Gritty characters and a storyline that captured my attention instantly. Loved the art focus and learned from this fictional story.

Unfortunately, this book fell flat to me. The characters lacked depth, the plot moved slow, and I didn't feel the chemistry or drama between Tatum and Mateo. The plot switched back and forth between first and second person narration which was a bit jarring for me. The first person narration was difficult to connect with because Tatum didn't feel like a fully developed character. The side characters didn't add to the plot and felt forced or forgotten at times. Overall, I wanted so much more from this but it didn't live up to its potential for me.

This book examines the relationship between a young woman and a successful author, in a way that feels very realistic and authentic to an experience many women may have. The dual timeline shows the interactions between the woman and the author, and later fallout when information about his behavior comes to light. I would highly recommend this book which feels introspective into the mind of the protagonist.

This is a new author that I enjoyed reading. I enjoyed this author's writing style as well as their attention to details that brought the characters to life. This is a well written story that has a lot going on but I enjoyed how the author kept things striaght and not confusing. This is a story that will have you thinking about your own relationships. I enjoyed how this story is told in duel points of view. The characters are engaging, strong and had me coming back for more. They are connectable and relateable. They add so much to the story's entertainment value. Tatum is a great character and my favorite of the story. I enjoyed watching the growth of the story which made it easy to read. This is a fast paced story that is hard to put down. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to seeing what is next for this author. I highly recommend this book.

I didn’t know what to expect going into Like Happiness, but this book instantly seized my full attention. It’s told in two timelines: Most of it is written in second person, Tatum writing a long letter to an author named Mateo, addressing all of her thoughts to him as she recounts their full relationship. Interspersed are shorter chapters from 2015, when Tatum is living in Chile and has been asked to corroborate a story of Mateo’s alleged abuse of other women.

Books written in the second person are usually hard for me to get into, but Like Happiness is written in such a natural and engaging way that this narrative device never bothered me here. The majority of the book unfolds as Tatum tells Mateo (“you”) her full account of everything that happened between them, from her isolated years as a university student to a directionless young adult to a woman betrayed by the man she thought she could trust. Tatum and Mateo have a complicated, indistinct relationship, always on the cusp of something more, but always kept just distant enough that they’re only orbiting each other.

A major theme throughout Like Happiness is Tatum’s love of literature. She sees the world through the eyes of the books she’s read, identifying with characters and picking up on the literary techniques that make books transcendent. She’s intelligent, but she also lacks confidence and direction. Despite the support she gets from her parents, her friends—especially Mateo—don’t necessarily bolster her self-esteem.

As the novel progresses, Tatum’s relationship with Mateo becomes more and more disjointed and unsavory. Why does he treat her the way he does? What does she really mean to him? Why does she seem to care for him more than he does for her? Eventually, the truth comes out and changes Tatum’s perspective on everything.

Like Happiness is an immersive story that puts us fully in the mind of Tatum as she navigates young adulthood in the 2000s and into the 2010s. She’s a deep thinker, about literature and Latinx identity and achieving the right career path eventually, but she’s lost in a way so many can relate to. It’s not the kind of book I normally read or react so strongly to, but it completely absorbed me. I already look forward to reading more from Ursula Villarreal-Moura.

This was a very slow burn, character centered novel diving into the complexities of what it’s like to examine a relationship and realize it was toxic. Tatum is living in Chile with her partner Vera when she is contacted by an American journalist who wants to interview her about her relationship years ago with a famous writer. The writer, Mateo , has been accused of sexual assault and although he never did anything like that with Tatum she believes he is guilty. She is forced to re-examine her years long, complex, toxic relationship with him and the book goes back and forth between the present and their past relationship. Tatum writes a letter to the author and in the process comes to some realizations about herself and her past relationship . This just wasn’t for me.

A powerful debut novel, multi-layered and nuanced, taking you out of your comfort zone and making you re-read passages as you realize how much each layer reveals.

Tatum Vega is 30 years old now and finally content with her life in Chile: a job she loves surrounded by the art she loves, a full life with a partner that makes her happy. But when a reporter from the US asks for an interview about someone she once knew she wonders if the past is really in the past.

