I’m in love with Isadora. I thoroughly enjoyed her journey to happiness. I know where she has been and had to learn the same things she did around the same age, except I was married with 3 under 3. And now 8 yrs later with 4 kids, I am telling them the exact same things.

I fell instantly in love with all the characters. I want my own Marty, and I’m pleased that have I have several Darby’s in my life. (Now) I’m not sure if there is a swoonier man than Cal. He is the absolutely best person for Isadora.

Thank you Courtney Walsh, NetGalley, and Thomas Nelson for this ARC. ~I was given this book and made no commitments to leave my opinions, favorable or otherwise~

This book was great! I couldn't put it down! The premise was fresh and new, which is hard for me to say as I read so much each year! Sometimes it feels as though I keep reading similar stories, but this was a so original!

Courtney Walsh is a storyteller. I loved how she wrote this book. The character development was beautiful and I didn't want to put the book down. I loved the romance that went along with the self-improvement was just perfect. I will recommend this book to anyone.

“The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.”

Zinger! This book was another perfect zinger from Walsh.  “It comes out of nowhere and hits you like lightning.  And when it does, you’re never, ever the same.”

It starts off with Isadora freaking out about turning 30 and celebrating by visiting the forbidden Aisle 8, the junk food aisle.  While checking out, a tabloid touting ’31 Ways to be Happy (Today!)’ catches her eye and starts her down a path of proving the author and article wrong.  After all, she is a researcher, so this should be an easy experiment to conduct to collect the necessary data to disprove this theory.  What she doesn’t expect to happen is that her little experiment will start to slowly change her and her views on happiness.  And while it might not always be easy, it may just be worth it.

I LOVED this book!  Isadora and all the side characters are just wonderful.  She was so relatable that I couldn’t help but want to cheer her on or feel completely devastated when she felt crushed.  This story held so many touching and adorable and hilarious and heartwarming moments throughout.  I love when a book makes me laugh out loud one minute and then makes my heart just ache the next.  I loved the important messages about found or made family, self-growth, the depth and importance of human connection, and how true happiness looks different for everyone and only you can choose to be happy.  But when you do, it can be truly amazing.

I received a complimentary copy of this book.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.  Thank you again to Thomas Nelson Fiction, Courtney Walsh, and NetGalley for this wonderful e-arc.

Pub Date: June 13, 2023

Isadora Bentley, a university researcher, has kept herself safe from heartbreak and pain by keeping people at a distance—or so she thinks. After beginning an experiment on happiness, she meets an electric group who challenge her ideas about what makes a person truly happy.

This is my second book by Courtney Walsh. Overall, I enjoyed this lighthearted read about the power of friendships and community.

When I saw Courtney Walsh had a new book coming out, I requested to read it immediately! I started reading it the day I was approved and finished it in two days. It was such a cute book!

I thought it was a sweet book that was based on self love, self discovery and finding happiness in your life. I found Isadora to be so realistic and relatable. I enjoyed her character and I loved the side characters as well. There is some romance in this book, but it’s more a side plot in this book. If you’re a fan of clean romance, great characters, family, and heartfelt moments, then I recommend checking this book out!

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this story about Isadora Bentley and her desire for happiness. She is so relatable and loveable. My heart hurt for her that she always felt so rejected. I loved her relationships that she built and formed.

Great read! Thanks NetGalley!

Such a nice cozy romance! I highly enjoyed this one! Isadora is a great main character and I enjoyed following along with her. I will recommend this to those who enjoy a cozy Romance!

I enjoyed the characters in this story. It had a great storyline that kept me up late. look forward to more by this author. Thank you.

Isadora Bentley has been burned before, when a man kept their relationship a secret, and then stole all the credit for her research. Now, she works alone. When she runs across an article claiming that if she follows a set of steps, she can find happiness, she sets out to disprove the author. But what if it actually works?

I have never read another book like this one; one where the author is smart, yet blunt and considered prickly by her co-workers, but she finds people who allow her to be who she is, while helping her see herself the way they see her, thus allowing her to become more of whom she's meant to be.

The cast of friends gathered to Isadora during her happiness experiment are fantastic characters. My favorite, perhaps, is the 10-year-old Delilah, in whom Isadora finds a kindred spirit, and sees what she could have had if there had been supportive people in her life at a young age.

I also love that once Isadora starts to look beyond herself, she sees the other women in her profession who have also been overlooked, or taken advantage of, and she becomes a source of encouragement for them.

I give this book 5 stars. Isadora will resonate with any woman who's worked in a male-dominated field, or who finds themselves at odds with societal norms.

I received a digital copy of this book, via NetGalley, from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.

I love this book! This is a voice I’ve not read from previous books by this author and I so so so so so hope she writes more books like this because I’m totally here for all of them! So many one-liners that had me chuckling out loud. In fact, on many occasions I caught myself reading with a perpetual grin on my face. This is a fun with meaning and one you’ll be thinking about even after you close the cover. Also, I’d like to adopt Darby, Marty, and Delilah. And Cal is just great. *happy sigh*

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Isadora, an extremely socially awkward academic researcher reads an article on 31 ways to happiness and takes the challenge on. But rather to find happiness, she plans to disprove the article.

