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alissa417's review
5.0
Kristy's best yet! She's returned to a mix of historical and contemporary fiction, which worked so well with her 9th novel, THE WEDDING VEIL. This time, versus Asheville, she sets her story in Beaufort, NC - and Kristy describes the town she fell in love with as an adult beautifully within these pages. I suspect summer tours of Beaufort will increase as more readers find this delightful book!
Chapters alternate the perspectives of Keaton (present day) and her grandmother, Becks Saint James (1930s-1976).
Keaton has just arrived in Beaufort, heartbroken with a dog in tow, to clean out her family's ancestral home, left untouched for nearly 50 years since her grandparents mysteriously disappeared after a dinner party. The dining room table still bares evidence of that last meal, notes are left by the rotary phone, everything in the house is in place as it was left that night - yet no one truly knows how the evening ended for the Saint James'.
In Becks' chapters, she reflects on her life with her husband, Townsend, as she prepares to host what she knows will be her last "summer supper."
I love the element of intrigue Kristy added to this, her 11th novel. Did Becks and Townsend die in a car crash, or was their new neighbor to blame for something more sinister? What secrets will Keaton uncover as she packs away her family's treasures and meets the charming residents of Beaufort, who have longed for the Saint James home to be filled with life and laughter again?
This book inspired me to bake, got me journaling again, and was the first book I read cover-to-cover in the early days of 2024. My hope is Kristy's 12th is just as good, but set in Salisbury, NC - her childhood home. Her settings take on their own personnas in her plots, and I know she can (and will) drum up doozies of tales about the Rowan County seat.
Until that day, I'll be so grateful to pass on A HAPPIER LIFE to the residents of Salisbury that grace my bookstore, clambering for Kristy's next bestseller - what a perfect summer read.
Chapters alternate the perspectives of Keaton (present day) and her grandmother, Becks Saint James (1930s-1976).
Keaton has just arrived in Beaufort, heartbroken with a dog in tow, to clean out her family's ancestral home, left untouched for nearly 50 years since her grandparents mysteriously disappeared after a dinner party. The dining room table still bares evidence of that last meal, notes are left by the rotary phone, everything in the house is in place as it was left that night - yet no one truly knows how the evening ended for the Saint James'.
In Becks' chapters, she reflects on her life with her husband, Townsend, as she prepares to host what she knows will be her last "summer supper."
I love the element of intrigue Kristy added to this, her 11th novel. Did Becks and Townsend die in a car crash, or was their new neighbor to blame for something more sinister? What secrets will Keaton uncover as she packs away her family's treasures and meets the charming residents of Beaufort, who have longed for the Saint James home to be filled with life and laughter again?
This book inspired me to bake, got me journaling again, and was the first book I read cover-to-cover in the early days of 2024. My hope is Kristy's 12th is just as good, but set in Salisbury, NC - her childhood home. Her settings take on their own personnas in her plots, and I know she can (and will) drum up doozies of tales about the Rowan County seat.
Until that day, I'll be so grateful to pass on A HAPPIER LIFE to the residents of Salisbury that grace my bookstore, clambering for Kristy's next bestseller - what a perfect summer read.
mishale1's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I really, really enjoyed this book. It dealt with some topics that I don’t love reading about (cancer!) but I was still completely compelled!
Keaton needs a fresh start after leaving a job she loved and ending a relationship. She winds up getting pulled into a project to help her mom but it helps Keaton too.
Keaton never knew her grandparents. They passed away long before Keaton was born. It’s been 50 years and their sudden deaths were so traumatizing to Keaton’s mom and uncle that they just never went back to their old house again.
Here’s the amazing part…because of what I previously mentioned, Keaton is able to walk into her grandparents’ home exactly as it was 50 years ago!
Just imagine that. Imagine being able to walk back into a family home that was unchanged. The shoes are by the couch, notes by the phone, books on tables, you name it.
Of course at first this just seems daunting. There’s a lot of work Keaton will have to do before she can sell the house.
But soon she starts learning about her grandparents and their love story. She starts getting to know her own family, then though they had passed away before her birth.
As she gets the house ready, she starts meeting the neighbors. She feels attached to her handsome neighbor and his young son.
And the older generation share stories with Keaton about her grandparents.
Between their stories, and the journals they left behind, Keaton starts to understand her mother’s concern that her parents didn’t really did in a car accident.
So we get a mystery as well as a love story.
I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend reading it!
Keaton needs a fresh start after leaving a job she loved and ending a relationship. She winds up getting pulled into a project to help her mom but it helps Keaton too.
Keaton never knew her grandparents. They passed away long before Keaton was born. It’s been 50 years and their sudden deaths were so traumatizing to Keaton’s mom and uncle that they just never went back to their old house again.
