The premise you must first be happy with yourself is such a good premise but it takes the whole book to find it. Charles has beaten down herself because of her mother's suicide, dad's death and his hoarding, and a poor relationship with her fiance. Nearly stopped reading in the middle of the book because it seems like a 31 year old could have handled things better. I was so frustrated with Charlie not having any backbone. To me it was not a very happy story.

I really enjoyed “Happy, Happy, Happy”. There is a sense of belonging with this book, as I am certain we have all pushed ourselves into believing we were “happy” when we weren’t.

Having lost my father, I really felt what Charlie was going through. The community felt like home and the characters seemed to have a sense of familiarity.

Charlie Trewin is happy with her fiancé, her job, and her life in London. Happy, happy, happy. Or so she tells herself.

Returning to her hometown of Carncarrow after her father’s death, Charlie finds that it is the same old small village she fled more than a decade ago. Coming home to the house where her mother committed suicide and her father’s death has left her to deal with his massive hoarding habit, Charlie becomes overwhelmed with panic. The unexpected and unwelcome arrival of her fiancé James only serve to add to her growing sense of panic. Along the way, Charlie meets up with some old friends and makes some new ones who help her come to terms with her past trauma and realize she deserves to be happy, and that she truly does belong in Carncarrow.

The characters in this book were unbelievable. The author wrote them in a way that you either loved or hated them (sometimes both). Charlie was a hot mess. Her unresolved childhood trauma led her to a life of seeking safety and certainty, not happiness. From a dull job to an even duller relationship, she strived for security rather than happiness. It made me want to shake her! In the end, she finally realized where she was meant to be, and that she really could be happy, happy, happy.
I LOVED Pauline and Lowenna. They were both there for Charlie (Pauline in a motherly way, Lowenna as more like an eccentric grandmother), and helped guide her through her father’s funeral and coming into her own.

I give this book 3 stars.

I enjoyed this book very much and I was felt compelled to keep reading. It gave me a lot of 'Sweet Home Alabama' vibes but UK edition. I felt the characters where very realistic and really wasn't very keen on James, he was a bit selfish at times.

I loved the relationship between Charlie, Lowenna and Pauline. Makes me which I lived in a small town like Carncarrow.

I received a copy of Happy, Happy, Happy via NetGalley to read and review.

To be completely honest I’m torn on my feelings of this book. Was I kept engaged in the book throughout? Yes. Is the main character likeable? Not really. She is very self centered, she picks up and leaves town without really telling anyone. She only comes back when her dad passes away (her mother died years earlier). While I think a lot of her issues stem from her mothers death she decides leaving is the only option instead of talking to someone.

While Charlie isn’t likable her story is still intriguing and while she deals with cleaning her childhood home, which is a lot since her dad refused to throw anything away, we do see slow growth of character. She starts to open up and realize that the place she ran away from isn’t all that bad.

It takes almost the entire book to really see Charlie’s growth. I was able to read the entire book but there were a lot of times that dealing with Charlie’s inner musings was hard to get through.

This was really a 3.5 star for me. The story was quite slow and not something I would normally pick up.

I personally was not a big fan of Charlie. Her neighbor however, yes!

Charlie returns home to deal with death of her father and her fiancé shows up, not knowing anything about her past. When things start to unravel, she wonders where she truly belongs.

I liked the story but sadly Charlie fell flat for me. She kept issues of her life hidden and really how can you keep that from the person you’re going to marry. It’s a story about struggling with grief and dealing with hardships.

Charlie returns to her hometown following the death of her father. She begins to realise that the life she has been living in London - career in HR, fiance James - might not be making her happy after alll, and that the town she was so desperate to leave has a lot going for it, not least her father's next door neighbour Lowenna, his partner Pauline.and her ex Adam.

I loved this book so much. The author did a wonderful job with the story and especially the character of Charlie - I wondered if Charlie is neurodivergent (takes one to know one!) - and dealt with so many issues in a meaningful way. Read the whole book in practically one sitting and was cheering Charlie on all the way. Loved the characters of Lowenna and Pauline too. Very highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Happy Happy Happy was well written and timely for me. I feel as women, oftentimes we are expected to put on a brave front and pretend to be constantly content, regardless of circumstance. We tell ourselves that we are fine and really start to believe it. The storyline was grim at times and the hoarding made it even more of a struggle to feel like things would be okay.

Thoroughly enjoyed this one! Not your typical book but for me? That's one of the things I enjoyed most! I enjoyed the main character's journey. There were a few parts that made me a tad bit emotional but also parts that brought different (good different) kinds of emotions. Would recommend!

From beginning to end, this book had me. I felt all the emotions; I was happy, sad, and shocked; I even cried a few times. I loved the characters and the overall everything! I will be purchasing this book once it comes out. This brought a storyline I have never experienced before and let me tell you it's an emotional one.

A really lovely and engaging read. It was refreshing to have a flawed but ultimately well-meaning protagonist in Charlie and a delight to be on her journey of discovering what is it in life she actually wants. A well-written study on self-doubt and self-acceptance set in a beautifully drawn seaside town.

