Cover Image: Happy & You Know It

Happy & You Know It

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Member Reviews

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The book grabbed me from the first chapter. Although I am long past the age of the characters, I found it interesting to read about the lifestyles of the rich mothers in Manhattan.
I enjoyed learning about the surprising backstories of each of the moms, and the young musician whom they hired to entertain their babies at their weekly playgroups.
Then the story became twisted and and humorous and I thoroughly was caught up. It never disappointed, and I enjoyed all of the twists, until the very end.

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Thank you Netgalley and publishers for sending me this arc. I will be reviewing this book.properly in the near future with an honest teview.

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This book is one of those unexpected surprise reads that I ended up enjoying.

I started the book and was kind of iffy. These women were a little annoying. I couldn’t relate to most of them. I gave it a chance and kept going. I am SO glad that I did! While some of the characters were annoying to start, I had changed my mind about most of them by the end. There are twists and turns I didn’t see coming. That is what made this book enjoyable for me. I love when I don’t see how a book is going to end! The author had a plan and I am glad I stuck it out! Secrets, lies, and deceit make for a pretty good read.

I am open to reading more from this author and look forward to seeing what she releases next. I give this 4 stars.

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Happy & You Know It is basically a beach read on steroids. I was looking for some escape reading and hade a perfect mix of twists and humor. It’s fast-paced, witty and a little dark.

While it was a little out there with the exaggerated plot, it totally worked in so many ways. It had a relatable take on upper-class new motherhood, social media and other cultural phenomena.

You either loved or hated these characters which were part of the appeal. It was super readable, engaging and not as predictable as I originally thought. I found this book to be was the perfect brain candy that was the perfect balance of being ridiculous and totally relatable at the same time. This would make the perfect vacation read I highly recommend adding it to your summer reading list.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for an advanced copy.

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This is the first book I have read by this author, and it will not be my last. In this novel you find those women you love to hate. The type of women who post the perfect mommy blog, lose weight easily, lose that pesky baby weight, beautiful, beautiful family, beautiful children, hair that you envy, flawless skin... I could go on. I think of those picture perfect Instagram families, and have to remind myself that they only post the best, and these women try to live the best. But as the book goes on we see they all have their own secrets. This is a great book that has mystery and dark humor, and I adored it. I also like how the chapters present themselves and how each one wraps up. I will highly recommend this, and will also get the audiobook. This would be amazing with the different characters being voiced! Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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A delightful send-up of rich mom culture, that managed to have heart even when circumstances were over-the-top.

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This was loads of fun, and quirks...had no idea in which direction the story was going but just happy to be on the "ride". And then it totally took a huge turn...great ending!

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What a fantastic story. After reading the description, I thought the book might be a frivolous quick read about rich mommies. It was so much more. I loved the setting and the characters. I didn't see the twist at the end coming and found this to be a great read. I look forward to reading more from Laura Hankin in the future. Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy. I will definitely be recommending this book!

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I really enjoyed this and didn't see the twist coming! The author did a good job of making the characters come alive and showing how awkward mom relationships can be. It was a fun, quick and easy read. I would have loved an epilogue though!

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When a musician subs in as children's musician in a playgroup for the 1%, she's reeling from the reality that the struggling band she helped build has hit the big time -- without her. Claire is surprised to find herself embraced by the Instagram-famous playgroup moms she is paid to entertain. But there are secrets under the veneer. When Claire accidentally discovers an invisible hand guiding the women, she finds herself the moral center and awakens her own voice. While one one hand a sharp satire of Manhattan's elite, the underlying pathos is impossible to ignore.

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Poor rich mummies. All that money but all desperate to prove they can be the best mother. If you can afford to pay ridiculous wages to a woman who comes to sing nursery rhymes to your kid, then surely you can afford a part-time nanny! It was pretty hard to like or feel any empathy for these privileged women. But maybe that's the point? It makes their screw ups much more entertaining to read about! Claire was a hot mess with her heart in the right place. But I also wondered if she just liked to jump in and stir everything up.

