Review: Happy & You Know It by Laura Hankin

Happy & You Know It by Laura Hankin 

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 384

Format: eARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  After her former band shot to superstardom without her, Claire reluctantly agrees to a gig as a playgroup musician for overprivileged infants on New York’s Park Avenue. Claire is surprised to discover that she is smitten with her new employers, a welcoming clique of wellness addicts with impossibly shiny hair, who whirl from juice cleanse to overpriced miracle vitamins to spin class with limitless energy.

There is perfect hostess Whitney who is on the brink of social-media stardom and just needs to find a way to keep her perfect life from falling apart. Caustically funny, recent stay-at-home mom Amara who is struggling to embrace her new identity. And old money, veteran mom Gwen who never misses an opportunity to dole out parenting advice. But as Claire grows closer to the cool women who pay her bills, she uncovers secrets and betrayals that no amount of activated charcoal can fix.

Kritters Thoughts:  Claire left a band before it really hit big and she doesn't know what her future looks like now.  She wants to stay in the business of music, but doesn't know what to do next.  She returns to a job she had prior to the band where she is playing for kids group.  A playgroup invites her to be their musician where they meet out of someone's apartment in NYC and she gets integrated into the group very fast.  

With women of all sorts of different personalities and creeds, the playgroup was greatly diverse and I loved getting to know all the women and their reactions to new motherhood.  All the women were first time moms except one and Gwen was glad to be the mom expert of the group.  Even though I am not a mom, I have a love for mommy drama books.  This seems weird to say but I enjoy reading about mom guilt and I think this is because even though I don't have kids we can all feel a little bit of guilt about where you spend time and if you are using and spending your time to the best of your ability and in the places that matter to you most.     

I went into this book a little blind and was happily surprised by some of the things that happen, so I will be a bit vague because I would love for each of you to experience the book just like I did.  I will say that there were some great and satisfying twists and turns and the plot and the characters kept me reading where I read this one in one satisfying sitting!

This was my first Laura Hankin read and I was excited to see that there is one book in her backlist, so I hope to read it very soon!

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

   Ebook 2020 Challenge: 41 out of 100   

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.