Told in a unique narrative, this is sort of a letter of closure to an abuser. This hits on so many aspects of an unbalanced power dynamic in a long lasting relationship and it TRULY spoke to me.

The trauma is nuanced in this book, but in no way does the author pretend it’s okay. Written with such a fantastic pace, you’re almost lulled into this false sense of illusion along with our main character as she navigates the relationship that spans years between her and her favorite author-turned-close friend.

I loved absolutely every single moment of this book!

I wasn't entirely captivated by this book. It's told in two timelines. Tatum is writing a letter of her relationship with an author and the present of talking to a reporter. I never felt connected with the main character. I did enjoy the narrator. At one point in the book I wondered if this book was going to end soon. If this had not been an ALC I may have stopped reading and placed it on my bookshelf thinking I may pick it up again.

“Like Happiness” is a story that will stick with you, staying in the back of your mind to resurface for reflection now and then. Dealing with issues of identity, finding yourself, the ability to see or be seen both in literature and in real life, fame, manipulation, the allure of meeting someone you idolize, and how we justify someone when expectations don’t match reality; this novel really packs a punch. You’ll see Tatum come into her own as she reflects on her relationship with Mateo; it’s consuming nature, power imbalance, grooming, toxicity, betrayal, and the nuances found within relationships, both good and bad.

In many ways, Tatum’s story felt very personal and intimate. Told primarily through a letter chronicling the relationship between herself and Mateo which she is writing several years after the dissolution of their toxic relationship (in New York). Occasionally the story returns to the present, Chile 2015, where we see the growth and change in Tatum from the innocent, young woman who first wrote a fan letter to the woman of today who is conversing with a reporter to show people what Mateo is really like.

You can’t help but shake your head at how quickly Tatum is to justify M’s personality even as he dismisses her over and over while taking precisely what he needs and wants. I think it’s all too easy to fall prey to this kind of dynamic in a relationship of any kind and Villarreal-Moura does an excellent job of shining a light on this type of power dynamic.

I alternated between the digital and audio books and really enjoyed both. Marisa Blake did an exceptional job narrating “Like Happiness,” allowing me to fully immerse myself in the narrative.

Thank you to NetGalley, Celadon Books, and Macmillan Audio for advance copies of this book. I alternated between the digital and audio books, really enjoying both.

A fantastic debut novel, Ursula Villarreal-Moura is definitely an author to watch.

Available March 26, 2024.

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Like Happiness is a captivating work as a woman gets dragged into the MeToo movement and realizes a relationship she had with an author was very different in her memory than she had the capacity to recognize at the time. After being contacted by a reporter because another woman accused him of sexual abuse, she writes him a history of their mostly platonic but intense, sporadic, and unequal relationship.
Their intensity and fluctuations and her maturing perspective make for a thought-provoking examination of any relationship.

I ended up really enjoying this book and the narrator. It was a little slow at first but it picked up in its emotional intensity. I think we as a society need to stop letting men talk.

4⭐️

I binged this audiobook in less than 12hrs. Like Happiness by Ursula Villareal-Moura.

Like Happiness is an emotional journey following Tatum, a girl who finds herself in a rocky relationship with a book she adores, and the man who wrote it. The two form a friendship, transitioning into a relationship that takes many forms, but usually becomes a toxic on-again-off again relationship. The book chronicles her life, relationship and the journey of self-discovery.

I loved how we got a glimpse of Tatum's life in the present while she is also recalling the actions she took in her past. The writing was wonderful, though Tatum took a bit for me to like - she was a bit insufferable at first, however, she was in her teens then so it was understandable.

Tatum's life is an absolute wild ride and it was extremely enjoyable to see where life took her. I gasped at the last 10% - it caught me by surprise and honestly I loved that it did.

Exploring Latinx heritage
Emotionally charged
Toxic, obsessive relationship
Coming of Age story
Audible Gasp while listening
Bisexual rep

Thank you to NetGalley, Celadon Books and Macmillan Audio for the physical ARC and ALC of Like Happiness by Ursula Villarreal-Moura.

Sad to say that this one just did not hold my interest.
Although the start was good, it fell flat for me after that.
Unfortunately, I did not care for the female main character…OR, the male.

*****. SPOILERS BELOW. *****

This revolves around a young GIRL who is obsessed with a book…and writes to the author. To her surprise, he writes back.

This is the beginning (and, imo, ending) of the book.

We then launch on a VERY LONG, drawn out relationship between the two ( mind you, she is a teenager, and he is much older…) that never goes anywhere….

It is also just very confusing…

Thanks to #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for an ARC of the audiobook which releases on 3/26/24.

Like Happiness by Ursula Villarreal-Mourea.

