Those who think they know me would tell you I’m a caring mother, a loyal friend, and a dutiful wife. They’d say the golden path which led me here is the road every little girl dreams of taking. However, the guise of my happy existence has come to be just that—an illusion. A mask of contentment intended for the world to believe. Not many years into my marriage, I became an abandoned housewife to … abandoned housewife to an adulterous husband. A proud, but sad, mother of two beautiful daughters.
My days were spent somewhere lost between empty and alone.
Then he came back. Mason Cole offered a second chance to share the life we were supposed to have together. He gave me a glimpse of myself. The woman I’d forgotten long ago.
My road to hell was paved with good intentions. But sometimes good intentions get lost amidst a heart’s desire.
At least mine did.
Now I’ll tell you why.
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Keep Happy is the first book I’ve read by this author. It is the story Mason and Katie. Regardless if what happened to stand in the way of Katie and Mason’s relationship. They were able to find each other in the end. The only good that came from her adulterous ex husband was 2 young teenage girls. Both of her daughters were the younger version of their mother. Mason always managed to come to her rescue. Im glad that when the book ended Thomas admitted to knowing that Mason and Katie had always loved each other. He only hoped things would of been different. I love a good happily ever after. On to the next book in this series.
“The minute I heard my first love story, I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They’re in each other all along.” ~Rumi
Katherine Morris first met Mason Cole at the age of twelve. What begins as a great friendship eventually spawns into feelings of lust and love. Just as they begin to find a groove together as more than friends Mason is forced to make a difficult decision to leave town. He needs to escape his abusive father. Leaving Katherine behind is not an easy decision but one that has to be made for his wellbeing and the wellbeing of his mom and sister.
As difficult as this decision was on their relationship and the future, Katherine pushes onward in her life. She is married, albeit to a disgusting cheating man, Thomas and together they have two beautiful daughters. Both are living in an illusion of a life together for the sake of their daughters. They are determined to do what is best and attempt to raise the girls together under the guise of happiness. The cheating and hiding the truth has taken its toll on Katherine though. She doesn’t truly realize just how much until the one true love of her life, Mason, comes back to town and a second chance at a life together is on the table. Will Katherine decide that her happiness is just as important and give the second chance at love and happiness a try?
I found myself really on an emotional journey as I read this book. AC Bextor touches on several difficult topics, and really paints a great picture of how each issue affects all the involved parties. I found myself feeling bad for Thomas as much as I didn’t want to like him, I almost understood his actions in some instances. I also found myself really rooting for Mason and Katherine to finally have the happily ever after that they so much deserve. I was happy that it wasn’t a clean and perfect road to this though and it engaged me from the very beginning to the end.
I adored the prologue to this story. It really hooked me and had me from these very first words.
Rumi was once quoted saying, “Grief can be the garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest ally in your life’s search for love and wisdom.”
At the time I read this, I wasn’t sure I believed him. That was, until I realized how lost in my own life’s grief I had always been.
When I was young, I thought my life was going to go precisely as I’d planned.
I was going to finish college, earning my master’s degree in accounting, and follow in my father’s footsteps as I’d always imagined I would.
I was going to fall in love, marrying only the man of my dreams. Of course, I had no idea what he looked like, but I knew in order to love me how I wanted, he had to be storing, kind, and fill my soul with passion while enriching my life with excitement and understanding. I wouldn’t settle for less.
And I was going to be the best parent to however many children God saw fit to bless me with.
I never knew my mother. She and my father parted ways shortly after I was born. This left me to be raised as an only child to a single dad and regretful ex-husband.
Growing up, I didn’t always have a lot of friends. Yet those I came to truly tryst have been with me for as long as I can remember.
Now, after so much of my life has passed: all the triumphs, tears, happiness, and heartbreak, I’m married to the love of my life. The one man I was always supposed to find. Finally, I have my life the way I always dreamed it would be.
I’m a mother to beautiful children.
My home is everything I’d always envisioned.
Those who’ve come into my life are where they’re supposed to be. Some are faded memories of my past. And those I cherish still remain.
So looking back, I concur that Rumi was right.
The lessons I’ve learned were tough in coming.
The grief I‘ve harbored has finally been set free.
The tumultuous path I fought so hard along the way was worth all its torment and pain.
