I very much enjoyed this book! It was fantastic reset from the dark books. This story made me happy. I loved the characters growth and healing from life.

O

Maisey Yates brings us the story of city girl Amelia who ends up owning and running a motel in a small town in California's deserts. As she tries to adjust to her new life while trying to forget what she left behind, newcomer Nathan comes and checks into the motel. Tensions rise whenever they are near each other, yet neither do anything about it. Amelia tries to avoid him as must as possible while taking care of all her short term and long term guests. Problem is that he keeps coming back year after year even after making it known that he does not care for her and that he does not have a choice in staying there. And year after year, Amelia keeps fighting that desire to get closer to him. When a fire devastates the town, they must all band together to help out their neighbors which meant they had to work together. When a fundraising event is planned to help out those affected by the fire, Amelia's past is now in her present. Will she be strong enough to confront her past? Will it allow her to be open to all possibilities? Will Amelia and the long term residents of the motel be able to soften the rough edges around Ian and get him to open up?

Maisey Yates brings us the story of Amelia and Ian whose past have influenced their present. Hurt by those closest to them have these two closed off to possibilities. Will what life throws at them and the long term residents change things for the better, or will it just makes things harder for them? Read to find out how these two fare as they battle the tension between them.

I have read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I would like to thank NetGalley and Montlake for this privilege.

Amelia Taylor has left her career as a screenwriter and a traumatic breakup behind to start fresh as a romance novelist and owner of the Pink Flamingo Motel in a small desert community near Palm Springs. Her new life is peaceful, filled with supportive friends and a sense of purpose. Everything changes when Nathan Hart, a bestselling novelist, checks in to her motel.

Nathan is handsome, distant, and seemingly dislikes Amelia on sight. He spends his days writing in the Hemingway Suite, carrying an air of sadness and mystery that intrigues her despite his standoffish behavior. Year after year, Nathan returns to the motel, and Amelia slowly begins to heal from her own emotional wounds as she gets to know him.

Their connection grows stronger when a devastating wildfire strikes the town, forcing them to confront their vulnerabilities and secrets. Together, they navigate their past traumas, finding hope and healing in one another.

In Happy After All, Maisey Yates delivers a heartfelt romance filled with emotional depth, quirky small-town charm, and themes of love, loss, rebirth, and the power of human connection.

The story of Amelia and Nathan. He is a guest in her hotel, and the story is told over several of his stays. He is a mystery but he is hiding sadness. An emotional read. I did enjoy reading it and there are some great side characters too!

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for this ARC.

Amelia Taylor is a romance author and the owner of the Pink Flamingo Motel in California. She meets attractive but grumpy Nathan Hart, author of military thrillers, when he checks in for the whole scorching summer to write in the desert location near Palm Springs.

Every other chapter gives us a brief summary of things like meet-cutes and tropes, and it always corresponds with what's happening in the story right now. Enemies to lovers, grumpy/sunshine, save the cat, fake dating, slow burn, found family - it's all there and then some.

This would be impossibly cute but then the author suddenly decides to go literary and introduces terrible trauma for her and Nathan. The poor guy doesn't get a POV which is why I didn't warm to him initially - you can grieve and not be rude with it, but Nathan is a totally broken man, too broken to react normally or articulate feelings.

If that wasn't enough, a terrible wildfire destroys the neighbourhood (content warning for everyone affected by the fires in LA) and they decide to hold A Very Desert Christmas Fundraiser, which brings Amelia face to face with an old boyfriend, repressed grief and more tropes.

This is a strange book. It is as if the author couldn't decide whether she wanted to write lighthearted romance with all the tropes or serious literary trauma fiction so she mixed it all together. There is too much repetitive inner monologue for my liking, that drags the story out and interrupts the flow of a conversation - when the answer to a question finally comes you can't remember the question from two pages before! The pace is all over the place and I felt bored halfway through and started skimming pages.

There is a huge cast of side characters, from staff to permanent guests, and while the setting is interesting and the elderly ladies who try to matchmake are cute, I think the author tries to fit too much into one story. The spicy scenes felt awkward, like the author felt she had to write them for a certain readership, and I just didn't believe in the sudden kitschy HEA, after all that trauma and angst. Read if you like a mixture of trauma and tropes.

I was pleasantly surprised when this book turned out to be much more than I expected. In the beginning it appears to be a lighthearted romance - Amelia is the new proprieter of a flamingo-themed motel, complete with a collection of quirky elderly long term residents and Nathan is a grumpy author who rents room 32. Their relationship evolves over the course of a few years from enemies to lovers and we learn more about both Amelia and Nathan's pasts, the story becomes poignant and heart-wrenching at times. A great read that delves into delves into the family and friend relationships outside of the main couple and how they contribute to who they are.

