HAPPY PLACE is a standalone contemporary romance by L.P. Maxa. In HAPPY PLACE, L.P. Maxa successfully utilizes several popular romances tropes such as "secret baby", "friends to lovers", and "pretend engagement that turns real". The main characters in HAPPY PLACE all have oodles of money and are from high society. Declan Preston and Cassie Huntington have secretly yearned for each other for a long time and baby Wyllie acts as a catalyst to drive them toward a happily ever after.

The prologue of HAPPY PLACE details Cassie and Declan's night of passion that led to a baby, and I like how Cassie reveals Wyllie's parentage fairly on in the story, rather than dragging things out. One of the things that I normally dislike in "secret baby" stories is the level of hostility that often arises over any overt deception or lies of omission by the baby's mother. After a certain amount of toxicity and harsh words are exchanged, I find it difficult to believe in the survival of any love or warmth between the mother and father. Thankfully for readers, L.P. Maxa keeps things on a positive note while telling a stirring romance about two people who are crazy for each other. No matter how confused their emotions get, Cassie and Declan treat each other with respect throughout HAPPY PLACE. Given Declan's feelings for Cassie and the intensity of their erotic encounter years ago, it can be a little difficult trying to understand his reason for not staying and seeing how their relationship might develop. Although slightly frustrating, Declan's reasoning makes some sense and I like that he has a bit of self-awareness.

Grandparents play well-intentioned meddling cupids in HAPPY PLACE, but it doesn't take much to throw Declan and Cassie together and get spicy results. Better communication between the hero and heroine would have eliminated most of the conflicts in HAPPY PLACE, but their failure to see the obvious make Cassie and Declan seem very human. It's amusing, and sometimes heartbreaking, having friends and family push the two together as they struggle to come to grips with their true feelings. The red-hot trysts between Cassie and Declan are balanced out by the often-clownish antics by Cassie's rakish brother Brice.

HAPPY PLACE features a heroine torn between the demands of her heart and the doubts in her head. L.P. Maxa tells a compelling story of true love set amid high society, and keeps things interesting with a great mix of sex and humor. I look forward to reading future books in this setting, and reading about Cassie's brother getting knocked down by love.

Book Summary

Two years after spending one blissful night with her lifelong crush, Cassie Huntington meets Declan Preston again during the Christmas season, and secrets and lies turn into a fake wedding that just might save their love.

OH, WHAT A NIGHT

Cassie Huntington and Declan Preston began crushing on each other when they were kids. For years, neither acted on their feelings. Then, on one fantastic, reckless night in Seaside, Florida, just before Cassie was to marry another man and Declan was to leave for London, they shared everything they ever wanted. Then Declan left.

After the best sex of his life, Declan knew he’d return to reclaim his first love when his two-year stint in London ended. But when he learns Cassie has been hiding life-altering secrets, he realizes he doesn’t know the woman he'd left behind. Worse, just when he thinks one deception is cleared up, she lays another whopper on him— a fake holiday wedding. Yet what starts as lies will end as a truth that could never be denied: Declan and Cassie are meant to be together. Forever.