It is not summer for me without reading a Kristy Woodson Harvey. She has been an auto-buy author for me for a few years now and this newest release did not disappoint.

In A Happier Life, we follow Keaton Smith. Keaton has hit a bit of a rough patch and turned to her mother for help. Her mother decides that since Keaton has some extra time, she is going to send her Beaufort, North Caroline to her childhood home. The home hasn't been touched since the day Keaton's grandparents disappeared. Keaton didn't even know the home was still in her mother and uncle's possession until now. They have decided to send Keaton down to get it ready to be sold. As soon as Keaton arrives she begins to feel as if there was more to the story of what happened to her grandparents and she is determined to get to the bottom of it.

I loved this. We get a dual timeline of present day with Keaton and the past with her Grandmother and Grandfather. We see diary/journal entries from her grandparents and it was such a neat reading experience. I cried so hard a the end when the truth behind what happened with her grandparents is revealed.

If you are looking for a summer read with some family secrets, romance and depth, look no further.

Thank you NetGalley, Gallery Books, Uplit Reads and author Kristy Woodson Harvey for the physical copy and the arc!!

This is just one of those books that rips your heart to emotional shreds … but also makes it soar with all the warmth of the perfect feel good story!! That’s absolute magic! It’s set in dual timelines … Keaton in present day & her grandmother Becks in the 70s. It’s full of southern charm, mysterious family secrets, super sweet romance & found family vibes with the most wonderful characters that I instantly fell in love with. The small coastal town setting of Beaufort, NC is just dreamy … I want to pack up & move there right this instant! This is definitely one for your summer reading list … I promise, it will not disappoint!

This is my first KWH book & I loved it! I can tell this author will become a favorite & can’t wait to read more!!

FYI: don’t miss the author’s notes at the end for more insight into why this book is so special & heartfelt!

I can see why this is @kristywharvey favorite book she has ever written! This one was so touching and really made me such a fan of the author!
I started this when I was on vacation and found that I wanted to savor it and take my time as this book made me think so much about my own Grandparents. I love that you get glimpses of Keaton’s grandparents with their journals. I really, really wish I had that with my own grandparents and Becks reminded me so much of my Grammy . I also really, really enjoyed the exploration of family dynamics and ties that binds us, grief and loss, and how you can always start over. Keaton is a character I really, really grew to adore.
I have been to Beaufort, North Carolina but only briefly but now due to this story, I want to go back!

What a perfect summer read!

4.5 stars

I am huge fan of Kristy’s books, and as usual when I’m looking for the perfect coastal summer book I found it once again within her pages. And as usual,I wish I could jump into the story and meet the locals and fall in love in life’s simplicities. I got a little lost in the “past” moments (I missed the present timelines during it) but I still loved the story overall. 4 stars

Thank you @gallerybooks for the ARC!

☀️ 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 ☀️
This was my first book by Harvey and it doesn’t disappoint! There are so many things intricately woven into this story, it’s going to be hard to do it justice explaining how lovely it is! This book is full of Southern charm, life and is very much immersive in its setting. It will leave you wanting to take a trip to Beaufort, NC!

This is a story featuring two women, Becks and Keaton, separated in time by close to 50 years. In the present day, Keaton’s life has taken a personal upheaval, so when her mother asks her if she can travel to Beaufort to get her family home ready to sell, Keaton jumps at the chance to get away. In 1976, Becks is known as one of the best hostesses around, where her weekly summer suppers have people yearning for an invite. This particular summer has Becks facing challenges that she isn’t sure she can rise to.

Keaton gets the chance to step back in time to 1976, which is where her family’s house has been left abandoned in. Harvey gives this house such an atmosphere in this story, that you can picture walking into it as Keaton does, and seeing time just stop.

I love the back and forth timeline in this book between the two woman, unveiling a mystery at the core of this story. I don’t know how to describe how well this story is told and brought to life; you will need to read it and see!!

The story also brings to the forefront things we deem as important in life and how we are spending our days. There are love stories in this book and there’s just a story of living our life, and the things we hold dear. The intangible things we cherish, that we can pass down to those we love.

📚 I also had the pleasure of hearing Kristy W Harvey speak at a local library last month! I love hearing about the inspiration for the book. She was also very sweet to meet!!

🎧 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
☀️ Dual Timelines
💜 Family Mystery/Secrets
✈️ Southern Life
🌊 True Love/Young Love
☀️ Historical Fiction
💜 Mother/Daughter Relationships

If you like substance in your beach reads, I highly recommend A Happier Life by Kristy Woodson Harvey. This was my first novel by this author who’s long been on my “want to read’ list.

Told in a dual timeline format, readers spend time with two generations of the Saint James family and the home in coastal North Carolina that’s been in their family for generations. The past timeline takes place in 1976 and features Townsend and Rebecca “Becks”, he the town physician and she the consummate hostess known for her impeccably planned dinner parties. Their lives were cut short one summer evening due to a car accident.

