Reviews

And They Lived Happily Ever After by Therese Beharrie

cocoloco's review

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

yalomi's review against another edition

3.0

Tropes:
-M/F
-28H/30h
-Author/CEO(Branding and design)
-Bestfriend's borther
-Forced proximity
-MC was in the foster system
-Virgin MC
-I'll see you in my dreams...literally

amandalorianxo's review

2.5

The plot idea and intial premise was intriguing enough when I first glanced at it but the actual reading experience wasn't the best (for me.) The writing was repetive and a little all over the place. I wasn't a fan of some of the back and forth between Gaia, Jacob + Seth. I also wasn't fully convinced that Gaia and Seth were best friends because that dynamic just didn't mesh well on paper. Too many subplots to keep track of.  

ask_brittany's review

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

tmathews0330's review

4.0

A fun read with a taste of magical realism. I wish the balance between the romance and the deeper issues had been a little more weighted to the side of the deeper issues, but that's definitely a personal taste thing!

ftjoy88's review against another edition

funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

theeuphoriczat's review

5.0

Thanks to Zebra Books for making this book available to me via # Netgalley

I have to start by saying that I am ashamed that I have never read any of Therese Beharrie books before now and I am taking immediate actions to rectify this deficit because she is absolutely phenomenal. Because this book radiates big brain energy.

Let me just tell you about this book in a single line...

A writer whose writing becomes her dreams (yes her actual dreams) and she has the ability to personalize her characters in her dreams, make them do anything, including making a super hot guy she met strip-tease at a strip club in her dream. If you are not interested after that I have another scenario for you.

Said super hot guy refuses to believe that she has magic, so she continues to write him doing insanely hot things that leaves him sexually frustrated when he wakes up or jumping out of his skin in fear. I tell you this book will not only make you laugh your head off but it will pull tears and anger from you faster than peeling and chopping onions.
Gaia is Jacob's brother's best friend so we have that very sexy trope. Gaia is an introvert who doesn't really trust anyone and that might be because she grew up in the system and was never adopted. I do not want to spoil it but this book is a definite must read.

dannyphantomsg1's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

artsandbookish's review

3.0

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an eARC of this book fin exchange for an honest review.

This book is one of those reads I found by scrolling through my recommendations, and I'm quite happy that I picked it up. I was intrigued by the blurb, and really, the story was what kept me going from start to finish. The plot was so interesting, I just had to read it. However, I struggled a bit with the writing style. Maybe I'm used to something different, but I can't really put into words what bothered me, except that the dialogues felt off sometimes. (I scrolled through a bunch of other reviews, and maybe it's just me and not the book.)

As I said, I loved the storyline. The female protagonist, Gaia, is a successful romance novelist with magical abilities. I enjoyed the premise that every scene she writes down, she gets to live it out in her dreams. Cue the handsome younger brother of her best friend, Jacob. As she tries to hide in one of the bedrooms during her friend's party, she stumbles upon Jacob, obviously dressed in only a towel. And we all know what's going to happen, right?! As she gets home, she starts plotting and envisioning Jacob as the male main character. Like always, her writing comes to life in her dreams, only that this Jacob seems to have a mind on his own. It turns out it's actually her best friend's younger brother dreaming and not following along with the scene Gaia imagined. She finds herself questioning how he is able to enter her magical dream and if that means anything to her ability.

As light as this story might seem, this book also explores heavier topics (CW for anxiety and panic attacks). Gaia grew up in foster care and still deals with severe social anxiety and panic attacks. This is why she ends up hiding in one of the bedrooms. Jacob, on the other hand, is a classical workaholic, seeing it as his responsibility to keep the family and his father's business together. Both have a lot to work through; thus I wouldn't consider this a light read.

Apart from the problems I've mentioned, I enjoyed this book. A contemporary romance with a magical twist which people definitely should give a go, if the blurb catches their attention. Solid 3 stars.

kikki_heart's review

emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5