I loved the representation of anxiety in this book, but I'm quite disappointed with the friendship.

Seth and Gaia are best friends and have been for over a decade, but Seth's reaction to the kiss was... not good. It only makes it worse that Seth knew about Gaia's anxieties and he still reacted like that.

I also think that the book ended very abruptly and way too fast. Gaia and her sister's story just felt incomplete.

I did really enjoy the pacing in the book, but I think the thing that really kept me going was the anxiety representation, ant that's why this book stays in the middle-rating for me.

I’m thankful for this arc but I’m quite disappointed with this supposedly “best friends brothers” romance. This did not feel like a best friends brother romance at all. Actually, Seth is a terrible best friend and I did not like this book. Seth and Gaia have been best friends for 12 years. She has no family or friends other than Seth. She gets caught kissing his brother and Seths reaction was awful. Rant review time.

1. Seth goes an entire month without speaking to her. They don’t speak to each other until the 77% mark. Seth knew for a fact (he later admits) that Gaia was waiting for the day that Seth didn’t want her anymore. That she’s used to people leaving her due to her experience in foster care but he goes an entire month not speaking to her?? Letting her feel rejected once again but by her supposed best friend if 12 years?? It was actually a little over a month. How is that a best friend?

2. At 91% (yup best friends for 12 years but we don’t get the apology until the 91% mark) Seth says, and I quote “I know you expect me to stop being your friend” and then he says it’s because he inherited his fathers need to be wanted. What’s worse is that he says “I knew for a long time that you had anxiety problems - panic attacks when things got overwhelming - and I did nothing about it because it meant that you needed me” so he let her go years without therapy because HE wanted to feel wanted??

He hurt her by ignoring her for a month WHICH HE KNEW HE WAS DOING. And on top of that he knew she needed therapy for her panic attacks but he was selfish and needed to feel wanted so he let her go all these years with panic attacks and self isolation instead of legit help. Not a best friend

3. So Gaia meets her sister at the 86% mark. Her sister was adopted but not Gaia and she never knew any of her family. Her family refused to adopt her so she was in foster care until she turned 18. So she meets her sister and goes two weeks ignoring her and then finally had a conversation with her at the 98% mark and they barely talk and then the book abruptly ends. That’s it. Gaia spent her whole life feeling rejected but doesn’t speak to her sister for a few weeks and then we the readers FINALLY get to see them sit and talk with each other but it was at the last page and just small talk??

Honestly, when I read that last page it felt like the book was incomplete. It just abruptly ends and was unsatisfying. Not only that but the romance wasn’t good enough. It was just Gaia having anxiety problems and Jacob suffering with keeping his family together and them sharing dreams together but as Gaia’s characters. It wasn’t them, it was her characters and it wasn’t a romance. Her own best friend barely spoke to her making it not even feel like a true best friends brother romance. I’m grateful to have received this arc but did not like this book

Things I loved: magic, anxiety rep, personal growth, black romance, best friend's brother/ brother's best friend
Things I didn't love: N/A!
I can't say enough good things about this book! The magic adds just enough to the story to differentiate it from other romances. It moves the story along, adding just enough surprise. The anxiety representation felt authentic and made me incredibly proud of Gaia at the end. Gaia's personal growth was beautiful to watch, especially learning about herself and her vulnerability.
Overall I recommend this to anyone who loves romance with magical elements and a little self-discovery.
Rating: 4.5/5

This is a paranormal contemporary romance and that's a thing I didn't expect going in and sadly, did not work that well for me.

I loved the story as a contemporary romance - a writer heroine is a difficult past and undiagnosed and untreated anxiety, a kind and caring hero who is her best friend's brother. He has his hands full with keeping the family business going and his family together and no intention or time for falling in love. They seem like an unlikely couple of the surface over the story we see how they actually make a perfect fit. There is a lot of internal conflict to their relationship which is my catnip in romance and I enjoyed reading about it.

At the same time the story has a strong paranormal element that didn't work for me at all. Gaia has magical dreams related to her writing which I admit I didn't fully understand how they worked. And thny because of her romantic connection she has with Jacob, he gets to share and participate in her dreams. It was all very weird for me and felt it didn't add anything to the story for me, only made me confused and annoyed. I think this would have been a great contemporary romance with out the paranormal aspect. I definitely would have enjoyed it more.
I really liked how Gaia's anxiety, mental health struggles were presented, we get to follow her on her journey of realising she has issues, through defining them and seek the proper way to deal with them. At the same time Jacob's support and care for her was phenomenal while coming face to face with some hard truths about his own life. It was the happiness they felt when they were together that helped them realise how unhappy and unfulfilled they have been up to that point and it acted a catalyst for them to be more daring and to reach out for the things they wanted.

Some plot points seemed too much and overall they served just as a distraction from the main story. I was not happy with the resolution of her magic in the end. There is also a spoiler for the next book right on the final pages and it left me baffled and once again asking my self "Why, Why go there at all?"