The present time story finds their granddaughter Keaton escaping her NYC life on her first visit to the NC home to prepare it for sale. She’s amazed to find it like a time capsule, exactly as her grandparents left it at the end of their last dinner party. Through the possessions and people they left behind, Keaton finally gets to know the grandparents her mother never discussed.

I enjoyed this novel for many reasons:
- summer vibes
- the home is a secondary character
- thread of mystery
- intergenerational friendships
- brother-sister relationships
- family tradition of piloting small aircraft

I also really appreciated the deeper exploration of grief and mourning, both before and after loss, and characters considering self-worth and success on their own terms rather than others’.

Thank you to Gallery Books and Uplit Reads for the review copies of this book; all opinions are mine. I’m definitely looking forward to reading Ms. Harvey’s backlist books in the future.

As always Kristy’s books are easy breezy reads and so heartfelt. This one felt slower for me but had little bit of everything to make it a good choice for a summer vacay read - small historical seaside town, romance, family drama, dual POVs, journal entries and a little mystery. Kristy Woodson Harvey does it best on creating the most charming settings and characters that you immediately root for.

I really enjoyed this book and the 2 timelines complemented each other well. The character development was engaging and kept my interest. I’ve loved Kristy Woodson Harvey’s books and enjoyed this one too!

Keaton finds out her ex boyfriend/coworker was cheating on her pre breakup with their boss who was also his previous ex and now she’s pregnant. In a fit of rage Keaton quits and agrees to help her mom empty and sell her grandparents’ home which had been abandoned forty years before when they died. Concurrently, we get the back story of her grandparents’ love story and the story of their death which has been a mystery. As Keaton discovers more about her grandparents, along with the handsome guy next door and the feisty older women who were her grandmother’s friends- Keaton finds the idea of returning to NYC less and less attractive. Can she give up the city for Beaufort? Fun summer brain candy..
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

When you look up the words “beach reads”, you should find the book listed. It’s a captivating story that addresses love, friendships, and serious illness in a hard to put down book.

This story is told from two different viewpoints and time periods. Keaton tells the story from the present day, and her grandmother
Becks tells us about her life in the 1970s through her journals.
I loved this book so much, from the guide to fine living Becks was passing down to her daughter to the charming town of Beaufort and the multi generational friends Keaton finds there.

Keaton goes to her mom’s childhood home to get it ready to sell. When she gets there, she finds the house is frozen in time, it looks like her grandparents just walked away, and everything in the house remains as they left it. Apparently they died in a car accident and their children were too grief stricken to deal with the house. As Keaton reads Becks’ journals, she suspects that there was more to the story.

From the Publisher:

Keaton Smith is desperate for a fresh start. So when her mother needs someone to put her childhood home in Beaufort, North Carolina, on the market—the home that Keaton didn’t know existed until now—she jumps at the chance to head south. But the moment she steps foot inside the abandoned house, she’s confronted with secrets about grandparents who died before she was born. And as she gets to know her charming next-door neighbor, his precocious ten-year-old son, and a flock of endearingly feisty town busybodies, she soon finds she has more questions than answers.

I first read Katherine Center when The Bodyguard came out and have made it a mission to read all of her backlist. I’m getting close but The Bodyguard will I think forever be my favorite. I’m happy to report that The Rom-Commers gave me a lot of the same feels as The Bodyguard. I did a tandem read of audio and digital at the same time on the plane to Rome and the time literally flew by. I loved both the banter between Emma and Charlie and the true devotion Emma had for her father.

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
Witty banter
Family devotion
Reaching for your dreams

Desperate for a fresh start, Keaton Smith decides to get away to Beaufort, NC, where she’ll be clearing out her mother’s childhood home. While there Keaton gets a look into the lives of her grandparents, Becks and Townsend St. James, who she never knew.

Why did I wait so long to read a Kristy Woodson Harvey book? Her writing is beautiful and draws the reader in. I was transported to the quaint town of Beaufort, and I didn’t want to leave! The story focuses on love, loss, moving on, and the importance of family, and the author did a fantastic job of showing the reader that it’s never too late to start over. While I loved the relationship between Keaton and her next-door neighbor, Bowen, what really drew me into this story was the sense of found family in this North Carolina community.

The book is told from both Keaton and Becks’ perspectives and includes Townsend’s journal entries mixed throughout which brought so much depth to the story. I enjoyed the mystery about what happened the night Becks and Townsend died and why their kids never return home. I loved Becks’ life lessons in her chapters, and I thought that the author did a nice job of handling illness in a delicate yet meaningful way.

Keaton and Bowen’s relationship progresses at a natural pace and was written wonderfully. I can’t review this book without mentioning my favorite side characters because they really made the story for me! Anderson, Bowen’s son, was precocious and adorable and just lovable. Salt, Keaton’s dog was so cute! And I can’t forget the Dockside Dames who helped Keaton learn about her family and find her home.

This is one of my favorite books of the year! It was heartfelt and emotional and the perfect summer read! When I finished, I immediately requested more of Kristy Woodson Harvey’s books from my library. You should definitely add this one to your TBR!

Thank you to the author, Uplit Reads, Gallery Books, and NetGalley for advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.