From the minute Tatum happened upon his book Happiness she was entranced – or maybe obsessed is the better word – with author M. Domínguez. The book seemed to be speaking to her and her alone. She was certain she knew what was behind every word of it, every hidden meaning. It was as if she had found her soulmate. She contacted him via letter. A fan letter, really, and she hardly expected to hear back. But he did reply and so began a twelve-year relationship. A very odd, unbalanced, unfair relationship which was likely apparent to everyone but Tatum. A relationship that kept her in a kind of limbo, accepting, settling, hoping.

Domínguez has now been accused of assault and the reporter from the US is looking for corroboration from Tatum. As she thinks about her response she insists (to herself) she was never assaulted, but realizes she believes he is capable of it. This forces her to examine that relationship again and to write a letter to him recounting and re-examining that relationship in perhaps a new and startling light. Along the way we relive Tatum’s struggles with her and the variety of difficult issues she’s had to face her entire life. And her growing realization of just what that relationship involved, and what it cost her.

Tatum is an unusual, interesting character with an active mind and much talent. The dual narrative alternating between her present day and the letter she writes to Domínguez works very well. The ending feels a little abrupt and I thought too much is made of the 8-year age difference, but this did not take away from my enjoyment of the story.

Like Happiness is another surprising – and surprisingly satisfying – book from Celadon Books as a Celadon Reader. Always the best titles. Thanks to Celadon for providing an advance copy of Like Happiness via NetGalley. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

I like the way this book flashes back in time to tell two stories at once. I feel many women will relate to this story. Loved the Latina representation in this book and the Spanish used throughout.

Genre : Literary Fiction
Rating : 3.8/5

An emotional, heartbreaking, searing story about a young woman and her obsessive, toxic relationship with a writer she idolized and loved.

Tatum is finally living the life she always wanted for herself - a loving partner in Chile along with a stable job at a museum surrounded by gorgeous art she has always admired. So, when she is approached by a journalist regarding the nature of her relationship with a famous author - who is now accused of sexual abuse - the last thing she wants to do is delve into her past. While she reassures the journalist that she was never a victim and does not want to divulge her past, memories crop up and she unwittingly goes down a rabbit hole. Was she a victim ? Were there unfortunate layers to her relationship with the author that she didn't understand then ?

I won't lie, I was quite surprised by the book. While the premise certainly seemed interesting, the book has its own charm that keeps a reader thoroughly engaged. It's written in first narrative - where Tatum is directly addressing the author - Mateo - as she talks about her past. It get us more involved into her story, and empathize & sympathize with her. We, as readers, feel what she feels. We feel elation for her when she gets the response from the author, feel anger at the level of neglect she faces, and sad for her as she yearns for attention that she doesn't receive. It was an extremely quick read and took me a day to finish!
The story also encapsulates how often - men who hold the position of power, exploit women either physically or emotionally to get what they need. And rarely suffer much consequences. Mateo in this case was a popular author and Tatum a young, naive girl - who was infatuated with him and who craved for his bare minimum while he took advantage of that.

There were a couple of unresolved aspects of the book like - what happened to Mateo after the allegations? Was he rightfully arrested? How did Tatum end up in Chile with a partner, how did she get over her 10 year long obsession and settle with a partner in Chile? And maybe the purpose of the book was to not answer those but it felt off for me. Nonetheless, a great read that kept me interested. This was her debut novel and I'm curious to see what the author comes up with next.

#likehappiness #UrsulaVillarreal-Moura #bookreview

I received this ARC from NetGalley to read and review.

When the novel opens, it is 2015, and Tatum Vega, an expat in Chile, living with her girlfriend and employed at a museum, is contacted by an investigative journalist with The New York Times who is looking into sexual abuse allegations against M. Told in an epistolary format, Tatum unspools her relationship with M, whom she refers to as Mateo. As she explains, Mateo’s debut short story collection shaped her life, but her fascination with fiction and authors predated him. A Mexican American who was raised in a “dire financial situation” in San Antonio, Texas, Tatum was a double major in English and history at Williams College in Massachusetts which she chose because it was the home of Plath and Sexton, but she miscalculated how she would fare. She found “Happiness” by M. Dominquez displayed at Border’s among the classics. It was a short story collection about the lives of Latin Americans in Florida, New York, and Puerto Rico. The book “cast a spell” over Tatum, and she wrote the author a fan letter gushing about how his work has been a “lifeline for me” as the only minority in her classes and praised how his “work legitimizes Latino culture and quietly celebrates it.”

