I received an arc from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

This book was a little hard for me to get into at first but the last quarter reeled me in. Nathan and Amelia both had tragic and emotional pasts but Amelia’s sunshiny personality came through and won Nathan.

Lots of heartache and tough subjects in this book but one that had a nice ending.
3.5 stars

Lo sentí muy forzado y artificial, sobre todo en la primera mitad. La segunda parte me pareció un poco más amena, pero no lo suficiente como para quitarme la sensación de que Nathan parecía un robot, de que Amelia había pasado por muchas cosas y parecía estar escondiéndose, en negación, ya que, en lugar de enfrentar sus problemas, inventó una atracción entre ella y Nathan. Cada una de sus interacciones me resultó extraña, y cuando ella decía que se notaba que él también se sentía atraído, no podía verlo. Solo lo creí cuando finalmente se acostaron. En la última parte, sí se logró ver un avance en Amelia, pero no dejé de sentir que se trataba de la típica idea de que "el amor lo cura todo".


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Amelia is a romance author who ran away from her life in LA and then buys a motel in a small town called Rancho Encanto. Her life is going great until Nathan checks in to her motel. There is an instant electricity between Amelia and this handsome, grumpy and broken man who stays in room 32 for the summer. As a tentative friendship grows into a deeper connection, Amelia and Nathan both realize that facing each other’s painful secrets takes courage. Do they dare take the risk and hope it ends happily after all? Maisey Yates delivers a deeply emotional and beautifully crafted story in "Happy After All". "Happy After All" is more than just a love story; it’s a tender exploration of grief, healing, the courage it takes to open your heart again after loss, rediscovering hope with a sensitivity and depth that leaves a lasting impression. Yates delivers a poignant narrative that feels both deeply personal and universally relatable. Amelia and Nathan's journey is the soul of this book. Both scarred by their pasts, they grapple with the weight of their losses while learning to trust and love again. Yates paints their struggles with raw honesty, making their eventual steps toward hope feel earned and genuine. Their story reminds us that grief doesn’t have a timeline and that healing is messy but possible when we allow ourselves to connect with others. It also shows that healing is not linear and that allowing oneself to hope again takes immense strength.
What I loved most was how the author infused hope into every page. Even in the moments of deepest sorrow, there’s a quiet undercurrent of resilience—a reminder that life, even after unimaginable pain, can still hold beauty and joy. The emotional depth of the characters made me root for them, not just as a couple but as individuals trying to rebuild their lives. One of the book’s greatest strengths is its portrayal of love—not just romantic love, but self-love and the love we find in unexpected places. It reminds us that hope is not the absence of pain but the belief that joy is still possible despite it.
If you’re looking for a book that will touch your heart and leave you reflecting on the power of love and second chances, "Happy After All" is a must-read. It’s perfect for fans of emotional, character-driven romances that linger with you long after the last page. It will remind you of the power of love—not as a cure-all, but as a guiding light through life’s darkest moments.

This was so fun to start the year with this. Easily a 5 stars read. So well written, the plot and tension between the caracters was to die for!

This book left me in a constant state of feeling fulfilled in the way only a great read can whilst causing serious emotional turmoil. First book that’s really brought me to tears but I was smiling at the same time, take from that what you will.
Really well written, particularly the dialogue between the MCs which was at time painfully accurate to real life which made it hard to read whilst I also couldn’t put the book down and read it cover to cover in one sitting.
I’ll be looking for books by this author again!

Happy After All by M. Yates, published by Montlake, is a witty and fun rom/com. Excellent written beautifully tol with quirky characters that had me laughing out loud at some point. Amelia and Nathan's story is a wionderful red, 4,5 stars.
Blurb: A city girl leaves her life behind in LA to start over in a small town…
It’s a cliché, but it’s also Amelia Taylor’s life. And her new life as a romance novelist and motelier is going great—until Nathan Hart checks in.
Of course he’s disastrously handsome, thoroughly disagreeable, and seems to be set against Amelia on sight. Of course there’s smoldering tension between them that can’t be ignored. They’d make the perfect enemies to lovers story. It’s one of Amelia’s favorite tropes.
But the man in room 32 seems genuinely broken, and it’s going to take more than romance tropes and wishful thinking to get past his wounds. As a tentative friendship grows into a deeper connection, Amelia and Nathan both realize that facing each other’s painful secrets takes courage. Do they dare take the risk and hope it ends happily after all?