A Happier Life
Author Kristy Woodson Harvey
Available now!

Thank you, @gallerybooks and @netgalley, for my digital copy and @librofm for my #audio copy for early review!

I've read a few KWH novels, and A Happier Life is absolutely my new favorite! Set in historic Beaufort, NC, this novel unravels the mystery behind the disappearance of Rebecca and Townsend Saint James in 1976. Their granddaughter, Keaton, now has the opportunity to discover her family's past, traditions, loves, sorrows, and secrets as she leaves NY after a series of unfortunate events in her personal life and agrees to clean out her grandparents homes and get it ready to sell. Here, she meets a few amazing locals who change her experience, mindset, and future plans.

Filled with themes of lost and found family, love, and finding yourself, A Happier Life is a perfect summer read to get lost in the pages and enjoy a beautiful Southern story with relatable and bighearted characters.

Kristy Woodson Harvey is an automatic read for me. Her books are always a true delight and A Happier Life did not disappoint. Harvey does an excellent job weaving the intricate characters and the lives of Keaton and Becks together as she tells a multigenerational story.
This book is a family tale full of love, suspense and romance. You will fall in love with the town and the people of Beaufort, North Carolina as it comes to life on the pages before your eyes.
This is probably my favorite Harvey book to date. Loved it!
Thank you, Net Galley and Gallery Books, for my ARC in exchange for my opinion.

Oh my gosh!! What a charming summer read set in the most dreamy of locations, Beaufort, North Carolina! As a fellow Carolinian, I always love reading about my home state and this novel was a perfect ode.

Regan's life is uprooted when she discovers her ex boyfriend has been having an affair with his ex wife (her boss) and gets her pregnant. They all work together and Regan, feeling betrayed, quits, despite absolutely loving her job.

Regan's mother and uncle come from Beaufort, NC and have asked Regan to go down there and get the house ready to put on the market, and when she does, she slowly starts piecing together the mysterious disappearance of her grandparents and finds love and friends along the way.

This was not what I expected from this but I loved it. I loved the subtle mystery underlying the disappearance of the grandparents, I loved their letters and Becks is one of my favorite Characters.

Thank you Net Galley and Gallery books for the arc!!

If you’re looking for a great summer beach read, this one hits the mark. I really enjoyed the dual timelines in this book and seeing both Becks’ and Keaton’s perspectives. I also liked that there was a mystery to be solved, it kept me up reading past my bedtime. I would also really love to visit this charming town. Thank you for the ARC!

What a breath of fresh air this book was! My first by Harvey, all I knew going in was I loved the cover but now I know I’ve found a new auto-buy author. I absolutely fell in love with Keaton and the crew down in Beaufort and the lovely life lessons from Becks thrown in were sweet as was her love affair with Townsend. There were just so many touching moments that it’s the feel good book of the year for me, hands down.

This was a book that I didn't want to put down, felt a connection to, and will forever recommend. Thank you so much!

I can always rely on Kristy Woodson Harvey to deliver a heartfelt, feel-good read with a dash of Southern charm, but 𝗔 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 exceeded my expectations in every way!! With subtle nods to 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, this richly layered story explores the power of love in many different forms and its capacity to connect us and heal us, even across generations and in ways we least expect.

☀️ Set in the picturesque small town of Beaufort, North Carolina in an abandoned beach house that’s been frozen in time since the 1970s, the story alternates in dual timelines between newly-single Keaton’s life in the present, and her grandmother Becks’ life almost 50 years ago.

Keaton’s mother has always been emotionally closed off and a bit of a mystery to her. When she asks Keaton to travel to Beaufort to clean out the house she grew up in, Keaton can’t resist the opportunity to learn more about her mother and the grandparents she never knew. What she finds, in both the house and the local residents who rally to support her, will change her life forever.

🌊 Harvey’s writing is so effortless and always makes me feel like I’m chatting with an old friend. When reading Becks’ journal I felt as if she was speaking directly to me with her little pearls of wisdom. Maybe it’s also because Becks reminds me of my own grandma. She loved to entertain, was always the life of the party, and loved me and my sister unconditionally. I saw shades of myself in Keaton as she peels back the layers of her family’s history.

There’s so much to love about 𝗔 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 - a charming coastal town, a historic home full of secrets, a brooding single dad and his sweet son across the street, and a gregarious group of elderly ladies known as the Dockside Dames. Blending the past and present, this book sneaks up on you with an emotional message about the power of true love and will have you reaching for the tissues! It really is the perfect beach read, and one of my favorite books of the year!!

Kristy Woodson Harvey is an auto-read author for me, but A HAPPIER LIFE may just be my favorite novel of hers yet. I adored the hint of mystery in the premise, the dual timelines and POVs, and the way the story transported me to beautiful Beaufort -- the perfect summer setting by the sea. I adored spending time with the characters in this book and didn't want it to end.

I’ll read anything Kristy writes. This book might be one of my new favs by her. I absolutely loved the multi generational POV and timelines. Such a beautiful heart wrenching story