When recently divorced Thea arrives at her ex-husband Ethan’s house to pick-up Argos (the dog they share custody of), she is surprised to meet Alex, a fellow recent divorcee who is picking up his daughter Mia from his ex-wife Jen, who surprisingly spent the night at Ethan’s house. To save face in front of their exes and maybe stir up a bit of jealousy, Thea and Alex concoct a story where they are each others’ first loves and pen pals who are so happy for the opportunity to reconnect. Due to the lie, a real friendship develops between the pair. Despite the fact that Thea and Alex have real romantic feelings for each other (and everyone assumes that they are a couple), they have played it safe and stayed in the friend zone. Years later, when their exes, Ethan and Jen, unexpectedly invite Thea and Alex on a “two family” vacation, Thea and Alex find themselves re-evaluating their decision to stay just friends.
Happy Ending is a “friends to lovers” and opposites attract slowburn romance featuring themes and topics like family, divorce, mental health and therapy, self worth, parental neglect, custody and co-parenting, friendship, love and heartbreak, loneliness, secrets and lies, and revenge. This is is perfect for fans of romance books like Happy Place by Emily Henry, Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez, Give Me Butterflies by Jillian Meadows, First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison, and The Match by Sarah Adams.
Firstly, the plot of the story with strangers bonding as a result of their exes getting together felt really unique and memorable. I loved how the main character, Thea, is a book lover who works at a bookstore; she even runs her own book club and tends to narrate her life as if she is the main character in her own story. I always find that I connect well with bookish characters like Thea and think that fellow readers will love Thea as well. There were also some amazing bookish quotes that fellow bookworms will enjoy; I highlighted quite a few that will definitely make their way into my reading journal in the near future.
On the downside, Happy Ending was a “friends to lovers” story, which isn’t my favourite trope. I was also disappointed that the book seemed slower to start, with Thea and Alex not even arriving at their beach vacation until the halfway point in the book. Lastly, all of the flashback chapters were too lengthy and frequent for my liking; I always feel like flashbacks interrupt my reading experience and the flow of the story.
Even though Happy Ending wasn’t my favourite from Chloe Liese, I still really enjoyed this swoony “friends to lovers” story and I think that other romance readers will too.
Happy Ending is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis
From USA TODAY bestselling author Chloe Liese, a clever and heartwarming rom-com that is perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Annabel Monaghan about two best friends who must fake a relationship for their exes.
Thea and Alex have three things in common—they love food, they hate where they live, and they’re both divorced. Otherwise, they couldn’t be more different.
Thea’s never cooked a day in her life. Alex is a world-class chef. Alex resents feeling stuck in his hometown. Thea resents the town for not feeling more like home. Thea and her ex are in a contentious custody battle for their dog. Alex and his ex amicably coparent their daughter. Beyond a few friends in common, a couple small-world connections (welcome to life in a mid-size city), their lives look nothing alike. Fast forward two years, and they’re truly the best of friends. No one would ever know their friendship began as a lie…
Two years ago, their exes got together immediately following their divorces, and somehow, Thea and Alex found themselves spinning a spite-fueled story about being old friends and first loves. Two years later, what began as a ruse has grown into real friendship—just friendship, despite what friends and family seem to think. But when their exes invite them on a two-week, “two family” beach vacation—daughter and dog included—Alex and Thea start to wonder if this story they’ve spun might have gotten away from them, and if it’s led them to the last place they ever thought it could: a happy ending.