The garden of my life is rich, centered, and destined for even greater things.
My heart has finally found its peace.
There is something that really resonates in me when an author uses Rumi. I adore it and connect with his words so much. Another bonus with this book is that it has a playlist to accompany your reading and I loved it! Also this is book one in the Silvervale Second Chance Romance series so there will be more to come from AC Bextor, and I can’t wait to read it!
A gripping story of love and loss that expands over years. Sacrifice for the greater good that ends in regret. This story will give you all the feels, back and forth torture as well as hope for finally getting you first and only love.
5 Stars
Keep Happy is the first book in the Silvervale Second Chance Romance series by A.C Bextor. Once again Ms. Bextor delivers a superb story, that tugs at your heart strings and shows what a versatile and talented author she really is.
Katherine Morris met Mason Cole when she was 12 years old. They developed a firm friendship, the more time they spent together, the more their feelings developed. But circumstances forced Mason to move away, leaving them both devastated. She does her best to live her life, but its never quite the same without him. She marries and has two adorable daughters. Her marriage isn’t what she had hoped. She is unhappy, and her cheating husband only adds to her woes.
Then Mason returns to town and old feelings come rushing back. What does fate have in store for them? What about her marriage? Will they get their second chance at happiness, together?
This is a great story, with wonderful, complex and conflicted characters. My heart ached for what they had been through and I was rooting for them the whole way through.
The story has a great pace and a smooth flow. Its told from a duel POV, and the story moves seamlessly from past to present perspectives, to give us a better understanding of events.
I will definitely be reading more of Ms. Bextor’s fantastic books. I wonder what she has got for us next?
Thank you, Ms. Bextor!
Keep Happy
By A.C. Bextor
5/5 Stars
What a pleasant surprise!! I wasn’t expecting this book to be as good as it was!! It was soo captivating, once you start reading… you will not be able to put it down until the very end!! Sometimes in life… we get stuck!! Stuck between the person you used to be and the person you are. Once in a while , in a relationship you get molded into the person they want you to be. But it takes fight and courage to emerge the person you ARE!!
This book is about getting stuck …. Katie is in happyless marriage. She finds herself not recognizing the person staring back at her in the mirror. She is a shell of the person who she used to be. But someone from past comes back into her life. Will he be able to help Katie be her true authentic self ? In life, we gotta take a chance … we don’t know what we’re missing out on, if we don’t try!!
Another amazing job, A.C. Bextor !! I so can’t to see what’s next!!
Keep Happy (A Silvervale Second Chance Romance Book 1) by A.C. Bextor
5 Stars
Oh my, this is the 3rd book I’ve read by this author and I absolutely loved it. She has a way with words that keep me totally engulfed in her stories until the last word and always leaving me wanting more!
If there is an emotion to feel I guarantee I felt it while reading this book, one part of this story jabbed me straight in the heart as I suffered the same horrible loss that Katie did many years ago and when I came upon this part it had me sobbing and knowing exactly what the author was trying to convey in her words explaining how Katie felt, this was handled beautifully!
This whole story had me a mess, the going back in the past normally is something I don’t enjoy but in this story it was absolutely needed and appreciated, the struggles that Katie had throughout tore my heart out and I was so angry at just everybody in this book at one point or another, and as much as I wanted to absolutely despise Thomas for what his part in Katies unhappiness was, I still found myself loving the part he was given in this book because although he did very wrong he was always still there doing some things very right, my feelings on him are hard to explain, read the book and you’ll understand.
Mason was Awesome!! And I loved him from the first time he was mentioned, and his interaction with Averie and Amelia made me smile, not to mention his interaction with Katie always made me smile, cry, laugh, or want to punch something..
I loved this book and everything about it, I have not one negative to say about it except that maybe I want more and I am thrilled to see that there is another book after this so I can’t wait, and for whatever else this author comes out with Ill be one of the first in line…
Amazingly awesome!!
Keep Happy by A.C Bextor is the first book in the Silvervale Second Chance Romance series. I loved this book! I felt a fairly deep connection with Katie and just adored Averie.
Katherine is a great Mother and will do anything for her daughters even if she has to suffer in silence. The love a mother has for her child/children should be the number one thing in her life. Katie was willing to give everything up to give her girls the mother she wanted and never had.
