The Ingredients of Happiness

THE INGREDIENTS OF HAPPINESS by Lucy Burdette

By the end of this mesmerizing book, I was craving chocolate cake and wanting to read THE HAPPINESS CONNECTION, download the app, and do the exercises . . . including — list of all you do and highlight the ones you love doing. We teachers agreed that we loved the teaching part, and that the grading and administrivia were the toll we paid for the good part with students. I also want to join the friends in the group . . . and visit the Comfort Food bakery.
Yes, they do feel that real. How? I don’t know, it’s a gift, and I’m glad that Lucy Burdette uses her gift for good. I even want a gargoyle now . . .
I’d have been more shocked by the unkind competition in academia, but one of my favorite professors told me stories of his department that opened my eyes to cutthroat and backstabbing tactics, even at UMSL. It was far from the ideal I’d envisioned for the ivory tower, and how much more intense would it be at sought-after Yale? May they all get what they deserve for their evil tricks, which deserts can sometimes be what they thought they wanted, as life can mete out odd justice. Personal note: A high school counselor suggested applying to an Ivy League college when I received the National Merit Scholarship. It was sweet of him, but I think my parents were wise to keep me closer to home, closer to support and far from such intense competition . . . happier.

A total change of pace for author Lucy Burdette and a refreshing diversion. Cooper Hunziker dreams of entering Yale as part of her family's tradition. After completing her PhD, she is hired as an assistant professor, but Yale is not all she's dreamed of. Her about to be published self help book is entitled The Happiness Connection, but doesn't make her department happy to have her on board. Acting as co-leader to a self-help group affiliated with the university, Cooper meets and bonds with the people in the group and starts to re-think her goals. Sometimes altering your dreams is the correct recipe for happiness. Thoroughly enjoyable and hope for more books like this from the author.

In The Ingredients of Happiness, prolific author Lucy Burdette excels at making the reader feel the same torment that her protagonist, Cooper Hunzicker, is suffering. Cooper should be happy--she has a Ph.D. in psychology, a job at prestigious Yale University as an assistant professor, a book--The Happiness Connection--that will be released imminently, and a long-term relationship with her lawyer boyfriend, Daniel. Yet she struggles with her own happiness journey.

Only one of the three new assistant professors will score a job at Yale at the end of the year, Cooper and Daniel are now living on opposite sides of the country, and it becomes increasingly obvious that someone is trying to sabotage Cooper's success at every turn. Her job, her upcoming book, and even her romantic life may all be at risk, and she's not sure she can count on anyone in her family for support. As more and more obstacles are heaped in Cooper's path and her struggles become ever more dire, I longed for a satisfying resolution and the resulting release of my personal tension.

Finally, I got the payoff I was hoping for. The author deserves kudos for successfully toying with the reader's emotions and simultaneously creating a credible plot and insights into happiness science. Burdette, aka Roberta Isleib, is a clinical psychologist and begins each chapter with a happiness tip from Cooper's book, backed up by references to real-life experts. Each epigraph can be related to Cooper's life and the way she deals with roadblocks and betrayals. A couple of the players seemed a bit over the top in their nastiness, but there were enough positive, well-drawn characters, along with the exquisitely excruciating suspense, to keep me engrossed in the story.

My thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

Review of eBook

With her doctorate in psychology firmly in hand, thirty-two-year-old Cooper Hunziker is finally set to fulfill her dream . . . she’s accepted a position as an assistant psychology professor at Yale University and her book, “The Happiness Connection.” Is about to be published. Cooper, after traveling across the country, is settling in, determined to earn the sole tenure position available in the department for herself.

There’s just one problem. Cooper isn’t happy. And, adding to her misery is an unexpected charge of plagiarism related to her book. In addition, the department chairman, Doctor Jeremy Coleman, isn’t particularly happy with her, and Stella, the department administrative assistant, seems to have put Cooper on her personal blacklist.

Will Cooper find the secret to fitting in at Yale? And will she discover happiness for herself?