Mateo responded to Tatum, later explaining that he was drawn to her because she didn’t want to be a writer and she “seemed sincere and chill.” A meeting at a book signing in New York was followed by a month fortressed in a posh Hyannis estate while Tatum house sat. Yet, the two were physically intimate only once, Mateo reasoning: “Mi Vida, you’re young and beautiful, I’m old and fucked up. I’m not generally good to women, but I’m not going to ruin shit with you. I’ll never forgive myself if I do something stupid like give you a disease or hurt you.” Tatum was satisfied going to happy hour and to book stores with Mateo, claiming that their “literary conversations were the backbone of their friendship.” She convinced herself that the switch to friendship was safer and permanent, and her lust for his intellect grew as her interest in his physicality waned.

Although Mateo and Tatum were only 8 years apart, theirs was an imbalanced relationship. As Tatum writes, “the fact remained that I was still an undergraduate and you were a professor.” Indeed, Mateo was a famed author of a wildly successful book and an Ivy League professor. Yet, the relationship depicted in “Like Happiness” is far more subtle than novels like “My Dark Vanessa” which portray the more typical relationships between naive teenage girls and their magnetic and manipulative teachers who groom them to enter into inappropriate relationships. As Tatum recounts her relationship with Matteo, she discloses some red flags and, as she concludes her letter, she realizes, as does the reader, that there are different kinds of violations. Just as Tatum felt that Mateo “understood the psyche of a young woman and wrote from her perspective with stunning clarity,” so does Villarreal-Moura in this novel of betrayal. Thank you Celadon Books and Net Galley for an advanced readers’ copy of this propulsive debut novel.

The writing in Like Happiness is exquisite. I was drawn in from the beginning. It gave off a very sophisticated vibe. I've lived in San Antonio about 2.5 years and it was intriguing to read a novel from a SA native as well as be able to perfectly see in my mind places that were mentioned. In the beginning I found myself rooting for Tatum and her May December-esq relationship but you quickly see that Mateo is narcissistic, mean, and is using her for his own gain. I hate how so many years of her life were put on hold because of her hope in Mateo. I started to get to a point where I was ready for it to be over as they both make terrible decisions. You know that something big is coming from the get go but I didn't expect what it was. I loved how literary Like Happiness was and look forward to more by the author.

This book is about Tatum’s relationship with a famous writer. She met him while she was still in college. She sent him fan mail and he replied. They weren’t necessarily in a romantic relationship. It was a type of friendship. He is much older than her. Their relationship spans at least a decade. The book explores gender, power, and fame and their impact on this relationship.

In present day, Tatum lives in Chile with her partner. A journalist reaches out to her for an interview. The famous author, M. Dominguez, has been accused of assault. Tatum is forced to relive her past as she tells her own story.

The writing is impeccable. The references to writers and infamous books was fun to read about. The book moves at a slow, but steady pace. It’s a book that draws you in and makes you think.

I chose this book one day while browsing NetGalley because I was drawn to the cover, and the description of the story intrigued me. The book tells the story of Tatum Vega who in her 20s develops a relationship with a famous author, Mateo Domínguez, whose work she admires. When the book begins she is in her 30s when she is contacted by a reporter who wants to include her in an investigation against Domínguez, who has been accused of assault by another woman. The book mostly consists of Tatum writing a letter to Domínguez that details her experience in their relationship and how it has impacted her.

This debut novel has an interesting writing style. In much of the book, the author writes in an epistolary style that uses second person point of view, giving the story a very personal feeling. It seems that the author is intelligent and well-versed in art and literature. She sometimes shifts to Spanish or Japanese, immersing the reader a bit into the language of those cultures. My only wish is that she had more often provided translations for the things said in these languages.

The power balance in relationships is at the center of the narrative. Tatum is infatuated with an older, more established man. This relationship is unbalanced, and Tatum struggles to find her own identity and move forward with her life. The book also explores other important topics such as personal and cultural identity and sexual orientation.

While I enjoyed the writing style and found the characters to be well developed, there are some aspects that frustrated me. The pace of the book is sometimes too slow, and I found myself losing interest. I usually like a slow pace, but I found Tatum frustrating as a protagonist, so I did not relish living in her head for 300 pages. She has the advantage of an elite education, but wastes it for much of the story. I cannot connect with that kind of lack of ambition and drive. She is also a bit of a literary and art snob judging others for their lack of knowledge. The isolation she feels is often of her own making, so it is hard to feel sympathy for her.

