🏝 BOOK / REVIEW 🏝

I will never in my life pass down the opportunity to read a book crafted by the southern queen herself, @kristywharvey 🥹. Ugh - I adore you. Seriously ... you make reading so enjoyable, light, and heartfelt!!

A huge thank you to @uplitreads for allowing me to read this gem months in advance - I am so grateful to work together 🫶. This one publishes on June 25th by @gallerybooks, and it will be the perfect beach read. It was also a wonderful book to read in the dead of winter, as it helped to transport me to warmer weather!

If you want a feel good, and heartwarming book about life, unexpected love, and self-discovery, this will be a perfect book to add to your collection. I truly loved how Harvey weaved in the past and present seamlessly. Becks is a character that you can not help but love. She and Townsend had such a beautiful relationship that helped inspire romance in the present day. Keaton and Bowen were so sweet together, and I loved her relationship with Anderson. This one is very light on spice, but it worked incredibly well with the story. I was truly enamored by everyone in Beaufort - it was the perfect southern setting for this novel. You'll enjoy some mystery mixed into the plot as well, which was a really nice element to the book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This one was an interesting read for me that I very much enjoyed, 5 star rating from me. I'm not always a huge fan of duel timelines depending on the author's writing but this one worked. You have the 1976 line with Becks Saint James' story and the present day line of Keaton Smith. I especially liked how Keaton discovers grandparents that she knew nothing about and was adopted by a new community where she thrived. Throw in a little mystery, what really happened to Becks and Townsend? A little romance between Keaton and Bowen. Add in Anderson, Bowen's son and Salt, the dog! What's not to love!

I want to live in Beaufort. Oh, so endearing with its Southern seaside charm, lifestyle, and characters that a few chapters in you call friends. It's more than a page turner, it's a life inspirer. To live your dream, to live grand—whatever that may mean to you—to do things right, and to love on people—thoughtfully, intentionally, lovingly, making their world more beautiful.
As always, this book has all the feels. The highs, the lows, the suspense with its—just teasin', I don't do spoilers. Kristy Woodson Harvey's novels never disappoint. KWH's prose flows effortlessly, like floating down a lazy river. Her writing style, so flawless you're wholly engrossed and forget you're reading. So let her sweep—no, softer—carry you away to A HAPPIER LIFE.
A special thank you to @kristywharvey @uplitreads and @netgalley and the publisher, Simon & Schuster for the honor & delight of reading an ARC. Now, the only thing I have to wait until June for is the hard copy to come out so that I can add it to my Kristy shelf.

A Happier Life is sure to become one of your favorites. It's The Must Read of the Summer!
Happy Reading. XO

Keaton ends up taking a break from her career in NYC to help her her grandparents house up for sale in NC. She didn't even know her mom still owned the house as her grandparents died in a car crash before she was born and her mom never talks about them. She gets to NC and immediately discovers the man next door, that her grandparents didn't actually die in the car crash, and warm welcoming people in NC that maybe feels more like home than NYC...

This book was SO good!! I always look forward to the next book Kristy Woodson Harvey releases! I was so excited to get my hands on this one early, and I’m glad to say I enjoyed it so much!

This is such a beautifully written love story. But it was so much more than that. This book has romance, life challenges, secrets, discovery, and so much more. This is a quick and easy read, even though it’s filled with so much. I found myself not wanting to put it down once I started it. I loved the small town feels in this book, I felt like I was there, wishing I was! There’s so much to this story I don’t want to say more without giving it all away. But I highly recommend you add this book to your TBR!

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

This is one of the best books I have read recently. First of all, the opening scene is amazing! Readers will not be able to complain that this book starts slow or does not engage them right away. The story of Becks and Townsend in the 1970s is so intriguing and unusual, and their granddaughter Keaton’s move into the house in the present day allows for the stories of multiple generations to be explored. The town of Beaufort is evocatively described and populated by an interesting cast of characters who befriend Keaton and help her to understand the grandparents she never knew.. While there are multiple love stories in the book, I found the exploration of family relationships—parents and children, siblings, etc—to be even more compelling. In my opinion, this is Kristy Woodson Harvey’s best book yet, and I loved every page.

