If It Makes You Happy

Beautiful and angsty and lovely
I thought I was signing up for a fall vibes, 90s nostalgia fest, sweet, small town romance about two divorced characters finding love. This delivered on those, but also brought some angst and complications. It was about finding your people and place, even in an unexpected way, that squeezed my heart and brought tears to my eyes. The writing style and flow wasn’t always my favorite, but these characters and the atmospheric setting felt real to me and I told a friend that from the moment I started the book, I was completely engrossed and rooting for them. I had a hard time putting it down to be an adult.Michelle (h) starts the book off at the service for her mother, who recently passed away. She’s dealing with complex feelings because of her relationship with her mom and her awful ex wanting to announce their divorce too. She briefly sees a man there before the drama reaches its crescendo. Flashing forward a couple months, because her mother had opened a bed and breakfast on the other side of the country, Michelle puts her successful advertising career on hold to run the B&B for the fall until her younger sister graduates from school and will take over. Cliff (H) is the man she saw briefly at the service and her new neighbor. He’s a single dad of a teen and an elementary-aged child who runs his own bakery and has a snarky sense of humor. He’s also caring, touchy-feely, and frankly overwhelms Michelle. I saw another review mention this had black cat x golden retriever vibes and I can see that, though Cliff didn’t quite feel that way to me because of everything he had going on with his little family.Cliff’s warmer personality contrasted with Michelle’s thick walls, but a partnership and friendship forms that develops into something larger and deeper. They’re both stubborn and messy and totally different spectrums on love languages and expressing themselves but they’re also puzzle pieces that slot together. The progression in realizing they’re in love felt so intense and frustrating with wanting to pick them up and mash their faces together lol. But the struggle bus smacks them because despite their attraction and their longing, both were told negative things about themselves as a partner by their prior spouses, as well as the reality that Michelle is in town temporarily.Written in first person, dual PoV (with one different POV for the epilogue that should not be missed). No ow/om drama regarding the main characters’ relationships but both are divorced and their exes each appear separately on page, sometimes being awful. The h does set the H up on a date with her sister but the sister quickly realizes they’re into each other thankfully so it’s only nerve-wracking for a tiny moment and I didn’t truly consider it ow drama. Both are experienced but H had only ever been with his ex and it’s been years for him. Some small details about how he loved his ex but they weren’t good together. The h also hadn’t been with anyone for a while and her ex cheated on her.The beauty of Michelle and Cliff’s romance, for me, was in all the details. From their daily routines with how he’d stop by her B&B and she’d look out for his kids to how he kept trying to figure out what baked item was her favorite and captured her essence (his internal thoughts comparing his daughter’s boyfriend to treats were hilarious btw). There were many little and important moments between them, but also some painful ones. This is also a slow burn, which completely makes sense. There were only a couple of on-page spicy scenes, but they’re good ones and fit their dynamic perfectly.The supporting characters were crucial in setting the stage for this book. From Cliff’s daughters to Michelle’s family to all the townspeople to Michelle’s ex’s dog who’s expressive and becomes part of their wider sense of family too. Everyone felt like they belonged in this book. There are festivals and trick or treating and people checking in on each other. Plus all the little 90s details mixed in.The third act is bittersweet with the clock ticking down for when Michelle’s supposed to head back to her “real life” and there’s a sense of longing that I felt jumped off the page. I was crying and then laughing and swooning over how this was resolved. My heart was full reading this book, even with the roller coaster of tension and nerves that this author also took me on. It’s cozy but heavy in places. Then the book ends with an epilogue 8 years later that I’m getting choked up even typing about. It was perfect and beautiful and I hope if you give this book a chance, it resonates with you as much as it did me, but in case it doesn’t, please at least read the epilogue. I’d been meaning to try this author for a while and her note mentions that this was a passion project for her and I’m so glad this was my intro to her writing, I’ll certainly be reading more from her.

The absolute best small-town romance to exist!
“I love this woman. I don’t know when it happened. It slipped over me so softly, like the changing of seasons. The seeping scent of baked bread first thing in the morning. A wistful sigh on a perfect fall day. I love Michelle. I’ve loved her for far too long.”➵ I’m so glad I get to live in the same lifetime as this cozy, small-town, single dad, reverse grumpyxsunshine romance 🤍🍂🕯️🪵☕️☁️✨I don’t know how else to start this aside from saying that this book has changed me for the better + I absolutely cannot live my life without this book.I can’t say I’ve read any of Julie Olivia’s books before, but after this one, I gladly read them all!! I don’t know what called to me most about this book – the cover, the tropes, or the fact that it took place during the autumn of 1997 and just needed those cozy vibes and break from reality but it’s the best decision I ever made to pick up this book, and it’s without a doubt one of my favorite books of 2024, and probably on the list of my all-time favorite reads (this book made me (happy)sob for at least 20 minutes so it’s an instant winner in my library).I thought this was only just gonna be a cutesy little autumn rom-com type of read but it was so much more than that — there was so much emotion, depth, growth, tension, laughter, tears, and everything in between with this book and it’s everything to me. The romance wasn’t just the focal point of the story, although it was pretty amazing with its slow burn + the building tension, but also with like learning as an individual, but sometimes life goes in unexpected directions, and you find happiness in unexpected places with unexpected people you never thought would fall right into your life. In simpler terms, Cliff and Michelle are just absolutely perfect. Books like these make me believe in true love and that there is someone meant for me out there waiting in the most unexpected of places.Regarding the storytelling, I felt like everything just felt so clear and concise and flowed well. The slow burn was slow burning, and it was perfect. Friends still lovers is usually a hit or miss for me and this was a hit. I liked that everything was a slow buildup instead of more like an instant love and that there was an attraction between Cliff and Michelle, but they’re so different as characters they had to sort out their feelings and just take the long, scenic, way home to each other (even though I was constantly screaming at my Kindle the whole time for them to just kiss and get together, but they took their time and I’m here for it.) I’ve seen some other reviews that say that this is a story about two people finding their person in the most unexpected and unlikely of places and I 100% agree with that.Michelle’s relationship with Cliff’s daughters Emily and Brittany felt so special, heartwarming, and wholesome. I can’t imagine that it’s easy for either side to welcome someone new into their life in that way, but this story made it feel so real, so full of hope, and you can feel the love these girls found each other in their chosen families with one another through the pages. Girlhood is so precious and special and I just can’t express how much I loved that it was a huge presence in this book.Also, Rocket is the true main character of the story, don’t be fooled.While fall is still in full swing, I need everyone I know who loves a good small-town romance that has the most cozy & wholesome vibes with some added emotional & relational depth to the characters + overall storyline, to read this book!What to expect in If It Makes You Happy:🧡 cozy autumn romance🧡 Gilmore Girls x When Harry Met Sally vibes🧡 small town in Vermont during the late 90s🧡 black cat x golden retriever🧡 single dad🧡 friends to lovers🧡 the dog is the main character🧡 opposites attract🧡 slow burn🧡 innkeeper x local baker🧡 emotional, wholesome with some spicy“I wonder if it’s true. If I’m the only woman who sees him for the man that he is. Funny and sarcastic, but selfless and good. And I wonder if he was made for me, if he’s the only man who will ever see me. I don’t believe in destiny or stars, but I have to believe Cliff’s constellation would align right beside mine.”

If It Makes You Happy by Julia Olivia is a beautifully written, layered romance that deserves far more attention than it’s getting. Fans of the Dream Harbor series will find plenty to love here, but Olivia’s storytelling is sharper, richer, and ultimately far more rewarding.This isn’t just a romance (though the love story is a sweet, proper slow burn with a film-perfect ending). It’s also about grief, divorce, and the complicated push-and-pull of parent–child dynamics—and how those challenges echo into adulthood. The autumn vibes are wonderful throughout, making this the perfect cozy season read. I especially loved how the children in the book weren’t treated as background filler; they were real characters with their own drama and arcs that mattered.And the epilogue? An absolute treat. It reminded me so much of I Jack, and I adored it—it tied everything together in the loveliest way.If I had to nitpick, the 90s setting felt a little off-putting—I was very young then, so it was tricky to fully place myself in the context. I also found the relationship between Emily and her mother, Tracey, a bit triggering, but that’s almost a compliment to Olivia’s writing since it hit so close to home. Around the 58–70% mark, the pacing did drag a little, but not enough to spoil the overall experience.All in all, this is a lovely, low-stakes, slow burn romance that balances heartache, healing, and warmth with real skill. Julia Olivia should be getting just as much attention as names like Laurie Gilmore—she’s more than deserving.

I’m an October baby, so autumn and the 90s run through my veins. If you love Gilmore Girls, warm weather, the smell of coffee, dry autumn leaves, crisp mornings, Halloween, cozy blankets… This is for you. I absolutely ADORED Cliff’s character, he’s the very definition of the perfect man: caring, patient, respectful, thoughtful, altruistic, generous, kind and extremely funny. You will not only fall in love with the vibes, atmosphere, locations, dialogues and romance, but with (almost) each and every character. I would strongly suggest you listen to the playlist before reading the novel, it will immediately take you way back to the 90s and its nostalgic vibes, plus get you in the perfect cozy romantic mood.