=========

Since each chapter opens with a happiness insight, readers will find much to contemplate here as they follow Cooper through her own sometimes-convoluted search for happiness. The characters, all well-developed, are not always likable, but all are believable.

Throughout the story, there is a strong sense of place, especially with the toxic environment at the university. As Cooper deals with a variety of issues that complicate her life, she learns that sometimes dreams need a bit of fine-tuning and, ultimately, making some changes may indeed lead to that elusive happiness goal . . . a lesson for both Cooper and the reader.

As Cooper’s backstory reveals some traumatic issues related to her childhood, the unfolding story also brings love, betrayal, and sabotage into the telling of this nuanced tale, making Cooper’s propensity toward a bit of whining and self-doubt understandable. Readers are sure to commiserate with Cooper and her struggles; despite some truly despicable behaviors, the suspenseful tale reaches a denouement that is sure to please everyone.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Severn House and NetGalley
#TheIngredientsofHappiness #NetGalley

This is a really nice read. I loved the little happiness bits at the start of each chapter. It was warm and uplifting and a book to easily get lost into.

This is a nice and easy read. Very uplifting and enjoyable. I hope the author writes more book like this. A perfect time spent with a lovable cast of characters.

This wad a good book. I really enjoyed it and it was a good book to just get lost in. I could see alot of people in Coopers place.
I just reviewed The Ingredients of Happiness by Lucy Burdette. #TheIngredientsofHappiness #NetGalley
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I received this ARC for honest honest feedback.

This was an easy, feel good read. Cooper, the main character, was likable, and seemed like someone your know in real life. It is definitely a book you could sit down and finish on a rainy day. I'd like to read a follow up on these characters.

By the end of this mesmerizing book, I was craving chocolate cake and wanting to read THE HAPPINESS CONNECTION, download the app, and do the exercises . . . including — list of all you do and highlight the ones you love doing. We teachers agreed that we loved the teaching part, and that the grading and administrivia were the toll we paid for the good part with students. I also want to join the friends in the group . . . and visit the Comfort Food bakery.
Yes, they do feel that real. How? I don’t know, it’s a gift, and I’m glad that Lucy Burdette uses her gift for good. I even want a gargoyle now . . .
I’d have been more shocked by the unkind competition in academia, but one of my favorite professors told me stories of his department that opened my eyes to cutthroat and backstabbing tactics, even at UMSL. It was far from the ideal I’d envisioned for the ivory tower, and how much more intense would it be at sought-after Yale? May they all get what they deserve for their evil tricks, which deserts can sometimes be what they thought they wanted, as life can mete out odd justice. Personal note: A high school counselor suggested applying to an Ivy League college when I received the National Merit Scholarship. It was sweet of him, but I think my parents were wise to keep me closer to home, closer to support and far from such intense competition . . . happier.

THE INGREDIENTS OF HAPPINESS is the stand-alone women’s fiction by Lucy Burdette. A journey of self-discovery, newly minted Doctor of psychology, Cooper Hunziker, has landed a job at Yale University. If that’s not a big enough accomplishment, her new book, The Happiness Connection, will be soon published and great reviews are pouring in. Ms. Burdette starts each chapter with a happiness tip from The Happiness Connection, each a reference to a real-life expert. I found them to be helpful and worth contemplating, especially if you find you need to up the happiness quotient in your life. However, as brilliant as Dr. Cooper Hunziker is, and having written the book herself, she hasn’t taken her own advice. In fact, she is downright unhappy. But can she turn things around to make her life more meaningful?

True to the author’s background of being both a psychologist and a cozy mystery writer, there is a “mystery” to solve in The Ingredients of Happiness. It kept me turning pages, wondering who had accused Cooper of plagiarism, and why was her department head and his assistant so vile toward her. I wanted to reach into the pages and tell Cooper to unload the toxic people in her life and focus on those who treated her with kindness and respect. Adding some light-hearted humor is the gargoyle, Howard, who sits outside Cooper’s office window. He turned out to be a great character and I would have liked to have seen more of him. As the story progressed and came to a conclusion, the long-sought after reveal came to light in a highly satisfactory way that left me with a happy feeling.

I was provided with an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.