Happily This Christmas

When Wynn’s neighbor Garrick comes over, Wynn’s in shock. You see, the neighbors never do more than wave hello to each other, even though Garrick has starred in a few of Wynn’s daydreams.
Garrick needs some help, his pregnant, married daughter is coming to stay with him for a little while before her Marine husband comes home from being stationed overseas. They haven’t really spoken in years, but her mother can no longer take her crankiness when she’s got her other children to raise. Garrick knows that he needs a woman’s touch to let him know what he needs to stock his home, since he’s never really picked up a lot of stuff. After all, he’s a single man who lives alone. When Wynn agrees to help, Garrick can’t believe his luck.
As Garrick and Wynn get his house ready for a very pregnant Joylyn, feelings get stirred up between both Garrick and Wynn, and things spill over the more they spend time together. But are those feelings enough to overcome Wynn’s fears and let her move on with her life, or will Garrick be another man who’s tried to break down her barrier and failed?
I’ve read other stories in the Happily Inc series and have loved every one of them. Ms. Mallery is a master storyteller who brings you in and keeps you engaged with all the characters until the very end. You really don’t want to leave Happily Inc when the book is done, and you’re left wanting more. In a really good way. I loved to see Joylyn come around from such an angry young woman, to a loving young woman and new mother. I wanted to cry when the town rallied together to put a stunning wedding together for Holly and Rex. If you’re looking for a wonderful Christmas romance, put this book at the top of your must-read list.
**I received an ARC of this story from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest and voluntary review.

There is a pattern to the Fool’s Gold, Happily Inc books. Two people, one or both of whom has had a past that leads them to believe that love isn’t real or relationships and marriage does not work or at least not for them. Then they slowly start having a relationship, but about 6/8th into the book, just when they seem to be on the path to their HEA, one of them does or says something that pushed them off the path. Then it takes an intervention from someone else to make them realize what they have and have carelessly tossed away. In the end they get their HEA. Characters are always people you would like to be friends with and banter is always lively,

This is Wynn Beauchene’s story with Police Chief Garrick McCabe. They have been next door neighbors, for a while, but not very neighborly, until Garrick comes to Wynn for help. His pregnant daughter, Joylyn is coming to stay with him, until her Marine husband comes State side from his current assignment, and she has been mad at him since she was a teenager, while he has been clueless why. Wynn is such a sweetheart, that she jumps in with both feet to help her handsome neighbor, helping to thaw Joylyn. Eventually the truth comes out not only about what got Joylyn’s knickers in a bunch but also Wynn’s secret that caused her to push Jasper away. But Jasper got his HEA with Renee and Wynn and Garrett get theirs. This is not a spoiler, because all of Mallery’s stories end with a HEA.

Favorite Quotes:

His words made her feel a little floaty, which was silly. She was in some serious trouble here— she hadn’t been this flaky even in high school. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to start flipping her hair and saying “like” in every sentence.

Most guys don’t like shopping, which I’ve never understood. All you have to do is pretend you’re hunting. You stalk, you pounce, you strap it to the car and take it home. A total win, but men don’t see it that way.

Wynn did her best to keep her happiness to herself. Being cheerful was one thing, but giddy tended to confuse her employees and frighten the customers.

The whole process is insane and unnatural… The cliché is true. If it were up to men to have babies, the human race would be dead in a generation.

My Review:

While I haven’t read all the books in this series, the ones I have read have been golden. I have thoroughly enjoyed every trip I’ve taken to Happily, Inc. and fervently hope Ms. Mallery never runs out of residents to feature. The main characters in this installment were highly likable, thoughtful, and admirable people I’d like to know and spend more time with. The writing was wittily amusing, smooth, expertly paced, and flowed through my gray matter like a ribbon of film through a movie projector while eliciting sighs, smirks, and contented smiles throughout a highly satisfying perusal.

All of the Happily, Inc. books are little bundles of joy that you hold in your hands and sigh over all of the emotions evoked as you read. I loved this book from beginning to end! The story itself was magical, with single mother Wynn living next door to the county sheriff, hunky and magnetically attractive Garrick. When Garrick asks for her help decorating his house in a manner suitable for his pregnant daughter, the real fun begins. Joylyn, Garrick’s daughter was not at all likable at first, so I did enjoy the metamorphosis, which just happened to coincide with her advancing pregnancy. I also liked getting to know Hunter, Wynn’s very wise and mature son. There was conflict, resolution, more conflict and more resolution, and I enjoyed every moment of reading this book. The only sad part was when it ended because I could have continued to read more about Christmas in this perfect little town for days to come. The plot was absolute perfection; the characters were so well-developed that they seemed to jump off the page onto the stage of my mind. I love it when a good story comes together well, and this one certainly did. Fans of romance will delight in this wonderful story of finding happiness after so much disappointment.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

This one didn’t bring the Christmas spirit like I had hoped. The cover totally tricked me into thinking I was getting a Hallmark movie kind of read but fell flat!
It’s book 6 in the “Happily Inc.” series this can be a standalone read. This was any first Mallery novel — any others by her I should consider?
Overall it was an quick light read that has a bit of drama, loads of characters and not enough Old Saint Nick.

Susan Mallery delivers once again. Great Book, although the daughter made me crazy.

What an appropriate time for this story when an epidemic is compelling more and more estranged family members to reside together. It also a great escape from our daily lives. What can be better than a Christmas story?
Welcome back to Happily Inc, a town devoted to weddings. This time we are finally going to see why Wynn has been avoiding relationships. Don’t worry each book is a stand alone and you can jump into the series pretty much anywhere. But beware, you will want to read them all!
Wynn and Garrick are well defined characters, I like that they are parents of young adults. They are thrown together when Garrick asked his neighbor Wynn to help decorate his bachelor house to make it more welcoming for his visiting married, pregnant daughter. The theme is about how past unresolved issues affect current events. It also has the added bonus of a budding romance.
Again, I stress my need for a happy story. One with real issues without being too dramatic or too sappy. Happily this Christmas sure fit the bill. I highly recommend it.
Please note, I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. However, I would have happily paid full price for it.

Ever the cynic, I was still somewhat up-in-the-air about Susan Mallery branching out from her Fool’s Gold series, which I have found to be absolutely hilarious.

After reading “happily this Christmas,” though (and though I find myself always looking for the capitalized first letters of the words in the title on the cover), I am no longer concerned about Susan’s forays into other realms.

“Happily” is a skillfully-written story with well-crafted characters who pay attention to life (some later rather than sooner) and grow accordingly. You will love Wynn and Garrick, want to smack Joylyn (still not sure how to pronounce this one) and cheer when she “gets it,” cry a little over Hunter’s choices, and pray that Happily Inc doesn’t get leveled by the forest and brush fires raging in California, because, by gosh, you want to move there.

And P. S., Susan: Thank you for detailing the “home side” of military life.

Mallery delivers readers a great Christmas in Happily, Inc. It is always nice to visit Happily, Inc. and this trip is no different. The characters are engaging and the story is worth the read. I highly recommend this book to fans of the women’s fiction genre.

I like Susan Mallery books. They’re detailed and informative and entertaining. I’ve read several books in this series and I’m not tired of the main theme yet. His book is another good one.