Here’s the amazing part…because of what I previously mentioned, Keaton is able to walk into her grandparents’ home exactly as it was 50 years ago!
Just imagine that. Imagine being able to walk back into a family home that was unchanged. The shoes are by the couch, notes by the phone, books on tables, you name it.
Of course at first this just seems daunting. There’s a lot of work Keaton will have to do before she can sell the house.
But soon she starts learning about her grandparents and their love story. She starts getting to know her own family, then though they had passed away before her birth.
As she gets the house ready, she starts meeting the neighbors. She feels attached to her handsome neighbor and his young son.
And the older generation share stories with Keaton about her grandparents.
Between their stories, and the journals they left behind, Keaton starts to understand her mother’s concern that her parents didn’t really did in a car accident.
So we get a mystery as well as a love story.
I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend reading it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer
Minor: Death of parent
imfixintoread's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
5.0
Every time I read one of Kristy's new books, I think this one is my favorite! And then she releases her next one that is like, nope, this one is it! I loved reading about Rebecca's parties, related to Keaton's love of NYC and Beaufort, NC, and love that Salt got his spot in the story! Definitely a fun read and one that will be perfect for your pool or beach bag this summer.
rachels_booknook's review
4.5
Advanced Book Review! Thank you @kristywharvey, @uplitreads, @gallerybooks & @netgalley for sending me this book for review. Opinions are my own.
“A young woman discovers the family she has always longed for when she spends a life-changing summer in North Carolina.”
When Keaton goes back to her mother’s childhood home in the town of Beaufort, North Carolina to prepare the house to sell she doesn’t expect to find a house frozen in the 1970’s. After Keaton’s grandparents’ tragic deaths in 1976, Keaton’s mother and uncle never returned to their family house. The book alternates between Keaton’s life in the present and her grandmother, Becks’, almost fifty years earlier. What Keaton finds there will change her life forever.
I loved this book. I love the concept of finding this house, stuck in the past, like a time warp. Kristy Woodson Harvey says this part is based on a true story. I love the descriptions of the house that Keaton calls “a museum of the seventies.”
Through Becks’ perspective, Keaton and the reader both learn about her wonderful life with Townsend, and some of the secrets that died with them. The reader is taken on a journey with Keaton, her brother, and the friends she makes in Beaufort, to try to find out what really happened to Becks and Townsend.
I loved learning about Becks’ life in Beaufort in the 1970’s and the things she loved – her traditions, her committees, her parties. I really enjoyed reading about Keaton getting to know her grandmother through her journals and friends, and keeping Becks’ memory alive in harmonization with her own goals and aspirations, as she contends with her own next steps.
Through it all, of course, is the romance plotline with her next-door neighbor and his adorable son.
This might be my favourite book from Kristy Woodson Harvey yet.
katieneedsabiggerbookshelf's review against another edition
5.0
When things at work take a seriously bad turn, Keaton quits. Lucky for her, her mom and uncle need someone to go and clean out and list her grandparents house down in North Carolina. She arrives a bit broken, but the mystery of her grandparents has been one her mom has always avoided discussing and Keaton quickly. Meanwhile in 1976 Becks and Townsend are planning their final summer dinner party. Becks has some secrets she doesn’t want to share, but as the summer comes to a close she knows she has to.
Ahhh can Kristy Woodson Harvey do any wrong? No. The answer is no my friends. Seriously this woman is practically perfect in every way! I loved Keaton so much, and the crew of neighbors she met when moving into her Grandparents home was beyond fabulous. This book had a little bit of everything, love, heartbreak, mystery, grief, illness, and friendship. I just adored every second of this book. It made me want to move into the neighborhood and join the crazy crew! It’s so hard to write a synopsis or review for this one because the story is so much more than a quick paragraph, but I highly recommend picking it up when it comes out June 25th!
rhack05's review
3.25
This will be a lovely, heartwarming read for many but for me I found it to be kind of boring? I think Beck's story took over and Keaton's story took a backseat to Becks. At around the 150 page mark I made a guess as to what happened to Keaton's grandparents and even though I thought it was going to be wrong, I was spot on. I don't know if that made me disappointed or not but it definitely made it anti-climactic.
I did really like Anderson and felt that he added quite a bit to the story. I also loved Salt.
This is a well written book that many readers will love and I did find it entertaining enough to finish but that is about it.
Thank you NetGalley, Gallery Books and Kristy Woodson Harvey for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I did really like Anderson and felt that he added quite a bit to the story. I also loved Salt.
This is a well written book that many readers will love and I did find it entertaining enough to finish but that is about it.
Thank you NetGalley, Gallery Books and Kristy Woodson Harvey for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
bookscoffeephotography's review against another edition
4.0
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.
weebulls's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0