I am a sucker for a book about a writer. The writing for this book was not the most incredible, but the plot kept me completely hooked.

This book is one of those reads I found by scrolling through my recommendations, and I'm quite happy that I picked it up. I was intrigued by the blurb, and really, the story was what kept me going from start to finish. The plot was so interesting, I just had to read it. However, I struggled a bit with the writing style. Maybe I'm used to something different, but I can't really put into words what bothered me, except that the dialogues felt off sometimes. (I scrolled through a bunch of other reviews, and maybe it's just me and not the book.)

As I said, I loved the storyline. The female protagonist, Gaia, is a successful romance novelist with magical abilities. I enjoyed the premise that every scene she writes down, she gets to live it out in her dreams. Cue the handsome younger brother of her best friend, Jacob. As she tries to hide in one of the bedrooms during her friend's party, she stumbles upon Jacob, obviously dressed in only a towel. And we all know what's going to happen, right?! As she gets home, she starts plotting and envisioning Jacob as the male main character. Like always, her writing comes to life in her dreams, only that this Jacob seems to have a mind on his own. It turns out it's actually her best friend's younger brother dreaming and not following along with the scene Gaia imagined. She finds herself questioning how he is able to enter her magical dream and if that means anything to her ability.

As light as this story might seem, this book also explores heavier topics (CW for anxiety and panic attacks). Gaia grew up in foster care and still deals with severe social anxiety and panic attacks. This is why she ends up hiding in one of the bedrooms. Jacob, on the other hand, is a classical workaholic, seeing it as his responsibility to keep the family and his father's business together. Both have a lot to work through; thus I wouldn't consider this a light read.

Apart from the problems I've mentioned, I enjoyed this book. A contemporary romance with a magical twist which people definitely should give a go, if the blurb catches their attention. Solid 3 stars.

it didn't felt new or exciting in the way i was expecting. i felt like the dialogue was just like every other dialogue you can find in this type of book. there was nothing special or unique about it, but the plot was interesting enough to keep me engaged and wanting to get to the end.

-magical realism
-romance author MC
-Cape Town, South Africa
Although this is a contemporary romance with a cute cartoon cover, don’t just expect a fluffy read. Gaia and Jacob both confront their traumas brought on my difficult pasts, while sharing a rare connection that’s evident in the sparkling dialogue. I loved the element of magical realism and how it was in the hands of the riveting and witty Gaia (who’s also a romance author, so bonus points!). Jacob’s workaholic self really complemented her well and I adored seeing the “power of dreams” trope.

AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER by Therese Beharrie is an adult contemporary romance with a magical twist. It follows Gaia Anders, a popular romance author, and everything she writes during the day turns real in her dreams at night. Those powers are something she has guarded for many years, never sharing this secret with anyone – that is until she meets Jacob. The two of them share a passionate real-life kiss, and then they end up meeting in their dreams.

It is an emotional slow-burn romance, it has the best friend’s brother trope, and it’s unlike any romance I’ve ever read. It’s unique, sweet, and emotional. It’s also really character and dialogue-driven, which made it really quick to read. It’s also super focused on the two main characters, which I always love in romances.

My favorite part of this book were probably the main characters. Gaia is really lonely and seeks refuge in her dreams, never quite satisfied or safe in the real world. She suffers from anxiety and she is terrified to let anyone close because she grew up in the foster system, and never got the kind of love and care she deserved. Jacob is a total sweetheart, and it was amazing to see him help Gaia get out of her shell and help her see the beauty in the real world. That message was amazing. I wish I got to know Jacob a little bit more but I don’t mind that it was more focused on Gaia because it made sense in the story.

If you’d like to read a sweet romance with a sprinkle of magic, anxiety representation, and a bit of a story within a story aspect, definitely pick this one up!

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝑵𝒆𝒕𝑮𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆-𝒂𝒓𝒄.



𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭:

The plot was much more engaging and interesting than what o thought it would be. So basically plot revolves around the heroine kind of living in her stories by dreaming it and if there’s changes in the dreams, the story she writes also changes.

So that alone intrigued me because I’m someone who really likes and is thrilled of dreams especially those that I just glimpses of and not remembering anything (just sharing 😆)

Although I did felt that story felt dragged and there’s some inconsistency in it’s pacing as well as the writing, I was still engaged throughout the end of the story.

Another thing I enjoyed is that there’s also a subplot going on that tackled with family issues and anxiety problems that I could really relate to as someone who’s dealing with anxiety and stress so it’s really great for me that the book added those subplot.


𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬:

The characters are definitely charming. They really did grew on me even though I did suffer a number of second hand embarrassment because of some scenes.

The romance between Gaia and Jacob felt a little underwhelmed for me but overall I think it’s okay.

As for the friendship of Seth and Gaia, I just hoped they had much more scenes and that the story did explore more of them.


𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥:

I think this is a good paranormal romance book that concept’s I have yet to read and it was really fun for me. I’ll definitely want to read more from this author.

