Linda Zagon's review Nov 02, 2022 · edit
it was amazing

Tori Whitaker, the author of “A Matter of Happiness,” has written an intriguing and captivating adventure. The genres for this book are Historical Fiction, Women’s Fiction, and Romance with a touch of Mystery. Tori Whitaker writes a novel about two different “modern women” from different generations and compares and contrasts what a relative conclusion is. The timelines for this story are set in the early 1920s in Detroit and 2018 in Kentucky. The author visually describes the colorful and dramatic characters, the clothing and accessories of the times, the scenery, and the plot. The author describes her characters as complex, complicated, and conflicted.

At present, Melanie Barnett has a successful career at a Kentucky Bourbon Distillery. Melanie is focused on promotion in her career. Melanie had broken up with her fiancé when his career and location conflicted with her goals. Melanie is not quite sure that business and love can be compatible.

Violet Bond, in 1921, liked to be a free spirit. Detroit provides a setting for fast and glamorous cars. There are speakeasies and partying. As prohibition occurs, there is danger in the streets and the water. Violet meets her best friend, introducing her to investing money, driving fast cars, modern hairstyles, and flashy clothing. Violet is determined to be single and free. Although she does fall in love, she questions if she is ready to settle down. Violet writes about her life in a journal.

Violet is Melanie’s aunt, and Melanie inherits her fabulous car. Melanie discovers her aunt’s diary in a hidden compartment. Her aunt has written her a message” Take from this story what you want, Melanie, and you can bury the rest.”

I appreciate the author’s descriptions of luxury cars, the bourbon industry, and the connection to art and advertising. The author also discusses the importance of family, friends, hope, and love. The author also asks the question, “What Makes One Happy”?This is a story about secrets, self-growth, sisterhood, motherhood, independence, and being successful. I highly recommend this thought-provoking story.

Melanie and Violet share much more than their desire to be independent. As Melanie reads Grape Aunt Violet’s journal, she learns all about Violet’s journey during a time when women were not expected to have independence. This was a touching story that revealed a big secret that Melanie had never dreamed.

This book… I could not stop reading. Violet and Melanie are both characters that want to make their mark on the world without having to follow the traditional boundaries that are put on women during the times they were living.

A Matter of Happiness is a book that tells of two women, a grape aunt and her great niece, who’s lives intersect while living in different times. When Violet passes away, she leaves Melanie her prize possession, her Jordan MX car. This car holds the secrets of Violet’s life via a journal. As Melanie reads the journal, she sees the parallels of her aunt’s life and her own. She sees how the decisions that Violet made are in line with the decisions that Melanie is trying to make in her life and how those decisions can shape her future.

I cannot choose whose storyline I liked better. I was so intrigued by both that I never wanted to stop reading. I love reading about Violet and her life in Detroit during prohibition. The friends she made, the relationships she had, and the choices she made did not always line up with society’s expectations, but she made the choices that would head her towards the goals she had set. Melanie made choices that would push her forward in her career, a promotion she was fighting for. As she read the journal she realized that maybe the life she was working for was not the life she really wanted.

I recommend A Matter of Happiness to any historical fiction reader.

A Matter of Happiness is Tori Whitaker’s second novel unfortunately I did not read the first. A dual timeline of the 1920s and 2018. Two points of view from the same family, we get both fiction and historical fiction in one read! Whitaker tells the story of Melanie and Violet, two women from different generations bound by secrets and sacrifice. From Detroit's roaring twenties to the bourbon distilleries of Kentucky, Whitaker captures modern womanhood and what it means to be truly happy. For me, as always, the best part of the story takes place in the "Roaring Twenties." An enjoyable novel.

Bourbon! This dual time line novel moves between the 1920s and the present to tell the story, primarily, of Violet and her great grandniece Melanie. Violet, who left Kentucky for Detroit in the 1920s, left Melanie her beautiful car when she died but Melanie was only 14 at time so it was stored. Now, though. Melanie's taken it out (she had to) and she's discovered Violet's diary which is a revelation. Violet lived large in Detroit so why did she come back to Kentucky? No spoilers from me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read about bourbon, the 1920s, and two women with more in common than either could have known.

