In A Season of Perfect Happiness, Maribeth Fischer delves into the delicate balance between personal healing and the fear of facing the past. Ten years after an unspeakable tragedy forced Claire to abandon her life in Delaware, she has carefully constructed a quiet, solitary existence in Wisconsin, determined to keep her secrets safe. But her carefully curated life is turned upside down when she meets Erik, a lighthearted theater nerd who brings a spark of joy and possibility back into her world.

As Claire becomes more emotionally entangled with Erik, his ex-wife Annabelle, and their children, she begins to experience a life full of love, laughter, and connection—things she thought were lost to her forever. But as Claire grows closer to this new, imperfectly perfect family, the arrival of someone from her past threatens to expose the painful secret she's carried for years.

Fischer masterfully explores themes of grief, forgiveness, and the power of second chances. Claire’s emotional journey feels both raw and hopeful as she contemplates whether she can truly embrace a life that includes both joy and vulnerability. The book shines in its portrayal of relationships—the complexities of blending families, the joy of friendship, and the challenge of being open with those you love.

The Season of Perfect Happiness is a beautifully written exploration of the messiness of life after tragedy, offering a poignant reminder that happiness is not about perfection, but about the courage to face the past and the willingness to embrace love and connection. Fischer’s portrayal of Claire’s struggle to reconcile her past with her present is both heartwarming and deeply relatable, making this an unforgettable read.

Occasionally, parents of new babies ask my husband and me our opinion on the best time in our children’s lives. Although we married later in life, our answer is the same: When the kids were in grade school, when homework wasn’t too tough and we spent our weekends watching soccer matches and having dinner with friends. It was, as author Maribeth Fischer might say, a season of perfect happiness. But eventually the kids grew up; some of us moved away. Others got divorced or suffered life-threatening illnesses. Happiness is fleeting, and there’s nothing like the women’s fiction genre to remind us of that.

For Claire, the protagonist in Fischer’s novel, A Season of Perfect Happiness, her season is a year filled with activities around her husband, her stepchildren, their mother, and her husband’s best friend and his wife. They’re a close-knit, if unlikely, group, and Claire, who fled from Delaware to their tiny Wisconsin town, cherishes them above all else. She’s also hiding a devastating secret, one that she knows would change the way Annabelle, her stepchildren’s mother, would view her forever. But when a person from Claire’s former life comes to town, Claire knows she’s in jeopardy of losing all the people she holds dear.

Women’s fiction is about characters and relationships over plot, and Fischer is a master at creating characters. Claire, her husband Erik, and Erik’s ex-wife Annabelle come across as fully dimensional, and their flaws are as real as they are. The writing is stellar, as Fischer blends evocative description, thoughtful narration, and realistic dialogue to tell her story. Her world-building is masterful, centering around the real-life theatre museum Ten Chimneys, and creating scenarios and characters that will inevitably collide.

I was less enamored of a few narrative tricks the author employed. Claire holds onto her secret until about a quarter of the way through the book; a technique when utilized by a first-person narrator comes across as a heavy-handed way of increasing tension. Later, she makes it clear that Claire is looking back on the story rather than experiencing it with the reader. Claire’s commentary may be designed to create suspense, but for me, I concluded that everything must end up okay because of the calm voice telling the story.

More broadly, and beyond the questions of narrative technique, Fischer poses provocative questions on the nature of responsibility and forgiveness. Does one mistake—no matter how consequential—define a person for their entire life? What if the mistake is a result of mental illness? At what point in a relationship are people owed access to each other’s deepest secrets? A Season of Perfect Happiness is a great choice for book clubs who want to delve into these issues.

Even if you’re not hiding a life-changing secret from your friends, A Season of Perfect Happiness is a wistful reminder to cherish the best times in your life. Happiness may be fleeting, but so is life itself.

For a decade, Claire has kept the haunting shadows of her past locked away, building a quiet, solitary life to keep her pain hidden. But everything changes when she crosses paths with Erik, a man who draws her into a world she thought she'd never touch again. Suddenly, Claire finds herself swept into Erik’s life—a life full of risks and unfamiliar possibilities. Surprisingly, Erik’s ex-wife becomes her closest confidante, and Claire finally experiences the warmth and connection of the family she’s always yearned for. Just as everything seems perfect, the ghosts of her past resurface, threatening to unravel the happiness she’s found. This emotional journey of friendship, betrayal, and the complexities of family is beautifully written, with expertly woven foreshadowing that keeps the pages flying by. Special thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for the ARC of this captivating novel.

This was a well written novel and kept me engaged the whole time wondering how things would work themselves out. Claire’s fled her hometown to get away from events that happened there. She’s met someone new but is dragging a secret along the way.

A woman taking a second chance at a relationship ten years after she a family tragedy, but still lives in fear that her past will catch up to her. Very well done--real characters, hard choices, page-turning story.

This book is a definite roller coaster. The character of Milo is an adorable little boy and honestly, he was probably my favorite out of anyone. I couldn’t relate to Claire and honestly she frustrated me a great deal. The story is somewhat dark and emotional. Second chance Romance is one of my favorite genres, but this one is definitely not your average Romance

Claire had an unspeakable tragedy in her past, one that she’s hidden for ten long years. Living a quiet life, it’s suddenly turned upside down when she meets Erik. Claire quickly becomes part of Erik’s life a life that scares her and one she never dreamed of having again. Erik’s ex wife becomes her new bestie and Claire has the family she’s always wanted. Living out her dream, everything is picture perfect until her past catches up with her and changes her future. A story of friendship, betrayal and family this book covered some heavy emotional material. Written beautifully, this book relies on foreshadowing which helps the pages turn at a fast pace. Thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Second change marriage troupe is my FAVORITE but this was hard to read. At the 44% mark, I was literally done with Claire. Although she had experienced so much trauma, she was not a likable person for me.
Her reason for leaving her husband were ridiculous and selfish, especially since he was like that when you met and you battled the symptoms from the beginning. Also, making tally marks for the hours you're unhappy seems childish. No wonder you're unhappy, you're keeping track of it so that's what you're focused on. Being married I 100% get how little things a spouse does seems so big at times and can drive you insane but she seems super controlling and makes a HUGE deal out of things that don't even matter. I sympathized with her with what happened with her daughter but I just couldn't make myself like her and she honestly made me lose interest in the whole story.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin group for the opportunity to read and review this advanced copy.