Overall, I have to admit that this book is just okay in my estimation. It was good enough to continue to the end, but I am not likely to remember it months in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Like Happiness is a poignant story of manipulation and coming of age for a young women. From her time in college, Tatum's fandom for a author consumed her being. In one letter, she soon becomes the author's paramour. Their illicit relationship goes from friends to lovers repeatedly throughout their years of acquaintances. Now approached by reporter to discuss recent charges brought forward against the author, Tatum reflects on her time with him.

Power and courage run through this story as one women finds closure with an unhealthy relationship from her youth.

Thank you, Celadon Books

This is a highly literary and introspective story about a queer Mexican American woman named Tatum who is contacted by a journalist to discuss her previous undefined relationship with an older Latino author (Mateo) accused of assault. The journalist's investigation prompts Tatum to confront the searing memories of the man she once idolized almost to the point of obsession. Narrated across dual timelines in an epistolary format, readers become privy to the gradual unraveling of the tumultuous dynamic between Tatum and Mateo.

For starters, this was a well written debut with prose that is both evocative and engaging. I found myself breezing through this in two days, which speaks to the author’s skillset. I loved the references to other literary works in this story and the portrayal of the profound impact books can have on readers. I equally appreciated the exploration of Latinx culture, sexuality, identity, and imbalanced relationships.

I did find some of Tatum’s decisions and naïveté a bit perplexing. Initially, I was unable to fathom how she kept Mateo in her life for so long when he exhibited several red flags. That being said, I believe the author intentionally aimed to depict such nuances of the human experience. It is evident that Tatum feels out of place as a Latina in predominantly White spaces and simply vies for a connection - one which, sadly, results in her being subtly manipulated by Mateo over time.

While I do not typically gravitate towards slow progressing stories as these, I thought this one was well executed for the most part. The ending did feel somewhat abrupt but it appears to have served its purpose.

Overall, this is a solid debut and I would be interested in seeing what the author publishes next.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

In general, literary fiction is defined as something that emphasizes meaning over entertainment. Although I’m all for being entertained sometimes, I really like impactful depth. Perhaps my entertainment is more easily found in something meatier that I can chew on. In that respect, Like Happiness, a newly released literary fiction debut, sounded like it would be right up my alley.

But, and I suppose this is my subjective stance, I feel the meaning should come from what is illustrated. I don’t want the author to tell me what they think and I don’t want them to tell me how to think. I want the text to make me think.

I do not feel I found that here. Instead, I found an author who felt the need to explain everything to me.

I also found the writing in this to be quite simple, and often had a stilted tone. I found the fact that the narrator was addressing Mateo the whole time to be irritating, not because I think it’s a poor literary device, but because the execution felt forced and clunky. The narrator seemed juvenile and it felt more like I was reading a heavily detailed journal than a novel. You might argue that she was processing her feelings about her relationship with Mateo, which would make the journal aspect feeling practical, but I still feel the execution was awful.

Additionally, I felt that rather than developing a character well, the author name dropped regularly to create the illusion of a nuanced character who appreciated art, literature, and alternative rock. Tatum was not interesting. Her personality mainly relied upon the interesting accomplishments of others.

I found Like Happiness to be an annoyance and a disappointment, despite the important themes it addressed. I’ve no doubt many will appreciate those themes, but I didn’t think it had the substance of a good story.

I am immensely grateful to Celadon Books, BookishFirst, and NetGalley for my copies. All opinions are my own.

Part literary appreciation, part coming of age story and part disturbing manipulation... Like Happiness by Ursula Villarreal-Moura is a novel that will evoke a magnitude of emotions from readers and for me, this is the best kind of story.

Soon after starting this book, I stopped reading, closed my Kindle cover and asked out loud "what even is this book?" It was at that moment I knew this novel would become a five-star book for me! Once I started reading, I devoured this story, but was always aware of and waiting on the impending car crash at the end.

This is dual timeline, told from the awareness that comes with age in Chile 2015, and an earlier time looked back on in memory, hinting at the naivety present during Tatum’s younger years. This book is disturbing in its nuanced ways, and shows just how powerful it is to have the upper hand in a relationship. I was repulsed and my skin crawled with indignation as I read. This would be an amazing book club read, where it can be discussed and dissected at length.

