#TheHappyLifeofIsadoraBentley #NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-Arc copy of this novel.

Inspiring and Life changing! That's this book.

I had trouble connecting with the book at first but immediately I got a hang of it, I was sold. The characters had my heart especially Isadora. She was so relatable. My heart went out to her a couple of times reading the book. I understood her struggles. Her support system was solid. Everyone needs friends like that of Isadora. Friends that turned to family.

The writing style of this book is unlike the author's previous books but it a beautiful story of love, change, healing from childhood wounds, God sending help from unexpected sources...

I received a copy of this book and this is my honest opinion.

This was most certainly a charming book, and a unique one. How many levels I could not relate to Isadora, as I have a wonderful family both as a child, as a mom, and now as a grandmom. However, I most certainly could relate to her issues with being socially, awkward and often find myself having to push myself in those situations.

One of the most delightful aspects of this book is in the supporting characters. They are so well written, and so utterly wonderful. And Cal, the love interest, stole my heart. I was sometimes frustrated at how long it took Isadora to respond to his patient pursuit of her.

I certainly enjoyed this book, and I am thankful to NetGalley for the opportunity to read it in advance. I was not obliged to give a positive review, but I definitely recommend it!

The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley is truly heart warming! You are sure to fall in love with Isadora and her quest for happiness through the feat of defending her view on what creates happiness.

Isadora is celebrating her birthday with a junk food night in when she is in Aisle 8, she stumbles upon a magazine with a headline about "31 ways to be happy." Isadora scuffs at the thought and sets out on her quest to disprove this researchers findings.

Along the way, Isadora begins to interact with some unique and interesting people. I fell in love with the entire cast of characters. Cal, the researcher, Marty, the widower, Darby, the chaotic neighbour, and Delilah, the 13 year old going on 30 (if she even is 13 lol). The characters were all so relatable and funny. With such a fun plot and interesting cover, Courtney Walsh does it again !

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.

What a nice find. This was the first book I've read from this author and I really enjoyed it. The story was different from anything I've read recently and really captured my attention. It was so well written and the characters were fantastic.

Isadora Bently is vey unhappy and has nothing to look forward to as she spends her thirtieth birthday planning to eat junk food. Isadora works as an academic researcher. She has no friends and prefers to work alone.
While waiting to buy junk food Isadora browses through a magazine and notices an article titled “31 Ways to Be Happy (Today)”. Isadora does not believe that it is possible to be happy and buys the magazine intending to prove that it is not possible to be happy by following the 31 ways to be happy.
I loved the way the story unfolded as Isadora worked through the 31 steps and the way she interacts with the characters she meets.
This was about families, friendship, grief and academic research. At about page 100 I found myself saying “I love it, I love I Love it”.

Is Courtney Walsh inside my brain? This book is such a triumph for the girls who never fit in and were never stood up for. Everything about this book makes me feel seen and loved. Plus, it’s been a minute since a book has made me laugh and cry so much.

While I can't relate to all of Isadora's experiences, her thoughts felt so real. The negative self-talk in the first 20% of the book was frustrating and almost felt intrusive! But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I needed my own negative self-talk to be pointed out. And watching Isadora learn to extend grace to herself throughout the story has helped me remember to extend grace to myself, too.

Making friends as an adult is hard. And it’s easy to put your head down and tell yourself that you don’t need people. Isadora is so so relatable in this regard. But the character growth is so good. And the friendships in this book are so wonderful and satisfying. All of us need friends like Marty, Darby, and Delilah.

While the sweet romance in this story is important to the plot, I love that it doesn’t claim to be the main thing or overshadow the other elements of the story. Cal is the dreamiest, and we love him. But he adds so much more than romance to the story, and I love that. Because all of us need a friend like Cal, too.

This book is a new favorite. Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson, and Courtney Walsh for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. The pleasure was all mine.

I loved this book from the first page and honestly, I didn’t want this book to end. Not only did I love Isadora Bentley but all the people she adopted along the way! An excellent group of characters and a unique and interesting storyline. I thank Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for the opportunity to read and review this book.

CW: bullying (recounted), death of a spouse (recounted), parental estrangement, parent with narcissistic personality disorder, heart attack

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson - Fiction for providing me with a free e-ARC.

The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley is a Christian romance full of self-discovery and letting go of past pains I would absolutely recommend!

When Isadora Bentley finds herself alone for her 30th birthday and comes across a magazine article claiming to know “Thirty-One Ways to Be Happy”, Isadora finds herself on a mission to prove the author wrong. But, after encountering new friends in the least likely of places and inviting Cal, a new researcher Isadora has to help edit his manuscript for, she realizes that the magazine article might be right after all.

