DNF at 30%. I loved the concept and thought the aspect of meeting up in their dreams was really interesting. Unfortunately, the execution just didn’t work for me. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

This main character wasn’t very interesting and she read like a stereotype more than a person. I personally like characters that have more personality and aren’t one dimensional. The plot itself wasn’t for me. I don’t think I like magic in a realistic setting in this sense, it just made no sense and I needed it to. It felt like it was there to be there. Not a very thrilling romance book for me.

I adored everything about this book. I've never read a magical realism romance before, and it was delightful. This book had me cackling out loud and swooning right alongside Jade and Gaia over Jacob. Beharrie handles Gaia's struggles with anxiety with humor, sensitivity, and grace. I have anxiety and have never felt more represented in a book, especially in a romance. Gaia's struggles were so incredibly relatable and real to me.

This book was unexpected. I inhaled it. Highly recommend it for fans of Sally Thorne, Talia Hibbert, and Tessa Bailey.

I definitely need to read more Therese Beharrie. Thank you so much to Zebra Books and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc of this fantastic read.

This has such an interesting concept that the romance author mc would write out her scenes then dream them that night and she wakes up with the manuscript edited for any improvisations in the reenactment. Um where do I sign up for this magical ability?! It sounds great! I no longer dream since I sleep so little but I used to have vivid dreams and sometimes I would actually be reading books in a dream which honestly is your brain making up a story so I don't know how much rest I was actually getting and all I saw was two pages like ok. But I would have control in my dreams and could fly and do all sorts of stuff.

I love dreams and the power of them since I have randomly felt deja vu my whole life from dreams. The week I had my first daughter I had cluster feelings dating back to high school. I have never had that happen before or since so I thought this book was so fun!

Gaia is a romance author that can literally escape into her books in her dreams. When her best friend Seth tries to get her to socialize at a party she runs into his younger brother Jacob who she hasn't seen in years and who has not gotten any less hot. After a steamy makeout session the friend walks in on them and they get in trouble lol. Then he starts making appearances in her dreams as well. And things start to get interesting fast!

I loved how this book spoke about anxiety and the struggle of feeling like someone can and will love you when you feel like you aren't worth the trouble. Gaia grew up in the foster system and had trouble with change and trusting for good reason. And the magic was an escape and she may not be the only one.

OMG the author's note! I share unsolicited kid pics too! It was so hard to work with kids in the beginning of the pandemic especially since you were a new mom with twins. Everyone deserves something sweet.

Thank you kensingtonbooks and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

Alas, I needed the prose to meet the concept in this book. I wasn't mad that there was an insta-lust situation in this book, but I wanted the dream segments to have lusher, dreamier prose and I wanted what was set in reality to feel more grounded. This book was often so dialogue heavy I found myself a little unmoored. That said, I really loved Gaia's character and I'm always happy for more portrayals of anxiety in romance.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

This was unfortunately not to my taste and I didn't enoy it. I read around 100 romances every year so I'm starting to really know a great romance.

The main characters fell in lust at once and I didn't buy it. Seth was a shitty friend and she should have dumped him a long time ago. I put it down after a while because I couldn't keep my interest in it.

Highly recommend this book! This was my first book to read by this author and I can't wait to read more! The characters and the story stay with you long after you finish the book. One of the best books I have read in a long time.

This contemporary romance delivers on emotions, humor, and that extra spark of something literally magical. Gaia is a romance writer who dreams what she wrote about that day, filling the starring role. In the dream, she can adjust what happens as she experiences the story. When Gaia wakes up, her draft is already adjusted to match these improvements. Normally too anxious to get close to people in the real world, Gaia is surprised by how comfortable she feels around her best friend's brother, Jacob. A flirty exchange escalates to a steamy kiss, and that night, Jacob finds himself playing the hero in one of Gaia's dreams. Now they must contend with the fact that Jacob has somehow been drawn in by her writing magic and is destined to act in her romance plots in the dream world.

I have found it suprisingly difficult as a great fan of romance and magic to find an intersection that works for me, and this book completely nailed it. It's primarily a romance with all the strengths of the genre that leave me swooning and deep in my feels at different moments. Gaia's role as a romance author provided multiple layers to appreciate all that the genre can do for its readers and the importance of the messages it can convey. This is one of the good ones, people, with all the sexiest features: clear communication, consent, and supporting/pushing each other through big life changes *major heart eyes.*

The real world elements of the book are heavy in the sense that there are complex struggles and emotions on hand; particularly check the author's content warnings for anxiety, panic attacks, and a childhood in the foster care system. Being a romance novel, these topics are attacked head on as part of the characters' ultimately joyful journey. I most love romances with a full range of emotions, and this one delivered. It explores relationships with family, friends, and careers, offering complete side plots that add dimension to our understanding of the characters' lives. The magic added a touch of excitement and wonder with perfect scenarios for funny encounters, and I enjoyed this embellishment with enthusiasm.