The writing is great, as I have come to expect from Therese Beharrie, the sense of place is tangible (Cape Town), the slow burn romance and the complex family relations round it are awesome. I would have absolutely loved it if it wasn't for the magic bits, as it is it I have mixed feelings about it and would only recommend with the caveats mentioned in my review.

CW: undiagnosed anxiety, panic attacks, mental health issues, death of parents (in the past), foster care and adoption (in the past)

Okay was this book all over the place? Yes. Did I still devour this book in one day? Also yes. There were defiantly a few things that bugged me about this book, or made me cringe a little, but I just found he whole thing super fun a cute.

The writing style was defiantly not my favorite and felt disjointed a time. But he pacing kept me turning the page and rooting for the romance.

Instant love is not usually my thing, but let me tell you this book had me whipped instantly. Like I was so emotionally invested in this book. The romance was awkward and weird, which is why I think I loved the characters so much. All I wanted was more from them. I wanted to see them interact more and just seem more of the development between the two characters.

Besides the romance I found the rest of the book to be enjoyable as well. As some who suffers from severe anxiety, I totally understood where the main character was coming from, with in her romantic life, and in her professional life.

While this book was defiantly far from perfect, I just could not get enough. I was rooting for the love story, but was still invested in everything else going on as well. I do wish there was more development between all the characters in evolved, because some things did feel really rushed.

An unusual set up- Gaia is a writer with a dream issue that I frankly found a bit confusing but no matter. She meets Jacob and sparks fly! Both of them have difficulties in their background which they are reluctant to share but in true fairy tale style, true love wins out. I'm not sure why but this was meh for me and I DNF. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC,

This book was so cute! I loved the premise: Gaia, a successful romance author has magical abilities. When she writes a scene she often dreams it as if she is the main character. But she is allowed to deviate from the original scene she wrote and no one else is. When she starts to fall for her best friend's brother she begins to write about him and suddenly he's appearing in her dreams, too. How is this happening? Can her magic do more than she thought it could?
This contemporary romance had all the makings of a great love story. I liked the characters and the main plot. Some of the side storylines were unnecessary and were hard to follow. The writing was a little repetitive and it felt like the story dragged at times.
Overall I liked the story and I would read more from this author. Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this ARC.

I was expecting this to be just a regular old contemporary romance about a romance author, but there's a twist! Gaia, the female main character, is a romance author, and this is a contemporary romance, but we learn early on that Gaia has a special kind of magic. Anything the she writes during the day comes true in her dreams that night. She uses this to inhabit her characters, to work through tough spots, and to finalize plots. She's had the magic since she turned 18, left the foster system, and went to uni. In this story, she's 30 and she's struggling with both social and generalized anxiety, and she finds herself hiding in a bedroom at a party hosted by her long-time best friend Seth. She doesn't expect to come across Seth's slightly younger brother, who she hasn't seen in years and with whom she has an immediate spark and chemistry. They make out, and suddenly Jacob is part of Gaia's dreams, playing the roles of the love interests in her novels. What she doesn't realize initially is that he is having these dreams too, and sharing in her magic. I loved that this infused some freshness into a pretty standard contemporary romance story, and I definitely plan to read more Therese Beharrie.

This book has one of the cutest chemistry between main characters that I've read. I enjoy how witty and cute Jacob and Gaia's banters and playful remarks are to each other. I also liked how the author gave depth to these characters and how they really felt human to me. The only thing that made me not love this book is the writing. This book could've been shorter if some of the paragraphs and sentences were either deleted or rewritten to a much more concise version. This is especially true to Gaia's POV where repetitions of thoughts and sentences are almost always present. At first, I really don't mind. But after some time, I cannot unsee all of the repetitions and it actually made me feel bored and slumpy. Nonetheless, I still want to commend the author for writing these characters and her awesome characterization of them, especially our leads' chemistry.

I really enjoyed this book. Gaia and Jacob were awesome characters. Both had depth to them. I loved the layers in the story. Gaia's relationship with Jacob. Her relationship with her best friend Seth. Jacob's relationship with Seth, his brother. And then there was Gemma. The depiction of anxiety and panic attacks was done well. The magical element of the story was interesting. The romance was wonderful. I can't wait for Gemma's story.

A writer who can experience everything she writes in her dream? Yes, please!

I liked the story in general, it was interesting to see Gaia and Jacob interacting in real life and her dreams, but sometimes I found myself skipping some paragraphs because I felt the pacing was a little slow and repetitive, which made me lose interest in the story at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC of the ebook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

How I would want to be Gaia sometimes is hilarious *smile*

This is my first Therese Beharrie book and thus i am grateful to Zebra Books for my e-ARC in exchange for an honest review . This book follows Gaia a successful romance novelist with magical abilities - when she writes down a scene, she gets to live it out in her dreams *gasp*.Things get interesting when she has a 'situation' with her workaholic best friend's brother Jacob.

