I have been reading Carole's books for years. This is the first one I have seen published for quite a while so I was very pleased to get an advance copy. I love stories that have animals in them and this one didn't disappoint - it felt like they were a big part of the story because they are a big part of Molly's life. When she offers to support a young child she also has to deal with his father. It follows the usual woman meets man, not keen to start with but then cant live without. Now that sounds cynical and it isn't meant to. It is a lovely warm hearted read. Thank you Carole!

What a fun read! V entertaining, with plenty of laughs ( and a few tears) as the story rollicks along. I loved the characters, (human as well as animals), and as a teacher myself, I really related to the main character. Looking forward to reading more by this author.

I love Carole Matthews books they never disappoint. I loved the characters and the story and did not want this book to end. Reading one of Carole's books is like meeting up with an old friend. Looking forward to the next book already.

A slow burn gentle romance that will warm your heart from beginning to end. I really enjoyed this one. My first Carole Matthews book, and I'd read from her again.

A very pleasant read, gentle and amusing. The characters are nicely drawn and the storyline undemanding.

Carole Matthews has written another wonderful book.A novel I enjoyed from first page to laughs.Character that come alive lines that had me laugh out loud.A book to enjoy.#netgalley #littlebrownuk

Lovely heartwarming story. Made me want to live on a farm and be surrounded by more animals than people

Fluffy, light, fun - basically you pretty much know what you are going to get with ‘Happiness for Beginners’. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth spending time on, it certainly is, if just to highlight the work done by organisations like Hope Farm. Or should I say Animal Antiks, the organisation that Hope Farm is based on.

An enjoyable, engaging read, thanks to Netgalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book by Carole Matthews and it was such a lovely read. I really enjoyed the storyline (I’m a sucker for a book based on a farm) and I really enjoyed the characters and seeing all their relationships blossom. 103 chapters, which again was a huge positive as I much prefer lots of short chapters to tediously long ones and it was all set in a realistic timeframe; no huge jumps through time between chapters, which made it nice and easy to follow. I’ll definitely keep my eye out for more books by Carole.

Molly lives in a caravan on a rented farm looking after animals that have begun rejected by everyone else, helped by her best friend Bev and various children with learning difficulties or behaviour problems. She has no television so when a heartthrob soap star turns up with his son she had no idea who he is, but realises that Lucas needs the help that the animals can give him. Lucas obviously has problems having been excluded from school for arson but Molly soon starts to get through to him..... but will she get through to Selby the gorgeous father as well!

I loved this book, it had such great characters Molly obviously had her own issues with relating to people and so it was lovely to see her blossoming. The animals and their antics were great and caused so many comedy moments, a really good fun book

Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will enjoy.

An absolute gem of a book by Carole Matthews! I thoroughly enjoyed Happiness for Beginners. It was such a fun and entertaining read. I loved the setting on Hope Farm (which is based on the real Animal Antiks Farm in Buckinghamshire) and how it helps children who do not thrive in a school setting and allows them to thrive and build their future. Molly is amazing and does so much on the farm. Happiness for Beginners is such a lovely story. The animals are very funny and get up to lots of antics!

A great storyline, with relatable characters. A thoroughly enjoyable fun feel-good read which I highly recommend. A five star review from me!

This review is based on a NetGalley ARC provided in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.

This book is a book which is so easy to read, as usual with Carole Matthews, but makes you feel close to all the characters and eager to explore how the story will end. Molly is like so many of us making her easy to relate too. Well recommended

Having not read Carole Matthew's books for a number of years, I wondered why I had stopped reaching for her next book release, I soon realised why.
Carole Matthews is certainly a writer who interjects humour into her stories and whilst it worked with some of the characters it made others feel less plausible to me.
I found this book overall predictable and after approximately 55 pages in I had worked out how the story ended accurately.
The author had a tendancy to over describe events, places and people that was not needed and lead to distraction from the base story.the other writing style that I found made this book less enjoyable for me was the Matthew's writing the whole book in the first person present tense, my main problem with this was I dearly wanted to get behind the Molly in the synopsis but she read like a self absorbed and anti social.character not old enough to be living that life..
The cover of the book is beautiful. It really captures the relaxed life of spending time on a small holding and reminded me of my in laws farm.

What a lovely book, it really had me chuckling at the madcap antics of Molly and Hope farm.
It was heartwarming when the challenging/vulnerable students arrived..
The strange dysfunctional animals and their habits were hilarious.
It was full of surprises and thoroughly enjoyable read. Well worthy of 5 *'s
Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book for you.

This was brilliant. Molly lived on a rented farm in an old caravan, which she had inherited from her aunt. It was set in idyllic surroundings of wonderful views of rolling hills. She lived here with just the animals for company. They were not all healthy, they were special. They were all rescued animals. Pigs, sheep's, alpacas, hens and dogs. Molly had help during the day from her friend Bev and a t-shirt fanatic guy called Alan. Most importantly there was help from a group of young people with mental health issues and learning disabilities. They did all the things required doing on the farm during the morning and in the afternoons a tutor came. Molly loved it. One day a flash car and a heartthrob man emerged from the passenge seat and asked if it was possible for her to take on his son who was having a few problems since the death of his mother. He had set a fire at the school. Bev was going crazy trying to get Molly's attention. Not only was this guy hot he was an actor in a soap. Molly doesn't have a television so hadn't the slightest idea. The story continues with Molly taking the son on and after a while he settles down and enjoys his time spent on the farm. His father is still having problems. There are highs and lows throughout the book. Read it to see if Molly begins to realize that there is more to life than being on your own. This was beautifully written and I loved the way that the children flourished around the animals. This is so true to life. Well done Carole. I loved it. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this novel and write an honest review.

Happiness for Beginners is very gentle, very slow build romance. Molly Baker runs Hope Farm in Buckinghamshire with an abundance of various animals and a host of children who for one reason or another have dropped out of school. One of those children has a soap star actor for a dad who soon becomes the obvious love interest for Molly. The story is one I thought would sweep me off my feet and at certain moments it did but the detail of mundane activities and descriptions lost my interest and somewhat burst the story bubble for me. Molly is almost too good to be true, everyone loves her, and she is definitely pretty perfect and maybe that was one of my issues. Well-rounded characters are not necessarily perfect in every way. This perfection and other elements led to some overly sweet moments for my tastes. This story was not completely my cup of tea but would perhaps be a good fit for those who enjoy an easy on the ear, gentle romance full of descriptions and happy moments.

What an absolutely delightful book - might even go as far as saying this is my favourite book that Carole has written. An idyllic setting, a farm full of misfit animals, Alan and his T shirts - and a gorgeous actor. What is there not to like. A perfect piece of escapism. Loved it.

I’m a big Carole Matthews fan having read all her books and this one was another gem. I must admit I found this one a little slower to get into but a chapter in and I couldn’t put it down. It was a change from the typical chick lit storylines and I loved that Hope Farm was based on a true place. I laughed out loud and I cried. I felt Lucas was the centre of this story and it was lovely to follow his journey. And relationships unfold. Well done Carole, loved it.

#netgalley #carolematthews #happinessforbeginners #hopefarm #summerread #animalantiks

Another great book by Carole Mathews.
Molly lives on Hope farm In a caravan. She loves all her animals and tells us all about them. She also loves the children she comes to help. One in particular Lucas and an unlikely love interest his dad Shelby. If you want a good summer read this is the book for you.
Thanks to NetGalley