The Secret to Happiness ~ Review

The Secret to Happiness

Cape Cod Creamery #2

By Suzanne Woods Fisher

Callie Dixon has always been a thorn in her cousin Dawn's side, and now she is coming to Cape Cod. Dawn is less than pleased to have her cousin staying with them at the Creamery. But her mother, Marnie, won't hear any differently. She knows Callie needs her family, and they'll welcome her as long as she needs them.

Dawn knows something is wrong with Callie and is determined to fix her, despite Marnie and Kevin's advice to let her be. But all of Dawn's efforts seem useless. Callie just doesn't appreciate her efforts. 

Concern is weighing on Callie, and the pressure from her Dad to get another job is just adding to it. But Callie refuses to let anyone see the cracks in her life. But when Dawn drags her to a happiness class, Callie is challenged by the teacher, Bruno Bianco. How do you find happiness in the everyday, every single day? 

The Secret to Happiness is a journey of self-discovery as Callie learns to let the pressures and grief of the past go. But it is more than that as she learns the simple things in life can give the greatest joy. I really liked Callie from the first. What I found interesting was that Dawn, who had improved as the first book went along, seemed to reverse when Callie came to the Creamery. So this book is as much Callie's story as it is a continuation of Dawn's. Overall this is a good read and provides a satisfying continuation of what started with The Sweet Life. I mean, who wouldn't find reviving an old ice cream shop interesting? Especially when you combine it with finding a new focus in life. This is a lovely series and should be enjoyed in order, but this book can be read as a standalone title.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion, all thoughts expressed are my own.

About the Book:

Escape to Cape Cod--where you just might find the secret to happiness

Callie Dixon had the world by the tail . . . until it all slipped away. Fired from her dream job after making a colossal mistake, she's escaped to her aunt's home on Cape Cod for time to bounce back. Except it isn't a home, it's an ice cream shop. And time isn't going to help, because Callie's bounce has up and left. There's a reason she made that mistake at work, and she's struggling to come to terms with it.

Things go from bad to worse when Callie's cousin Dawn drags her to a community class about the secret to happiness. Happiness is the last thing Callie wants to think about right now, but instructor Bruno Bianco--a curiously gloomy fellow--is relentless. He has a way of turning Callie's thoughts upside down. Her feelings, too.

Bruno insists that hitting rock bottom is the very best place to be. But if that's true, how is it supposed to help her figure out what--or who--has been missing from her life all along?