Tatum is living happily in Chile with her partner, Vera, her three cats, and her job at the museum. Then a reporter from the US calls to ask her about an old friend/flame/boss/famous writer, M, who has been accused of assault. This triggers Tatum to bring up sometimes crushing memories of her ten year relationship with M. At the same time, the reader sees an explosive letter that Tatum sent to M, explaining where she stands and why to M.

This book takes a look at gender and power and the way those elements shape relationships. Tatum bares her soul - where does this get her with M? Where does she want to be? Does she even really know? How long will she let this relationship stifle her soul?

I absolutely loved this book! The story kept me hooked and the writing was wonderful. I loved that it's kind of similar to other stories we've heard before but with a surprise twist no one saw coming. And I loved the latinx representation as well.

After 10 years in a unhealthy relationship with an older author, M Dominguez, Tatum is finally living her dream, she is working in a museum, living in Chile and in love with her girlfriend Vera. One day a journalist calls to ask her about her relationship with M, because he has been accused of assault. Tatum decides to tell her story for the first time, not because she believes it will corroborate, but because she feels it’s time, and through her reliving her time with M, she begins to have revelations of what her relationship was really about and how truly toxic it was.

There were many parts of this novel I enjoyed, the writing was great, the concept of the relationship was super cringey and I appreciated (but didn’t enjoy) it. However the main character of Tatum was frustratingly annoying and to the point where it ate into my enjoyment of the book at times. I listened to the audio more than I ended up reading and I thought the narrator did an excellent job. This book kept reminding me of Asymmetry with the lack of equality in the relationship where one is an older famous author and the other is a younger somewhat fawning woman (and the cringe element). In the end I felt that her unhappiness was often self induced and I don’t have a ton of patience for that.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC to review

This book was a wild ride and thoughtful at the same time. It's tackling a big issue and entertaining.

Thank you to @NetGalley for letting me listen to the advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This book reminds me of Anita DeMonte Laughs Last, the lack of hispanic people within the arts. The writing was fantastic, but it didn't pull me in. It was missing a spark but overall it was a good book.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the copy! There's an inexplicable allure in novels that seem to be in constant conversation with Nabokov's Lolita. Like many girls and women, reading Lolita has always felt wickedly personal, tender as a bruise. When I read books that echo the sentiments I once felt when reading Lolita (and even seem to respond to those dispositions), it feels as if I'm returning to a crime scene just to witness the act in reverse. I've felt that with memoirs such as Excavation by Wendy C. Ortiz and Being Lolita by Alisson Wood, as well as fiction in the likes of My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell. My Happiness confidently takes its seat with these other novels and fits perfectly amongst them.

In a broader sense, Like Happiness can be likened to its fellow iterations: it paints a searing portrait of the complexities within an abusive relationship — one that commences when the victim is merely a teenager, where deep admiration is soon exploited into something sinister. With that being the extent of comparison, however, it's clear that Villarreal-Moura wanted to craft something more bespoke in the illustration of what it means to be a survivor of grooming / abuse, particularly when young girls of color are forced into that role.

Tatum is merely fifteen when she meets the long admired author, Matteo. After he responds to her fan letter, they begin to meet in person and their relationship throughout the years fluctuates between mentor-mentee to "friends" to eventually (grossly) romantic. The dynamic between these two is unsettling to say the very least. As a reader, it's awful to watch Tatum endure these predatory tactics, to see other adults dismiss the "friendship" between Matteo and Tatum to the extent of normalization.

As Tatum reflects on her years with Matteo, we witness her ambiguity with the concept of victimhood versus responsibility. When questioned by a reporter on the nature of their relationship, Tatum denies that it was ever romantic or sexual despite recollections of their intimacy. She refuses any implication that her friendship with Matteo was anything more than moral and platonic. It actually reminded me of this part in My Dark Vanessa where Vanessa says that she can't accept that her relationship was abusive, because if it wasn't love, then what was it?

In the end, Tatum deserved so much more. The ending actually caught me by surprise, I think my jaw was open for the last 10% of the book. Overall, really wonderful writing

This book was amazing, but hard to read. It took me a while to read because of how heavy the subject matter and the main themes of racism, grooming, and sexuality were. This book is about a Latina girl who reads a book and falls in love with it. She reaches out to the author and to her surprise, he responds to her and they form a personal connection. During this time, she is still in school, and he is much older with a steady career ahead of him, which led to a huge power imbalance. She gets groomed by him and eventually tells her story to a reporter which is told through a dual timeline. All of Tatum's relationships in this book are so messy. I loved the bisexual representation in this book. If you liked My Dark Vanessa, you'll like this book too because of the similar themes. I can't believe this is a debut, it's so well written and such a heartbreaking story that too many woman experience.

