‘Happily whatever after‘ was an okay read for a rainy Sunday afternoon, but I must admit that I wasn’t blown away. I had serious trouble connecting to the protagonist who is just really really unlikable. Her judgmental attitude to everything and everyone was simply tiring which led to me not being very invested in the story. I‘m sorry that I can’t give this book a higher rating than two stars but I need to be honest, and this one just didn’t do it for me.

Thank you to the author, Amazon Publishing and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
I was excited and enjoyed the premise of this novel.  A woman in her thirties going through a change in her career, personal life and trying to learn how to adjust her expectations of herself and others.  This is an interesting premise, but ultimately it fell flat for me.  

I was overall not able to invest in the main character, Page, her ambitions, choices or thoughts.  Page is an extremely opinionated person, which can make having relationships with her challenging. Reading the novel through her eyes was a challenging experience because I was not able to gain any empathy for her thoughts or actions.  

I am disappointed in this novel because it had so much potential, but ultimately I found myself unable to connect with the the main character and worst of all I did not care, which is rare for my reading sensibility.

Page moves to live with her brother in DC after losing her job and her boyfriend.  Although without a dog, she makes friends when regularly visiting a dog park, and gradually rebuilds her life. A really enjoyable read with lots of different story lines.

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Thank you, Netgalley and Amazon Publishing for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.⠀
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And I'm about to get REALLY HONEST. I hate being a bad sport and hating books because if I was an author it would break my heart to have someone hate my story... but I absolutely loathed this book. ⠀
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The premise is fabulous. Page is down on her luck: she's in her mid-thirties, she's been dumped by her longtime boyfriend, and fired from her job. She moves to D.C. to live with her brother while she gets back on her feet. Page loves dogs, but since she doesn't have her own yet... she spends her days reading trashy romance novels at the local dog park. Sounds cute, right? ⠀
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It's a labeled a dark romantic comedy. Except... I didn't feel like there was any romance. Or anything I would consider comedy. The only darkness is the black cloud hanging over the main character. Page is the most judgmental and cruel protagonist I have come across in the "romantic comedy" genre. She judges every. single. person. she crosses paths with at the dog park. And let me just tell you... there's A LOT OF CHARACTERS. So many unnecessary characters. The "love interest" is hardly seen (you don't even find out his actual name until you're 80% in). Page makes nasty comments about people's weight, religion, looks, status, etc. the entire book. She mocks her mother who struggles with alcoholism while getting drunk basically every chapter. It was so frustrating to see. Around 80% in, there is an actual storyline that makes you believe Page may change. Maybe I didn't waste my time, I thought. Nope. At the end she reflects and says "maybe I shouldn't be so judgmental" ...and two sentences later she's ridiculing someone's wardrobe choice.⠀
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This is the last book I force myself to finish. It was painful and a waste of my time. I can't recommend. To my surprise, there have been several positive reviews, so maybe my opinion is an outlier. If you want to see for yourself... it will be available on July 28th, 2020!

This was funny and dark but fluffy at the same time. It's a nice read if you want to forget about everyone and everything, but not the book you'll read again. Nice, but avarage.

I really enjoyed this, it was different and kept me interested. Page's attitude was interesting to assess and follow, and her relationship with her brother and those around her was both cool and real, a tough combination.

This book was enjoyable, and I liked Page. The writing was good, and there were plenty of sentences that I thought were written really well. However, writing that Kevin was “fat but didn’t even get to eat his way there” is really messed up and not okay. Also, the ending wrapped up a little too nicely for me. Ultimately this was a nice but probably forgettable read.

“You don’t have to have a dog to be a dog person!” - me, dogless, agreeing with Page, the heroine of Happily Whatever After.
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Page moves to DC to live with her brother hoping for a fresh start, and quickly makes the local dog park her usual haunt. The only problem? Page doesn’t actually have a dog. Happily Whatever After starts a bit slow as we meet each of the characters in Page’s local dog park, but picks up as she begins to form relationships with each of them. I love the dog park vibe of striking up a conversation with a random stranger and creating a community of new friends.
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For most of the novel, Page is hyper-focused on landing a new man, but has unrelated ups and downs along the way that make her an engaging heroine. I really enjoyed the eclectic supporting cast, and I wish we had a bit more time with each of them. Nadine and Preston were my absolute favorites and I would have loved for their characters to have a stronger presence. We do see a few truly odd moments for Page, which I hate chalking up to “male-author-writing-a-female-character,” but that was the vibe I got.
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This dark comedy comes with a dash of tragedy and a side of hope: don’t go into this thinking it will be a typical rom-com. The short chapters are perfect for this story, and this novel moves quickly once it hits its stride. There are gems of wit sprinkled throughout and the descriptions of the art sound quite intriguing. The sibling relationship between Page and Brady is wonderfully written, and I was cheering for him  throughout the novel. 
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As things start to wrap up, we see flashes of growth from Page, but I didn’t get a real sense of sustained development. Her story was enjoyable nonetheless, and I give this read a solid three stars out of five!
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Happily Whatever After is available on July 28th. Thank you to Lake Union Publishing (an imprint of @amazonpublishing) and @netgalley for this #gifted e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

When life hands you a bone, take it to the dog park... Okay that was cheesy... but so was this book - in an amazing way! Following a format seen many times over, Page is dumped by her boyfriend and loses her job. Then, like all good rom coms, she moves somewhere far away to start over.

