A review by maggiestraveledbookshelf
Where Happiness Begins by N.S. Perkins

lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

📖 Where Happiness Begins

📚 Book 3 of Evermore Series

✍🏻 N.S. Perkins 

☑️ Contemporary Romance

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 3.75

🌶️🌶️

“𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙄 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚.”

This was a really sweet romance!!

Overview: 

•Marriage of Convenience 

•Grumpy/Sunshine

•Chronic Illness Rep

•Only One Bed

•”My Wife”

•Dual Timeline-ish + Dual POV

𝗟𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱. 𝗦𝗼 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗼𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗱.

I loveeee a grumpy/sunshine dynamic, and both Lilianne and Carter were so endearing in their respective roles. Their relationship progression was truly sweet!

𝙄 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧, “𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙧𝙤𝙬.”

𝙃𝙚 𝙝𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙨 𝙖 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙥𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙢. “𝙎𝙝𝙪𝙩 𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙪𝙜 𝙢𝙚.”

The depiction of alcoholism felt so raw and real, and I loved the evolved relationship between Frank and Carter. Support is necessary in life, whether we want it or not. 

“𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙝𝙤𝙡, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮, 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙠 𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣’𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚.”

And the everlasting bond between Lilianne and her dad? So incredibly powerful. I love the message that we don’t need to know every single thing about someone in order to ~know~ their hearts. 

 “𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡.”

Some parts of the plot fell short for me, like how her role as the band promoter seemed slightly superfluous. I also wanted a little more character depth for Lilianne. 

This was my first book from the author, and I did enjoy it! I will definitely read her other works as this was super readable and fun.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a lighthearted romance with some heavier topics! 

TW: alcoholism, death of a parent

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