Publication Date: September 2, 2025
Grab your favorite fall candle, cuddle into a comfy blanket, and travel back in time to 1997 in this cozy, slow-burn romance set in the autumn glow of small-town Vermont.
Now with exclusive bonus content!
My new next-door neighbor seems to have everything figured out. Small town golden boy? Check. Single dad extraordinaire? Check. Hot baker forearms? I didn’t notice them, I swear.
I, on the other hand, don’t–at all–have anything figured out. Trust me, I didn’t think taking over my mom’s dream bed and breakfast in Copper Run Vermont was going to be easy. It should be a good place to heal after my divorce. But apparently my scones belong in the garbage with my small talk skills. As pointed out by none other than Cliff.
Cliff is inescapable. He knows exactly what people need–always. His charm, the way he wears flannel, and even his pastries, make not wanting to be friends with Cliff and his daughters pretty hard.
Friends? I can make friends. That’s safe. Except I’m leaving in three months to pass the inn off to my little sister and get the promotion in Seattle I’ve been working towards. So ask me why I’m thinking about kissing my hot neighbor.
If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia is a fun-filled romance, initially set in Seattle, but it segues to a small town in Vermont, where most of the story is told. The story spans only three months, but it actually seems much longer.
Michelle and Cliff’s story is told by each of them in alternating chapters. Cliff has two daughters and is a baker and owns the bakery in town. She only comes to Vermont to keep her mom‘s dream alive until her sister can take over the running of the small bed and breakfast after the unexpected death of their mother. Michelle feels it’s best to take a leave from her corporate advertising job to keep the inn running. Little does she know the amount of hard work it will take and how important Cliff, his girls, and the rest of the town will become to her.
There are vivid descriptions, especially of food, baked goods, the inn, and the town’s activities. We get to see Michelle and Cliff’s friendship grow, but could it be more if she didn’t have one foot always out the door and back in Seattle?
Cliff’s daughters, Emily and Brittany, are a breath of fresh air, and they work well together as a family, even if their mom only comes and goes in their lives. There are a lot of friendships and family, silent communications, especially with her dog Rocket, who seems to be able to converse with his humans, and it was funny to see at times how the story played out. The prologue set the stage nicely, and the epilogue, which takes place eight years later and is told from Rocket’s viewpoint, rounded out the story in a fun way.  It was funny to hear Rocket’s thoughts on his family and those new to it as he’s starting to slow down, and that was all the closure that was needed, especially since it gave us the happily ever after.
If It Makes You Happy is a cute contemporary romance with down-to-earth characters showing their struggles alongside their good times and bad.
Julie Olivia writes cozy love stories filled with humor, spice, and friendships that feel like a warm hug. She is a roller coaster fan, avid romance reader, and rainy day enthusiast. Julie lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and their very opinionated pets.