So even though I didn't like any of the female characters (Daniel was a sweetheart) I still really enjoyed this book. It was sharp, cutting and a little bit wicked. i would have enjoyed seeing some of the side characters getting more book time, especially Vicky (why did she never speak!). But the story was clever and unexpected. I will definitely look for further novels.

Thank you Netgalley for my ARC.

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Clap your hands for this book! And I hope to surely show you how much I enjoyed this novel.

I savored every page because each one is filled with heart and understanding. Yes, there are plenty of closeups of our current times, and snapshots of what it’s like to be mother of a baby when you were used to being an independent woman. In an Instagram world, are we still real?

We meet a playgroup of Mom and their babies, the lifestyles of the rich in New York City. We also get know Claire, a young musician who entertains the playgroup. Their worlds aren’t as disparate as they first believe. Each Mom in the playgroup is a well-developed character, as is Claire.

At the beginning of the story, we are part of a wild scene which is not resolved until the end. Even though we know that there is some kind of problem, there are more twists and turns in this tale than a Chutes and Ladders game, as the wheels on the bus come off.

Engaging, insightful, fun exciting- I highly recommend this book. And I’m also glad that my kids are adults and fine! Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for a digital review copy. This is my honest review.

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I thought this would be a silly, light read but it took me completely by surprise in the best possible way. There was never a dull moment which I fully appreciated and it kept me so interested that I never wanted to put it down. Happy & You Know It covers the important topics of social media influence and parenting without getting to deep and intense. I highly recommend that you add this to your TBR pile. You won't regret it.

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I had hopes for this novel by Laura Hankin; hope that the novel would have strong characters that I could connect with, since the premise is one of a mommy play group. I struggled to connect with the moms though, at last settling that I could perhaps connect with Claire, though I felt it was a forced connection.

I appreciated Claire was hyper aware of all the oddities from the moms in this playgroup, and in the end Amara was one that finally came around to be admirable. I just struggled to connect with the characters and the choices each woman makes. No judgement, it just wasn’t for me.

I felt at times the swearing in the novel was too much. I do not consider myself a prude in that respect, but I felt it was sprinkled at inopportune times in a effort to reach a different readership demographic.

The only somewhat surprise element was Gwen, and even then I just kept feeling sorrow for her children and disgust of her as a character.

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Claire is an out of work musician whose former band just exploded on the charts. When her finances start looking bleak she takes a job leading a music class for a Manhattan play group full of gorgeous, rich, competitive, and rich stay-at-home mommies. That's when things get weird.

Happy & You Know It is partially a treatise on how hard it is to be a mom and partially an indictment of "super-mommy" culture. But then it's also a full of drug use, illicit affairs, and secrets. SO MANY SECRETS. It's like if Sex and the City took place in a playgroup with a high instagram following.

I couldn't put it down.

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I really enjoyed the complexities of the characters. At first, they seemed one-dimensional but as you read further you learned why they are the way they are and the many secrets they are trying to hide.

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I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Claire gets kicked out of a band and is forced to sing for elitist mom playgroups in order to earn a living. Although she gets off to a rocky start, she bonds with several of the women only to face betrayal. The ending is a but unrealistic, but very satisfying.

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A down and out musician, Claire, takes a job leading singalongs for a playgroup made up of rich, privileged women and their babies. But of course Claire soon discovers that the women and their lives are not as perfect as they appear on the surface. Smart, entertaining novel that refreshingly had no romance element! Very enjoyable!

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I enjoyed this book, because the plot was such a drastic change from so many others that I have read.
The friendships and situations encountered felt as if they could really have happened.
The level of competition between these women, which seemed so innocuous at first, was actually very harmful on so many levels, but was very well developed and kept the story interesting. I couldn't put it down for very long at a time without thinking about it constantly. I have already shared the title of this book with several women, with instructions that they REALLY need to purchase it and read it, when it becomes available. I highly recommend this book and think it would make a great book club selection!

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I thought I might be reaching my saturation point for witty takes on privileged playgroups and Instagram moms -- but this novel was a pleasant surprise. Observant, entertaining, and delightfully unpredictable, with characters I came to like (or like to hate) and an ending that was satisfying without tying everything up in too neat of a bow. A quick and mischievous read -- I'll be looking for more from this author!

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