First off i would like to that NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for providing me with this ARC. What is something that everyone wants to be? Happy, I would assume. But the main character, Charlie, is not and has a habit of not being happy. After the devastating loss of her mother, Charlie escaped her village to start a new life in London. She had a new life, stable and fiancé. Is Charlie finally happy? But then she had to move back to her village to face her past when her father died. So was she trying to convince herself that she was happy? I think she was. Charlie is a very sad girl and is clueless about what she wants in life. She just takes the path life gives her and thinks that is happiness because she’s on a good path. She puts up a wall and disregards the emotions of her dad and fiancé. She is very detestable at first and needs to get over her mother’s death and her feelings towards her dad. But then her saving grace enters the picture: Pauline, her stepmom. Along with the help of Lowenna, they lead Charlie towards development and transformation. Every so often, the author tells the reader why Charlie is the way she is. I was very grateful for this because people are so quick to judge others for how they are without knowing their past. This is something that needs to change because judgement hurts people more than you know. I judged Charlie in the beginning but I ended up loving her because she became a strong, respectful and HAPPY young lady.

Right book, wrong reader. Happy, Happy, Happy is one of those novels about lonely oddballs with personality disorders/mental health problems, that have become so popular since Eleanor Oliphant became a sensation. I’ve read and enjoyed my share of them, but they are now becoming quite samey.
I don’t always need to like a protagonist, but they do need to have some redeeming features, and Charlie’s unrelenting self-absorption and selfishness spoiled for me what could’ve been a charming read.

After hearing that her father is dying, Charlie Trewin has raced back to the small Cornish village she escaped from thirteen years earlier. Her mother’s suicide when she was twelve left them both traumatised - he became a hoarder, while she moved to London and settled into a monotonous but safe life with a fiancé she tolerates and a job she hates, convincing herself that happiness is overrated. Now forced to clear out the house and face the past, Charlie must decide for herself what kind of life she wants.

This is a contemporary story set (and I assume written) prior to the Covid pandemic, as there’s no mention of it. It’s well written with believable dialogue and some insight into the impact of parental suicide - Charlie’s chronic dysthymia felt realistic - it’s just a shame she’s such a cow; the author does deserve some kudos for not going down the “love cures all psychological problems” route.
Charlie’s treatment of James is appalling - sure, he’s not the ideal romantic lead, but none of her situation is his fault, he loves her and he tries hard. Acknowledging to yourself that you’re a b1tch and carrying on regardless is not the way to win this reader over. There are some fun support characters like Charlie’s take-no-nonsense ninety something year old neighbour Lowenna and kind would-be stepmother Pauline, and I loved the cover image. The ending is entirely predictable, in a feelgood sort of way, and appropriate for this sort of book. Overall this is a good effort for a first time author, which I think readers more keen on this genre will like better than I did. 3.5 rounded down for the first person present narration.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union for the ARC. I am posting this honest review voluntarily.
Happy, Happy, Happy is published on May 19th.

We meet Charlie, a rather different type of character, she goes through loss twice, losing her mom and recently losing her dad, she has to come back home because he had just passed away, and she had to take care of his estate. Going back home after spending years trying to get away from it was hard for Charlie and hard for me to read. Charlie has what she thinks she wants in life, a great job, a man that actually cares for her, and she lives as far away from her childhood memories as possible. Even though I felt bad for her because everyone handles loss differently, it was so hard for me to really like her as a character. Maybe she wasn't for me to like, but the way she treated her own father, her fiancé and the people in her old hometown who have always shown love and support, was so bothersome to me. I love how she was able to rediscover herself, got to know her dad a little more even after his death, and set her priorities straight for once, and also see that even though her she has no actual family, she has people that really love her.

Thank you net galley and the publisher's for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Charlie's been telling herself she's happy for years but she isn't and she hasn't been. Now she's forced to face herself as she wades through the piles and piles of things her father left behind when he died. She left their village for London and built a life of sorts but she never faced her grief about the death of her mother or her complicated relationship with her father. She's working through it when her fiance, James. turns up. Is that the relationship for her? This is really about a woman coming into her own, not a romance, so some might not be pleased with how Charlie and James interact. It's realistic though. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

“I’m happy. I’m happy. I’m happy.”

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY by @nicolamasterss

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️4/5

Happy Happy Happy 😊 is a book I didn’t know I needed until I finished it! Completely relatable with all the real life messiness! Charlie was someone I absolutely loved and could see myself being real life friends with! I wish there was a little more of Adam in the book but I understand why he wasn’t in the book more.

When Charlie’s dad passes away, she finds herself going to her hometown to clean out his house and make funeral arrangements. But the more she’s there, the more she realizes that the life she’s living back in London isn’t making her happy at all. But what is being happy really? She finds out pretty quickly with all the wonderful people she meets.

This book was fun 🤩 and witty to read! I love the dry humor Charlie has and the side characters, specifically Lowenna, were pretty amazing! Definitely one to add to your TBR!

Thank you to @netgalley and @nicolamasterss for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! This book hits shelves May 19th!

As always, I jumped into this book blind. It was an ARC I was approved for by @netgalley and it did not disappoint!

Happy, Happy, Happy follows Charlie as she finds out in the middle of a work day that her dad was actively dying. She had been estranged from her father since she left their seaside town for college in London a decade prior.

Being back in her hometown opens up old traumas and forces her to face the fact that she may not in fact be happy, happy, happy.
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While reading this book it was easy to see how, not just in my life but also others , to just take life as it throws you with no regard if it’s actually what you want or not. Just going through the motions. I highly recommend this book!

I would highly recommend this book to… anyone and everyone! This book will stay with you long after you've finished it, and in the most fabulous way!

This is a book that is really well written, it has lots of sensitive subjects in it that are all written about in a really sensitive wonderful way. I really liked the main character as she reminds everyone not to judge a book by the cover and that everyone has inner struggles, depth and things going on. So it's always best to be kind and to take time to know people before you judge them.