Loved the plot, warmed up to the brothers best friend trope and the character development .

I didn't connect with this. At all. Not with the characters, not with the story, or the relationship at all. The story was okay. I thought I would like the romance more but it wasn't the case.

"And They Lived Happily Ever After" is not your typical best friends brother romance as it adds a little dream magic twist and focuses a lot on anxiety and questioning your happiness in life and work.

After her parents died in a car crash when she was two and Gaia ended up in the foster care system she finally stands on her own two feet and has supposedly achieved all her dreams. She is a successful romance author, she has her own apartment and garden, and her one close friend Seth. Helping her with all that is the fact that ever since she's eighteen whatever she wrote played out in her dreams and offered a different reality to escape into. Being dragged to a party by her best friend Seth she meets his brother while hiding in a bedroom and not only do Gaia and Jacob flirt but they also make out - which not only leads to a change in Gaia's relationships, but also her dreams.

I think Gaia is a great protagonist and I related to her in more ways than one. Not only do I also write and like to hide in fiction, but facing anxiety is a big struggle. Gaia's struggle with that was even more important than the romance for me in this book (those two things worked perfectly hand in hand while not appearing like romance "fixed" issues Gaia had).
Jacob is wonderful, not only for his humor and wit, but also because his struggles, his guilt, fatigue and want are so clearly shown and relatable it makes him seem real. I loved his relationship with Gaia, despite all the stepping stones they had, and I think it was important that we saw his progress.
Also have I mentioned this book has Dual POV? I am always in love with that.
I wish we could have gotten a little more content with Seth and Gemma before the last 20% of the book, as those storylines were very important and interesting (I was not the biggest fan of Seth for most of the book, but I will simply assume that was kinda of intentional).

The writing is easy to understand and flows naturally while discussing important issues like mental illness, grief and the foster care system. I loved the glimpse of Cape Town we got, the writing process being outlined and the comments on the publishing world.
This is a romance that hits hard, and not just because you're rooting for the main couple.
I think the ending could have been a little more stretched out (I just wanted more fluff let's be honest) but man am I excited for Gemma's and Levi's book now. Like I need it right now.
This book was right up my alley and I can only recommend it if you enjoy a romance that goes deep.

It was a struggle to get through this book. I wasn't able to connect with Gaia from the very beginning. This isn't my normal genre so maybe that's why. The premise is very intriguing, though.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was a very different book to any I have ever read before. It’s contemporary with a hint of magic inside?

The story follows 30 year old romance author, Gaia who was an orphan and is now living her life free away from the foster care system.

Straight away you are introduced to the main love interest, Jacob, who is her best friends brother. I felt a mixture of second hand embarrassment to laughing away at the banter. It was a strange combination. After getting caught by Jacobs brother and Gaia best friend, Seth and the two go there separate ways only to be brought together again by the strange dreams that link the two involving in some different tropes for Gaia book, bringing the two closer together in each scene.

It a very different concept and I did find myself cringing a lot throughout their interactions. When I had originally read the story line I was very intrigued but t
I wasn’t a fan of the pacing and had to re-read a lot of the time because I was very confused between the dream and real life.

Despite this I also enjoyed their chemistry between the two and highlighted a lot! I really liked the rep for mental health and related to her a lot of the time. I also liked how the author mentioned the difficulty she experienced as being a POC and her upbringing in the foster care system but how it didn’t stop the MC being a badass who’s story I really loved to follow.

Overall I did enjoy this book but there was quite a few times where I had higher expectations. But if you want to read a cutesy rom-com with mental health rep then this may be for you!

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for allowing me the chance to read and review this ARC.

I picked this book mainly because of its intriguing blurb. I really wanted to like this book, it had a great premise but unfortunately I didn't enjoy reading this book. I couldn't connect with the characters and couldn't relate to their bonding. Nothing about either character jumped out at me, and all I took away from them was how much he was obsessed with her boobs.

Thank you netgalley for this ARC.

The blurb sounded interesting to me. I wasn't able to get into the book because of the pacing of the story and how the timelines was written. It was a little bit confusing to follow between the two different worlds.

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for allowing me the chance to read and review. One star due to not being able to finish early on.

The premise of this romance is pure gold - an author who literally lives out the romance novels she's writing in her dreams. Yes, please! It's the reason I initially requested this book, but while I enjoyed that aspect, it was the other relationships in the book that pulled me in more more than the relationship between Gia and Jake. Gia and Gemma. Jake and his father. Jake and Seth (his brother and Gia's best friend. I really enjoyed the side stories, which makes me more excited for Gemma's story coming next. I would not classify this book as a romantic comedy, to be honest. It's a contemporary romance that has some humorous banter and dialogue but the issues raised pretty intensely, including anxiety and abandonment, are too weighty in my opinion.