There’s just *something* about autumn. Whether you love the crisp air and riot of colors, the cozy wardrobe options, Halloween vibes, or pumpkin-flavored everything, it’s a season that resonates with so many – and Julie Olivia has taken the very essence of autumn and baked it into every page of “If It Makes You Happy,” a romance set in the last few months of 1997.

The story follows Michelle, a woman who has just lost her mother and gone through a divorce, and who takes a leave of absence from her high-powered advertising job in Seattle to move to Vermont and run her mom’s bed & breakfast until her sister graduates from art school. But it also follows Cliff – the single dad who lives next door to the B&B and runs the town bakery. (If you’re imagining Luke and Lorelai vibes, that’s exactly it.)

Where Michelle is reserved and guarded, Cliff is bubbly and boisterous, and his daughters befriend Michelle and her (ex’s) dog immediately, kind of against her will. But Michelle soon realizes that she’ll need Cliff’s help to run the B&B as well as navigate the residents of Copper Run – and that, you know, Cliff is incredibly handsome and easy to talk to and emotionally intelligent and a person who brings her pastries.

Packed with small-town antics, big eldest daughter feelings, and late-‘90s nostalgia (there’s a whole Ghostface thing, iykyk), “If It Makes You Happy” delivers a delicious slow-burn romance that is warm, tender, and oh-so satisfying. I adored every second of it!🍂

5🌟
2🌶️