Review: Happily Ever After

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Happily Ever After
by Elizabeth Maxwell
Published by Touchstone
Publication Date March 4, 2014
Source: Publisher
Genres: General Fiction
Goodreads

In this witty, sexy tale, an erotic novelist meets the fictional hero of her most recent book in real life, and must decide whether she wants to get him back between the pages—or between her sheets.At forty-six, Sadie Fuller’s life isn’t exactly romantic. A divorced, overweight, somewhat sexually frustrated mother of an eleven-year-old, she lives in the suburbs, shops the big box stores, makes small talk with her small-minded neighbors, and generally leads a quiet life. But while her daughter is at school, or when Sadie is up late at night, she writes erotic fiction under the name KT Briggs.

Then, during a routine shopping trip, Sadie runs into someone familiar…too familiar, in fact. She encounters an incredibly handsome man exactly like the one in her imagination—and her latest novel. Is Aidan Hathaway really one of her characters? And if so, what is he doing in Target? As Sadie tries to negotiate this strange new world, her eyes begin to open to romantic possibilities in places she never dreamed of looking... places where Happily Ever After might not be so far-fetched after all.

When I began Happily Ever After I immediately pegged Sadie as “the Bridget Jones type.”  Single and middle-aged, she is sifting her way through life with back-handed humor and an obsession with word counts.  The only difference is that Sadie has a head on her shoulders and a little more responsibility.  Now picture Bridget in an episode of Bewitched and poof, you have Elizabeth Maxwell’s Happily Ever After.

I explained my Bridget Jone’s theory but why Bewitched?  Sadie’s characters literary jump off the pages with Sadie trying to keep Aidan and Lily on the down low.  This reminded me of Mr. Tate having dinner at the Stephens’ with Darrin and Samantha doing everything in their power to hide the elephant in the room.

Aidan and Lily were very believable and well-developed characters.  They made me feel.  There were times where I did want them to evaporate but at others Lily and particularly Aidan wore their hearts on their sleeve and found it endearing.

I felt the ending to be reminiscent of Dorothy spraying the Wicked Witch of the West with water and destroying her beautiful wickedness.  Dorothy heads back to Kansas, and despite the fact that Hunk, Hickey and Zeke were their life went on as normal.

Like the conclusion to The Wizard of Oz Happily Ever After was just that, a happily ever after.