Highly recommend this to anyone looking for a character driven, closed door romance. Would make a great summer read!

I just let out the biggest sigh upon finishing this book. It's not exactly happy, but it's not exactly sad either.

This book was so good and so wonderfully written. The author managed to tell a book from different times, and different people, yet make it all feel seamless. I truly felt like I was in the head of each narrator and that's not always easy for me.

I will say, many of the main characters have first names that I think should be last names. Yes, I know, that's only MY opinion, but it was on my mind throughout the book. :) In fact, I'd say it's the only "wrong" thing about this book.

I appreciated that while Keaton is broken up with early, she doesn't let that, or the potential of a new romance, take over her life. She's set on getting her grandparents house cleaned up and on the market. During that process she learns so much about both her grandparents and it's endearing how she absorbs it and opens her heart, and home, to those around her because of it.

I would definitely recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This might be my favorite Kristy Woodson Harvey yet! What an incredibly beautiful story. I loved every single second of it!

The dual timeline and multiple POV was pure perfection! I absolutely adored the Beck and Townsend storyline from the past, the dinner parties, the journal, the notebook…and of course the seaside setting.

A Happier Life is the love story that you absolutely won’t be able to get enough of! I can’t wait for everyone to read this book when it hits shelves. Do yourself a favor and go ahead and preorder it! You definitely won’t want to miss this 🩵

She’s done it again! Every single time I read a book by this author I want to be transported to the setting of this book. I don’t know what it is about a small beach town that just makes me want to live in one. I loved the mystery this one had. Trying to figure out what really happened to her grandparents had me swiping the pages on my kindle so fast! Not to mention the budding romance with the neighbor!
This is the perfect summer read! Don’t miss out!

Thank you to the publisher, author and netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this before releasing. Kristy Woodson Harvey does it again. Possibly her best one yet! This will be THE beach read of summer 2024!

Kristy Woodson Harvey never disappoints. I was completely sucked into this story and devoured it in one sitting. Traveling between the past and the present, Keaton is sent to Beaufort, NC to get the family home ready to sell. After a blinding setback, Keaton is lost, and this just might be the project that sets her straight. Once there, she assimilates into coastal life and begins researching the tragic history of her grandparents. They went missing many years ago, and all the townies have their suspicions of what happened. Told from Keaton and her grandmother's POV, any reader will be smitten with the story, just as I was. A fantastic summer read! I predict this will be everywhere poolside this year. I hope KWH and her team create the actual accounts/books based off the ending; I'd be the first to promote/follow!

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. An excellent, fast, beachy read about researching your past and learning the true story of what really happened. I loved all the characters in this story and how it had some twists that I didn't expect.

A HAPPIER LIFE is likely to appeal to fans of light women's fiction. I found it to be a little cheesy, but enjoyable overall. The small town is darling, and I love how Harvey based it on where she lives. While Keaton seems immature, I liked how the people around town help her. The different timelines work well together, and I was definitely intrigued by the past storyline and the mystery of what happened to Keaton's grandparents. Readers who are looking for their next beach read may enjoy this one while others may cringe at the materialistic/superficial tone and lack of depth. That being said, Harvey presumably didn't set out to write a serious literary tome and she does what she does very well. You can tell by the upper class southern character names what she's trying to do here. In many ways, this book hearkens back to her Peachtree Bluff series, which was successful. It would be fun if she continued this with other books set in Beaufort with the same characters. Readers love a series!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-galley; all opinions are 100% my own.

I always enjoy the writing by this author. It’s different than her first books. I enjoyed the characters in this book. I really like how she writes and weaves a story.
Thanks for the advanced copy

This may be my favorite Kristy Woodson Harvey book to date. I was excited to read it because of the setting, Beaufort, NC....pronounced Bo-fort, not to be confused with Bu-fort, SC.