4.5 Stars

Cover is beautiful and narrator did an excellent job finding an appropriate voice and tone. Overall, the story is certainly timely, but was ultimately disappointing. I found it lacked a strong point of view. I also found that it felt unbalanced. It was very heavy on the beginning and middle of the story, but then it seemed to wrap up very suddenly. It felt rushed at the end, resulting in an unsatisfying read. I felt I'd invested a lot of time and emotion with the narrator just to be hustled out the door before either of us could really process the events properly.
I found that the author had a lovely way with language and especially the way that she wrote about literature and existing in those academic spaces as a person of color was excellent. I'll be very excited to see what she writes in the future.

This book did fantastic with representing human emotion, and I think more than one woman will resonate with the interactions with a manipulative narcissist. I wanted to love this book, I really did. I feel like the sexual assault point is one of the things that the beginning of the novel stands on, only for that to be largely irrelevant to the plot of this book. The pacing was also off, the beginning was very engaging and then it started to drag about 1/3 of the way through the book. It is a lovely coming of age novel, and I think it will speak to the experiences of many women, but I don't think that was enough to save the book. I rarely have so few good things to say about a novel, but this one simply did not deliver.

A character-based look at a grooming relationship between a young aspiring writer, Tatum, & an older, successful, celebrity writer, M. Dominguez. The story is told between past and present and is easy to follow, flows, and kept my attention on audio. There were a couple of pronunciations that bothered me, but I could get past those to keep listening.

Themes of power, religion, education, manipulation, toxic relationships, self-reflection/discovery, drug use & reflections on those topics.

Written in Spanish & English, it would be helpful to understand some Spanish to read.

4.25 This book does a really good job of delving into a power dynamic within a Relationship/ Friendship. Our main character is looking back at her toxic relationship with an author and the power dynamic within it after allegations of abuse come out against him. Such a beautiful and powerful story that is all too real. There are different moments where I just wish there was a little bit more, going in a little deeper. But overall I enjoyed the story Thank you to NetGalley and the Publishers for an Audio Arc of this for an honest review.

I feel as if I'm going to have difficulty in putting into words the experience of reading this book.
At its core, I feel this story is about overcoming/letting go of past trauma. In exploring this topic, Ursula Villarreal-Moura weaves together an incredibly interesting dynamic between this book's main characters. As a reader, it's easy to feel connected to our female main character and her college struggles, her loneliness, her feelings of inadequacy, and her struggle to define herself. The characterization of our male main character is more challenging, which feels intentional and adds to the story.
The relationship that evolves between our main characters is so insidious that it can leave the reader with unsettling feelings. I think the best way I can describe it is to say that I felt uneasy at the conclusion of this story. To be clear: This is not a bad thing. I think the feelings that permeate at the end of this book are a testament to the skill of Villarreal-Moura.
I was fortunate enough to be able to listen to the audiobook for this story while following along using a physical copy. I appreciated that reading experience and felt the narration enhanced my reading experience.
I think my rating for this book has a lot to do with my feelings regarding the troubling relationship it depicts. I found the power dynamics at play, the casual belittlement, the subtle ways that control is being exercised, and manipulation used to be jarring, disheartening, and frankly disgusting. This story was challenging to read and to process. I do think Villarreal-Moura demonstrates her skill throughout this story, but the subject matter was difficult.

Like Happiness is a great fit for readers who enjoy stories about young women navigating undefined relationships and their own self discovery and identity. Set in 2015, Tatum Vega is living in Chile with her partner and feeling a sense of peace and ease- finally. When a reporter calls, Tatum is taken down memory lane to ten tenuous years she spent in NYC in a close but complicated relationship with a famous author named M. Domínguez.

The novel is told alternating between Tatum's present in Chile answering the reporter's questions and letters she addresses to M. I was instantly fully immersed in this story and the incredible audiobook narration. Tatum and M develop a quick rapport and she is sucked into his orbit. Tatum and M both identify as Latinx, but they differ in age, class, celebrity, gender, and ultimately in power.

I really don't want to dive into the specifics of Tatum and M's relationship because I just want you to dive into this book. I loved their ambiguous time together on Cape Cod, and it's easy to see how M manipulated and twisted Tatum's existence for his own use and enjoyment. The dynamic back and forth of his abuse of power and ultimately grooming is vividly real as Villarreal-Moura writes it. The writing and narrative style make Tatum's current and past feelings towards M both feel equally real.

I could keep waxing on about this book while trying not to spoil anything, but I won't do it justice. This book had me in tears and is lingering in my mind days later. I absolutely loved it. We need these stories. You need to read this.