Her plans are shortly derailed after making friends with an older grieving widower, a mother of 4, a quirky ten year old, and a very disorganized, yet handsome psychologist.

I really, really enjoyed Isadora's development throughout the novel. Walsh did a fantastic job fleshing out background that made sense for Isadora, why she is so closed off, and illustrating the joy as Isadora begins to grown as a person and in her relationship with others.

Also, all the secondary cast of characters Delilah, Cal, Darby, and Marty were wonderful in rounding out Isadora's new life and journey.

Isadora Bentley follows the rules. Isadora Bentley likes things just so. Isadora Bentley believes that happiness is something that flat-out doesn’t exist in her life—and never will.

As a university researcher, Isadora keeps to herself as much as possible. She avoids the students she’s supposed to befriend and mentor. She stays away from her neighbors and lives her own quiet, organized life in her own quiet, organized apartment. And she will never get involved in a romantic relationship again—especially with another academic. It will be just Isadora and her research. Forever.

But on her thirtieth birthday, Isadora does something completely out of character. The young woman who never does anything “on a whim” makes an impulse purchase of a magazine featuring a silly article detailing “Thirty-One Ways to Be Happy”—which includes everything from smiling at strangers to exercising for endorphins to giving in to your chocolate cravings. Isadora decides to create her own secret research project—proving the writer of the ridiculous piece wrong.

As Isadora gets deeper into her research—and meets a handsome professor along the way—she’s stunned to discover that maybe, just maybe, she’s proving herself wrong. Perhaps there’s actually something to this happiness concept, and possibly there’s something to be said for loosening up and letting life take you somewhere . . . happy.

I adored this book! What a wonderfully uplifting read. While it is essentially a romance, it is so much more. It explores found families, and finding your place in the world.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for my honest review.

Courtney Walsh is one of my favorite authors! I read everything she publishes. But I struggled to love The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley. It’s Courtney Walsh’s first book that I didn’t love from the first page. It felt choppy to me and I couldn’t connect with the characters. That being said, I can’t wait to read Courtney Walsh’s next book.

The cover of this book drew me in, but the story kept me reading! "The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley" was such a good book. Isadora is a very relatable character to those that are quiet and keep to themselves due to past negative experiences. She meets some unexpected friends along the way that help her in more ways than just her research. Great story!

This book was not it for me. I went into it with high hopes, but I was sadly left disappointed. I don’t know if I’ll be right anymore of this authors books after this.

I have been SO CONFLICTED on how to rate this book. Because I really, really, REALLY enjoyed reading this. Like, I LOVED the journey of this book. SO MUCH. It is from such a unique point of view and just...the relationships! The premise! The drama! It was SO GOOD!!!!

But. I didn't care for the ending *sobs*. I'm really kind of surprised, being that this was a Thomas Nelson book, how it ended. It felt like a big ol' shrug in the faith direction. Now, I don't expect characters to fall in line with me because I know the AUTHORS don't, so, duh. BUT. The whole book was about pursuing happiness. And while I do know that being happy and content on several levels IS a choice, it's also due to the abiding peace of God and His grace that gives us the victory we need to live a happy life. I felt like that was very much missing from an inspirational publisher. Happiness does not come only from oneself, else a lot more people in this world would be happy. I did feel like a faith journey could be in the future for Isadora. There was just something about the end that made me wish for something more.

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

Well, this was a cozy, nice, and happy read! There was kindness throughout the book, from a stranger that looked up and returned a smile, to a ten year old neighbor that prayed for a friend and saw her prayers answered. These moments really put a smile on my face and made The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley a joy to read.

Isadora Bentley self chosen reclusiveness had saved her from hurt and heartbreak. After being disappointed and stabbed in the back by people she trusted, she finally found a way to live her academic and private life alone and closed off to other people.

But then Isadora turned thirty and ran into an article titled Thirty-One Ways to be Happy - and she just felt she needed to prove the article wrong. For scientifical purposes, of course!

I liked The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley. There’s romance, but I wouldn’t call this book a romance novel per se. The romance is part of Isadora’s growth to open up and trust herself again, and I would totally call this an one-sided dummy to lovers, if that trope would’ve existed. More interesting were the people Isadora met and befriended. Her new friends were all so supportive and lovely! Marty, Delilah, Darby… You’ll love them!

This quirky little novel by one of my favorite authors, was just what the doctor ordered! I loved Isadora so much as a main character- I especially loved her growth as we see her come into her own throughout the story. Absolutely a pleasure to read

This book served as such a good reminder of what really matters in life and taking the time to seek out a bit of happiness in each day. Contemporary fiction may not be my go-to genre, but I can't resist picking up a Courtney Walsh book each time one is published.