This is a strong romance novel in any way you care to measure it. A complete knockout. Thanks to Kensington for my copy to read and review!

This year I’ve gotten to read a lot of different types of romances written by authors of color about characters of color, and it’s been so cool. And They Lived Happily Ever After by Therese Beharrie is a treat because it features a lot of tropes/themes I love—shared dreams, magic, special powers/gifts, pining/crush, and friends to lovers—in an own voices romance. Plus, it’s also about writing, particularly romance novels. All the things I love! Funny, steamy, poignant, thoughtful, and sexy, And They Lived Happily Ever After explores the aftereffects of growing up in the foster system in a nuanced and imaginative way and how grief fundamentally affects and alters family relationships and family members left behind. Beharrie’s description is vivid, and her narrative style is distinctive.

South African romance author Gaia Anders dreams her bestselling novels into being, literally. It’s a gift she’s relied on as an escape from the remnants of her time as a child raised in foster care, and she’s never questioned it until a real-life passionate kiss with Jacob Scott changes everything. Crushing on Gaia, his brother’s best friend, since childhood is status quo for Jacob. He never expected anything to come of his feelings until each night after their kiss, he begins experiencing shared dreams with Gaia that allow them to live out their fantasies. Though they don’t compare to reality for him. Can he convince Gaia it’s worth taking a risk on love in the real world and leaving her dream worlds to be with him, especially when he has family drama and baggage of his own that he’s struggling to resolve?

An imaginative, gifted, free-spirited, snarky, suborn, dreamer, Gaia is lonely, distrustful of people, socially awkward, and hiding more profound pain and secrets from her best friend, the world, and herself. When she starts spending time with Jacob, those secrets are at risk of being exposed. But being with Jacob also brings light to her life and positive emotions and feelings she experiences in the real world for the first time. From the outside, Jacob is a workaholic businessman, who is dutiful, selfless, loyal, perceptive, and the family peacekeeper. But inside, he’s desperately unhappy, trapped between his father and brother, and driven to keep a promise that keeps him from living his own life. Gaia’s and Jacob’s interactions are snarky, hilarious, sparking with chemistry, filled with intimacy and heat, contributing to their excellent character development. Their characters, struggles, and stories are relatable, making it easy for readers to empathize and care for them.

And They Lived Happily Ever After is an emotional, thought-provoking, relatable, laugh out loud, sexy, snarky, and steamy romance about self-discovery, belonging, family, social anxiety, facing your fears, letting go of the past, and opening your heart to accept love into your life.

Why you should read this book:
☁️ romance writer heroine
☁️ magical shenanigans in a contemporary setting
☁️ lots of flirting and banter!
☁️ Best friend’s sexy and dorky brother
☁️ anxiety disorder rep

And the great big cherry on top is that whatever the heroine writes that day in her romance novels ends up in her dreams. AND the hero experiences those dreams with her!!

Although I loved the premise and the push and pull between the main characters, the execution was inconsistent for me. The pacing was disjointed and I sometimes found myself a bit lost.

I enjoyed Gaia & Jacob’s story. The concept that Gaia is an author that dreams about the stories she’s writing was intriguing. Then when she & Jacob kiss then he ends up part of those dreams, it really upped the storyline. I felt invested in the characters & wanted to see what happened next. The addition of Jacob’s family & Gemma & Levi was a nice bonus. I hope Gemma’s story is next.

Thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

And they Lived Happily Ever After
3/5 stars

I was really captured and intrigued by the summary. That’s what led me to request an eARC from Netgalley.
Gaia is a romance author that has a magic touch. Literally. Anything Gaia writes, she will dream about as the leading MC. How freaking cool is that!! Only she knows this so when Jacob, her best friends brother, ends up in her dreams and is able to deviate from the plot/storyline, it leaves Gaia with so many questions. I enjoyed the instant connection with Jacob and Gaia but being more of a slow burn fan myself, it was too quick.

I really did enjoy the backstory for Jacob and to get to know why he’s a workaholic. Though the storyline was very intriguing, i had a hard time finding myself reaching for the book or really understanding what was going on with the story. That may be more on my ability to grasp vs the writing but that’s how I felt. Overall a very cool plot but I don’t think I was the intended audience for this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Zebra Books for a copy of

Part of her success as a romance author comes from the dreams she has about them. When her dreams is shared by the hero, the secret is out. As the two grapples with the implications of the shared dreams, they became closer. But their relationship is faced with obstacles from their pasts, familial issues, and personal struggles. How will they get their happy ending?

