Though I may pick this up again in the future, I have started it twice and stopped. The mood feels gray and dreary, and is not right for me at this time. As a 66 year old, I had high hopes of a good girlfriend adventure tale, but I can't get past the sad, gritty beginning.

This book is outside the genres I typically gravitate toward, but the description sounded so intriguing that I read it anyway. Its about five women in their late sixties who come together in Fiji to live on a cocoa plantation owned by one of them to start a chocolate business. I was very interested to see how these fictional women handled such a drastic change in their pursuit of happiness, and whether it panned out. Each of the woman has a very different personality and set of circumstances from the others, which made for a great exploration of this concept. However, the complete lack of common ground and real bonding between the women was odd. The women are not close at all in the beginning of the story, and barely more so by the end. This scenario would perhaps ring more true if they were in fact sisters, then they'd at least share that familial bond to explain how they'd all end up together. Nonetheless, it was an interesting, well written story that did shed some light into what it might feel like to be a woman approaching seventy who takes a drastic measure in the hopes of being a bit happier.

I received a copy of "Pieces of Happiness: A Novel of Friendship, Hope, and Chocolate" from NetGalley for an honest review. I wish to thank NetGalley, Transworld Digital, and Anne Ostby for the opportunity to read this book.

I would rate this book 4.5 stars, but I don't have the ability to give half stars in Goodreads. This book is wonderful from the front cover (beautifully done) to the very ending! It has beautiful writing (it was difficult to believe that it was translated from Norwegian), descriptive narratives, and deep character development. I love the different perspective and view by chapter which allowed the reader to really get into the meat of the main characters.

The real reason that I was really interested in this book was that it was about Fiji. Every since I was a little girl, I have ALWAYS wanted to go there. What I truly loved was that I loved the people and Fiji EVEN more after reading this book. It was if Fiji WAS the main character and that the country was the glue that made the story even more beautiful!

I hope that the writer has her writing and writings translated going forward - she has a beautiful style and tells a great story. I highly recommend this book for summer reading!! LOVE!

This book is about enduring friendship. Kat has settled in Fiji. When her husband dies, she writes her five – all in their 60’s- friends to come and live with her on her Coca farm. And they all do.
They bring their past, their life stories. They have not kept in touch over the years, and as time goes by, we find out secrets. But as true friends they resolve their differences and help Kat bring the farm to a success. Each using their unique talents to make this happen.
This book is told in 6 points of view, the five women and Kat’s Fiji Housekeeper.

I enjoyed the different countries, the contrasts – Norway and Fuji. The descriptions of the customs and countryside, the daily living.
This book was a gift from Net Galley. Thank you!

After a slow start, this novel about 5 women in their mid-60s living together in Fiji, slowly inserts interesting tentacles that keep you reading for more. Anne Otsby is a Norwegian writer whose Pieces of Happiness: A Novel of Friendship, Hope and Chocolate, has been translated into English by one of her daughters.

Kat, recently widowed, invites four of her old high school friends to join her in Fiji where she lives with her housekeeper, Ateca (pronounced Atetha, you will find out). Sima, broke from paying off the bad debts of her middle-aged illegitimate son, Maya, in the throes of late-stage Alzheimer's, Lisbeth, escaping from her wealthy and philandering husband, and Ingrid (and her inner demon alter ego Wildrid) all accept Kat's invitation to change their lives.

The women all develop and change from the experience. They band together to build a healthy chocolate business from the cocoa trees that grow on Kat's property. Aside from the difficulty of pronouncing the local words and geographical names, the tropical atmosphere, the local language and culture seep into your consciousness until you can smell and taste it.

Of course secrets are revealed and problems solved, it is a novel, after all. (Perhaps more detail about the actual development of the chocolate business would have made the story more believable. It all seemed too easy.) That said, it is worth pursuing the book to feel as if you have traveled to far shores and tasted unusual food. Kind of like a vacation without the airfare and jet lag.

Thanks to NetGalley for a pre-publication copy to review.

I love this book. Beautiful words, a wonderful setting, and a fascinating concept. It's now on my list of recent favorites.. Reminiscent of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. When Kat loses her adventurous husband, she wants family, but she's not willing to return to the Western World. She invites several women she knew when she was growing up to join her in Fiji to live in a community house together. To her joy and surprise, they come, knowing they can leave if it doesn't work out. The care and compassion of the women for each other and how the locals adopt these crazy women is inspiring. There are challenges, for sure, and secrets revealed, and lives entwined in ways that open old wounds and heal the past. The relationships blossom like tropical flowers, and the overlay of the bittersweet chocolate Pieces of Happiness they create as a business is such a great metaphor for their new and unexpected lives at the end of their days when they all thought nothing new would ever happen. It's a delightful story, and I want to read it again for the nuances I missed.

I'm not sure I can even adequately put into words how I feel about this book. At first, I found it confusing - the constant POV switches, not quite knowing how much time had passed. It was so rarely mentioned. And yet, by the end, it didn't really matter. All that mattered was these 6 women and how their lives changed and expanded all from the one choice to live together. I found myself laughing, worrying for them, angry, and moved to tears. I loved all of them and cheered them on the whole way, even when I wanted to yell at them. I think this is a story I would gladly read again and highly recommend to people.

Tedious read due to pace. It was very slow, as much as I found the plot intriguing and the characters well developed the speed was what ruined this for me.

Kat lives on Fiji after years traveling around the world with her husband, trying to save the world. When Niklas dies, Kat invites her four high school friends from Norway to visit, and possibly stay. All four, Ingrid, Maya, Sina and Lysbeth , have secrets and hopes they have kept hidden. Now in their late sixties, are the women ready to start over and redefine what they want in life? A book of friendship, this novel is a bit different with a unique setting and some interesting characters.

Very slow moving, but very deep in regards to friendships

This is a book I doubt I would have ever tried had it not been for NetGalley. Doubtful it would have even been on my radar. It's a joyous gift of a book, and one I will share with special girlfriends. i loved it.

This book came along at just the right time. Sometimes the world is a cold, inhospitable place and you need to find refuge. The best place to do that is in a book, and this book in particular will surround you with friendship, love, warm winds, and chocolate! Five high school friends have reached their sixties, a time in life where many things are ending. If they are offered a new beginning , will they take it? Kat has a cocoa farm in Fiji and has invited her old friends to come live with her – no more snow, no more man troubles, just sisterhood, sunshine and chocolate. Each of the women have led very different lives and each has a different reason for moving to Fiji, but once they are back together again, these women will find new purpose and hope for the future. I loved this book and desperately want a friend to invite me to live on an island in the sun! This book was an island of calm happiness in a time of crisis for me