I was pleasantly surprised when this book turned out to be much more than I expected. In the beginning it appears to be a lighthearted romance - Amelia is the new proprieter of a flamingo-themed motel, complete with a collection of quirky elderly long term residents and Nathan is a grumpy author who rents room 32. Their relationship evolves over the course of a few years from enemies to lovers and we learn more about both Amelia and Nathan's pasts, the story becomes poignant and heart-wrenching at times. A great read that delves into delves into the family and friend relationships outside of the main couple and how they contribute to who they are.

I love this author! The books always grab me right from the beginning, so good! I couldn't put this book down! Thank you for the ARC!

Amelia is trying desperately to rebuild her life after personal tragedy. She buys and restores a motel where she assembles a chosen family and a hot stranger who becomes a repeat guest. While I loved watching Amelia and Nathan (hot stranger) develop a relationship, there are times where I wish I could hurry them along. Overall, an engaging romance.

I am a sucker for second chance romance. The FMC Amelia leaves LA life as a scriptwriter behind after finding her husband has cheated on her and moves to the desert where she runs a motel she bought and writes romance novels. Everything changes the day Nathan Hart checks in for the summer to work on a book and every summer over the next 3 years. The attraction is instant between them but Nathan is very distant and aloof and she just thinks he hates her. I chuckled at the bunch of zany senior residents who try their best to get these two together with their antics. I laughed and I cried. I was rooting for these two. Yes there is a HEA.. This is a wonderfully written story of second chances after suffering great loss.

I really like this story more than I thought I would. I have read other books by this other and this was something very different than what she usually writes.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

Happy After All by Maisey Yates

This book is enemies to lovers with such an interesting setting. Amelia moves from her life and home in LA to Rancho Encanto where she owns the Pink Flamingo Hotel. While trying to build a new life, Nathan Hart checks into the hotel who is the name behind famous author, Jacob Coulter. Nathan only comes to the Pink Flamingo motel for the summer and Amelia has an instant connection to him, One summer a fire destroys local places and the residents and guests at the Pink Flamingo come together to support each other. During their Christmas Fundraiser, Amelia is surprised to find Nathan Hart on the reservation list.

Both Amelia and Nathan have so many layers to them as characters, the farther I got along in this book the more I understood why they are the way they are. Amelia goes through so much growth and finds solid women mentorship in the book, reminding us of the power of a mother figure. There were so many fun aspects to this romance, and goes beyond surface level. The group of old ladies who live at the hotel were giving Golden Girls. Amelia found true friendship and trust and her vulnerability to eventually allow herself to feel was so inspiring.

Happy After All is about a romance author who is writing to give herself hope about romance and to help her rebuild her life after a devastating breakup. Books about authors and tropes seems to be becoming a trope in and of itself, though one that I enjoy. I appreciate the insights into the book industry, specifically the romance genre, and the tongue-in-cheek nature of the narration. Happy After All reminded me of the book Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan in that sense.
Yates writes with humor and emotional depth. The book had many positives:
1) that Amelia’s life isn’t just about romance, so we find out about her community
2) The relationship between the two protagonists isn’t a “whirlwind” and doesn’t take place over just, say, a week or something unrealistic
3) The format of using romance trope definitions at the start of some chapters like some authors use quotations
4) It was well-written and well-paced

However, this book was not for me. I stopped reading at about the 50% mark because of the open-door sex scene. While I’d love to know how it ended, I didn’t want to read so many details about the sex part of their relationship and her sex-related thoughts. I also felt like it wasn’t realistic in some of the same ways the author was poking fun at the genre - the impossibly handsome guy, the world-altering sex the first time they get together, and the Hallmark-y part relating to her ex.

If you enjoy books with open-door sex, then you’ll likely enjoy this one. If you don't, pass on this one.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This one didn't really hit the mark for me. It dragged for me and had entirely too much introspection and inner dialogue.

YES YES YES 1000X yes!!!

Thank you to Maisey Yates, Amazon Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I went into this book not really knowing what to fully expect and I was SO SO happily surprised! I finished this book in less than 24 hours (which as a Mom of 7 small kids that is a feat in itself!)

I absolutely LOVED the story between Amelia and Nathan. Everything from the tension, the banter, the spice - it was perfect!

