It was a bit of a long read for me. At the beginning, I had to start and stop a few times, but after the halfway point, I could not put it down! I highly recommend to anyone who loves books about female friendships and coming of age.

I loved this book, it gave me everything I wanted as a reader and more. I am a sucker for a cover and fell in love with the storyline and characters. Well written and kept me engaged :)

As Maya and Ant navigate through life during the pandemic, they are experiencing a lot of changes as they work through this individually and together. This story touches on self discovery, as well as were does their friend go.

This was an interesting read. There was a situation in the book that I vividly saw had me speculating from the beginning.

If you have not picked up this book, I would suggest that you do so.

This was very beautiful but I also didn’t love it. I don’t think I’d want to read anything by this author again but I digress.