Cole has known Katherine or Katie as he calls her Katie since she was eleven years old and has always had a special connection with her. He is the type of man I would want around my children.
There were lots of laughs, some tears and suspense mixed in as well. The second book in the series is out and already on my to be read list.
I started reading this book and was only going to read a few chapters before dinner. Well it’s now 6 hours later and I just read “the end”. The reason why I couldn’t put the story down? Mason Cole. I imagine he is the perfect first crush for teenaged girls everywhere.
This story is told in past and present tense and dual POVs. It’s told in such a way that while I thought I knew exactly the how, what and where this story was going, I was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t go the way I thought.
There are two teenaged daughters in this story that I hope to read more about in the future – the youngest will have her own sit com some day.
I absolutely recommend this book!
Keep Happy, A Silvervale Second Chance Romance #1, by A.C. Bextor. This is not the first book by this author that I have read. I have loved every other book that I have read and knew this one would be no different.
I loved that Mason and Katie never stopped loving each other. This book had me laughing at times and also had me wanting to throw my kindle. I did not want to put this book down and I can not wait for more from this author and from this series!!
Um wow you meet a wife named Katherine she has 2 girls and a husband but is she happy in this book we get flashbacks between her and her husband Thomas but she also has a best friend mason there are also flashbacks to him too when she runs into him but are they just friends. Such a good book.
I loved loved loved this book. I didn’t agree with small things. But everything else I loved.
From the minute that I was introduced to Mason Cole, I fell in love with him. I was intrigued with him and his story. And I loved that we read the past and present in this book. Reading about what happened and how their lives are so messed up. Due to circumstances and responsibilities and Mason wanting a better life for himself. He knew he had to get out but he couldn’t take Katie Mae with him because she was too young. Now years later things are not how he expected his life to go and he is just living day to day.
Katie Mae moves on with her life, Married two kids and a husband who I seriously did not like at all. But her life is empty except for her kids. And Mason being back in town is not helping her live her life with her family. The one man she has never stopped loving, how is this going to fit into her life now and how will this end
From the start of this book Katie and Mason was the ones i was rooting for. I loved Katie as she was described in the past, spunky, funny and take no prisoners personality. Complete opposite of the women she became. A story about: Is doing the right thing really what is best for everyone or just what is relieving your sense of what society thinks is right. And even though you are trying to do the right thing you are still hurting other’s around you.
Absolutely an amazing story.
I loved this book! Mason and Katie *sigh* they have a great story! So emotional!!
Keep Happy by AC Bextor a fantastic five-star read. This author is such a great writer, I found her through another author I have great faith in and I’m so glad I took the chance, this was such an amazing read. When some people write a time jump I get easily confused but this author did it brilliantly, I loved that aspect of the story. Mason and his story will break you, but it will also make you, he is so much more that the typical bad boy he seems, and so much more than you typically get. This story will blow you away, its so much more than we normally get in this genre. Thank you AC Bextor for the talent you have.
I absolutely loved this book!
I loved this book. It has all the feels mixed with some suspense mixed with hot hot sex. It was such a good read. It was my very first A.C. read and I’m so glad one of my author friends suggested this book. I’d even go so far as to put it in my top 10 for the first half of 2018.
Our 2 main characters, Mason and Katie Mae (as only Mason called her, isn’t that sweet??) met when Katie was young, but Katie always felt Mason would be an important part of her life. Throughout the years, Mason and Katie would run into each other, although Mason treated her as nothing other than a pesky little sister. But finally Katie grew up and Mason came to realize Katie would be an important part of his life. But Mason had a very rough home life and finally he couldn’t stand it any longer. His life took him out of Katie’s life and left her feeling empty, making her turn to another as young girls will, thinking someone else would feel the void Mason left. But all she ended up with was a miserable marriage but 2 beautiful girls.
I don’t want to tell you the whole story! I want you to get this book, read it, find out for yourself what happens, and love it as much as I did. It’s such a beautiful second chance love story – keep a box of kleenex and a bottle of wine handy.
A very good book that deals with a loveless marriage and the consequences of staying together for the children. We travel past and present which I enjoy in a book. Katherine’s daughters steal the show whenever they show up. Mason stole my heart. Definitely worth the read!
