Imagine yourself curled up in your favorite reading chair with your coziest blanket in front of a crackling fireplace, while next to you is your hot beverage of choice. How do you feel? Content? Happy? Blissful? Now imagine that feeling as a book, and you’ve got yourself If it Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia.

The 90s throwbacks are what initially piqued my interest and had me pick up the book. I ended up staying for the beautifully relatable story and characters. Julie Olivia has the unique ability of using the element of time in order to allow the reader to see themselves in both the older main characters as well as the teenage characters by integrating our sense of nostalgia as a type of time machine. Because of this, every detail and plot point served a purpose. I found myself rooting for Michelle and Cliff from the very first pages, and Julie Olivia delivered a satisfying journey without being too heavy handed with the contemporary romance tropes.

If It makes you Happy was the warm hug I didn’t know I needed. I highly encourage you to make your way back to the 90s and enjoy this wonderful story of family and love.

📖 Book Review 📖 I really try my best to live life in the here and now but please please please someone send me back to 1997. I realize that time travel is not yet invented so if I cannot physically make it happen, the next best thing is Julie Olivia’s If It Makes You Happy. Losing your mom is impossibly heartbreaking and while your world seems to stop, the world around you does not.

For Michelle, newly divorced and mourning the death of her mother, drops everything to step up and run her mother’s precious B&B in Vermont. She’s a strong, determined, go-getter and it’s only temporary until her sister finishes college. But charming small towns with handsome next-door neighbors (bonus points for single dads who bake) have a way of etching a special place in the heart. It seems when the heartache comes, it hits hard and sometimes healing comes in the most unexpected ways. Julie Olivia’s slow burn is one amazingly cathartic read that brings the cozy warmth of New England in one delightful package of nostalgia for the 90’s with a twist.

This book was so charming, nostalgic, and just what you need for a fall read! Set in the autumn of ‘97, If It Makes You Happy is a slow burn, small town romance. I love a good friends to lovers trope, and the slow build made every little moment feel extra special. If you’re into second chances and cozy vibes, this one’s a must for your fall TBR!

Julie somehow made this book FEEL like autumn and winter in a small cozy town. This story is set in the 90's and the little quirks made me smile and so nostalgic it felt like a hug to read. And listen, Michelle and Cliff may be the main human characters but there are other characters who really give MC energy:

- Rocket is truly the STAR with his funny silly bratty antics as the dog
- Emily is a teenage girl (need I say more?)
- & sweet cutie Brittany the youngest daughter of Cliff's who is really the only one Rocket loves and she wants to be a wrestler (so BIG personality in a little body)

Figuring out that life might look differently than you thought it would is okay and sometimes that means bigger and better adventures. The slow burn and their gradual growth of neighbors to lovers was so sweet to read.
Absolutely loved this book 🍁❤️

It’s Fall 1997 and Michelle has just taken a leave from her job in Seattle to move to Copper Run, a small town in Vermont. She’s taking over her parents’ Inn after her mom's unexpected passing. It’s supposed to be temporary, just until December when her sister is scheduled to graduate from art school and take over the Inn.

Everything changes when she meets her handsome next-door neighbor, single dad and bakery owner, Cliff Burke. Michelle can’t help but be attracted (and annoyed) by her kind and pushy neighbor. After her husband’s betrayal ended in divorce, Michelle has no interest in any male, other than her dog Rocket.

Cliff and his daughters Emily and Brittany, along with the entire town of Copper Run, befriend Michelle. It is with their help that she reluctantly starts to open up. Cliff and Michelle become especially close, best friends close, even as they are both in denial about their attraction and growing feelings.

I loved If It Makes You Happy; the slow burn romance, the build up from friendship to more, and the relationship between Cliff, his daughters, and Michelle was so sweet and well developed. And the epilogue was the perfect ending to this cozy read.

A lovely little time trip to the late 90s. I was still a child when the 90s ended but I still have a lot of nostalgia via tv and movies for this era and this brings it back.

A great combo of your fave 90s rom com
And Gilmore girls, it’s a cozy cup of cocoa of a book.

4.5⭐️ This was such a cute, sweet, heartwarming read and it’s honestly a perfect read for the fall time. The small town vibes were perfection and I loved all the side characters. Cliff was the best girl dad🥹 the 90s vibes were everything and Michelle’s black cat energy was perfect for Cliff’s golden retriever energy. This would make such a good little hallmark movie💖

Thank you NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review. This book is EVERYTHING! I am a 90's baby and the details that Julie incorporated literally transported me back to the 90's from the fashion, makeup, music, and more. I cannot stop thinking about this book and wish it wouldn't have ended. I would love to see a series of Copper Run maybe wish a romance between Cliff's best friend and Michelle's sister? Did I mention that this book also takes place during my favorite season, Fall?! It made this romance so cozy and comforting and top it off with a hot single dad, it was perfection!

I loved this so much! It gave me all my favorite parts of Gilmore Girls (the town) while giving me something new and unique at the same time! Truly, I zoomed through this and, even though it's over 500 pages and usually that is just too much for me in a non-fantasy romance, I didn't want this to end! The characters were delightful, the 90s setting was nostalgic and fun, and like I said- the small town vibes were immaculate.

I love a good black cat/golden retriever pairing and Julie wrote the perfect one in Michelle and Cliff. And I just really loved Cliff's daughters, Emily and Brittany, and the way he loved them and interacted with them. And obviously, Rocket the dog is my favorite character of them all. He's the one who had me crying at the airport scene at the end.

Truly this book is just so soft and sweet and cozy and comforting. It is the perfect fall read!

THIS BOOK. The cozy fall and 90s nostalgia story of my DREAMS. From the sunshiney, bakery-owner single dad, to the grumpy reluctant bed & breakfast owner, the small town that felt like its own character, the dog who TALKS—kind of, and the daughters created the most stunning and complex and layers cast of characters. Add in the slow burn, the way these two immediately understood each other on another level, and the perfect happily ever after—I have no notes. Julie is one of my favorite humans and such an insanely talented writer. It makes perfect sense that the magic she created with IIMYH led to her trad debut. I cannot say enough good things about this book or her. HIGHLY recommend.

Another great slow burn, dual POV, small town single dad, grumpy x sunshine romance with TONS of Gilmore girls and Fall vibes. I loved Cliff and Michelle and that this story was set in the 90s!

The full cast of characters (including Rocky the dog) absolutely made this book and I sped through it very quickly, despite its hefty 500 page length!

Highly recommended for anyone looking for a cozy, feel-good Autumn romance! Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for an early digital copy of this newly re-released trad published edition. I read an earlier indie pubbed version and loved it just as much the second time around!