Things I enjoyed about this story:
• Anyone who suffers with any degree of anxiety or has someone close to them who does will appreciate how sensitively and observantly the author describes Gaia’s difficulties.
• I liked the dream subplot. The idea of an author disappearing into her created world when she dreams, and the story writing itself, is quite intriguing.
• Gaia’s ‘stalker fan’ who turns out to have a lot more to offer… loved that addition to the story too.
Areas for improvement:
• Some dialogues didn’t seem to make sense. In fact, some dialogues and some scenes went on too long.
• There was a disconnect at times between the reader and the characters.
• There were several story lines and not all seemed to gel and so I couldn’t feel as immersed in the story as I like.
Overall a fun romcom with a fairy-tale twist!

One unexpected kiss . . .
Successful romance author Gaia Anders has a secret: anything she dreams at night is magically written into her bestselling novels. After a lonely childhood in foster care, her dream life is the only one she trusts. Gaia’s waking life just can’t compare—until she gets caught in one utterly surprising, crazy-passionate, real-life kiss . . .

This book just really wasn’t for me. I love the concept, of the dreams and writing etc. but it was all a bit to over the top. I only got about a quarter of the way through and I just couldn’t carry on with it. I felt the language was a bit too fluffy, making me feel a bit cringe and I didn’t really warm to the characters. One scene at the beginning when the couple meet is so drawn out (I think it lasts 3 or 4 chapters).
I do think some will love this, and as I said I absolutely loved the concept, but it just wasn’t for me.

Although I've enjoyed other books by this author, this one didn't do it for me. Gaia is an author and everything she dreams about ends up in her books. She and her best friend's brother, Jacob, who has had a crush on her for a while, share a kiss and there seems to be this back and forth as to whether they really want to get together or not.

My biggest issue with the book is that it goes from the story to Gaia's dreams, which as i already mentioned, ends up in her book. The dreams were fantasy, and it just didn't flow with the story for me. Several times it left me very confused. The pacing of the book was also a little slow to me.

The book was very interesting from the start but really started to go down from the middle. The plot was good but overall failed to catch my attention. There are some good parts of the book too. Like the sexy romances part.

This was a quick read, but I struggled with this book partly because the transitions between the main character's dream state and reality were very choppy and so it left me confused. The writing was very disjointed.

This book didn't really work for me, but other readers might like that it's an easy read and enjoy the element of magic.

A cute fast paced romance! This book was so cute and I loved the characters. I would definitely say this is a contemporary romance with just the right amount of spice.

The plot in this story is quite enjoyable and interesting. But my problem is that the transitions were sloppy and confusing, I couldn’t know whether they were already in reality or not. The characters were okay, but the lack the spark to the story too.

I had a lot of problems with this one and if it hadn’t been for book club I would have abandoned it. Overall the writing style was fine, but the story was all over the place.

I liked the magical dreaming aspect, but nothing really became of it (besides adding some humor). Gaia’s best friend was a terrible best friend. That whole situation drove me nuts - he did not deserve her friendship one bit. Jake was ok, but he had his own issues to deal with.

The thing that drove me the most crazy was a huge bomb was dropped at 30%, nothing else really happened to it until 85% and that would have been so much more interesting than the magical dreaming and having Gaia talk about writing books all the time.

Thank you for the opportunity to review.

Cute sweet magical tale, I loved the premise of the book so I had to read it and it did not disappoint too much it wasn’t perfect but overall not a bad story. My first read from the author I’ll definitely be checking out her other work.

Okay so I know I'm giving it a 3 star but it'd a good 3 star rating.

I loved this story. It was lighthearted and fun but emotional at the same time.

I'm so lucky to have read this as a arc and I do plan on buying this book as a physical copy when I can.

Definitely reccomend this book to anyone who wants a lighthearted and fun read on a cozy winter afternoon.

Thank you to Kensington Books publisher and NetGalley for the digital advanced copy and giving me an opportunity to read this whimsical novel.

Liked the magical aspect of the story. I thought the characters were wonderful and the title was perfect. Highly recommended for readers who love rom-com novels with the magic factor.

When Gaia shows up to her best friend Seth’s house party the last thing she expects is to find herself in a compromising position with his cute younger brother, Jacob. Soon, they’re all the other can think about - both in their waking moments and in their dreams. Gaia has a gift that allows her to draw inspiration for her novels from her dreams. After she kisses Jacob, she is surprised to find herself as the main character in her dreams. Even weirder? Jacob is in the dream as well.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book, but didn’t love the execution. There was a lot of flirtation and banter right off the bat, but not a lot of action. My mind kept wandering while I read this, which was a bit of a bummer because I really wanted to enjoy this more than I did. I loved the characters that Therese created and thought they were well written. It was just hard to stay invested at times.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for a review copy.

This was a cute read with charming, well-developed characters. I enjoyed the magic and how it was woven into the story - it was well done. I really liked how the book started - quick pace and right to the meet cute. Unfortunately I think that made the progression of the story (and the main relationship) drag in comparison. And, honestly, the banter was so over-the-top suggestive that the slow burn and low steam of the relationship made me feel like I was constantly waiting for something that never came.