This is a story with 2 timelines. The first is in the 1920s, starring Violet. The second one takes place in 2018, starring Melanie. Violet is Melanie's great great aunt who has passed away before the book even started. The two of them had been very close when Melanie was a young girl.

In the two timelines, Violet and Melanie are both strong women who are determined to make their way in the world. Neither one wants the support of a man, both want to be dependent only on themselves. Violet has a tougher time because she's living her life at a time when a woman's place was in the home with a husband and children. But, they each have challenges. And, they each make choices. As usually happens, choices have consequences.

This book was an interesting study of human character. Strong women make choices but, something gets sacrificed after the choices are made. Sometimes what you think you want, really does not make you happy.

The author did a lot of research to fine tune this story. The 1920s storyline had details of the Jazz Era, dances popular at the time, segregation, prohibition and lifestyle. The current story had a lot of facts about the bourbon industry and alcohol production, in contrast to Prohibition. In my mind, there is always room to learn something.

The storyline that took place in the past was much more engaging. I would have been satisfied to stay in that storyline with more embellishments. The middle part of the book slowed a bit but then picked up considerably at the end. It was a satisfying and interesting read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an Advance Readers Copy.

stamperlady50's profile picture
stamperlady50
A Matter of Happiness
By: Tori Whitaker

5 🥃 🥃🥃🥃🥃

After reading Whitaker’s debut novel Millicent Glenn’s Last Wish, I was thrilled to get her sophomore one. This weekend, I set aside an afternoon to read this one and it was EXQUISITE!
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A wonderful dual time line.
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Melanie Barnett works for a Kentucky bourbon distillery. She recently broke up with her fiancée and is concentrating on a promotion. She inherited a red Jordan MX car, from her great-great-great-aunt Violet, whom she affectionately called Grape Aunt Violet. It has been stored at her Aunts home and her mother has decided to sell the home.
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1921-Violet Bond is leaving Kentucky behind and wants a life as a modern women. She does not desire the life her sister and mother have. She sets out for Detroit as there is a motorcar boom and the area is growing. The area hires women, coloreds and others, which goes along with Violets desires and beliefs. She is looking for a fresh start and lands in a boarding house. Violet soon discovers speakeasies, friendships, romance and a new life. Can Violet manage this new life? Does she yearn for her old life?
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I found this novel fascinating. Whitaker’s research was meticulous. The time period, bourbon history, prohibition and all the details of the 20’s had me entranced the entire time. This is a novel I will read again and I highly recommend this one.

really, really wanted to love this book more. I enjoyed the dual timeline, but it fell flat. The middle of the book felt very difficult to trudge through because it felt like the story remained stagnant for so long. Once the book returned to where the prologue left off is when it finally picked up again.

A Matter of Happiness is an intriguing dual timeline story about secrets and family. When Melanie inherits her great-great-great aunt’s vintage car, she discovers that Violet also left her journal behind for her to read. The journal reveals the truth about her beloved aunt, a free-spirited woman of the 1920s who lived in the fast lane of cars, parties, and speakeasies. The author did a great job of bringing that era to life, putting the reader right in the middle of all the action. Although these two fiercely independent women lived decades apart, I was fascinated by how much they had in common, as they searched for happiness and fulfillment on their own terms.

This author creates well-drawn, complex characters, and knows how to build tension and drama that hold readers to the end.

Love love love this book. The perfect merge of the past life of a 1920s modern girl and the very similar present life of her great great great niece making her way in todays world. The historical aspects of life in the 20s for females and the challenges they faced was fascinating to read and to be amazed at how little freedom men allowed them/us to have and how they had to fight for all their rights. The flashbacks in diary form were wonderful to read. Highly recommend this as a feel good read.

This story was good and included interesting facts and stories about prohibition and old cars. There is nothing better than learning while reading a strong piece of fiction. I did however find parts of the book a bit too melodramatic for my liking and I don’t think the drama was necessary; in fact I felt it was a distraction. I also liked the characters better in the earlier years. Overall this is a fun time piece to read

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an early release in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is my first review for an advance copy, and I’m super excited that it was for this book! I loved the time jumping in this book, and the different eras it is set during feel authentic. There were a few moments that felt a little slow, but not enough that I wanted to stop reading. The characters felt fresh and unique, and I really hope I can read more from this author soon!

