CW: anxiety disorder, on-page panic attacks, foster care, adoption, deceased parents

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Gaia writes romance. Then, she experiences the things she writes in her dreams... until Jacob. Her best friend's younger brother, who she kisses at a party she didn't want to attend, is in her dreams with her, but he isn't following the script. In the 12 years of having this power, Gaia has never experienced this, but there must be something about Jacob...

The writing started out feeling a bit young but eventually gained some momentum.

Shoutout to the first line of Chapter 1 though:
"You brought a book to a party?"
"Yes. The deal was that I needed to be here. There was nothing in the terms about socializing."

About 46% through, I decided to stop reading. Not that it hadn't improved, but the main character was becoming extremely frustrating. She's so hot and cold, and that trope bothers me SO much. I just don't have the patience for it.

There's good in this story, but it maybe wasn't for me.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this book. I like the premise of the book with a "magical" love, but this was just difficult to power through. I found it difficult to connect with the characters in the book. The best friend's sibling romance is difficult (and has been done a lot), but this book doesn't take too different of an approach. I really wanted to power through (I still think I might come back to this in the future), but I cannot continue to force myself through the book.

There were some definite things I liked about this story- the magical way Gaia's writing manifested in her dreams, the South African setting- but there were a lot of bits that felt really disjointed. The situation with Gaia's "stalker" and its eventual resolution could have been a much more intensive plot, and I think all the strings about her past and her family were left a bit unraveled. It looks like there is a planned companion to this book, and hopefully it will pick up some of those strings.

This was a DNF for me. I got to the part about Gaia having a secret twin sister, and I was like, “I’m out.” I was having a hard time following the story - the writing just wasn’t for me.

Ahh this was such an excellent contemporary romance. It really contains a bit of everything-- mystery, suspense, romance, wonderful characters, and an added bit of paranormal activity. I have to say I have never read any books by Therese Beharrie, but I want to now! I loved how she discusses everyday troubles, it made for such a relatable read. I also enjoyed the diversity among the characters and the great setting. I was hooked form the start!

Included as a top pick in bimonthly November New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached)

We reviewed this book on our podcast which I am linking below. Both cohosts recommended and we had things we enjoyed and some things we would have liked to see more of. Our episode goes in to much greater detail.

Witchy romance is my new favorite genre and although this story wasn't exactly of a witch it was in the same vein and definitely hit all the right notes for me. Gaia literally dreamed her novels or her dreams wrote her novels or something magical like that. It was all so fun and excited and mysterious especially when you added hard working and super sexy Jacob (her best friends little brother!). These two were explosive from the moment they met and although they had good reasons for keeping apart, I loved seeming them build something between them that was separate from Jacob's brother.

Gaia was a bit of a homebody, reluctant to spend time with people but her personality was that of a spitfire full of charm and wit. She exhibits so much personal growth during he book and although I was impressed with her at the start, she definitely ends in a better place. Jacob, who starts out with everything together also went through a metamorphosis that left him stronger and more confident than ever. The author did an excellent job of helping the reader see beyond surface level to the character within and pull out the struggle in a seamless and nuanced way.

The romance was funny and beautiful and super swoony. BUT there was a side story going with one of Gaia's fans that stuck out and I am excited to explore it further in book 2.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC for an honest review!

My my my ... This book was excellent! One of my top three tomances of the year.

The relationships were so thorough and complex I felt trapped to keep reading. I loved it all from the very first minute.

Gaia is one of my favorite heroines. She's so relatable in the best sense of the word. Her journey helped acknowledge some of my own anxiety. She's simply remarkable.

Jacob was the perfect love interest. His support and faith in Gaia made me fall for him almost as fast as Gaia did. His personal growth towards the end of the book is quite refreshing.

Therese Beharrie is so incredibly funny, her writing feels like a warm cup of tea :) . I cannot wait for her next book!

Unfortunately I did not finish. I thought the concept of the story was really really interesting, but felt the writing was elementary and didn't hold my attention. It took me a week to get through the first 30% of the book and, at the end, it was not a romance that connected well with me.

When I think of romance, think of books just like this one, that gives all the feels and satisfies every romance junkies' heart. This is a perfect books to snuggle up with on any day. This one took by surprise!

Gaia is a successful romance author who spends most of her time alone at home writing or with her best friend Seth, Seth wants to change that and for Gaia to know more people and make more friends, so he invites her to a party at his house. Gaia goes to this party with a book and spends her time in corners avoiding people until she meets Jacob, Seth's younger brother.
This story is all over the place , there are multiple plots happening at the same time. Gaia Anderson is an author of romance novels who does not believe in love but has a unique gift that has helped propel her books to popularity. She also has debilitating anxiety from childhood trauma, a possible obsessed stalker and comes across a bit delusional.
I did not like the gift the Gaia had where she dreamt anything that she wrote. and wanted to know more about how the stalker (sister) found Gaia and their story together,

DNF. I like the premise, and I was really intrigued by the heroine, Gaia, due to her anxiety and the fact that she’s a romance author. But I found the rest of it so difficult to gel with. The pacing between dreams and reality is jarring. And none of the characters are likable. Jacob was a huge WTF to me…like, he ended up sleeping with a married woman due to lack of self-control, and “she came onto him.” And then, there’s his brother, Seth, who is also Gaia’s “best friend.” He stops speaking to Gaia when he finds out what’s going on between her and Jacob, and I was just like, “why are best friend’s sibling romances so toxic?” Yes, maybe he’s bad news, but tell her that, don’t abandon her to the wolves! And other reviews hint at family drama for Gaia too…it’s just a lot of toxicity for a book billed as a romcom.

