Thank you to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

What a charming read. "The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley" is witty, funny, and so lovable. Her internal monologue alone made me laugh out loud. I highly recommend this delightful story.

Isadora is a researcher at a university who has stumbled upon her own research project proving a magazine article about ways to be happy wrong. After years of being alone and keeping to herself, she is trying new things to complete all the items on the list. She meets many people along the way who help with her research and at the end, she’ll have to decide- was the article really wrong?

What I loved:

-strong sense of found family
-the character of Delilah! I identified with her so much
-so many of the side characters! So loveable
-Isadora’s character growth throughout the story

This was such a heartwarming, sweet read. 4.5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the advanced reading copy!

I loved this book…so much.

Isadora is a 30-year-old university researcher who, because she has an analytical mind and a lifelong history of emotional abuse, has a hard time with social interactions.

She is tasked with helping a psychology professor with his new book research while she’s also conducting her own personal study to disprove the validity of a magazine article entitled “31 Ways to be Happy”. As she tests each item on the happiness list, she begins to notice changes in her life…new connections, new outlooks, new possibilities. But can her fear of being vulnerable and hurt ever truly be overcome to find her way to happiness in life?

Isadora was such an endearingly unique revelation…frustrating at times but also cheer worthy and relatable. As we watch her grow and gain confidence through shared experiences with new people, she becomes a brave and self-aware woman who must decide if and how she can move forward with her newfound life lessons while also living with her fears.

Funny, heartbreaking and with a stellar cast of secondary characters, this one is special and such a lovely inspirational story.

Highly recommend.

Special thanks to the author, NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for providing the free early arc of The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

When I pick up a book by Courtney Walsh, I know that I am going to be in for a wonderful read every single time. I have yet to read one that I did not like... but I must say, this one might just be my favorite yet (or it's tied right up there with My Phony Valentine at least!)

The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley felt different to me than the books by Courtney Walsh I had read in the past... but in the best way possible. The romance is still definitely there (and super swoon worthy, I must say), but it's about so much more than that. In this story we get to go along with Isadora as she finds her people and heals from her past, and I LOVED it!

I related to Isadora on a very personal level too. I'm definitely the quiet, socially awkward girl who struggles in making friends. There was an even a moment in the story where she reflects back on a memory that happened with a grade school best friend that felt almost eerily similar to my own childhood experiences. I'll admit, I got tear a few times with this one... but I loved it just the same!

This is without a doubt an absolute must read!

**I received a complimentary copy for consideration. All thoughts are my own.

Courtney Walsh has a gift: writing heartwarming, thoughtful books about real & relatable characters! I loved her newest - The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley. I found Isadora to be a very understandable and likable character, and loved reading about her exploring the world outside of her comfort zone! Would definitely recommend this one, and any of her other books.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

OH MY HEART!!! I cannot even tell you how much I adored this book! What a beautiful and heartwarming rom-com that will have you smiling, laughing and crying. Is it a love story? Yes. However, it is so much more! The story is about confronting your past, dealing with loneliness, knowing your worth and choosing happiness everyday. Once I started reading I couldn't stop and I finished it in a day. Hands down one of my top reads this year!!🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

Isadora is extremely intelligent, socially awkward and is a research scientist. Growing up Isadora never had friends or the support from her family. As a result, she works better alone and has chosen to close off her broken heart to others. While standing in line to check out at the store she comes across a magazine article of "Thirty-one ways to be Happy". Isadora does not believe happiness is a choice nor is it in the cards for her life. Therefore, she decides to perform her own experiment to prove the author wrong. Will she be able to prove the article wrong? What Isadora does not expect or factor into her project is the amazing friends she meets and the feelings she develops for them. I loved the character development Isadora goes through.

Overall, I loved every moment of this inspiring and wholesome read. Courtney Walsh is easily becoming one of my favorite authors! I cannot recommend this book enough!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Absolutely adored this book. I've had the ARC for awhile and have been putting it off and I'm actually so glad I did because I wasn't in the right place and I might not have loved it. But now I'm in a better place and reading about how Isadora found her happiness was perfect for me.

This book is a little more women's fiction than Walsh usually writes but have no fear there is still plenty of romance to keep us die hard romance fans happy. I absolutely fell in love with Cal. He is very swoon worthy.

I loved the setting of this book too. I don't see a ton of books set in the world of academia and I absolutely loved that she was a researcher and he was a professor at the same university. The workplace trope was very well done.

