This was a well rounded story about the emotional turmoil that a parent goes through navigating their past, present and future and recognizing who you used to be vs who you are currently. Not that everyone goes through what Claire did, but there can definitely be a “before” and an “after.” The main theme of this book is a look into the lies we tell, the secrets we keep and how to navigate relationships regarding this delicate balance. Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton for an advanced copy.

I loved this story. It was so real. I could feel all the emotions. My own mother dealt with postpartum depression after she had my brother and went back to work. I remember how off I thought she was acting. It wouldn't be until years later, and the birth of my second son, that I would fully understand what she was going through, as I too, battled postpartum depression. It's hard for anyone to understand what goes through your head and the emotions you're struggling with inside. As a woman, I feel we need more books like these. Books that are real, feel real, and others can be like wow! I am so happy that Claire was able to save her marriage, and her friendships, and that she knows her daughter knows she loves her. I think this book is my favorite read so far this year. 5⭐️

I absolutely fell in love with this book and its cast of characters. Real people, real situations that flowed beautifully. Claire has spent 10 years regretting a terrible accident that caused her to leave her hometown, her parents and everything she loved. When she meets Erik and falls in love, she finds family in his children, his ex wife Annabel and their best friends Eva and Gabe. Life becomes beautiful and more than Claire could have ever hoped for. Until one day someone from her past comes back and upends everything Claire has built for herself. The author portrayed mental illness with a soft hand and in a believable way. Everything about this story was just so well done. Can’t wait to read more by this author!

This is a lovely story about a woman (Claire) rebuilding her life. I love books like this. I like to get lost in someone else's life and Maribeth Fischer provided that escape from me in a touching way.

A Season of Perfect Happiness by Maribeth Fischer Claire moves to Wisconsin, telling herself it is to start over after a family tragedy, but she is really running away and hiding. She meets Erik, a divorced father of 3 children, and gets wrapped into his life with his ex and their college friends. Can she allow herself to be happy? This novel is told in reflection from the protagonist. Immediately it sets a tone of tension and sadness that did not dissipate over time, it may have ramped up. I was so anxious reading this book! Knowing that things were not going to work out the way Claire wanted made me jump at every turn, cry at her tragic past, and wince when secrets were decided to stay secret. If you like a good cry and palpable tension this book is for you.



SPOILERS: As a therapist, I will say that this book handles mental illness with care and compassion. It discusses a topic that no one wants to think about with grace and dignity. Many of the characters backstories are full of trauma and the arc from that to who they are when we meet them in the book, rings true. The way Erik, Claire, and Annabelle parented their neurodivgerent son was amazing. As a mom, this book was often hard to read for many reasons, which shows how beautifully it was written, I was totally allied with the characters. But also, as a mom, it was nice to see how many of the parents in this book loved (as a verb) their children; putting their kids needs above their own, for better or worse. Thanks to Dutton, Penguin, and Net Galley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. 4.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC! This is the story of how a woman who was broken rebuilds her life, creates new friendships, and regains a family. The first 30% of the book hinted at a huge secret Claire was keeping from her new boyfriend and her new friends. I felt this part of the book was drawn out a little too much and Claire’s fear of the secret getting out was on almost every page, and it was starting to aggravate me that I didn’t know what this secret was. But once she opened up to her boyfriend, Erik, the pace picked up. The blending of Claire’s new life with her past and her growth was amazing to read!

I thought this book was so sweet and constantly pulled at my heartstrings. The relationships between the characters were so real and genuine and it felt like they became my friends throughout the book. There were parts of it that felt a little bit slow to me but overall, such a sweet book of redemption, friendship, and forgiveness!

Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton/Maribeth Fischer for the complimentary e-book in exchange for my honest review.

A SEASON OF PERFECT HAPPINESS is a tough but worthwhile read. When the marketing materials says "an unspeakable tragedy," that's a good indication of what lies within these well-written pages. The author hints and drops clues about what happened in Claire's past, and I began to get impatient for the big reveal. It came just in time, and wow, it packed an emotional punch. This is not a story for highly sensitive readers. However, I enjoyed Claire's voice and her attempts to rebuild her life, including a romantic relationship with Erik. Her ability to also develop a relationship with his ex-wife and their kids was admirable -- and also ratcheted up the tension. It's interesting and a bit surprising how many years the story ends up covering. The author did a good job of tackling this difficult mental health issue (no spoilers here) and the trajectory of healing, including what it means to love someone with all their faults and tragic past. Are there limits to what you can forgive?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance e-galley; all opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

A Season of Perfect Happiness by Maribeth Fischer tells us the story of Claire’s life ten years after an unspeakable tragedy.

I found this novel to be heart wrenching at time with believable and likable characters. This is a compassionate book about someone who made a seemingly unforgivable decision that comes back to haunt them.

I enjoyed this book, definitely hooked me early - the pages turned easily!

This book. My goodness. The amount of times I was wiping my eyes and rooting for their love! Second chance romance will always be my favorite trope. Everyone deserves to be forgiven.

Oh I just adored this book and characters. Claire had to leave her home (Delaware) because of a horrible accident that happened with her daughter. She flees to Wisconsin to start a new life where she falls in love and meets her best friends.... the only thing is- she hasn't told anyone about her past.

It is a beautiful book about friendships, secrets and pasts... 4 stars because I truly don't understand why she wouldn't share what happened to her and why she felt it was such a big secret.

Highly recommend!!

I cannot even begin to imagine the feelings that Claire has lived with since the accident. That black cloud would be following you around if it isn't hanging right over you all the time. How do you find that happiness again? And yet she thought she almost had. Something is always changing though. Something out of your control. If not in your life, in the life of someone you know. Is there ever a season of perfect happiness?