I am somewhat familiar with this town so as I was reading it, I could picture the setting perfectly. The town, an historic coastal town in North Carolina, is steeped in history with its beautiful old homes to its old graveyard to te yachts that come into the harbor and of course, its deeply rooted southern lifestyle.

Keaton has a good job working with her boss, Allison, and former boyfriend, Jonathan, at an "influencer website." She is very successful at what she does but is thrown for a loop early in the book which results in her quitting her job and heading to her parents' home in New York City. Instead of granting her a place to stay with their support, they offer her, or instruct her, to head to Beaufort, her mother's hometown, but one where Keaton had never been. Her task: Clean up the old family home and prepare it to sell. But how do you go to a town where you have never been to a house you did not know existed which has sat undisturbed since the 1970s?

Keaton learns so much very quickly about small town life...where everyone knows your name and your business. She is quickly "adoped" by a small group of ladies, all older than Keaton, who help her on her journey of discovery of her family but also on her personal journey in her own life. She learns of her grandparents' lives and how well-known and respected they were. She learns of the mysteries in her family and she learns, most importantly, how a proper southern lady hosts a dinner party.

In this book, Woodson Harvey weaves a very believable story shared in two timelines, which is handled well. This is not her first foray into this style of writing but I feel this one was done better than her previous historic fiction, The Wedding Veil.

The author has set the story in the town in which she lives so I am sure there are people in her town who will try to figure out on whom the various characters are set. How much fun to have people in your life on whom you can base some characters in your book. And how much fun readers will have if they visit Beaufort and try to identify spots from the story.

#KristyWoodsonHarvey #AHappierLife #NetGalley

Kristy Woodson Harvey has done it again! I couldn’t put this one down.
Keaton is a woman at a crossroads with her career and her love life when she is given an opportunity by her mother and uncle to sell their family home in a small beach town but there is a twist the home has sat untouched for years. She uncovers things about herself and her family that she never imagined.
I hope you will enjoy this book as much as I did and fall in love with Kristy Harvey Woodsons characters and small town charm.

Kristy Woodson Harvey has definitely written her best book yet! A Happier life consists of friends, family, and true love. I will be extremely surprised if this doesn't top the list of best books for 2024. I love the way the story was told and the discoveries along the way.

I cannot say enough just how much I loved A Happier Life by Kristy Woodson Harvey! I was engaged from the very beginning until the bitter end (and I didn't want it to end)!

Harvey alternated perspectives from the various characters mostly between Keaton, the present day granddaughter and her grandmother Becks (Rebecca) Saint James. The novel is a love story that spanned from the 1930's to the present day. Also entwined is the hardest parts of life---loss--and finding who we are meant to be with and the goal of pure happiness and joy.

I would classify this book as truly a work of art. There were so many pieces I loved about this book. I enjoyed the way she alternated between characters and followed this family through multiple generations. Through Harvey's descriptive writing the small town of Beaufort, North Carolina came alive, a place now, I really want to visit! Connected to that "small town" I enjoyed how Keaton was able to find live long friends (and fall in love?--no spoilers!) in this small town. Part of the small town appeal I think, was in Keatons's favor for her search of finding happiness and belonging.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book. Harvey truly hit it out of the ballpark with this one! Thank you NetGalley and Kristy Woodson Harvey for the share with me.

Kristy Woodson Harvey has such an authentic southern voice that makes you feel as though you are actually standing beside her characters, and her new book A Happier Place, was no exception! The entire community she created and the unique charcters within the town were so wonderfully crafted and reminded me of her Peachtree Bluff series, which I loved!

This is sure to be an amazing summer read that kept me guessing about what actually happened to Keaton's grandparents. At the same time, I was equally invested in Keaton's storyline in the present day. Highly recommend! And a special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!