This book was just… wow! I’m normally not a fan of reading about adultery, but the way this is written… I can’t explain it, but it was so much more than that. It’s about first loves, love lost, new chapters, disappointment, marriage, friendship, family, old flames, this book is so well thought out, and I’m certain, to some, many parts of this book are very relatable. This book was just so emotional!
Katie does what most mothers/wives do. She puts her kids, her family before herself. After learning about her husband’s betrayal, Katie retreats, and Katherine takes over, going through the motions, but not really living like she should. It was painful reading this because I feel like this kind of thing happens a lot! I can’t even begin to imagine what that must feel like, but I know how I felt reading about it and it was utterly heartbreaking. To see someone so full of life and have that light taken out of them, well it’s crappy. She’s broken and the only person able to fix her is the man she was always meant to be with.
Mason… I mean, I loved him from the beginning. Sometimes life throws you a crap hand, but you do the best you can with it. I was sad for what could have been for Katie and Mason. Things should have been different for them, however, Averie and Amelia might not have been in the picture, and Averie is like her momma to the tee. Would be a shame not to have that little spitfire around! Loved her to death!
Anyways, this book flips back and forth from past to present, which I’m not always a fan of, but it works well for this book. It was a struggle for me waiting for Katie to figure out what she needed to do. Maybe she isn’t perfect, but she did her best with what life had laid out for her and I honestly don’t hold anything against her. Strong for her girls, but unhappy with the path she’s walking, Mason reminds her of who she is. She’s a little lost, but she comes to a realization and so does her husband. I was ecstatic for Katie and Mason when things started clicking into place. A love like theirs should never have to be hidden. If I could give this book more than five stars I would. It’s so well written and the moments… there were so many real moments, it was like I was Connie, watching my bestie go through all of this. I’m pretty excited about the next book and though I’ve only read one other book by this author… which was nothing like this one, I’m already a huge fan! Keep happy Ms. Bextor.
#B2BKristina
From the first time they talked his goodbye was Keep Happy Katie Mae. Hard as she tried it wasn’t to happen until. . . But that’s not for the review. This book is a great read filled with angst and cheaters. The love of a child or two isn’t enough of a reason to stay to most people but being dedicated to other’s happiness is her m.o. He happiness ended long ago. This author takes us on a journey with flashbacks to their beginning and their heartbreak. Neither ever really moved on but now there is a family to think about and it isn’t one they created together. Mistakes will be made. Betrayal will happen. Someone will have their hea, the question is who and what they will do to get it.
This is my first read by this author and I love that it wasn’t an insta love and the background these two had. Their relationship was young and tender and at the mercy of adults. The details and story were awesome and it made for great reading.
Oh my word what a beautiful emotional story. Mason and Katie will take you on journey through so many years. The story line will move back and forth between the past and the present but it is an easy transition. They are each conflicted in their own right but find comfort in the friendship they develop. It turns to young love but is then derailed . To settle in life is heartbreaking but to hopefully know that some day you can capture what is lost is priceless . I loved watching them grow, even while apart the love could not be denied ! Keep Happy for yourself and those you love !
Loved It !
~~Michele McMullen ~~
Keep Happy by A.C. Bextor is a standalone novel about first loves, lost loves and devastating heartbreak. Following the story of Mason and Katherine (Katie) and how fate pushes people in ways that we can’t express yet you have to be willing to jump into the unknown for something great to happen. Mason is the epitome of an alpha in everyway possible, and yet he carries a soft spot for Katie. There is just something about her that keeps drawing him in wanting to protect and care for her. Mason is the sum of his life, from the rough upbringing to the man he has attempted to turn himself into, and yet he knows that Katie is the one to complete him. His love for her was all consuming, a fire that took no prisoners inside of him, but sometimes love happens at the wrong time with the right person. Katie has been in love with Mason for as long as she can remember, but fate has other plans for her. Will love be enough to steer these two back toward each other when life takes them on different paths? When their paths cross years down the road and the spark of young love is still there will these two be willing to take a chance on that spark to reignite the flame for them or will they walk away a second time? Bextor is an old favorite of mine, with her great storylines and amazingly written characters. If you are looking for a great tear jerker of a story with a light at the end of the tunnel. This is definitely a story that everyone needs to read and an author that needs to be added to everyone’s reading list as well.