Book Review: “Happily Ever Afters” by Elise Bryant

“Happily Ever Afters” by Elise Bryant (2021)

Genre: Romance, YA, Fiction, Contemporary

Page Length: 384 pages (hardcover edition)

Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Tessa Johnson has never felt like the protagonist in her own life. She’s rarely seen herself reflected in the pages of the romance novels she loves. The only place she’s a true leading lady is in her own writing—in the swoony love stories she shares only with Caroline, her best friend and #1 devoted reader.

When Tessa is accepted into the creative writing program of a prestigious art school, she’s excited to finally let her stories shine. But when she goes to her first workshop, the words are just…gone. Fortunately, Caroline has a solution: Tessa just needs to find some inspiration in a real-life love story of her own. And she’s ready with a list of romance novel-inspired steps to a happily ever after. Nico, the brooding artist who looks like he walked out of one of Tessa’s stories, is cast as the perfect Prince Charming.

But as Tessa checks off each item off Caroline’s list, she gets further and further away from herself. She risks losing everything she cares about—including the surprising bond she develops with sweet Sam, who lives across the street. She’s well on her way to having her own real-life love story, but is it the one she wants, after all? (description from Goodreads)

Review:

Happily Ever Afters is a novel that I’ve had my eye on since I first heard about it. Not only did the colorful cover of a girl that reflected my younger self catch my eye, but the synopsis had me hooked too. The story follows Tessa, a budding writer who loves to create stories. She obtains an amazing opportunity to be in a prestigious art school only for her to experience a bad case of writer’s block. On top of this, she struggles to deal with living in a new town away from her best friend Caroline, adjusting to a new school, a love interest, and trying to find her artistic voice.

I felt that as a writer could relate to Tessa’s experience on many levels. I’ve faced many bouts of writer’s block and struggled to find the right words to craft stories (for creative writing and journalism works). Writing makes her feel alive but she’s also afraid to share her work with others for fear of rejection. I myself have definitely experienced the imposter syndrome where I thought my work was just not good enough and I learned that by making mistakes/critques (like Tessa does) that it will only make me a stronger writer in the long end.

I appreciated that even though this is a cute and swoonworthy romance novel the focus is equally on Tessa’s self-discovery as well too. There are the beginnings of a love triangle but at a certain point, it becomes clear who the final choice will be. I still enjoyed navigating through Tessa’s thoughts and her romantic views of love which could be very over the top at times. She’s been influenced by the romance novels she’s loved and wants to experience a genuine happily ever after a moment just for once. I’ll also admit that I definitely had some second lead syndrome while reading this book too! (You’ll understand when you read it).

I loved Happily Ever Afters in many ways and it was the lighthearted novel that I was excited to read after a long day at work. I love the themes of romance, self-discovery, and friendships that developed over the course of the novel. A recommended read for those who enjoy stories that are sweet, funny, and heartfelt.

Final Verdict: