I was gifted a copy of Pieces of Happiness by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great read about a group of women reconnecting after so many years. Kat and her husband Niklas bought a cocoa farm in Fiji, after years of traveling and helping those less fortunate. Unfortunately, he passes away, and Kat is left alone on her plantation with just her hired help.

Kat's housekeeper, Ateca, Kat invites her friends to spend the rest of their lives with her on the farm; with hopes of starting their own chocolate company.

I enjoyed reading about each woman equally, and how, after so many years apart, they could join together and run the place. The flow of the story was steady and enjoyable.

"The ladies in the house are like a necklace made of shells: from the same beach, but each of them a little different. Each one worries for the next one on the string: Madam Lisbeth worries for Madam Sina, Madam Sina for Madam Maya, Madam Ingrid for Madam Kat, and Madam Kat for all of them." Ateca.

This is a beachy read of five women from Norway who take their sixth friend up on her offer to join her on her cocoa plantation in Fiji following the death of her husband. Each woman has her own challenges and is looking for a change. It was nice to see women in a post-family role, focusing on self and letting loose a bit. The chapters change point of view between women but also alternate with the prayers of the woman working for Kat, ending with "Emeni." While there is some interaction with the local population, let's be honest, this is a white person novel. Fijians are the helpers, the guides, the people with the connection to the land. I picture a cast starring Helen Mirren, adding to the films of women of a certain age claiming their lives.

Still, the rotating POVs serve to provide a lot of depth into each woman's lives, and I found myself caring for each of them by the end of the novel. And it's hard to hate a novel about chocolate!

This is a great book about the trial of friendship. And that great friendship can last a lifetime even with things get really bad. I love how these four friends were able to help each other in later years. And that they stood by each other even when there was a lot of hard times. I think each of us could probably relate our self's to one of the characters in this book whether it would be Kat, Sina, Lisbeth, or Maya. This is story was wrote in realism form. I like how I feel the write was making you thinking of friendship and no matter the time span life will bring you back together especially in tragedy.

When four friends are invited to the island of Fiji by an old friend of theirs, secrets and age old resentment unravel in this novel about friendship, love and chocolate.

What I enjoyed most about this book was the setting. I liked learning about Fiji and the people, customs and culture of Fiji. The characters in this novel I also found to be very interesting and multilayered. From Sina, the withdrawn, seemingly resentful one, to Kat, the "perfect" friend and the glue of the group and Lisbeth, the ever vain one.

I especially enjoyed the character of Ingrid and it was nice to see her relax into herself and enjoy life for the first time.

Still, I found this novel to be slow and a bit contrived at times. Although there are a few "twists" in the plot, I generally felt unmoved by most of them. I wish it was at least an easier read. The secrets woven into the story still did not elevate this book to page turner level for me.

I'd recommend it regardless, if nothing else, for a free trip to Fiji. The writer does a great job of transporting you there.

I did not finish this book. It was not for me. Thank you for the early copy.

Pieces of Happiness by Anne Ostby is the story of five friends starting a new lease on life in their 60s. Kat had finally settled down in Korototoka, Fiji with her husband, Nicklaus after year of traveling. Unfortunately, they only got to enjoy Vale nei Kat, the cocoa plantation, for a few years before he passed away. Kat wrote to her four high school friends (that she has not seen in forty years) inviting them to join her in Fiji. It will give all them a chance to reconnect and start a new venture together. Ingrid, Sina, Lisbeth, Maya and Kat had never thought they would get such an opportunity and leap at the opportunity. Their golden years will be filled with friendship, happiness and chocolate. Each one of them have secrets they wish to keep hidden, but it is hard to do with good friends. The first thing the five of them need to decide is how to make the farm profitable. Soon Kat’s Chocolate is born. Can they make a success of the business? Can the five friends live out the rest of their days together? See how these five women fare in this book about friendship, second chances and healthy chocolate.

Pieces of Happiness was not a pleasant read for me (made me wish we could read a preview before agreeing to review). The POV alternates between the five women and the housekeeper which made it confusing (especially if you put the book down and then come back to it hour later). All the characters are thrown at you and I never did get them straight (they each have a different story). I found the pace to be slow (plodding). The writer is overly descriptive and likes flowery prose (which I found off putting). It reminded me of how people talked in the 1960s (based on movies, not actual experience—just to clarify). Think San Francisco, Haigh-Ashbury, laid back islands, crystals, Zen. I believe I am too sensible for this novel. The writing seemed clunky (for lack of a better word) and the book was too long (you can see why I started skimming—my term for speedreading). It could be (in part) the translation of the writing from the author’s native language to English (but this should have been corrected by the editor). I found the story a little boring and it ended as expected. I give Pieces of Happiness 2 out of 5 stars (I did not like it). I tried several times to get into and read this novel (the blurb made it sound good). I ended up skimming through the book to see what happened to each character (I always finish a book I agreed to review).

