-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
by Eva Woods
With wry wit and boundless heart, Eva Woods delivers an unforgettable tale of celebrating triumphs great and small, seizing the day, and always remembering to live in the moment.
"It's simple, really. You're just meant to do one thing every day that makes you happy. Could be little things. Could be big. In fact, we're doing one right now…"
Annie Hebden is stuck. Stuck in her boring job, with her irritating roommate, in a life no thirty-five-year-old would want. But deep down, Annie is still mourning the terrible loss that tore a hole through the perfect existence she'd once taken for granted - and hiding away is safer than remembering what used to be. Until she meets the eccentric Polly Leonard.
Bright, bubbly, intrusive Polly is everything Annie doesn't want in a friend. But Polly is determined to finally wake Annie up to life. Because if recent events have taught Polly anything, it's that your time is too short to waste a single day - which is why she wants Annie to join her on a mission…
One hundred days. One hundred new ways to be happy. Annie's convinced it's impossible, but so is saying no to Polly. And on an unforgettable journey that will force her to open herself to new experiences - and perhaps even new love with the unlikeliest of men - Annie will slowly begin to realize that maybe, just maybe, there's still joy to be found in the world. But then it becomes clear that Polly's about to need her new friend more than ever…and Annie will have to decide once and for all whether letting others in is a risk worth taking.
Published in the UK as How To Be Happy.
"Misery takes a back seat in this uplifting, humorous, and touching novel ... Polly is a wonderful character with a positively infectious attitude - memorable and magnetic, with a healthy dose of gallows humor. Joy shines through the tears, as this novel is a life lesson that should not be ignored." - Publishers Weekly
"Author Woods uses her novel - inspired by a social-media hashtag - to explore the exhilaration of new friendship, the power of loss, and the evergreen tendrils of hope." - Booklist
"Simply irresistible, [Woods] is a great option for fans of Graeme Simsion, Gabrielle Zevin, and Marian Keyes." - Library Journal
"Woods' belief in the transformative effect of happiness is a bit fantastic, but the characters are heartfelt and charming, so the novel moves well and is moving, too." - Kirkus
"A special book that will make you laugh through your tears with its heartfelt take on happiness and friendship." - Amy E. Reichert, author of The Coincidence of Coconut Cake
"A fresh new voice in romantic fiction." - Marie Claire
This information about Something Like Happy was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Eva Woods lives in London, where she writes and teaches creative writing. She likes wine, pop music, traveling, reading, and drinking far too much tea - and thinks online dating is like the worst board game ever invented.
Eva writes crime fiction as Claire McGowan, and women's fiction as Eva Woods.
If you liked Something Like Happy, try these:
by Emma Pattee
Published 2025
Set over the course of one day, a heart-racing debut about a woman facing the unimaginable, determined to find safety.
by Quiara Alegría. Hudes
Published 2025
The story of a runaway mother's ten days of freedom—and the pain, desire, longing, and wonder we find on the messy road to enlightenment—from Pulitzer Prize winner Quiara Alegría Hudes.
by Luke Allnutt
Published 2019
A triumphant story about love, loss and finding hope - against all odds.
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
One spring morning, a stranger arrives in the small southern city of Golden. No one knows where he has come from…or why…
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