A Season of Perfect Happiness by Maribeth Fischer takes one into the story of Claire’s life ten years after an unspeakable tragedy.

This engaging, emotional novel has believable characters and a story that pulls you along with it. It can even make one feel compassionate towards a character who has made a seemingly unforgivable mistake.

Publication Date 20 Aug 2024
Penguin Group Dutton

I loved this book! My stomach was in knots the whole time waiting for the other shoe to drop. And finding out Claire’s secret was absolutely heartbreaking. It’s definitely a mental illness that is not talked about enough. I loved all the friendships that Claire had and how normal she felt after everything that had happened. It really makes you think about postpartum issues in a different light. I will definitely be purchasing this book when it is released!

Maribeth Fischer's A Season of Perfect Happiness is beautiful, heartbreaking, heartwarming, all wrapped in one.

We gradually learn the secrets of Claire's past and what she's been running from. When she finds herself falling in love, she's worried that her secrets will come out and ruin her newfound love (which she's not sure she deserves) and the group of friends that come along with her new beau.

Gradually we learn more and more about her past life, while her connection grows stronger with her new group of friends. This group is the group of friends everyone wishes they had, wishes they were a part of. They take care of each other, they're not just friends, they are family.

When the secrets of everyone's past threaten to unravel the whole group, they must decide if love and their friendship is strong enough to stand the test of time.

I loved it. Hauntingly beautiful.

Mental health. A hot topic. I love how this book touched on a little-known mental health disease. You can feel the emotions Claire is feeling and her fear of how she will be portrayed and treated. And how she learns to find happiness within all of that with Erik and his family and friends.

It's heartbreaking and hopeful to watch things unravel and how Claire will hold on and fight to keep who she loves so fiercely.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A Season of Perfect Happiness
By Maribeth Fischer
Publication Date: August 20, 2024

Claire leaves her beach home in Delaware after a tragic, life altering event. Ten years later, she is finally opening up. She has decided to be as low key as possible small, tight group of friends and minimal social activity. She meets Eric and all of a sudden she is opening up a little but still hesitant to talk about why she ended up in Wisconsin. She becomes a wife and step mother to Eric and his three children as well as a part of his friends' circle. This circle includes his ex-wife. Claire is keeping things in her past a secret and is now keeping the secrets of the friend group. A chance run in with someone from the past can destroy it all.....

This story was so well written and wonderfully engaging. It tugged at my emotional strings repeatedly. I had tears flowing throughout. I was rooting for Claire. The character development was outstanding. Supplying some background for each character helped to understand the way they moved throughout the story. Second chance love is one of my favorite storylines. The author did an excellent job with it. Showing the different actions and reactions people have to fear and trauma was chef's kiss. It was heartwarming, emotional, loving and sad all at once. There are triggers: postpartum issues, betrayal and Autism. I highly recommend this book.

I cannot even begin to imagine the feelings that Claire has lived with since the accident. That black cloud would be following you around if it isn't hanging right over you all the time. How do you find that happiness again? And yet she thought she almost had. Something is always changing though. Something out of your control. If not in your life, in the life of someone you know. Is there ever a season of perfect happiness?

📚 PRE-PUBLICATION BOOK REVIEW 📚

A Season of Perfect Happiness
By Maribeth Fischer
Publication Date: August 20, 2024

📚 MY RATING:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚 THE SYNOPSIS:

Ten years after an unspeakable tragedy caused Claire to flee her hometown in Delaware, she finally feels content. She has a quiet, tidy life in Wisconsin, a place she picked at random for its shape on a map. Her careful existence centers on a simple plan: keep her social circle small and keep the past a secret.

But when she meets Erik—a lighthearted theater nerd who gives Claire more of a chance than she’s given herself in a long time—that plan seems increasingly impossible, especially after she finds herself emotionally entangled not only with Erik, but with his ex-wife, Annabelle; their three young children; and a small set of friends, the kind she’d always wanted to have around her. Life after the accident can be full of joy, Claire realizes—going on a date to see a thousand-pound pig at the state fair, giggling over obscure inside jokes with friends at a music gig, making smoothies while the kids wear their infamous cooking hats. Being a partner, a best friend, a mother.

But when a person from her past arrives, Claire’s worst mistake threatens her new life, and the deep friendships she’s made hang in the balance. If Claire chooses to share the parts of herself she has kept locked away for so long, will the family she has built still recognize her—and have a place for her? Or will everything she has spent the last decade working toward fall apart?

📚 MY REVIEW:

This book gave me ALL the feels! 🥹

This wasn't one of the typical thrillers I gravitate toward...This was a heartfelt and emotionally-driven novel about the power of resiliency, second chances, forgiveness, friendship, and love. It was a slow burn and took a little bit for me to feel invested. But once I got about 40% of the way in, I couldn't stop reading till I finished. I felt my heart urging me to keep reading, which I did well into the wee hours of the morning. I simply didn't feel like I'd be able to sleep until I knew how the story would end for these characters.

The characters are written with such loving detail, I felt like I was reading about high school classmates and the ways in which life happened for them. The main character and her story was so endearing and you couldn't help but want to envelop her in a big hug so many times during the book...I definitely wiped away tears multiple times in the book's final pages, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I highly recommend this book and its remarkable story of the triumph of the human spirit. ❤️

Thanks to Net Galley and Penguin Group Dutton for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

#netgalley #ASeasonofPerfectHappiness #MaribethFischer #bookrecommendations #bookreviews

Claire has a horrible experience that pains her for years. Just when things are going well her friend learns what happened and turns on Her. Many secrets have been kept that affect more than just Claire.

I didn’t love this book but I felt the need to
Finish it with hope that all would work out for Claire.