This is a solid start to the series. I liked the portrayals of the main characters in the story. There were a mixed bag of secondary characters that were likable and annoying. I do feel that the story needed to be expanded more as it didn't feel quite complete in my eyes. However, I enjoyed reading the book and look forward to the next one in the series.

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions and thoughts in the review are my own.**

A beautiful story of magical realism that touched upon difficult topics including anxiety and foster care but also delivered on its romance. Super cute and it takes place in South Africa which is a place I hadn't visited in books and now can't wait to visit in real life!

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was sweet, heartwarming, romantic, and the characters had real life imperfections that they had to deal with to be able to find the love they seek. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books by this author.

The book starts with the author acknowledging the fact that this book contains depictions of panic attacks and anxiety disorders. Beharrie warns you to take care of yourself and to avoid if it is a trigger for you. This how is how this book starts and this level of care is displayed throughout the entire read. It is written with so much grace and attentiveness. The characters are written with love and depth, and I absolutely adored it.

This was compared with The Ex Hex and Payback’s a Witch in the summary, and I think those comparisons are made because of the element of magic in this romance. In reality though, it is quite different and I think if you are expecting a witchy sort of read you will be disappointed so do not go into this expecting that. The magic is fascinating (I mean, the characters are interacting in dreams in an Inception kind of way) but if I am honest a bit weak. There are no real explanations for anything and so the magical worldbuilding is a bit underdeveloped.

That all said, the stories and the journeys the characters are on are not underdeveloped at all. The chemistry is great and I was very emotionally invested in what was happening between our characters. By the time I turned the last page I was in love with the story and excited because there is a promise of a sequel – with ghosts! If y’all know me, you know I love a good ghostly read. Throw in romance and I am even more excited! All in all, I think this is a romance read not to be missed.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington for letting me read this lovely book!

I really enjoyed this book! I got really involved with all of the characters and I would definitely recommend this to a friend! Thanks so much for the advanced reader copy!

I'd recommend this for people who like romance with a dash of paranormal, accurate representation of anxiety and family burdens, and deep romances with sweet main characters and love interests.

This book is so meta: a romance author who dreams the scenes she writes and then her best friends brother starts infiltrating her steamy romance dreams. META and I loved that part of it.

I enjoyed this, and will definitely read Gemma's story, but I wanted more. The summary is perfection and unfortunately the writing didn't live up to the amazing story that Beharrie had laid out. I won't stop reading Beharrie: on the contrary; I am even more excited to see her growth from here, see Gemma's story, and learn more about her background. I hope that others read it and really enjoy it.

Gaia Anders is a romance author who dreams what she wrote in the previous day. After she re-meets her best friend's brother, total dreamboat Jacob, he starts appearing in her dreams as well.

I thought this book looked so cute! I was interested after reading that the main character was romance author in South Africa. I really enjoyed the representation in this book, from having a main character from a foster system processing her trauma from that experience and her issues with managing her mental health. I liked seeing dreamy descriptions of dark skin, curves, and curly hair. The leading man, Jacob, is also a charming hottie whom I quite liked reading about!

However, I feel like everything in this book was a little off. The characters and setup were there, but I wasn't really compelled by any of the characters and didn't feel like there was a strong resolution to the plot. I felt like this book did a lot of "tell not show" with characters talking about how great Gaia is. I would have liked to see more of her awesomeness than just hearing about it from others. While I'm glad that mental health was represented, I thought that part of it was shown in kind of a weird way (being in bed for days and then immediately getting back to things). Mental health looks different for different people, but as a psychologist, it felt a little inauthentic to me. The characters had strange gaps of not talking to each other but then going back to whatever was happening two weeks ago. It felt really stilted and like people weren't acting like humans. Magic is in this story but also not really? Major plot points were randomly dropped with no resolution. After forcing myself to finish the ending, I am even more confused after reading the epilogue than I was before.

Overall, I would give this book a skip, but I would like to try other books by the author since I felt like the bones of the book were strong! 2.5 stars rounded up to 3. Thank you to Kensington Books, Zebra, and NetGalley for the electronic advanced reader copy of the book!

I really wanted to like this book as I love the idea, but I couldn't get into it. I couldn't connect with the main characters and so it didn't work for me and I ended up DNF-ing it.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for a copy of this book.