Now, if you read Authentically Izzy, you’ll appreciate the character development Isadora goes through in The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley. Walsh does a great job with creating Isadora and I feel like a lot of readers can relate to her struggles of feeling on the outcasts of the world around her (including me and I think Isadora might be autistic/neurodivergent). This book not only ties in Christian themes of acceptance (as well as strategically using the found family trope), but you also get to see Isadora learning how to let go of her past regrets and hurts in order to fully heal.

I also really liked Walsh’s writing style for The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley and it’s not just because of the David Attenborough-like commentary that portrays Isadora’s inner monologue. This book felt like a nice and cozy hug after a long day and finding the solace of connecting her characters that you can relate to and root for. While some parts of the book did feel a bit slow, Walsh makes up for it by her characters and the swoon worthy romance between Isadora and Cal (I mean, the things Cal does for Isadora in the book will totally melt your heart).

So, if you’re a fan of the found family trope mixed with self-discovery, personal research projects, and sweet romances, you came to the right place.

Out to prove there is no such thing as choosing happiness, Isadora Bentley is a main character to relate with if you live by rules and like things “just so”. A university researcher, Isadora keeps her colleagues at arms length and lives a life full of routine. Her path to disprove choosing happiness leads her in some unexpected directions and forces her to face her past to live her future.

This is a “light” read but unpacks some childhood and adulthood traumas that have fed defensive behavior in Isadora.

This book was written for me!

Isadora is such a relatable nerdy mess, and her story is giving me all the feels! It made me smile, the romance made me swoon, there were some laugh-out-loud moments, and it tugged on the heartstrings big time. Overall, while some aspects might have hit a little close to home, I loved the strong theme of making connections and I adored this particular found family Isadora managed to pick up along her way.

Courtney Walsh is one of my favorite authors. But this one of hers felt different, it was not written in the style I am accustomed to reading from her. It took me a while to get into it but after I settled in I did enjoy it.
I did lose patience with Isadora and at one point toward the end, I could not see how in the world Cal could hang on. She totally seemed to need a lot of counseling. But it all came around and the ending was one of my favorite parts of the book, so sweet.

I also found a lot of quotes that I really liked (more than in most books I read).
These are just a few:
“You can be hurt and not be bitter.”
“You don't forgive people for their benefit. You do it for yours. Because if you don't, it'll eat you alive.”
"I'm happy as a box of birds.”

Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to read this book The opinions are entirely my own.

A cute, relateable story that truly lifts your spirits. I love isadora, i root for her throughout, commiserate with her in the bad, and really feel connected to her at the end. The story line is different, fresh, and entirely adorable. I loved it!! I wish there was a sequel!! It made believe in happy, even though im generally more of a negative nelly. Definitely recommend this book!!!

I feel like I've done a pretty good job resisting the pull of these illustrated covers, but I confess that the adorable art plus the premise of this book captured me. Isadora Bentley, a researcher whose life isn't exactly happy, decides to follow the advice of a magazine article entitled 31 Ways To Be Happy and use herself as a test subject to note the efficacy of the author's suggestions. She wants to prove the article wrong: there is no subjective way to make oneself feel happy.

If I'm being honest, the Isadora of Chapter 1 almost made me put the book down. She and I did not have much in common. I'm a people person, while Isadora prefers to be alone. She was in the throes of an internal breakdown for reaching her thirtieth birthday, while I'm a decade beyond rolling my eyes at her dramatics. But thankfully it's early in the story that she finds the article and decides to begin her experiment, so Isadora didn't have the chance to drive me away before I was hooked.

As Isadora follows the 31 Ways To Be Happy, new people enter her life and things begin changing. Isadora begins looking at things and people in new ways. But is she happier?

This story ends up diving deep. And as we peel back the layers of Isadora, I found out I was wrong. Isadora and I do have things in common. Deep down, where we've each been abused and neglected and betrayed, we're the same person. The story unwraps and unwraps and unwraps until I, like Isadora, felt undone in her pursuit of happiness. The author lays it bare and presents us someone in her humanity. This is a brilliant piece of storytelling that is gripping and heartrending and hopeful all at the same time.

But for me, it also missed the mark. It hit off-center because there was no faith element. There had been a few passing mentions of God earlier in the story, which I was hoping would come back around. Our own pursuits can never bring us the fulfillment that a relationship with Jesus will bring. This story was ripe for such a message. It was right there. That would have made this one of the best books I've read this year. I was very disappointed. It's still a good book, but it is definitely not what it could be.

We all need Jesus. He is the true answer for healing from abuse, from neglect, from betrayal. There are absolutely things we can do to help with that process and our own happiness, but I believe ultimately they are empty without Him.

I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading this book, but I also can't wholeheartedly recommend it. It's a deep journey that I wish had gone just a bit deeper.

I received my copy of the book from NetGalley. All thoughts in this review are my own.

