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In Pursuit of Happiness by Freya Kennedy

December 21, 2020November 13, 2022 by Sharon Clayton

In Pursuit of Happiness

ABOUT THE BOOK

The world is waiting…but just outside of your comfort zone.

Jo Campbell is perfectly content in a perfectly structured life.
Nothing ever changes in Jo’s life, and she likes it that way.
Or at least, she tells herself she does.

Most of the time, she manages to push down the tiny voice that tells her to chase her dream and maybe, just maybe, open her battered and bruised heart up to love.

But to chase her dreams she needs to take chances that are way out of her comfort zone and learn to not put other people’s happiness above her own.
Most of all she has to learn to trust her heart, which may just be the biggest challenge of all.

MY REVIEW

Ms. Kennedy’s charming and heartwarming follow-up to The Hopes and Dreams of Libby Quinn is fine to read as a standalone. However, I was so excited to return to the lovely town of Derry in Northern Ireland to see what Jo, Libby, Noah, Erin, Harry, and the others are getting up to.

It appears Jo Campbell, Noah’s sister and co-owner of the Ivy Inn, is not herself lately. She’s dragging her feet on launching her dream to become a writer and her longing for the love her friends and family have is getting her down. So she becomes friends with Harry’s visiting and seemingly nice grandson, Lorcan, and her best friend sends her manuscript to a famous author. Sounds promising, right? Let’s just say, there are some surprises and revelations in store that finally pull Jo out of her slump and she starts to believe in herself again.

Jo and Lorcan make a good team after they start to open up to each other about their very sad pasts. And Jo’s support system including her loving mum, her adorable little sister, Clara, her protective brother, Noah, her best friend, Libby, Paddy the dog, and even the cantankerous and endearing Harry, are what round out the whole small-town experience.

I recommend this delightfully funny and sweet tale full of lovable characters and a beautiful setting.

Thank you to Ms. Kennedy for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.

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In Pursuit of Happiness Cover

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Freya Kennedy lives in Derry, Northern Ireland, with her husband, two children, two cats, and a mad dog called Izzy. She worked as a journalist for eighteen years before deciding to write full time. When not writing, she can be found reading, hanging out with her nieces and nephews, cleaning up after her children (a lot), and telling her dog that she loves her.