HAPPY AFTER ALL – Maisey Yates
Montlake
ISBN: ‎ 978-1662526374
January 2025
Contemporary Romance

Rancho Encanto, California – Present Day

After her fiancé cheated on her, Amelia Taylor left her life behind in Los Angeles and moved to the small town of Rancho Encanto where she runs the Pink Flamingo motel. It’s a quiet, unincumbered life and she is happy. She also has a writing career as a romance author, though many residents of the motel and town do not know about it. Once a year, Nathan Hart arrives for an extended stay and always stays in Room 32, the Hemingway Suite. She soon realizes that Nathan is a famous author who writes military fiction, but he asks her to not reveal his identity to others. HAPPY AFTER ALL encompasses several years, and Amelia remains curious about Nathan. Their relationship is cordial, though it is that of an innkeeper and tenant. In this tale, their relationship changes after Ameila’s ex is invited to participate in the town’s annual Christmas event. The people running it did not know about their connection. They just needed a famous person, and Christopher, who is a Hallmark Movie star, agreed to take on the gig as their celebrity host. Amelia isn’t sure she can face him and isn’t sure how to tell anyone why. But Nathan soon offers himself as her fake boyfriend. It leads to them interacting with each other—and more. 

Most of HAPPY AFTER ALL is Amelia’s inner musing on her life and what is going around her. The motel became her refuge after her ex’s betrayal. Her family isn’t much better, so starting over somewhere new was the best thing to happen to her. The town is small, and she has a few friends. The motel has a few permanent tenants, mostly older, who provide her with daily interaction. But it is Nathan who intrigues Amelia, even though he is only there once a year. But in this tale, he has a slight change in plans. He arrives in December and will be there for Christmas. Not that they had planned to spend the holiday together. But his being there provides a perfect opportunity to be a fake boyfriend, and for them to finally get to know each other. Will love bloom between them?

It's a mostly poignant tale that will pull in readers with emotions running high. Amelia feels like her life is going nowhere but that is okay with her. She wants to remain hidden from the real world and writing romance novels provides her with an escape. Readers won’t know much about Nathan until late in HAPPY AFTER ALL. Once his past is revealed, then it makes sense why he comes every year. Nathan has built a wall, much like Amelia. Will the two knock down each other’s walls to build trust and help one another? Amelia is a sympathetic character and her goodness of the heart and the people around her makes her the perfect protagonist. Will she find love with Nathan, or will this just be another book that doesn’t end happily? Find out the answer by buying a copy of HAPPY AFTER ALL.

Patti Fischer