'Pieces of Happiness' surprised me. I could totally see my group of friends in this wonderful book.

This beautiful story is about five life-long friends from Norway. Kat, Lisbeth, Sina, Maya, and Ingrid were high school friends who weren't the best at keeping in touch and are now coming together again on Kat's cocoa farm in Fiji. The women are now in their sixties. They all have their own story, their own grief and pain, their own secrets. They all come to Kat's farm to start over and reconnect.

The sixth character is Ateca. She is Kat's housekeeper and a native of Fiji. She guides and prays over these women.

I loved the descriptions of Fiji and it's culture. It makes me want to plan a trip there and experience it for myself. I definitely recommend this book! I laughed, I cried. Just what I like!

And I loved the authors note that 'Pieces of Happiness' is the first book but he author to be published in the US and was translated by her daughter!

Thank you to Anne Ostby, NetGalley, and Doubleday/Penguin Random House for an ARC copy of this book.

I loved this book. 5 women who knew each other in youth, chose to live Their aged years in Figi, write new chapters in their book of life; to become the wise and wonderful women they learned they could be. It was delightful to read about Figi, the sights, scents and sounds of island life. What lovely risks they took to be themselves

I picked this up thinking it was going to be a light & fun read. It has such a delightful cover and who isn't looking happiness, hope, friendship and chocolate? Unfortunately, it did not live up to the happy feelings the cover and title promised. Instead it was a sad but poignant story of a group of older women who are unhappy with their lives and move to Fiji hoping for change. But they discover they each must work through the root of their unhappiness before change can actually occur. I especially had difficulties with the format of jumping from one woman's story to the the next with each chapter. I found myself well over half way through the book before I felt connected with their stories. It was a disjointed and disappointing book for me all in all. 2 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Very relatable female characters, made me want to visit the place they were living.

I don’t know why this book wasn’t an easy read for me. I felt since I had promised to read and review it that I should finish it so I kept reading. I wondered if it were because I had a day or two when I wasn’t feeling so well that I had put the book down, and maybe I hadn’t paid enough attention when reading the beginning but as I kept reading I don’t think this was the case. I guess this book just wasn’t for me. It was about five friends in their sixties, who decide to live together on a cocoa farm in Fiji, where one of the friends already lives and invites them to join her. They leave their homes and move in there. They decide to start a chocolate business, and it’s not so much about the chocolate business but about the things they discover about themselves and each other while spending all of their time together. There were some surprises for me, I guess that was what helped me to keep reading. I was kind of interested in the chocolate business but that isn’t as much described as the relationship between the friends, both past and present is discovered. There was enough to keep me reading but I think I may have stopped reading it if I hadn’t promised the review. I’m not the most fabulous writer, I can’t break down what went wrong with the book for me, for the writer. Maybe I should stick to romance novels…… My apologies to the author.

The e-book was given in exchange for an honest review from Net Galley:

Description as found on Net Galley:
A novel of five lifelong friends who, in their sixties, decide to live together on a cocoa farm in Fiji, where they not only start a chocolate business but strengthen their friendships and rediscover themselves.

"I've planted my feet on Fijian earth and I intend to stay here until the last sunset. Why don't you join me? Leave behind everything that didn't work out!"

When Sina, Maya, Ingrid, and Lisbeth each receive a letter in the mail posing the same question, the answer is obvious. Their old high school friend Kat—Kat the adventurer, Kat who spread her wings and took off as soon as they graduated—has extended the invitation of a lifetime: Come live with me on my cocoa farm in Fiji. Come spend the days eating chocolate and gabbing like teenagers once again, free from men, worries, and cold. Come grow old in paradise, together, as sisters. Who could say no?
Now in their sixties, the friends have all but resigned themselves to the cards they've been dealt. There's Sina, a single mom with financial woes; gentle Maya who feels the world slipping away from her; Ingrid, the perennial loner; Lisbeth, a woman with a seemingly picture-perfect life; and then Kat, who is recently widowed. As they adjust to their new lives together, the friends are watched over by Ateca, Kat's longtime housekeeper, who oftentimes knows the women better than they know themselves and recognizes them for what they are: like "a necklace made of shells: from the same beach but all of them different." Surrounded by an azure-blue ocean, cocoa trees, and a local culture that is fascinatingly, joyfully alien, the friends find a new purpose in starting a business making chocolate: bittersweet, succulent pieces of happiness.
A story of love, hope, and chocolate, PIECES OF HAPPINESS will reaffirm your faith in friendship, second chances, and the importance of indulging one's sweet tooth.

Pieces of Happiness by Anne Ostby is an unusual book in that the five main characters are all in their sixties.  Kat, Ingrid, Maya, Lisbeth, and Sina are long time friends who like many of us have allowed time to cause them to drift apart.  After the death of her husband, Kat invites her old friends to move in with her on the island of Fiji.  Each lady receives an individualized letter calling them back to their old friendship and encouraging them to make a new home together.  Eventually, they decide to go into business together making and exporting chocolate.

This book had multiple narrators but it was not a distraction.  Each main character took turns narrating but interspersed among those chapters was also chapters by Ateca, the housekeeper and native to Fiji.  Ateca's chapters while usually short were often the most interesting voice to read because she had an overall perspective of the group of ladies.  Her thoughts were not clouded by any past shared among the women.  The chapters by each member of the friend group are interesting as well.  The reader gets information about the current setting and time but also information about each woman's past.

This novel was an enjoyable read.  It was not action packed but it did not need to be.  It was more of a character study and exploration of long term friendship and how valuable that is particularly in older age.  I look forward to reading more by this author.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book.

It took me awhile to get into this book mainly because of trying to keep the characters straight. Once I had a good grasp on who was who, I started enjoying the story. The theme is pretty universal - women of a 'certain age' trying to make sense of their lives and make decisions on what they will do with their last years, how they will remain relevant and enjoy their lives.

It was interesting to see the changes that came about in each of the women as they adapted to their new life. There were secrets that were revealed, personalities that changed, and friendships that grew stronger.

This is a good book that will be especially enjoyable to baby boomer women!

This book is about a group of elderly women who go to stay with an old friend in Fiji. As they become reacquainted they discover things about themselves. The book was very slow to me. Had a hard time finishing it. Nothing really happens and I did not connect enough to get into the characters. From the description I expected more.

Anne Ostby has charmingly combined the life experiences of her Norwegian characters to create an informative and heartwarming story of old friends, unexpectedly reunited, in the foreign paradise of Fiji.
In her mid 60's and recently widowed, Kat invites four of her oldest friends from high school to live with her on a cocoa plantation in Fiji and perhaps start a chocolate business together.
Each comes with her own expectations and worries - they haven't seen each other in years, old wounds are opened and alliances are reunited.

I read that the author has actually lived in Fiji and the authentic tone of this carefully researched book enriches the characters and saves it from becoming another relationship / family drama.
The people of Fiji and their customs are well developed and realistic. The descriptions of how chocolate is made was also interesting.

The novel is about friendship, hope and chocolate, but it also about the power of forgiveness, even for those who think they have nothing to forgive.

I tried but i could not get into this book. It is well written just not the type of book id choose for myself nor gift it. It is slow and boring. I barely made it out of Ch.1 and it took ages to do that. I was excited reading the description but this fell short. Sorry.

PIECES OF HAPPINESS is a gorgeous novel of a fresh start for a group of Norwegian women in their late 60s as they come together again on a cocoa farm in Fiji. The descriptions and settings are incredibly lush and I was captivated by the Fijian culture depicted in the book. The stories of Sina, Lisbeth, Ingrid, Maya, and Kat are achingly realistic and wistful as the women figure out how enter the later stage of their lives together in an island paradise. There is grief and rebirth interwoven with the start of their new business venture creating chocolate for export back to Norway. The Fijian characters, including Ateca (Kat's housekeeper and a main narrator of the book), and their culture in this story add an excellent layer of authenticity and richness.

In addition, I was most astounded by what I learned in the author's note - this book was written originally in Norwegian and translated to English by one of the author's daughters for the American release - I had NO idea that the book was not originally written in English while I was reading because it was done so expertly. Also, I was delighted to find that Ostby (who has traveled and lived in many parts of the world) worked closely with a woman in Fiji to ensure the authenticity of the portrayal of Fiji and its peoples.