I really loved the subject matter of this book too. I think it is truly important for us to be reminded how happiness works while at the same time being reminded that forgiveness and letting go of grudges is key as well. I loved all of Isadora's self discovery in this book.

As much as I loved Cal I think that Darby really stole the show with how she befriended Isadora. I could use a Darby in my life.

I definitely recommend this to anyone that loves a romantic women's fiction.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley. This is my honest review.

Courtney Walsh hits a sweet and poignant note with 'The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley' a book about a loneliness, finding your personal power and community.

On her 30th birthday, university researcher Isadora Bentley spies a magazine article citing 30 ways to be happy. In an effort to disprove the author's claims, she decides to follow the tips as a personal research project.

Isadora has cut herself off from the world, preferring to live and work alone, to the consternation of her boss who wants her to collaborate and mentor students.

As part of her exercise, Isadora soon befriends widower Marty, and her outgoing neighbour Darby and daughter Delilah, who is a mini Isadora in temperament. A love interest in the form of Dr Cal Baxter appears.

It's a book that could veer towards twee and saccharine, but Walsh gives her lead character a straight-talking sass. I can't tell if she's coded neurodivergent (that seems to be a conclusion easy to reach when it comes to socially awkward and blunt characters), but either way Isadora and her loneliness and social isolation is relatable. I am a big fan of character arcs that focus on ther main character's personal growth, especially a conscious decision to do so, and the many steps they take along the way.

Isadora is a role model to cheer for as she learns from her mistakes and takes responsibility for herself. I particularly love how she gained her personal power, especially with past toxic relationships.

I also adored supporting characters including Cal, Marty, Darby and Delilah. There's many heartwarming moments even my cynical, cold heart teared up at. I loved it, I'm looking forward to purchasing a copy and the audiobook (depending on narrator, I'm picky on voices).

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the ARC.

I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving a review. Receiving the advance copy has not colored my opinion.

Genre: Romcom, Romance, Women's Fiction, General Fiction, Christian Fiction
Spice Level: Sweet (Yay! It's so hard to find something without spice.)
Language: Clean

I'm so thrilled to report that I have a new favorite author to add to my list! (Woohoo! She has a backlist of books too!) This book had me putting down my copy to just laugh. There were other moments when I teared up for Isadora—she's incredibly relatable.

Haven't we all felt misunderstood and awkward at times? And haven't we also looked at those magazine lists, rolled our eyes but still wonder if there's something to what they're saying? The very beginning hooked me with her magazine binge purchase and its *31 Ways to be Happy*, and I had to keep reading! In fact, I finished this book in about a day because it's so compelling. There are about three references to praying to God—so it's light and fits into the novel seamlessly.

It's not just the plot—it's always the characters for me. It's in the vein of *The Rosie Project* without the sexual innuendo and such.

Characters:

Isadora—brilliant, awkward, truthful
Cal—disorganized, brilliant, golden retriever-style man
Marty—70s, engaging, mourning
Darby—mom of 4 kiddos (including Delilah), loves life, yoga attendee
Delilah—10 years old, an old soul, brilliant, awkward
Swearing baby—I'm throwing this one in, and I promise you're going to want to find the reference. (I'm giggling even as I think about it.)

I absolutely recommend this book to any fans of romance! There's great chemistry and real-world people.

Happy reading!

2.5 stars [Meh]

I’m not sure if my expectations were too high for this book because of my experience with previous books by this author or the high average rating but I was let down by this one. I felt there were a lot of repetition and I was not a fan of the main character at all. I did like most the secondary characters but it wasn’t enough to redeem this book. I was mostly waiting for it to end, I wasn’t invested at all. However, I will give this author another chance because I think this one was just not for me personally.

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for providing a free advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Courtney Walsh is one of my favorite authors but The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley was not her usual style of writing and ended up being a disappointment. I had trouble connecting with the main character and because of this I had trouble staying interested in her story. I think there have been too many books recently with a quirky, childlike MC that doesn’t know how to navigate the world or interact with others and this trope just doesn’t work for me. Fans of Courtney Walsh should definitely check this one out though!

I can seriously say that anything Courtney Walsh writes is amazing, and this book was no exception. The plot, the characters, the scenery. It was all amazing. A wonderful, feel good story to start out the summer.

University researcher, Isadora, always keeps to herself & barely engaged with others. On her 30th birthday, she finds a magazine article claiming 31 ways to be happy, which frankly seems ridiculous to her. So she sets out to try all those ways out & prove the writer wrong. But along the way, she rediscovers herself.