While some reviewers didn't care for the "trauma dumping" it was one of my favourite aspects of the book. It made the characters so much more real and relatable. These are real life types of losses and grief processes that people go through daily. Seeing it on paper in the main steam book world makes loss and grief a less taboo topic and gives those dealing with grief a safe place to share their story and journey to healing. 10/10!

Ok, and can we just talk about how absolutely wonderful the older residents of the motel are? I am in LOVE with every single on of them! They were giving off the perfect protective grandparents full of loving wisdom - such a wonderful addition to the typical character line up in their 20's and 30's!

Looking forward to reading more by Maisey in the future!

Maisey Yates delivers a unique and creative take on the romance genre with Happy After All. The book is a quirky blend of storytelling and self-reflection, written as if the author's life were a romance novel. Each chapter delves into a different romance trope, giving readers a broad spectrum of love's highs and lows. Yates skillfully weaves themes of love, loss, tragedy, fear, the importance of chosen family, rebirth, and the hope of a happily ever after (HEA). The storyline is engaging and filled with heartfelt moments, though it doesn't shy away from heartbreak and emotional depth.

While the concept and story arc were enjoyable, one aspect detracted from the overall experience. Yates frequently uses uncommon or complex vocabulary, which disrupted the flow of reading. If not for the ease of looking up words on a Kindle, this would have been even more frustrating. For a book meant to be enjoyed leisurely, the constant need for a vocabulary lesson diminished the escapism and became a source of annoyance.

Despite this, Happy After All remains a well-crafted and emotional journey. For readers who enjoy both romance and a touch of linguistic challenge, it may be a perfect fit. For others, it might require a bit more patience.

A wonderful story with excellent characters and one that has many different emotions as well. Begins with Amelia who has left L.A. and has moved to a small desert town near Joshua Tree National Park. She has bought a Pink hotel and is in the process of fixing it up when she has a man check-in. he is Nathan, and he does not talk or partake in the activities that she offers. He arrives each summer for the next two years each time reserving the same room. Slowly he becomes more involved because of the ladies who live there. Also, he and Amelia slowly begin to reveal each of their stories to each other. This is part of the emotions of loss and working at moving on having lost a daughter, granddaughter, and wife having a miscarriage when we were younger I could relate to many of the emotions and the work at needing to move on. Here though is a wonderful story of loss, finding friends, and a new home and people who will support you. A very good book and very much worth the read.

Amelia and Nathan are both writers living out so many romance tropes. While it starts like a light enemies-to-lovers story, things take a turn and they both start realizing how similar their losses are—there's an intensity in their understanding of each other's grief.

I wish I was more invested in the romantic aspects of this story but where I fell in love with Happy After All by Maisey Yates was in the other kinds of love we experience here: platonic, familial, and, in small bits, the self-kind.

There's so much pain and hurt here. There are years of feeling inadequate and broken, but then, our characters finally talk about their feelings and experiences and move through them. The way this community comes together in tragedy and uplifts each other was so incredibly heartwarming.

What really got me though was how the women at the motel were able to tell exactly what Amelia was going through just by looking at her. Because, in the end, everyone there experienced heartbreak, so they all knew what it looked like. This book truly shined in its secondary characters.

This was my first Maisey Yates book and I will be reading more from her. I thought this book was very well written and the characters were very relatable in their trauma. With that being said I wish there had been a trigger warning of child loss because I would have avoided that part of the book as it’s a trigger for me.

I still enjoyed their story and would recommend it for others as it showed how to overcome your past and learn to love again.

3.5⭐, 2🌶️

This book has it's pro's and its con's but overall I liked it - I wasn't drawn to pick it up (listen) and binge it, but when I listened, I really liked it. I like that this is a small town, found family book of two people both drowning in their grief (both dealing with deaths of loved ones: TW: spouse death due to cancer, and late term miscarriage) and they bring each other strength in a lovely way. I just want to hug Amelia and Nathan. The inner monologues ran a bit too long for me (I think it dragged the story for me) and once these to start their "benefits" relationship, the storyline just kind of flatlined for me and wasn't super exciting.

This book also has a plot line of the community being ravaged by a wildfire - listening to this while the California fires burn so many communities added unexpected emotions for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Montlake for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest and unpaid review!

Amelia runs a desert motel, and Nathan comes to stay for the summer a few years in a row. He is a writer (so is Amelia) but he is working on a project not in his typical genre. He stays to himself, but there are sparks. Amelia has guests who live in the motel year-round, and they have a cute sense of community. There is some sadness to this book, a late term pregnancy loss & the loss of a beloved spouse. It is deeper than I expected, but a good read. I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley and this is my honest review.