Pick this one up if you are looking for a gorgeously written story set in a unique and exotic location + a cast of complex and heartfelt characters in a stage of life often ignored in contemporary fiction. Highly recommend.

After traveling the world then settling in Fiji Kay's husband passed away leaving her with their cocoa farm. Kat invites her old Norwegian friends Maya, Lisbet, Ingrid and Sina to come live on the farm with her, where together they decide to start a chocolate business. This is a really nice novel about friendship that is told from the point of view of all the women and also Atheca, Kat's helper. I really enjoyed the setting of the book, including many cultural references to Fiji customs, traditions, and food.

Received an advanced copy in exchange for a fair review.

Pieces of Happiness was not what I expected. It was a lot of books rolled up into one, and just when I thought I had it figured out, it took a left turn and I was back to square one. On the surface, this book is what it's subtitle says: a novel of friendship, hope and chocolate. But none of those themes ever manage to be fully explored, leaving me disappointed.

The book explores what happens when a group of women who were friends in high school in Norway heed the call of one of their number to run away to her Fijian cocoa plantation. Kat was always the adventurous one but is dissatisfied since the recent death of her husband and reaches out to each of these women offering them what she thinks they need: a change, an escape, a rescue. The novel switches perspectives between the women who, to Ostby's credit, each have their own voice and personality that comes through almost immediately.

Ingrid feels like an outsider and has worked in the same boring accounting job for decades. Lisbeth lives a glamorous life with a rich husband but is frustrated with the distance between them and his obvious philandering. Maya is having health issues, which are eventually explained, and feels lost and at times fragile. Each woman has her own reasons for traveling halfway around the world in her 60s, but they are galvanized by the idea of taking Kat's cocoa farm and manufacturing their own chocolate.

Unfortunately, Ostby spends so much time balancing all of these characters, motivations and plots that none are fleshed out enough. The jumping perspectives never let you spend too long with any one woman and the chocolate plot comes and goes in a way that seems unbelievable: a startup business like that would probably be all-consuming, not an afterthought, right? The passage of time is also vague. At one point, I had not realized the women had been in Fiji for months until it was explicitly mentioned.

I struggled to get through Pieces of Happiness before I learned it's one of those books that you need to sink into and read in one long afternoon. I was reading it in 30-minute increments and not making much progress, nor was I particularly excited to pick it up each time. Then I finished the second half in a few hours. I was engaged but not excited to keep reading.

Kat and her husband spent their life together traveling the world and trying to leave places better than they found them. All their humanitarian efforts were fulfilling, but they didn't leave time for children. And when it was time to retire, they bought a cocoa farm in Fiji, to spend their final decades together on the beach, enjoying the tropical climate and harvesting cocoa beans. However, an unfortunate accident left Kat alone, and she comes up with an idea on how to deal with her empty house. 

Hence the letter. 

One letter each, to her four best friends from their Norwegian high school, inviting each of them to a room in her house. A free retirement, and in Fiji. Sina, a single mother whose grown son never really found his place, is looking for an escape from what she feels is a dreary life. Ingrid, a solid and dependable woman, has always wanted to unleash her wild side. Lisbeth has spent her life looking beautiful, and she is tired of how her husband has traded her in for younger models as time went by. And Maya, beloved by her daughter, is starting to struggle with health issues. 

As they all gather together in Fiji, these 60-year-old women put their relationships to the test. Old resentments mix with tropical breezes as the women deal with everything that they left behind to come to Fiji and everything that they are facing in their new lives. New bonds form as they get to know each other all over again, new challenges are faced, and old friends find forgiveness. 

Originally written in Norwegian and translated to English (among many other languages), Pieces of Happiness is a moving story of women reinventing themselves in retirement and discovering the joys and struggles of growing older. Author Anne Ostby looks deeply at the ties that bind us and the ones that can wedge us apart, reminding us of what's really important in life and what can be tossed in the wind to be carried away. The novel is told through the voices of the women, so we get a true insider's look at each woman's life and mind. And as a bonus, we get the thoughts and prayers of Ateca, Kat's housekeeper, who offers us the perspective of a native islander and whose compassion and insight offers a lovely counterpoint to the women and their individual challenges. 

Pieces of Happiness is a moving, gorgeous novel about women's friendships. It's as refreshing as a vacation on a beach, with a chocolate chaser. I highly recommend you take this trip!



Galleys for Pieces of Happiness were provided by Doubleday Books through NetGalley.com, with many thanks.