I feel SEEN through this book. Isadora is me, I'm Isadora. What a beautiful yet heartbreaking story this was. Isadora was a wonderful character who felt happy in her own company until she expanded her horizons.

I loved how she formed new connections through this experiment; each unique in their own way. My heart was so full of friendships, especially.

And not forget the handsome, charming, kind Cal, who got Isadora out of her shell & taught her to trust again.
This was a very wholesome book with wholesome characters & romance.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love an unlikely romance book! Isadora decides to use a magazine article to debunk that she can make herself happy. As she goes through the steps (with some help from others) she is surprised by the outcomes. This book has a lot of humor, real life scenarios and a endearing cast of characters. I enjoyed reading Isadora's journey and I can certainly picture her future. If you like books with found family this is a great match!

I feel SEEN through this book. Isadora is me, I'm Isadora. What a beautiful yet heartbreaking story this was. Isadora was a wonderful character who felt happy in her own company until she expanded her horizons.

I loved how she formed new connections through this experiment; each unique in their own way. My heart was so full of friendships, especially.

And not forget the handsome, charming, kind Cal, who got Isadora out of her shell & taught her to trust again.
This was a very wholesome book with wholesome characters & romance.

<i>Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.<i>

3.5 Stars

I probably should preface this by saying that I have a hard time reading books when I don't relate to the MC/feel disconnected from who the MC is as a person. Because of this, I had a hard time with the first few chapters. I just felt like it was so hard to read her monologues. I’m trying to change this because personally I read in order to experience different world views, but it’s still hard for me.

That being said, I pushed through, and I am glad I did. The middle of the book was lovely. The characters and relationships were hands down the best part. I loved Darby, Delilah, and Marty so much.

I also think the romance was sweet and had depth, I also loved that the whole book was about happiness, but it wasn't this idea that she found happiness through a relationship alone.

I was disappointed that, as a CF author, Walsh didn't dive into the faith a little more especially in a book where the character is exploring the way to happiness, which as a Christian, can be found in Jesus!

Also, I felt like the character traits that I was annoyed by in the beginning showed up again at the end, so I was a little frustrated.

Overall, this was a funny, lighthearted book with lots of sweet moments, but definitely not my favorite Courtney Walsh.

I received this as an electronic ARC from NetGalley thank you to the publisher. All opinions expressed here are my own.

This was a delightful story of metamorphosis. I was immediately drawn into the story – and how often do we root for the character to be proven wrong? Very well written, to achieve that. And there are a lot of us who strongly resemble who Isadora is at the beginning of the book, so the ending brings us hope that maybe, just maybe, this condition of life isn’t immutable. Maybe there’s hope.

Total feel-good book; I was sorry to reach the end of it, but glad for the sense of hope and possibility it engendered in me. And I’m so happy to see this author has a number of additional titles I can go devour!

My thanks to NetGalley for a free preview copy in exchange for my honest review.

I’ll be honest, when I started this book I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. After a few chapters in, I was wholeheartedly in. This book is a fun read but also insightful.

We are all Isadora in some way or another. We all have those people who have spoken into our lives negativity or who have hurt us. We have given them too much power and hear their voices in our head. But…, we all have others (Marty, Darby, etc) who speak life into us. We have to enjoy those people and celebrate the victories in life daily.

Isadora is a researcher who pretty much keeps to herself after being let down too many times in life. Until she meets an older gentleman at the university where she works and a noisy neighbor that she has to get used to and she finds herself opening up in ways she never thought possible. Throw in a handsome psychologist and it makes a great story. Is life always a happy ending? No, but it’s definitely worth living.

I am so sad to be writing this review. I normally love Courtney Walsh, but after trying this book I’m print and now on audio, I have decided Isadora is not for me. I found her to be immature and annoying. I know she’d probably grow by the end, but life’s to short to trudge through books I’m not enjoying in hopes the ending is better. I will continue to read her and look forward to her next book.

I have rated this book 4⭐️s. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot due to the fact the romance wasn’t the whole story. I think the story had a great message especially for women in academia or other careers which traditionally dominated by men.

The only issue I personally found with this book is that some of the writing seems to drag. It seemed a bit like the author had a lot of ideas and couldn’t decide which to include and so they included them all. I found this to be a bigger issue at the end when I found myself thinking I’d reached the end and hadn’t.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others, especially those who appreciate a romance without the typical spicy scenes you get in other books in the genre.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this view are completely my own.

Thank you to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.