I started out enjoying this book. I loved Gaia's weird sense of humor and bluntness. And Jacobs's suave demeanor. It was cute and you really wanted them to succeed. Then out of nowhere the paranormal aspect came into play and hits me in the face which made the plot seem like it was all over the place. The dream part was really confusing and hard to follow at times as well. There was a lot of going back and forth which made the book seemed like it drag on and on.

I had a hard time rating this book because I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it. So I was going back and forth between a 2 or a 3 star.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review

This was so a cute book! I loved the representation and their storyline. Gosh my heart. Is it too soon to read again?

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

📖 Q: do you tend to remember your dreams?

Therese Beharrie’s And They Lived Happily Ever After features a concept I haven’t read before: what if whatever story you wrote down turns into a dream starring you as the protagonist that night? That would probably be more exciting if you were a romance writer, like Gaia Anders is in the book.

Gaia grew up in foster care & now prefers to stay away from other people. While taking 5 at a party she re-encounters Jacob Scott, her best friend’s younger brother who’s now a hot workaholic. They kiss IRL which doesn’t happen a lot for either of them.

Then Gaia writes a story and like usual, Jacob shows up in her dreams only not like usual, he’s aware that he’s in Gaia’s dreams & his mind is kinda blown.

Beharrie powerfully shows how Dream Life & Real Life compare & contrast for Gaia & the potential dangers of Gaia being able to write & live temporarily in a life that feels “safe” to her. Gaia lives with anxiety & fears of abandonment & Beharrie captures her wariness in a way that’s convincing but was also frustrating at times for me bc as a reader I wanted Gaia to trust Jacob (& be more willing to engage w/ her fears) a little faster 🙃.

The book itself doesn’t always feel like an effortless reading experience for me & the first chapter is a little bumpy—especially in terms of explaining the premise—but the convos about writing romance & being a woman “taking up space,” the dorky & sexy hero, the reference to Gaia’s cellulite & her willingness to “teach him what she liked” are all lovely.

This is one of those reads that’s a little hard to characterize but it boils down to: there’s a lot here to appreciate but the execution doesn’t always work for me.

4 ⭐️. Release date: 11/30.​

[ID: the ebook rests on a flatlay of assorted pink romances, all placed on a white fabric dotted with gold dots.]

DNF at 20%

I really wanted to love this but it just wasn't working for me. I was a little confused about what was going on, and I was having a hard time buying into what was happening.

One big issue I had was with the dialogue. I wish there were more tags; I couldn't keep up with who was speaking.

I've been looking forward to this book, having heard good things about Beharrie's category romances, but I'm afraid the writing style isn't for me. Within a few chapters I found myself skimming, and the attraction between Gaia and Jacob is instant, not earned. I'd still like to try her other books, but I'm sadly setting this one aside at 23%.

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was an interesting mix of fun, romance, and banter and more weighty issues like mental health and the foster care system. Gaia's magical ability was really cool and was worked into the story quite well.

I really enjoyed the start of this book, but as it progressed there were some things that detracted from that enjoyment. Seth's reaction to finding Gaia (his best friend) and Jacob (his brother) kissing was so bad. He treats Gaia absolutely awfully for no reason, even though they've been best friends for 12 years by this point, and then he proceeds to not talk to her for almost the whole rest of the book. By the time we get his apology and explanation near the end of the book (and the explanation for his behaviour is honestly quite horrible and Gaia should have dumped him as a friend right then and there but anyway), it didn't feel genuine because it initially came off as a romantic-jealousy thing and we got nothing in the middle to challenge that. The only thing I liked about that situation was that Gaia didn't feel like she had done something wrong and needed to apologise to him.

The other thing that was really weird to me was the whole situation with Gemma. I understand that she didn't want to just straight up say "I'm your sister" the first time they met, but it was SO obvious that she was lying about being Gaia's fan and she still went with it anyway. And Gaia's reaction to the whole thing made very little sense to me. You'd think someone with anxiety would be much more weirded out/anxious about someone who literally admits to stalking her. Gaia says she has a 'gut feeling' that Gemma isn't going to hurt her, but honestly that's kind of ridiculous, because it implies that our gut feelings/first impressions of people are always correct which they're often not.

Gaia's romance with Jacob started out quite well but as it progressed I started to not really like it much. Jacob's character was a very confusing mixture of sweet and cold. I thought he overreacted to the whole magic side of things. Of course it's unbelievable at first, but I wasn't very sympathetic to the ways he felt like it intruded into his life. Additionally, I found it very frustrating that he was always asking Gaia to open up about her issues and anxiety but he never offered anything in return, so it felt like Gaia was in the dark about his issues for a while; I didn't like how unbalanced that was in their relationship.

Overall there were some good things about this book (the magic, representation, explorations of the trauma that inadequate foster care causes etc.) but I think the story and the romance was drawn out a little too much for my liking, and the issues with the book unfortunately outweighed my enjoyment of the rest of it.

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 line I was constantly waiting for something that never came.