Delicious! I couldn't put this book down. The oh-so-nice protagonist, Claire, had a truly awful secret in her past. The author does an outstanding job of throwing out hints and foreshadowing before finally realizing what "it" is about a third of the way into the novel. Then, you're left handing onto the edge of your seat wondering what's going to happen when her boyfriend and brand new BFFs find out. You KNOW there's a massive blow-up ahead, and the author cleverly keeps you guessing when the big reveal to the friends will happen and how.

This would be a great choice for bookclubs; it will get discussions going for sure. Personally, I have very mixed feelings about what the main character did and whether she should be cut some slack or be forgiven at all.

The ending, for all this buildup, was a bit "meh." I expected another bombshell coming around the corner and had an idea what it might entail. But no. For this reason, I'm giving this a 4.8 rounded up to a solid five. Bravo.

Beautifully written, with a complex web of relationships; I loved how expertly all the threads were woven and came together at the end. Really a total pleasure to read, despite the sometimes heavy subject matter. There was perhaps a bit too much foreshadowing and it was sometimes a tad repetitive and slow-moving, but the good qualities definitely outweighed these small negatives. Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for an e-ARC of this book. 4 1/2 stars rounded up to 5.

THE GOOD:
Beautiful. Heart-wrenching. Hopeful. Devastating. Growth, and longing, and love, and betrayal. Healing. Forgiveness. New beginnings. A future bright as a cracked mirror.

THE BAD:
- The cover. While I get how it illustrates our leading lady Claire’s own Season of Perfect Happiness, it’s doesn’t represent the tone of the novel. The story is very serious, melancholy, and more akin to a domestic suspense tale.
- Oh, the prolific double negatives! 😩

CONCLUSION:
Absolutely absorbing. Highly recommended.

A Season of Perfect Happiness was a book I went into devouring quickly. It sucked me in from the beginning with writing that speaks of tragedy and difficult life topics. Complicated relationships, family estrangement, loss and secrets. If you want a book that will bring you to tears, this is one of those stories I would recommend.

A very slow and depressing daily life suburban-drama romance novel. It was a struggle for me to read probably because nothing was relatable and the ending was very predictable once I got there. None of the characters are likable, which I usually like because they are interesting, however in this case they are just boring and not great people with all of their hurtful secrets about each other.

*Provided a DRC (digital review copy) from the publisher for review. All opinions are my own.

A solid 3.5 star read for me. I enjoyed the complex characters and the storyline. It’s filled with family, friendship, second chances, love and loss.

I think some points dragged and bit for me, and I found it hard to relate to the characters, but I still recommend - especially for fans of women’s fiction!

Takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions, so get some tissues ready.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dutton Publishing, and Maribeth Fischer for providing me with a gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Such a fun read! Highly recommend.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book is the story of Claire as she starts her life over again in a new town after a traumatic psychosis experience.

Claire doesn’t believe that she deserves happiness because of what has occurred and we join her on a path through dealing with grief and what it could look like to heal.

The story has super complex characters, Erik a divorced father of three, Annabelle, Erik’s ex wife, their friends Gabe and Eva. The stories are complex and very interesting.

The whole theme of the book is about complicated relationships, parenthood, loss, mental illness, complex grief, and in-depth thoughts around motherhood.

I found it super interesting, and definitely had to keep my tissues handy.

Life is often complicated by decisions we make and the resulting consequences of those decisions. This was a thoughtful story about friendship, family and all of the challenges and struggles. Thanks #NetGalley

What is your perfect happiness?
There are no perfect lives….
There are no perfect solutions….
A very complex and complicated story that will have you feeling many different emotions.
With that said, as the story went on, I did begin to understand where the author was taking us.
What will you get with reading A Season of Perfect Happiness?
Secrets
Friendships
Relationships
Broken bonds
Sacrifice
This was not an easy book for me to read. I read it very slowly in order to fully digest my feelings and emotions.
Beautifully written story by author Maribeth Fischer.
Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This story is so emotionally charged and is beautifully written, it had me enthralled from the first page. It is the story of family, second chances, love, forgiveness, regret and so much more. Can one ever truly forgive oneself for an unspeakable act? This story explores this question and in the process helps it's characters heal deep, deep wounds. The writing is gorgeous and takes the reader on a long winding journey which fully satisfies at the end. A beautiful piece of work. The cover art is perfect. Highly recommended. 5 stars.
Many thanks to Net Galley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton | Dutton for chance to read and critique an ARC version of this novel. All opinions are my own.

Claire ran away from her home and everything and everyone one she knew after a terrible accident and has been living a small quiet life. Under the radar is her mantra. The smaller the better and yet things change when she meets Erik. Her simple black and white life changes to technicolor, but her past life is still a secret she holds close. It's about family, love, loss, forgiveness, friendship, motherhood, parenting, relationships, betrayal, second chances, emotional growth and so much more. It was an emotional well written road they all traveled. I must admit, a few tissues were needed. Well worth going along for the ride.