The audiobook is well done, performed with respect for the words and subject matter. Marisa Blake's voice somehow had an air of conceded acknowledgement in one timeline, yet innocence and trustfulness in the other.

There is a powerfulness to the cover’s depiction, and it's a beautiful symbolism to the story inside.

This novel made me think and question: if the protagonist of a story feels a certain way towards the antagonist, is the reader expected to feel the same way, or is it acceptable to have a completely opposite opinion of that same character?

Thank you NetGalley, Celadon Books and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary copies to read and review.

LIKE HAPPINESS
Ursula Villarreal-Moura

I have five books I could’ve talked about today March 26, 2024. There are a lot of great titles that will be published today. Take a look at my Book List page for all my most anticipated releases categorized by month.

Today, I’m choosing to talk to you about LIKE HAPPINESS by Ursula Villarreal-Moura. Because of its voice, its questions, and its individuality.

Let’s talk about LIKE HAPPINESS!

Now:
Tatum is living in Chile with her partner in 2015. She is miles and miles from the place and time she spent with Dominguez, a famous writer in New York. One day she receives a phone call from that faraway place. A reporter has a request for a statement and asks her to revisit a tender time she’s still recovering from.

Then:
He reminds her of home. She knew when she met him, he would either give her life or be the death of her. For him, she was willing to take the risk. What she didn’t know was that she’d die a hundred deaths in his wake.

Parts of him made parts of her make sense. She molded herself to fit the space he allotted her only to lose shape of who she was. But what does all of this, and all of him, mean to her after all these years? How did their relationship influence who she is or isn’t today? Will the space from time and distance allow her to see what she was too close to see before?

In LIKE HAPPINESS we go back and forth to revisit the time in New York with Dominguez. And reflect on it in current times through a letter written to Dominguez.

LIKE HAPPINESS is about books and literary life, religion, sexuality, influence, and power—the dangers of falling in love with your whole heart, and trading power for connection.

I liked the voice. For that alone I will watch what Villarreal-Moura does next. I’m excited to hear stories through her lens as a writer.

I enjoyed reading LIKE HAPPINESS for the most part or the most. My complaint is that it skimmed the surface of topics instead of going into depth in any one area. I gave it three stars and recommend it to readers looking for a fresh perspective on an old conversation.

Thanks to Netgalley, Celadon Books, and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copies. I enjoyed reading in audiobook format and appreciate the opportunity to provide feedback!

LIKE HAPPINESS…⭐⭐⭐

Tatum, a Williams college student sends off an effusive fan letter to her favorite author, Mateo, who writes her back much to her astonishment and strikes up a friendship. Tatum, growing up in San Antonio in a working-class Mexican immigrant family, feels alienated and lonely at her mostly white college. She finds herself as a Latina literature and art history major struggling to relate to works almost all by white creators. She feels transported when discovering a book of stories, Like Happiness, that powerfully captures her Latina roots and experience. Tatum is smitten by its author Mateo. Their friendship is mostly platonic, but sometimes sexual, and Tatum feels herself endlessly swept along the allure of both Mateo’s fame and his professions of love that she is “his life.” Tatum and Mateo each have different relationships but continue to circle each other until an explosive revelation as Mateo finally manages to publish a second novel.

Years later living in Santiago, Chile with her girlfriend, Tatum gets contacted by a New York Times reporter looking for comments on a story he’s writing about accusations of sexual abuse by Mateo of another Latina woman. Over a series of conversations, Tatum realizes she wants to resolve her own unrequited feelings and lingering hurt, and so she crafts a letter to Mateo reflecting back on their ambiguous and now broken friendship. Was he abusive to her emotionally, especially given their wildly unbalanced power dynamic? Did Mateo groom Tatum as a young woman? When does deep betrayal constitute abuse?

Amidst poetic language and haunting shared memories, the emotional complexity and obsessive relationship powerfully grabs you.

Thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

This was such an intriguing debut!

I can always count on @celadonbooks for stories with deep character development and stories that make me think!

Tatum is a character I really grew to like and I loved how much she loves literature! I even wrote down a few of her favorite books and others she references.

There are dual time lines and themes of friendship, power dynamics, betrayal, and how the past can blur and change as time goes on.

I really am looking forward to reading more from

Thank you @netgalley and @celadonbooks for the early copy!