The Happy Life of Isadora

This book was so unexpected! I absolutely loved it. It’s deep and fun and is the ultimate definition of character growth.

I loved Isadora. I loved getting to see why she is the way she is and how she ticks. To be completely honest, in the first chapter or two I wasn’t sure I would like her. But as I got to know her, I made connections with her. I grew to love her and the things she was learning. I loved learning along with her on her quest for happiness and learning to let people in.

I loved so many of the themes and lessons in this book. learning to let people in. Choosing those who make you feel accepted and good about who you are. Reaching out to others. Learning to enjoy people when you’re an introvert. Standing up for yourself. It was a beautifully written book and I will definitely read it again. And it’s yellow. I love yellow books.

I had the pleasure of talking about this book with a fellow reader and I found it funny that at the same time we messaged each other about one small element. I said I liked it, she said she wished it had been resolved. And I love that it’s a book that let us to ponder how to handle difficult people and relationships. In truth we all cope differently and each difficult relationship is so unique. What a thought provoking book to read, especially if you’re an introvert or have ever felt a little on the outside of friends and society.

The happy life of Isadora Bentley was a pleasure to read. Simply,adorable.

Isadora leads a life of solitude and she is down right lonely. Things come to a head on her thirtieth birthday while purchasing enough junk food to distribute to a neighborhood at Halloween. Isadora scans magazine articles and homes in on one titled " 31 Ways to Be Happy". Interally,she laughs at this outragious claim and sets out to prove the author wrong by making herself a guinea pig ; using the thirty -one steps as an experiment.
Little does she know but this experiment becomes a journey of self- discovery.
In order to properly test her theory she must interact with strangers....gasp! Human interaction is like her own form of living hell. So,yeah,she's completely out of her comfort zone.
Once set in motion the book is a truley fun ride.
The characters are charming and relateable; except Alex ;) I will admit that I became burnt out on the self- depreciation and self -sabotaging that Isadora piles on herself toward the 90% mark of the book. Such a relief when she woke up and realized that her present and future happiness was more important than her past hurts.
From her 3oth birthday to her 31st birthday , Isadora does a ton of self- reflection and discovery. With the help of new found friends and self confidence , Isadora comes to realize happines is a daily choice.
Funny,heartwarming read :)

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC inexchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book more than I thought I would! I really liked all of the characters and the fact that friendship is one of their main characters as well. This book made me laught, cry and warmed my heart. If you are into cozy and happy reads, make sure to pick up this book. Publishing Release Date scheduled for June 13, 2023.

Thanks NetGalley and ThomasNelsonPublishing for the ARC ebook.

You know those characters that get under your skin and into your heart? Isadora is one of those for me. There were so many parts of her that were so recognizable and that made me need her to find her happiness so much.
On her 30th birthday Isadora sees a magazine article “31 ways to be Happy”
Convinced the writer is a charlatan she decides to apply her researcher skills and scientific method and try and prove the author wrong.
Isadora will have to break her routines and habits to complete the project and confront the real question at the root of her experiment “is she happy”
I loved this book, I definitely recommend checking it out if you want a feel good story (that might make you cry, but in a good way) Releasing June 12 2023
Thank you to @netgalley @courtneywalsh and @thomasnelson for letting me review this book. #bookstagram #readforfun #readforjoy #readersofinstagram #reading #readmore #bookreview #bookrecommendations #thehappylifeofisadorabentley #readmorebooks

Isadora is a quirky and socially awkward introvert. Spending her days as a university researcher, she doesn’t have time for friends or hobbies- and she likes it that way. She avoids the university students, who she’s supposed to be mentoring, and ignores her neighbors. And yes, sometimes she gets anxious and overwhelmed. On the day of her 30th birthday, Isadora finds herself at the grocery store loading up with junk food to celebrate at her party of 1. In the checkout line, a magazine with an article called “31 Ways To Be Happy” catches her eye and she buys it on impulse. After reading a few of the “31 Ways,” she decides to conduct some research of her own by trying all the ways- and hopefully creating some happiness of her own.

Guys- this book really spoke to my introvert-leaning soul. Even if you’re not a fully introverted person, there are plenty of things you can relate to in this story. We all have times of self-doubt, thoughts of past-traumas, have gone through a terrible breakup and I bet you still remember the person who bullied you back in 3rd grade (I’m looking at you Ashley W). All those experiences can have you second-guessing yourself well into adulthood. And if you don’t have a good family or friend support system, like Isadora, it can be even harder to overcome. To that point- she ends up with her “found family” of a group of wonderfully random and different people and a genuinely kind love interest. It made me so happy for her and I was just so pleased with this book and author.

This was hilarious. I chuckled at every page and every internal dialog that Isadora had with herself. Dr. Cal Baxter was perfect and Marty and Darby so cool friends. Enjoyed reading this and would recommend it to all.