Wednesday 24 February 2021

Guest Review: The Secret to Happiness by Jessica Redland

Danniella is running from her past, so when she arrives at the beautiful seaside resort of Whitsborough Bay, the last thing on her mind is making friends. After all, they might find out her secrets…

Alison is fun, caring and doesn't take herself too seriously. But beneath the front, she is a lost soul, stuck in a terrible relationship, with body confidence issues and no family to support her. All she really needs is a friend.

Karen's romance has taken a back seat to her fitness business. But she doesn’t want to give up on love quite yet. If only those mysterious texts would stop coming through…

When the women meet at their local bootcamp, a deep friendship blossoms. And soon they realise that the secret to happiness is where they least expected to find it…


Review: I have been enjoying catching up with Jessica Redland’s catalogue of books, having been introduced to her writing relatively recently. Many of her books, including this one, are set in the fictional Yorkshire seaside town of Whitsborough Bay. All of her stories are standalone, but many characters pop up in more than one book. I’m sure that I’m not alone in enjoying getting reacquainted with characters from previous stories. As with many of Jessica’s books, I listened to the audio version of this one, read very ably by Lucy Brownhill.


This story centres on three women who meet up in Whitsborough Bay, brought together by a local boot camp. Daniella is a stranger to the town, who is running away from a traumatic event in her past. Alison is a local resident who is becoming increasingly unhappy with her life, and in particular her relationship with a long-time partner who seems now to take every opportunity to demoralize her. Karen is a local fitness instructor who is building a business with her fiancé, but who is beginning to wonder where the romance in their life has gone and what he is hiding from her. As Karen establishes her boot camp and welcomes the others into the group, the women find friendship as well as support in their struggles to rediscover happiness in their lives.

I can highly recommend this book filled with true friendship and its power to support even the most troubled soul. It is quite an emotional read, with some shocking revelations, but with its fair share of humour and romance. I loved that the three central characters are really life-like, with the sort of problems that anyone could experience. My heart ached for each of them at different stages in the story, and I felt so relieved for them that the others were there to lend support. This is another well-written story from Jessica Redland that many will find a heartwarming read, probably shedding a few tears along the way.

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US

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