My Kind of Happy: The feel-good, funny novel from the Sunday Times bestseller

I started this ages ago, and left the last few chapters unfinished, so my rating may not reflect a full recollection of the book, but I figure if I had liked this entirely I would have read the whole thing when I first started it.
It had the usual 'will they won't they' sort of ending, and seemed to end satisfyingly enough.

This is the first Cathy Bradley book that I have read and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s a light, easy read with likeable characters, particularly Fearne the main one who seems to help everyone she meets. Extremely enjoyable and I will look forward to reading something else from this author.

For a novel about happiness, this could not have frustrated me more. While certain elements were fun (the flower shop, for example, was a lovely setting) the entire premise of the book was shallow and simplistic. The novel is definitely an amusing, light read (I used it as escapism during a really stressful week) but under any deeper scrutiny it just doesn’t hold up.

My main frustration with the novel is that its central philosophy is ultimately quite self-centred and destructive. The story starts when Fearne discovers a letter from her dead brother describing his desire to live a life devoted to what he wants to do, rather than what society wants. This includes going to new places, meeting new people, riding his motorbike, watching the sunset… All sorts of lovely things, but all ultimately without any sort of commitment, stability, or substance. Fearne embraces this attitude, and immediately goes and quits her job, which is something she’s only able to do because she’s fortunate enough to actually own her house outright. The novel does explain this (it’s thanks to her brother’s life insurance) but what mid-20-year-old owns a house outright? To any young person laden with a mortgage (or struggling to afford a deposit) a novel that advocates leaving your job to follow a vague dream just sounds a bit out of touch.

In terms of the novel’s actual plot, the flower side of things was fun and interesting, with some significant challenges and triumphs. The romance, on the other hand, was both utterly predictable and cringeworthy. A suitably unavailable man shows up (he’s married) but it turns out that his wife is actually horrible and they’re having marriage problems. And yet, before he’s even properly unmarried, and without giving his multiple children any time to adjust, they already dive into a relationship. Then, when he quite reasonably suggests that they take things slowly, Fearne makes the utterly irrational leap that he doesn’t love her at all, so she should just leave. It’s incredibly frustrating when a character makes such irrational judgements that are solely designed to throw a wrench in the plot and complicate an otherwise overly simple conclusion.

Overall, I don’t regret reading My Kind of Happy, because it was useful fluff while I was stressed. The setting was lovely, many of the characters were sweet, and I did like Fearne herself. It’s just a shame that the two main elements of the story—the “live for yourself” philosophy and the entire romance plot—were just so poorly done.

Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3930973197

A gentle and warm tale, this is a rainy afternoon kind of book that you could lose yourself in for a couple of hours. An easy feel good love story - the literary equivalent of a hug.

A gentle, lilting read full of feel-good happenings. Fearne has not been dealt a good hand when the joys of life were allocated, but a chance find of an unsent letter from her dead brother would set her life on a different course. She is finally able to grieve and let go of past ties. Her future will be filled with happiness.

We meet Ferne in the depths of a great depression. The person closest to her, her brother Freddie, has died in a tragic accident suddenly leaving her alone and grieving. She has walled herself off from the world questioning everything but by chance she finds a letter Freddie had written her years ago but never posted. The advice he leaves her and her wisdom to hear what he is telling her changes her life in very unexpected ways. She quits her sensible job and is determined to spend the year in pursuit of happiness. All of this sets her on a path of finding what makes her happy and find it she does. With the encouragement of her best friend she sets out first to define what makes her happy and when she takes the first step she finds her happiness falling into place like an unplanned plan evolving.
This is a very undemanding read. It is almost too simple. The reader can speed through it but its soft and gentle charm is worth the time. This is a book to take on vacation perhaps sitting on a beach or in an airport. The sweet charm is not difficult to immerse back into after an interruption. I can recommend this book simply because it is untaxing and soothing.