Living with her brother isn't all it's cracked up to be and she finds solice at a local dog park... So what happens? You'll have to read the book. But throughout this story, you'll laugh and enjoy yourself. It's a quick and easy read. Sure, it's following a well known troupe, but let's just admit it - we enjoy it anyways!

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union for allowing me to read this and give my honest opinion.

Where to start? First thing that made me notice this among the many books on netgalley is the cover. It looks like a sweet contemporary read and I love that vibrant pink color. Also it was on the 'Read Now' section. I was hoping for a light, cute read and started to read this one. But it wasn't a light read at all.

Page is our main character. There are some similiraties between me and Page that made me relate to her. She is in no way a perfect character. She has a lot of flaws and did some stupid things in the book. But most of the time I get her.

I didn't give a 5 star rating because of some reasons. One is the length of the book. On my opinion, I think the book can do without some scenes on the book. A bit of trimming perhaps? Some areas dragged and it is a bit boring.

This book isn't about romance though it has romance on it. I think it's more on self discovery and achieving your dreams. I have lots of realization because of this book. I did enjoy the story and shed some tears at some parts and also laughed at Page's absurdity.

The characters are also okay. Some a bit over the top and cliché and a bit stereotypical. But surprisingly, I liked Jane. She's strong and I like her quirky habit on post-its because I tend to do that too. 😅

All in all, a good read. A bit slow but still great.👍❤

*Thanks for netgalley, the publisher and author for making this available for review.*

I was really excited when I was accepted on netgalley to read this book, it was everything I wanted in a story and more.

My first novel by Stewart Lewis and it did not disappoint. Really enjoyed Page and her personality even when at times she could be a bit CRINGE. Your typical rise up from the ashes trope and I loved every minute of it. Great read!

Great  book and as a dog lover this book was bound to be a favourite of mines. Look forward to reading more by this author

A book about a fleeing from an old life and starting fresh. One of my favourite type of "girly" books to read. I digged Page, I thought she was fun and a bit of a hot mess. I found her super relatable, i'm pretty sure that if I moved to a new city to start a new life, I would definitely hang around a dog park (dog or no dog!).

This book has it all, romance, finding yourself, illness, disaster, family relationships, friendship as well as dogs and art. At times funny, at times really quite sad and I did really enjoy the dog aspect as I am a dog lover and in my opinion, dogs just don't feature enough in literature.

A great quick read, I read it on the step machine at the gym. I enjoyed the characters and the story line is what you would expect. My only thoughts are that, I did feel there were too many characters and I got a bit confused, and that I found some of Page's behaviours very questionable, but in the book noone batted an eyelid. Maybe they just do things differently in DC!

Overall, a book I would recommend to others looking for a quick enjoyable read with a happy ending. Great for lounging around the pool or by the fire without needing to pay too much attention.

This was such a witty emotional read that I couldn't put down. It starts with Page's life being turned upside down in New York so she moves to DC to live with her charming and successful brother. While there she tries to find the momentum to turn everything around without backpedaling.

What I loved about this book:

1. Page's optimism and resilience was quite inspiring and I absolutely adored her character. While she could be a bit judgemental at times, her honesty was refreshing and I enjoyed her character growth. She was a really well developed and believable chatacter.

2. The sibling relationship between Page and Brady was so heartwarming and was the reason this book was so emotional. Make sure you have tissues near by because I cried my eyes out a time or two.

3. The unique plot of chance encounters at a dog park was engaging and very entertaining.

I really enjoyed this book as I laughed and cried along with Page. If you're looking for a great escapism read, you should definitely pick up a copy.

This was a great story. I loved the friendships, drama, the characters and especially the dogs! It was a quick read and I look forward to reading more from the author!

I laughed, cried, smiled along with Page who truly came alive in the book. You have to read it to see how beautifully this character has been penned. There is drama, relationships, friendship, being there for each other and so much more to learn form it. A perfect read during this depressing lockdown time. I LOVED it!!!

Read My Full Review Here >> https://bookishayushi.com/book-review-happily-whatever-after-by-stewart-lewis/

I only felt connected with the dogs. They were my favorite parts. The gay best friends totally made me wish I had them as friends in real life. Even though she is older, she showed off how desperate she is with guys. Did not like how many random hookups happened throughout the book including her ex. Overall, it was an okay book and if I ever get more dogs as pets I might name them after wine 🤣

A charming and easy read. The main character, Page, was relatable in her inability to figure out what she wants in her life. Most of us in our mid-30s are also trying to find our place in this world, and someone to share it with. 

I didn't quite understand where the "dark comedy" description came from. I found this book typical of most "chick lit" out there, with the female protagonist and the love interest circling each other throughout the book, before the happily ever after ending.  

Despite that, I enjoyed the story, character development and was rooting for Page to succeed.

This is one of those books that just flows so smoothly... it is a light-hearted, fun read and it really hooked me right from the beginning.

The characters are likeable and I felt a personal connection to each of them - so of course, I was rooting for a happy ending for each and every one of them! And of course, adding dogs to the equation is always a winner...

The story is moving and emotional, and adds the perfect amount of humour, and some questionable decisions - the perfect mix to keep a reader entertained.

I will definitely be seeking out more of Stewart's books in future.