As a Kentucky and bourbon girl I wanted to love this. Plus I loved Millie’s Last Wish. But I just couldn’t get into this book

Highly recommend this one! This was my first book to read by this author but definitely won't be my last. The characters will stay with you long after you finish the book and you will find yourself wishing the story would never end.

Heaving With Atmosphere..,
In dual timeline format, several lifetimes worth of secrets, familial drama, unexpected turns, womanhood, independence and discoveries in this quasi historical tale sparked by the discovery of a family heirloom. With some terrifically crafted characters, a trip back in time and an interesting storyline packed with detail and heaving with atmosphere, this is an intriguing and compelling read.

Split across two timelines, Melanie's in modern day Kentucky 2018 and that of her ancestor Violet in Detroit in the roaring twenties. A Matter of Happiness is a love story to modern feminism. Can a 21st Century woman finally have it all thanks to the sacrifices of the women who went before her? Violet's adventures in the motor city spark off the page and set in motion a turn of events that have consequences more than a century later. Whittaker's minute research is a fascinating facet of this at times moving yet effervescent novel. #netgalley @netgalley @toriwittaker #amatterofhappiness

A Matter of Happiness is Tori Whitaker’s second novel and I am in love. A dual timeline of the 1920s and 2018. Two points of view from the same family will pull you in. We get both fiction and historical fiction in one great read!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2018: Melanie Barnett works at a Kentucky bourbon distillery, she’s trying her best to earn a promotion and pay rise. Melanie has given up on love after her engagement ended, she's happy being single and she can concentrate on her career.

Her mother Angie is successful and busy business woman, as a child, Melanie spent one week of every summer with her great-great aunt Violet, and she has fond memories of their time together. Violet Bond left her first car to Melanie in her will, it’s a scarlet-red Jordan MX Playboy, and her mum want's her to remove it from the property. While wading through a hundred years of family junk, Melanie decides to examine the interior of the car, and in a secret compartment she finds her aunts journal. Violet left a message in the journal for her and she said “Take from this story what you will, Melanie, and you can bury the rest.”

The story has a dual timeline it goes between the 1920’s and 2018. It’s told from the two main characters points of view and almost a century apart.

1921: Violet Bond leaves Kentucky and moves to Detroit, to follow her dream of being an independent woman and earn her own money making car spark plugs. Violet meets Lela a rich socialite and she introduces her to many new things, they visit speakeasies, Violet drinks her first cocktail and starts smoking cigarettes, and Lela encourages her to have her hair cut into a shingle bob and invest her money in shares. The 1920’s was a time of change for women, they finally had the chance to vote and be independent.

Violet has always wanted to own and drive her own car, she does and it comes at a price, she discovers that she can’t have everything and endures a series of major loses in her life. Melanie finds her great-great aunt Violet has left her more than a vintage car, hidden between the pages of the journal, are the lessons she learnt and wisdom Violet gathered from her time in Detroit, she want's to make sure Melanie understands what’s really important in life and not make the same mistakes she did.

I received a copy of A Matter of Happiness from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Tori Whitaker has done it again, the narrative is really interesting and it held my attention. Full of details about the Jazz Age, prohibition, how women’s roles changed and being financially independent was a new concept. I had no idea about the history of bourbon, the Women’s Bourbon Alliance and how important the industry is in Kentucky. The story is about family, secrets, truth, and self-discovery, womanhood, love, choosing happiness and embracing adventure. Five stars from me, I highly recommend this book and the author’s previous novel, Millicent Glenn’s Last Wish.

This novel is a well-written study of the interconnection between three generations of strong women. Besides the theme of family bonds, the author describes women’s roles in the fast-changing world during Prohibition both in Detroit during the rising automobile industry and in Kentucky during the near downfall of the bourbon industry. Romance is on the periphery unless you include love of the Jordan Playboy, the first car marketed to women.